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Research paper: SIDS key to global solutions for climate change and other challenges

Malé, Maldives

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are key to the quest for solutions to global challenges like climate change, Assela Pathirana, IHE Delft Associate Professor of in Water Infrastructure Asset Management, argues in a new research paper. Local solutions used and tested on small islands can inspire climate adaptation solutions in larger settings elsewhere in the world.

In an interview, Pathirana, involved in IHE Delft’s work with SIDS,  highlighted what water management lessons the world can learn from small island communities on the Maldives and other islands. 

How can the world benefit from SIDS?

“SIDS are often thought of as entities that deserve help, particularly as they suffer the effects of climate change, which is true. But there is another angle to working with the islands:  It involves doing research in these small human settlements. You can learn a lot that you can apply elsewhere in the world. I have not seen a single problem that is in a small island developing state that is not applicable to the rest of the world. What you see is a very concentrated, very visual demonstration of that problem. Because the size is small, the environmental pressures are high. You see a very concentrated picture, but that does not say that those problems are not present elsewhere. This makes islands ideal ’living laboratories’ for all of humanity to learn from.” 

"The islands make ideal ’living laboratories’ for all of humanity to learn from.”
Assela Pathirana

“Historically, islands have inspired ground-breaking ideas, such as Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and Margaret Mead’s ethnographic studies. Similarly, by addressing modern challenges like climate change adaptation and economic crises on islands, the global community can learn lessons that are applicable worldwide. When it comes to modern-day challenges like climate adaptation, you can learn a lot of valuable lessons by observing islands."

"When it comes to modern-day challenges like climate adaptation, you can learn a lot of valuable lessons by observing islands."
Assela Pathirana

Why can’t the islands use solutions from elsewhere?

“Small island communities often face resource limitations that make it challenging to sustain complex systems. For example, a power outage led to a 50-hour disruption of water supplies on Mulah Island in the Maldives because the water distribution system relied on electricity. A design like this is unsuitable for island settings. Better solutions include water towers that ensure a buffer of at least one day's water supply even during power outages. National governments and international organizations need to find better solutions by understanding the reality on the ground.

Another example is Dharavandhoo Island, where I was creating a state-of-the-art desalination-based water supply system. When I visited the island, I discovered an abandoned desalination plant that had been donated after the 2006 tsunami disaster. The plant was dilapidated, with equipment rusting away. The community, with a small population, lacked the capacity to maintain such a complex system. New systems must take the local context into account. 

Many small islands don’t have access to resources beyond those available on the island. With populations of 500-5,000 people, islands often can’t afford the engineers and technicians needed to run this kind of system. You have to really be acutely aware of this reality you are dealing with when you design solutions. 

State-of-the-art water testing labs often remain unused in Maldivian outer islands due to lack of training and turnover of skilled personnel. This mismatch between infrastructure and local realities wastes resources. While this issue is universal, it is more apparent in islands due to their smaller scale. The solutions needed at the islands have to use less resources by necessity, which means that they can benefit other contexts, particularly where resources are scarce.

The first principle of infrastructure asset management is to look at the whole life cycle of a solution. This means taking into account maintenance, capacity to operate successfully, return on investment, and whether equipment is fit-for-purpose. In larger contexts, the impact is not so visual, small islands demonstrate of the importance of life-cycle considerations when planning infrastructure services.”

Why are SIDS communities vulnerable?

“The geographic, economic and societal structures make small islands vulnerable. For example, residents on Maldivian islands live in densely populated settlements, creating urban problems without the benefits of scale that cities bring, such as affordable housing, adequate waste management and infrastructure. 

Tourism is a double-edged sword: it generates significant income, but overdependence on this single industry leaves economies sensitive to global crises like pandemics, wars or economic downturns. Tourism also displaces traditional livelihoods and makes housing unaffordable for even middle-income earners. This increases the dependency on tourism as islanders need the sector’s higher salaries to make a living.

Renting a single room apartment in the Maldivian capital Male, for example, can cost more than the salary of an average government employee. Many resort to working extra jobs to make ends meet. While the GDP of the country has grown, the quality of life has declined. After SIDS countries lobbied for more realistic measures to achieve the SDGs, the UN adopted the concept of the Multi-Dimensional-Vulnerability Index (MVI). Initially devised for SIDS only, the MVI is currently being used as a global concept. This is another example of a useful contribution of SIDS to the world” 

"It’s about working jointly with islanders, making scientific observations and working with them to find solutions – while learning lessons that can be applied elsewhere in the world.”
Assela Pathirana

Considering their unique contexts, how can SIDS help the world?

“These problems happen all over the world, but it's not easy to see them in megacities, big countries or vast rural areas. On islands they are easily visible. That’s why the islands can be ’living laboratories’- this isn’t about using islanders as guinea pigs; it’s about working jointly with islanders, making scientific observations and working with them to find solutions – while learning lessons that can be applied elsewhere in the world."

Assela Pathirana

Associate Professor in Water Infrastructure Asset Management

Assela Pathirana