NI: SUNRISE: Situated Understanding of Resilience in Island Societies and Environments

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Climate resilience is generally defined as the capacity to: (1) maintain function in the face of external stressors (i.e. climate impacts) and/or (2) adapt so as to be better prepared for future climate change impacts. Small islands are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change due to rising temperatures and sea levels, land loss, and increasing extreme weather risks, making climate resilience a major priority. Yet, while climate resilience is being practiced across multiple island states and regions, there is little scholarship that considers individual examples of impacts and adaptations in the larger context of 'islandness'. Existing scholarship tends to focus on islands within geographical (e.g. Pacific) or socio-economic (e.g. Small Island Developing States, or SIDS) groupings. By assuming that island experiences are grounded solely in shared geographical space or socio-economic contexts, rather than shared 'islandness' (grounded in states of smallness, boundedness, isolation and fragmentation), this siloed approach stymies opportunities to identify transferable practices, limiting understanding of island-related issues in climate resilience.Arguably, this stems in part from methodological deficits. Approaches used in global and regional climate impact assessments are often poorly suited to small islands and especially atolls, with climate models especially constrained in their ability to provide information on local scales. Additionally, little is known about the existing, culturally-grounded coping capacity of island communities, and to what extent these traits promote good adaptation (which, unlike coping, involves sustainable long-term responses), particularly in peripheral/rural islands where data is scarce compared to core/urban areas. Through the establishment of an international, interdisciplinary collaboration on island climate resilience, SUNRISE will address these issues. By applying their complimentary skills and expertise in a diverse set of island contexts (Scotish Isles, Mauritius, Fiji), the research team will develop new approaches that bridge the gaps around how islandness is accounted for in climate impacts research. SUNRISE will pilot new approaches through a series of focus groups and household surveys centred on perceptions of climate change impacts, informed by place-based, culturally-grounded usage of climate and environmental data. In doing so, SUNRISE will seek to situate varied, individual examples of place-based climate impacts and resilient practice within the wider context of small island experiences.