Special Issue on Climate Adaptation in Atoll Countries

Abstract

Atoll nations are among the places most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. With mean elevations of only a few meters above sea level, countries such as the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and the Maldives face property loss and the prospect of losing the land on which their sovereignty, culture, and communities rest. This special issue, “Climate Adaptation in Atoll Countries,” examines an increasingly discussed response to this threat: the development of artificial islands as a means of allowing populations to remain within their ancestral territories. The eight contributions, authored by researchers from Japan and the Pacific, are organized to progress from a broad overview of country-specific evidence to examinations of migration as an alternative path.

This collection opens with a country-by-country review by Nakayama et al. that situates artificial island development within the broader adaptation literature and compares how individual atoll states have approached this option. Matsumoto et al. then provide a comparative analysis of perceptions of the “Right to Stay” in Kiribati and the Marshall Islands. Meanwhile, Naganuma et al. probe the diversity of views regarding this, using a multi-group analysis to show how climate risk perception and rights-based protection differ across communities in the two countries.

The focus then narrows to individual countries. Uakeia and Nakayama report how university students in Kiribati regard artificial island construction as a strategy for securing their Right to Stay. Attention then shifts to the Marshall Islands with a survey report by Sasaki and Fujikura on public perceptions of artificial island development in Majuro and its implications for adaptation planning. Seru et al. extend this by comparing the views of Majuro’s general population with those of students at the College of the Marshall Islands.

The final two papers shift the focus from staying to moving. Drawing on evidence from Hulhumalé in the Maldives, Sakamoto et al. assess how urban and economic foundations shape the post-migration life satisfaction of voluntary migrants. Further, a companion study examines how the manner in which migration decisions are made shapes the satisfaction of older adult migrants in particular.

Taken together, these studies show that artificial islands are far more than engineering projects. Their viability depends on whether they preserve identity, social ties, and self-determination alongside physical safety, and the comparative findings caution against any single transferable model. We hope that this collection offers researchers, policymakers, and practitioners a firmer empirical basis for designing adaptation strategies that protect not only the land but also the dignity and continuity of the people who inhabit it. We are grateful to all the contributors and reviewers who made this issue possible.