Understanding Climate Change in Developing Island Countries: The Case of Palau

May 19, 2015

It is reported that developing countries are the ones that suffer the most from the adverse impact of climate change (Sperling, 2002).  Among these countries, developing island countries are probably the most vulnerable to climate change risks.  Surrounded by ocean, these islands have complex terrestrial and marine ecosystems, as well as highly tremendous biodiversity, and are thus of inestimable value to the world (Climate Change and Pacific Islands, 2012).  However, these islands are also extremely sensitive to variations in weather and climate.  Any change of climate could be detrimental to not only the local habitats and species, but also to the residents of the island, causing coastal flooding and erosion, coral bleaching, and endangering the marine system, food supplies and open water fisheries.  More importantly, climate change also hurts island cultures as a whole.  As the report points out, climate change threatens the “the traditional lifestyle of indigenous communities” by damaging the land base that supports island cultures, and may deteriorate the islanders’ “connections with a defined place and their unique set of customs, beliefs, and languages” (Climate Change and Pacific Island, 2012, p. 4). 

Therefore, it is crucial for nonprofit and non-governmental organizations to understand how climate change is impacting island cultures, and challenging indigenous social structures in order to better communicate with their audiences, and to help minimize the adverse influences of climate change. This study chooses Palau, a country comprised of 250 small islands located east of the Philippines, as the case. This study will focus on the public perception of climate change in Palau, and seek answers to questions of how climate change is perceived by Palauans, how do they think climate change is impacting the indigenous culture and social structure, as well as their responses and adaptations to climate change.  The study will also focus on the question of what have been done by NGOs and NPOs to mitigate these adverse impacts, and what, in the mind of Palauan, NGOs and NPOs may do to help them to minimize the damaging effects brought by climate change, to cope with the cultural and social challenges, and to preserve and protect local conventions and traditions.  This study will not only identify how Palauans’ perceptions of risk and vulnerability interact with their comparatively recent understanding of climate change, and how climate change is influencing the long-established human-environment interaction patterns in Palau, but also provide valuable information for NGOs and NPOs to understand how a global problem becomes a local issue that affects indigenous cultures and traditional lifestyles on a developing island.

To answer these research questions, the researcher will initiate a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews.  The interviews will be conducted with local islanders in Palau and local researchers in environmental and marine sciences, agriculture, public health, and Palauan Studies.  The study will also interview staff that works for NGOs and NPOs dedicated to climate change issues in Palau, as well as related policy-makers. For data triangulation, the researcher will examine local newspapers’ coverage of climate change.  Related documents and reports released by the government, NGOs and NPOs will also be researched, and referenced to data collected by in-depth interviews.

The study will be of great significance because it will explain how climate change is understood by those who are most vulnerable to climate change risks. It will reveal how climate change is localized, and affects indigenous culture and social structures, as well as conventional human-environment interactions in a developing island country. Findings of this study will be essential to organizations dedicated to climate adaptation and risk reduction; they can help them to understand their core publics in developing countries, and learn the needs of the local residents with understanding of local culture and traditions. With such knowledge, the government, NGOs and NPOs may initiate better climate adaptation and climate risk reduction strategies to meet the needs of the indigenous people, and better prepare for potential public reactions, and exercise better strategic communication practices.

Reference

Climate change and Pacific islands: indications and impacts. Executive summary of the 2012. (2012). Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments.

Sperling, F. (Ed.). (2002). Poverty and climate change - reducing the vulnerability of the poor through adaptation. Presented at the Eighth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, New Delhi. 2002

** Anli Xiao is a doctoral student in the College of Communications at Penn State University.  Her research project is supported by the Page Center.