Physical components

The adaptive capacity of island systems is affected by the physical characteristics of their terrain and climate, in particular their limited space, geological character and relief (Nunn Reference Nunn1994, Forbes et al. Reference Forbes, James, Sutherland and Nichols2013, Hills et al. Reference Hills, Carruthers, Chape and Donohoe2013, Weigelt et al. Reference Weigelt, Jetz and Kreft2013). Many oceanic islands arise from geodynamic processes of mantle convection and plate tectonics. In view of sea-level rise and other climate change trends such as increased storm intensity, land elevation is a critical variable. Together with soil type and island size, elevation determines the relative importance of terrestrial ecosystems in social–ecological interactions (e.g., forested watersheds or agriculture). Oceanic islands can be classified into four physical categories (volcanic, near-atolls and atolls, continental fragments and high-carbonate islands including raised atolls) with distinctive sets of natural hazards and adaptation challenges (Forbes et al. Reference Forbes, James, Sutherland and Nichols2013). On continental shelves, shoal islands (which may have associated reefs) develop by convergence of sediment transport, patch reef growth or the emergence or drowning of relief with changing sea level. High-volcanic and continental fragment islands are particularly susceptible to changes in rainfall intensity, with implications for flooding, landslides and reef degradation. Atolls, lacking any high relief, are particularly limited in freshwater resources and notably vulnerable to rising sea levels and storm overtopping. These differing geophysical conditions generate different sets of coastal forcing (environmental drivers of change and hazards) and are associated with specific vulnerabilities and adaptation needs. The characteristics and dynamics of the surrounding oceans affect species dispersal patterns and resource availability (Knittweis et al. Reference Knittweis, Kraemer, Timm and Kochzius2009) and thus the adaptation needs and capacities of islanders.

Ecological components

Ecological characteristics such as biodiversity and the status of key ecological components and species vary among islands. Island social–ecological dynamics are affected by the size and character of their marine, coastal and terrestrial ecosystems. On smaller shoal or atoll islands, the terrestrial elements may be small or absent and have low biodiversity. Instead, the existence, size and ecological characteristics of a lagoon are critical for atolls and their SESs. Where island terrestrial ecosystems are degraded by deforestation or extreme events (e.g., cyclones), implications arise for freshwater availability, coastal sedimentation rates and the state of marine ecosystems, with repercussions for human well-being. Coral reefs not only serve as major coastal protection structures, but also contribute sediment to atoll islands (Perry et al. Reference Perry, Kench, Smithers, Riegl, Yamano and O'Leary2011, Forbes et al. Reference Forbes, James, Sutherland and Nichols2013). The health and stability of reef systems can be affected by poor land-use practices, pollution or overexploitation of various kinds. In addition, climate change or changes in regional ocean dynamics can raise sea surface temperatures and cause widespread bleaching of corals (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. Reference Hoegh-Guldberg, Mumby, Hooten, Steneck, Greenfield, Gomez and Harvell2007). Ocean acidification and invasive species are further threats to the health of marine and reef ecosystems.

Economic components

Small-island economies often rely on only one or two sectors, such as fisheries, tourism or finance (Philpot et al. Reference Philpot, Gray and Stead2015). While such a lack of economic diversity can increase vulnerability, some SISs have developed adaptation options (Briguglio et al. Reference Briguglio, Cordina, Farrugia and Vella2009) that can be lacking in SILSs, although this is not always the case (e.g., Baldacchino & Milne Reference Baldacchino and Milne2006). Adaptation to economic shock has different implications for different social groups, and inequalities may result.

Communication and transport are crucial for island economies and are typically more costly than in mainland locations (Newell et al. Reference Newell, Nuttall, Prasad and Veitayaki2017). In addition, islands can be physically isolated from essential off-island sources of food and water by a combination of poor transport technology and weather conditions. On the remote islet of Lanyukan off South Sulawesi (Indonesia), inhabitants still run out of food and freshwater when there are continuous medium–heavy seas for more than two weeks.

Small islands tend to be fossil fuel poor but are particularly dependent on energy for communication, transport and other priorities such as freshwater production. Island energy initiatives have become pioneers in context-specific green solutions (Shetye et al. Reference Shetye, Gouveia and Pathak1990), sometimes related to a range of traditional and innovative buffering and adaptation strategies that can inform wider sustainability pathways. The solar-powered desalination implemented through local initiative on Bequia (St Vincent and the Grenadines) is an excellent example (Lane et al. Reference Lane, Mercer Clarke, Forbes and Watson2013).

Island clusters can enable the development of travel and trade links and, more recently, of human migration from islands with fewer economic opportunities to those that are centres of government and commerce (Jones Reference Jones1996, King & Connell Reference King and Connell1999). Migration can cause pressures on land, resources and infrastructure, creating challenges to sustainable development (White et al. Reference White, Falkland, Metutera, Mourongo, Abete-Reema, Overmars and Perez2008). Out-migration may occur for economic, political or environmental reasons (Kelman Reference Kelman2015). On some islands, such as Grenada in the Caribbean or Niue in the South Pacific, the out-migration has caused a drop in total population (Pool Reference Pool1989, Connell Reference Connell2008). Nevertheless, many islands are confronting increased urbanization and intensified land use, thus encountering resource limitation (e.g., for freshwater; Schwerdtner Mánez et al. Reference Schwerdtner Mánez, Husain, Ferse and Mánez Costa2012) or leading to waste quantities surpassing local disposal capacity (Solomon & Forbes Reference Solomon and Forbes1999).

The economic dependence of islanders on local ecosystem services can thus affect adaptation options. Access to subsistence food supply supports local social resilience (Adger et al. Reference Adger, Carpenter, Folke, Hughes and Rockström2005) because it can maintain islanders’ food security under adverse economic conditions (Christensen Reference Christensen2011). Economic dependence on nature could in this way mobilize ecosystem users to engage in environmental governance and management (Ostrom Reference Ostrom2009). The degradation, pollution and overuse of natural resources, however, also expose ecosystem-dependent islanders to food safety and security risks (e.g., Seribu Islands in Jakarta Bay; Baum et al. Reference Baum, Kusumanti, Breckwoldt, Ferse, Glaser and Dwiyitno2016).

Social components

Demographic structures influence adaptive capacity (Huigen et al. Reference Huigen, Overmars and de Groot2006, Cinner et al. Reference Cinner, Adger, Allison, Barnes, Brown, Cohen and Gelcich2018), and, in conjunction with other factors, population size and density can generate pressures on limited resources (Hummel Reference Hummel2008, Kronen et al. Reference Kronen, Vunisea, Magron and McArdle2010, Philpot et al. Reference Philpot, Gray and Stead2015). Population can also be a source of strength in human and social capital (Boserup Reference Boserup1984, Connell Reference Connell2013), particularly in culturally rich and diverse contexts (Berkes Reference Berkes2009). How long a human population has resided on an island influences social structures and islanders’ local ecological knowledge (Chertow et al. Reference Chertow, Fugate, Ashton, Singh, Haberl, Chertow, Mirtl and Schmid2013). Human populations with sea-based cultures have lived on Pacific islands for at least 3000 years (Nunn Reference Nunn2009). Caribbean islands in turn retain hardly any pre-colonial populations today, and some smaller Indonesian islands have only recently been settled by culturally diverse migrants (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Krause, Halliday, Glaeser, Glaser, Krause, Ratter and Welp2012b). The strength and characteristics of social hierarchies and networks affect governance and management (Turner et al. Reference Turner, Forster, Fitzsimmons, Gill, Mahon, Peterson and Stead2017). Island social structures range between strongly hierarchical, multi-stranded, patron–client relations in highly asymmetrical power contexts (e.g., in Indonesia; Meereboer Reference Meereboer, Robinson and Paeni1998, Pelras Reference Pelras2000) and polycentric societies with small power differentials between leaders and others (e.g., in Melanesia; Lauer Reference Lauer2016).

Island cultures may be land or sea based, or a mixture of both (Glaeser & Glaser Reference Glaeser and Glaser2010), which affects islanders’ perceptions of and behaviour towards the sea (Philpot et al. Reference Philpot, Gray and Stead2015). Marine-based cultures in the South Pacific, for instance, consider the waters surrounding their islands as part of their home territories (Johannes Reference Johannes2002, Lowe Reference Lowe2006) and perceive their region as ‘an ocean of islands’ (Hau'ofa Reference Hau'ofa1994, McMillen et al. Reference McMillen, Ticktin, Friedlander, Jupiter, Thaman, Campbell and Veitayaki2014) and their countries as ‘large ocean island states’ (Cook Islands’ Prime Minister Henry Puna in 2012). In addition, these populations often possess, or lay claim to, marine territorial rights (e.g., Aswani et al. Reference Aswani, Albert, Sabetian and Furusawa2007).

This links to the concept of the ‘we-group’ (Firth Reference Firth1936), where cultural/affective and economic links with the sea generate social identities characterized by mutual trust and a strong sense of island-specific marine territory (e.g., Abecasis et al. Reference Abecasis, Schmidt, Longnecker and Clifton2013). Social, ethnic and political divisions in some islands undermine this, but numerous small islands possess as-yet underexploited potential for self-organized collective action (Pratt & Govan Reference Pratt and Govan2010). That this may reach well beyond the level of the individual island's marine territory is demonstrated, for example, by the network of island-based locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) in the Pacific (Govan Reference Govan2009) and by emerging regional governance in the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Baitoningsih, Ferse, Neil and Deswandi2010, Deswandi Reference Deswandi2012).

Levels of trust influence the feasibility and effectiveness of collaborative adaptation and transformation strategies. Where livelihoods depend on the marine environment, island identities may be closely associated with the sea (e.g., Novaczek et al. Reference Novaczek, Mitchell and Veitayaki2005). For example, in Madagascar and many Pacific islands, cultural taboos limit the use of coastal and marine resources with varying potentials for conservation and livelihood security (Cinner Reference Cinner2007, Foale et al. Reference Foale, Cohen, Januchowski-Hartley, Wenger and Macintyre2010). Many islands depend on artisanal fisheries where local ecological knowledge and social bonds affect marine use practices (Ruddle Reference Ruddle, Dyer and McGoodwin1994, Johannes Reference Johannes1981, Reference Johannes2002, Aswani & Lauer Reference Aswani and Lauer2014, Philpot et al. Reference Philpot, Gray and Stead2015).

Human capital in island societies often rests on traditions (Diegues Reference Diegues2008) and grows through training, education and experience (Crook et al. Reference Crook, Todd, Combs, Woehr and Ketchen2011, Thaman Reference Thaman2013). Physical isolation can reduce islanders’ formal education, but may support ecocultures (Pretty Reference Pretty2011) that rely on the deep ecological knowledge arising from long-term dependence on nature. Islanders’ ecological knowledge, both traditional and newly emergent, relates to fisheries, fishing grounds and the wider marine environment (Forster et al. Reference Forster, Turner, Fitzsimmons, Peterson, Mahon and Stead2017). In conjunction with social energy (the self-organization potential) for protecting one's ‘own territory’ (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Baitoningsih, Ferse, Neil and Deswandi2010), this can be an asset for ocean management (Johannes Reference Johannes1981, Cordell Reference Cordell1995, Aswani & Hamilton Reference Aswani and Hamilton2004).

Social capital and social energy for locally appropriate adaptation and transformation can be generated by strong people–place connections, supportive values and beliefs, diverse forms of knowledge, skills and learning, dense and active social networks, governance with collaborative institutions and engaged leadership and a positive outlook that includes readiness to accept change (Berkes & Ross Reference Berkes and Ross2013).

Governance components

Understanding what type of governance would be effective at making an impact on human behavioural change is important for sustaining marine resources, especially in small islands where errors in decision-making can have faster and more significant unintended consequences (e.g., increased rule-breaking; Peterson & Stead Reference Peterson and Stead2011). Governance is the framework of formal and informal institutions that includes government, market and civil society influences on the system to be governed (Kooiman et al. Reference Kooiman, Bavinck, Chuenpagdee, Mahon and Pullin2008, Olsen et al. Reference Olsen, Page and Ochoa2009). It affects an island's access to resources, support and funding. Features such as social cohesion, local decision-making rights and social and governance flexibility (Adger et al. Reference Adger, Carpenter, Folke, Hughes and Rockström2005) affect small islands’ adaptive and transformative capacities (Philpot et al. Reference Philpot, Gray and Stead2015).

Governance structures vary with types and relative strengths of commercial sectors, civil society and public interests (Turner et al. Reference Turner, Forster, Fitzsimmons, Gill, Mahon, Peterson and Stead2017). Different forms and combinations of centralized, federal or polycentric government exist, with diverse options for informal governance (e.g., traditional leadership or community-based actions and self-regulation; Okeke-Ogbuafor et al. Reference Okeke-Ogbuafor, Gray and Stead2017). Especially for isolated islands, governance without government is common (i.e., political steering through societal and/or market forces without the exercise of formal political authority; Young Reference Young2013). This can be a strength (e.g., adaptability) or a weakness (e.g., low enforcement vis-à-vis powerful interests). Frameworks can help build effective participatory platforms, which can target governance mechanisms that will direct actions that are more likely to be supported by those impacted. Understanding governance processes for collaborative learning and adaptive management increases the adaptive capacities of islanders (Johnson et al. Reference Johnson, Dana, Jordan, Draeger, Kapuscinski, Schmitt Olabisi and Reich2012), especially when the socioeconomic characteristics are considered with environmental impacts (Stead Reference Stead2005), supporting goals of autonomy and fate control.

Physical factors

The Spermonde Archipelago extends over an area of about 2500 km² some 20–60 km offshore from South Sulawesi, with about 100 coral cays and numerous barrier and submerged patch reefs (Moll Reference Moll1983, Tomascik et al. Reference Tomascik, Mah, Nontji and Moosa1997). The Indonesian through-flow current (Gordon Reference Gordon2005) affects the genetic structuring of marine species and their connectivity with the wider Indo-Malay Archipelago (Knittweis et al. Reference Knittweis, Kraemer, Timm and Kochzius2009). Two main seasons with different wind patterns (rainy northwest monsoon and dry southeast monsoon) are locally said to have become less predictable, with more intense storms (Ferse et al. Reference Ferse, Glaser, Neil and Schwerdtner Máñez2014).

Ecological factors

Fishing affects fish community structures (Pet-Soede et al. Reference Pet-Soede, Van Densen, Pet and Machiels2001b); high trophic-level species (e.g., sharks and groupers) and some commercial species are becoming rare and corallivorous crown-of-thorns starfish more common. Four ecological zones parallel to the shores of the southern peninsula of Sulawesi differ in eutrophication levels, composition of benthic taxa, availability of commercial species, zooplankton composition and the status of most coral species (e.g., Cornils et al. Reference Cornils, Schulz, Schmitt, Lanuru, Richter and Schnack-Schiel2010, Plass-Johnson et al. Reference Plass-Johnson, Taylor, Husain, Teichberg and Ferse2016). Many reefs have been reduced to rubble by blast fishing and coral bleaching.

Economic factors

Fishing has been intensive since the 14th century (Erdmann Reference Erdmann1995) and remains the main income source for the great majority of islanders. Supported by trader-patrons, local fishers use over 20 fishing techniques, including illegal blast and cyanide fishing, targeting crustaceans, sea cucumbers and many fish species (as live reef fish or ornamentals; Pet-Soede et al. Reference Pet-Soede, Van Densen, Hiddink, Kuyl and Machiels2001a, Ferse et al. Reference Ferse, Knittweis, Krause, Maddusila and Glaser2012). The archipelago has one of the largest live coral fisheries in Indonesia (Raymakers Reference Raymakers2001). Local marine products have entered international markets as local fishermen link with foreign importers via a chain of intermediary patrons and export companies (Ferse et al. Reference Ferse, Knittweis, Krause, Maddusila and Glaser2012). While the spatial distribution of local fishing was explained by its small operational scale a decade ago (Pet-Soede et al. Reference Pet-Soede, Van Densen, Hiddink, Kuyl and Machiels2001a), Spermonde fishermen today seasonally follow fish to distant waters, while Spermonde fishing grounds are targeted by external fishers.

Social factors

The archipelago has about 45 000 residents across 54 islands. Population density is 750 per hectare and growing (Fig. 3). Islanders are mostly of Makassarese and Buginese ethnic origin or descend from the Bajao/Bajo (also known as Sama). Most fishers are part of a patron–client system. Patrons provide access to markets, fishing gear, licences and loans and prevent law enforcement agencies from prosecuting ‘their’ client fishers when these are caught using illegal fishing gear or catching protected species (Radjawali Reference Radjawali2011). Some island societies are dominated by an individual strong leader, others are divided by conflicts; some show an explicit conservation orientation, while others focus on both regulated and non-regulated natural resource extraction (Glaeser & Glaser Reference Glaeser and Glaser2010, Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Breckwoldt, Deswandi, Radjawali, Baitoningsih and Ferse2015). Despite a sophisticated formal structure to facilitate local participation in marine management, local knowledge about the government-initiated and community-based marine protected areas is low. Islanders see access to resources and influence in the programme as being open only to a minority (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Baitoningsih, Ferse, Neil and Deswandi2010). Adaptation strategies to deal with falling catches (e.g., loans from patrons, diversifying fishing methods and fishing migration within and beyond the archipelago) resolve issues only over the short term, at the individual level (Ferse et al. Reference Ferse, Glaser, Neil and Schwerdtner Máñez2014).

Figure 3.

The densely populated small island Pulau Badi, Spermonde Archipelago (4°58′S 119°17′E), 11 January 2014, imagery © 2017 DigitalGlobe, courtesy of Google Earth Pro.

Governance factors

Spermonde spans two administrative units that both extend beyond the archipelago: Makkassar Municipality and Pangkep Regency. Communication across administrative units is rare (Gorris Reference Gorris2015). The official approach to marine management of the archipelago is community based and participatory, aiming to instil conservation practices in the face of illegal and destructive fishing. Provincial and national legislation (e.g., on coastal management, protected areas and fisheries), an internationally funded marine management project and the trans-national regional Coral Conservation Initiative are important governance elements, which are locally perceived as ‘top-down’ (Baitoningsih Reference Baitoningsih2009). There is little enforcement of fishing and conservation regulations. Although residents lack marine governance and management traditions, self-organizing, bottom-up governance of marine territories also occurs. Informal and island-specific rules in use are developing for clearly delimited and sometimes adjoining marine territories (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Baitoningsih, Ferse, Neil and Deswandi2010, Deswandi Reference Deswandi2012). These territories are defended by residents of different islands as ‘theirs’. Emergent rules on their use rest on the informal, strong notion of a marine ‘island exclusion zone’ over which island residents have authority (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Baitoningsih, Ferse, Neil and Deswandi2010, Deswandi et al. Reference Deswandi, Glaser, Fersen, Hornidge and Antweiler2012). The informal rule is that, as soon as an island is inhabited, residents gain rule-making rights over the surrounding waters. This self-organized construction of local rights explicitly aims to protect islanders’ interests against outsiders extending their reach.

Social–ecological system adaptation and transformation dynamics: potential for action

The strong connections to regional and international markets for marine products promote the perception among Spermonde islanders that the sea will always provide something for them to sell. Driven by markets and patron–client relations, they are targeting a growing number of species, often with illegal techniques such as blast and poison fishing. At the same time, fishing seasons are becoming less predictable, with more frequent storms and more dangerous fishing conditions (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Breckwoldt, Deswandi, Radjawali, Baitoningsih and Ferse2015). The growing island populations also cause increased pollution and reduce per capita availability of land (Fig. 3) and, in conjunction with climate change, of freshwater (Schwerdtner Mánez et al. Reference Schwerdtner Mánez, Husain, Ferse and Mánez Costa2012). This can undermine residents’ well-being, reduce resilience and increase vulnerability.

Foci to support transformation towards greater sustainability (Fig. 2) include the following:

• • Patron–client relations enforce unsustainable marine resource use, providing great profits to a few. Alternative social security and market access options for fishers need to be explored.

• • Local claims on marine territories are strong, but few coastal actors interact across administrative units.

Although not all locally emergent rules in the Spermonde Archipelago are conservation orientated (Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Baitoningsih, Ferse, Neil and Deswandi2010, Deswandi Reference Deswandi2012), multiple instances of forceful local rule implementation, especially by islanders with productive local fishing grounds, indicate the potential for self-organizing and sustainability-enhancing marine management at a local community scale. Networking between central governance actors across larger areas composed of smaller units of locally self-organized marine governance offers a bottom-up pathway to marine governance at an ecologically relevant spatial scale (Deswandi Reference Deswandi2012). This requires an enabling umbrella framework to focus and link community efforts towards sustainably used marine areas (Ferse et al. Reference Ferse, Máñez Costa, Schwerdtner Máñez, Adhuri and Glaser2010, Glaser et al. Reference Glaser, Breckwoldt, Deswandi, Radjawali, Baitoningsih and Ferse2015).