Coping with environmental hazards and shocks in Kiribati: Experiences of climate change by atoll communities in the Equatorial Pacific

Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Climate Change Adaptation and Wellbeing: Evidence and Opportunities From Kiribati, Samoa, and Vanuatu

“…But gaps in knowledge, policy, and practice remain, particularly for rapidly growing urban and peri-urban areas. It is also clear that successful adaptation requires careful consideration of the local context and participatory "bottom-up" co-design and implementation with local communities (Kabisch et al, 2017;Narayan et al, 2020;Piggott-McKellar et al, 2020;Cauchi et al, 2021). We believe that there is great potential for a nature-based urban design agenda positioned within an urban ecosystems framework linked closely to Indigenous, localised, understandings of wellbeing and ecology.…”

“…In the Pacific islands region climate change and urbanisation combine to profoundly impact ecosystems, ecosystem services, and the livelihoods that they support. As described by Cauchi et al (2021) andPedersen Zari et al (2019), climate change can be seen as a multiplier of urbanisation and other environmental pressures. Adaptation to climate change is urgently required, and NbS and EbA approaches offer great potential across different scales.…”

“…They highlight the key lesson that local contextual factors such as social norms, environmental, or local governance and decision-making mechanisms must be identified and meaningfully incorporated into the design and implementation of CbA initiatives. Similarly, Cauchi et al (2021), acknowledging the top-down nature of many adaptation projects, highlighted through a series of participatory focus groups in Kiribati, how critical it is to ensure communities participate in the codesign of adaptation interventions. These CbA findings resonate with research from Samoa that has highlighted that to understand climate change resilience in an island society, careful assessment of islanders' perceptions and actions in the context for their physical locales and socio-cultural systems is required (Latai-Niusulu, 2016).…”

Nature-based solutions for atoll habitability

“…The people there also build ‘walls’ with coconut fronds to shelter bananas and taro from the sea spray. Similarly, in Kiribati, a type of natural fence known as te buibui , made with branches and trunks and held together with sand and coir, is built on the shore as a protective barrier against the wind and seawater [49], with the added benefit of trapping sediment. These responses are those that local people can implement given their means, and their efficacy remains to be seen.…”

The Prevalence of Marine Lipophilic Phycotoxins Causes Potential Risks in a Tropical Small Island Developing State

“…The Republic of Kiribati is one of the most representative tropical SIDS, with the lowest GDP per capita in the Pacific. − It comprises 33 islands, has a population of approximately 110,000, and is recognized as one of the largest coral reef nations worldwide . Due to limited land and abundant marine resources, the islanders rely highly on the fishing industry (e.g., subsistence fishing, fish exports, and sport fishing tourism) to provide food and significant income for the local community .…”