出版社：Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island
摘要：As climate change accelerates, it brings with it numerous challenges to society and
the natural world. Concepts such as vulnerability have emerged as a way of trying to understand
people’s risk, despite there being a range of variables that can influence vulnerability and
its temporal and spatial dimensions. Drawing from the well-known conceptualisation
of vulnerability as a function of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, this paper
seeks to understand what variables are influencing and shaping vulnerability in Laamu
Atoll, the Maldives, and produce a base of knowledge for future vulnerability reduction
initiatives. Household questionnaires (n=412) were used on Laamu Atoll to ascertain locals’
perceptions of vulnerability based on livelihood resources, financial security, and
climate-change experiences. Results show that peripherality, as a notion that describes the
disparities between ‘core’ and ‘peripheral’ islands, is a key factor shaping vulnerability
variables on Laamu Atoll. This has prompted an overarching recommendation for
peripherality to be considered as a key dimension of vulnerability to climate change and an
important consideration for existing and future human development and climate change
policy and practice in Small Island Developing States.
关键词：climate change; Maldives; peripherality; sea level rise; small islands; vulnerability
