The significance of contextual vulnerability in effective adaptation to climate change on Tuvalu

Abstract

There is wide recognition of the urgent need for climate change adaptation in developing countries. Tuvalu is a Least Developed Country, and a low-lying small island state and climate change adaptation has been at the center of its national interest for several years. This has resulted in a number of national plans, reports and funding schemes. Soil pollution, rapid urbanization and water table salinization caused by sea-level rise makes the population on Tuvalu solely reliant on rainwater catchment and storage for domestic water use. Moreover, current variability in rainfall patterns makes access to freshwater one of the most critical issues for Tuvalu, as highlighted by the historically long drought in 2011. According to most recent rainfall precipitation projections in the Pacific over the next decades, the current household water stress situation is expected to be further exacerbated in the face of climate change. Data from a governmental household survey (2006) on rainwater catchment and storage facilities on Funafuti, in addition to a thorough analysis of funding schemes for water catchment between 2006 and 2010, is used to analyze the inventories of private and public rainwater catchment and storage equipment available in Funafuti in 2006 and in 2010. Moreover, a survey was conducted in one of the informal settlements to map freshwater access in some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities on the island. Despite a high volume of investment and a number of larger projects in water catchment and storage equipment on Tuvalu since the 1980s, the analysis of the surveys and funding schemes, combined with historical meteorological data, show that up to 70 % of inhabitants still lack access to adequate catchment and storage capacity to face historically long dry spells. This paper shows that: (1) On Funafuti, the lack of socioeconomic contextualization of projects has led to an inequitable allocation of equipment. Inequitable allocation is constraining effective climate change adaptation, especially for the poorest populations, and (2) Pre-existing and contextual vulnerabilities should be taken into account in national and international planning as well as in the design and execution of projects to ensure that adaptation to climate change will be effective. In a context of an increasing need for climate change adaptation, especially in Small Island Developing States and other developing countries, this study highlights the current barriers to effective adaptation for the 5,000 inhabitants of Funafuti. It thus contributes to the wider debate of how international organizations, national governments and development planners can ensure equitable climate change adaptation on a global scale.