OF GEO L G A R N A Climate change on three Polynesian outliers in R P U H O Y J 2 0 H the Solomon Islands: Impacts, vulnerability and 0 S I 9 N A D adaptation Kjeld Rasmussen, Wilhelm May, Thomas Birk, Melchior Mataki, Ole Mertz & Douglas Yee Abstract Past and current impacts of climate change on three small islands, Kjeld Rasmussen (Corresponding author) Ontong Java, Bellona and Tikopia, in the Solomon Islands are Thomas Birk studied on the basis of a survey of production systems, household Ole Mertz questionnaires and key informant and group interviews. Perceptions Department of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen, of the local population are compared to regional observations on Denmark climate variability and change. The adaptive measures taken in the E-mail:
[email protected] past are identified. It is concluded that the capacity to cope with and adapt to climate variability and extreme weather events is well devel- Wilhelm May oped, and the social resilience of island communities appears to be Danish Climate Centre, Danish Meteorological Institute, Copen- high. It is further shown that the differences between islands are large hagen, Denmark with regard to the types of climate change observed, the exposure of the islands to the changes and the perceptions of the severity. The Melchior Mataki differences are due to location, bio-physical and terrain conditions Pacific Centre for Environment & Sustainable Development, The and socio-economic factors, including the level of integration into University of the South Pacific, Fiji a greater economic and demographic context, the importance of different productive activities and the social organization.