Coastal proximity of populations in 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories

Abstract

The coastal zones of Small Island States are hotspots of human habitation and economic endeavour. In the Pacific region, as elsewhere, there are large gaps in understandings of the exposure and vulnerability of people in coastal zones. The 22 Pacific Countries and Territories (PICTs) are poorly represented in global analyses of vulnerability to seaward risks. We combine several data sources to estimate populations to zones 1, 5 and 10 km from the coastline in each of the PICTs. Regional patterns in the proximity of Pacific people to the coast are dominated by Papua New Guinea. Overall, ca. half the population of the Pacific resides within 10 km of the coast but this jumps to 97% when Papua New Guinea is excluded. A quarter of Pacific people live within 1 km of the coast, but without PNG this increases to slightly more than half. Excluding PNG, 90% of Pacific Islanders live within 5 km of the coast. All of the population in the coral atoll nations of Tokelau and Tuvalu live within a km of the ocean. Results using two global datasets, the SEDAC-CIESIN Gridded Population of the World v4 (GPWv4) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Landscan differed: Landscan under-dispersed population, overestimating numbers in urban centres and underestimating population in rural areas and GPWv4 over-dispersed the population. In addition to errors introduced by the allocation models of the two methods, errors were introduced as artefacts of allocating households to 1 km x 1 km grid cell data (30 arc–seconds) to polygons. The limited utility of LandScan and GPWv4 in advancing this analysis may be overcome with more spatially resolved census data and the inclusion of elevation above sea level as an important dimension of vulnerability.

What Will the Future Bring for Biological Invasions on Islands? An Expert-Based Assessment

“…Lastly, island habitats that will likely experience the strongest assumed impacts in the future are coastal regions, wetlands and dry forests. Coastal habitats on islands are exposed to highest anthropogenic pressures, with major cities and transportation hubs and highest population densities found there (Russell et al, 2017;Andrew et al, 2019). Dry forest ecosystems tend to be situated close to coastal regions, especially on tropical and subtropical islands (Janzen, 1988).…”

COVID-19 restrictions amidst cyclones and volcanoes: A rapid assessment of early impacts on livelihoods and food security in coastal communities in Vanuatu

“…Ranked as one of the world's most disaster-prone countries [ 3 ], Vanuatu's coastal communities frequently deal with unforeseen disruptions ranging from volcanic eruptions to extreme weather events. Past studies have highlighted the importance of natural resources in times when disasters strike, and for an archipelagic state like Vanuatu where the majority of its population lives within the coastal zone [ 4 ], near-shore marine resources become of particular importance [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Understandings, Practices and Human-Environment Relationships—A Meta-Ethnographic Analysis of Local and Indigenous Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies in Selected Pacific Island States

“…The 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories [9] are experiencing multiple consequences of climate change, while at the same time being comparatively dependent on the maritime ecosystem for a nutritional basis and infrastructure [9,10]. The states differ based on a variety of factors such as (colonial) history, ethnic groups, ecological environment, and geology, with the consequences of climate change for each region being shaped in particular by their classification as high-or low-lying regions.…”

“…The states differ based on a variety of factors such as (colonial) history, ethnic groups, ecological environment, and geology, with the consequences of climate change for each region being shaped in particular by their classification as high-or low-lying regions. Because of their immense regional variation, natural disasters, droughts, sea-level rise, and fish depletion are counted in varying degrees among the local impacts of climate change [9]. These local impacts in turn involve different following consequences and (ecological) interactions as exemplified by Kumar and colleagues concerning sea-level rise:…”