Assessing adaptive capacity and adaptation: insights from Samoan tourism operators

Abstract

Many of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are known to be very vulnerable to climate change impacts. This is particularly so where national economies are highly dependent on tourism-related revenue. Yet, little is known of the adaptive capacities of tourism providers in SIDS and how they respond to climate variability and change. This research uses a case study of Samoa, a Pacific island nation, that is highly dependent on beach tourism and already vulnerable to a variety of natural hazards. The research examines the adaptive capacity of tourism operators in Samoa and the ways in which Fa‘asamoa (the Samoan way of life) is a fundamental part of how tourism operators plan for and respond to climate variability and extremes. The findings indicate that key components of adaptive capacity for Samoan tourism operators include their past experiences of extreme events, access to resources, social networks, and worldviews. In many cases, Samoan cultural values and socio-cultural governance systems play a critical role in how adaptation takes place. In the Samoan context, this means that an indigenous Samoan tourism operator is rarely one individual, but a part of a wider social network, which influences how a business can or cannot adapt to climate variability and change and hazards.

Keywords:

• adaptation
• small Islands
• Pacific
• adaptive capacity
• cultural values

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Samoan tourism operators and officials who have been involved in this project, and have allowed us to present aspects of their experiences and responses to environmental changes to a wider audience. Additional thanks are given to both staff and postgraduate students at the University of Auckland’s School of Environment who provided advice and support throughout this research project. The authors would also like to thank the reviewers and editors for their constructive feedback on this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Meg Parsons http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8721-659X

Johanna Nalau http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6581-3967

Karen Fisher http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1774-4431