Small Island Risks: Research Reflections for Disaster Anthropologists and Climate Ethnographers

Disasters and climate-related events, including tropical storms, droughts, coastal erosion, and ocean acidification, threaten small island nations. Given the urgency of reducing disaster risks and the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, this reflection essay pursues three objectives...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social Sciences
Main Author: Crystal A. Felima
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024
Subjects:
H
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070348
https://doaj.org/article/4a6423eb59e64144b311c20e2e495d0d
Description
Summary:Disasters and climate-related events, including tropical storms, droughts, coastal erosion, and ocean acidification, threaten small island nations. Given the urgency of reducing disaster risks and the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, this reflection essay pursues three objectives. First, it highlights the role of anthropology, ethnography, and multi-sited research in exploring disaster impacts, climate crises, and public policy in island communities. It then highlights national planning and inter-regional activities to build awareness of various risk reduction efforts by island nations and multi-governmental organizations. This article concludes with discussion prompts to engage researchers, scholars, students, and practitioners studying and working in small island nations. Due to the growing interest in climate equity and justice, this paper argues that anthropologists can offer valuable methodologies and approaches to develop transdisciplinary and nuanced insights into researching disaster risk reduction efforts and climate policy networks in and across island nations.