Drivers of development resilience on small islands

There are over 100,000 small islands globally, hosting ~1% of the world’s population. Small islands, by their nature are small, with limited land area, a small workforce, limited means of earning foreign exchange, a narrow economy and limited domestic markets. They tend to be remote, isolated, natural-hazard prone, and are often low lying. While many research studies have been undertaken on island development, from both a social and physical perspective, there are no large scale studies which can consider the main drivers of development and resilience across all islands. For example, it is not clear why two islands that have pursued similar development trajectories experience dissimilar development outcomes. Is it due to physical characteristics of the islands, e.g. island topography; hazard exposure; or frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events? Is it due to political characteristics e.g. democracy/participation in decision making; openness; pluralism of institutions; colonial legacy, or decentralisation? Or is it due to social-economic characteristics e.g. distribution of human, physical, social, and natural capitals? We propose to look at data over the past century, contrasting for example the Pacific and Caribbean, to consider the relative importance of different physical, social, economic, climatic and environmental factors in shaping the development of small islands. We ask: why have some islands thrived economically and others have failed to thrive? Are there specific factors that when clustered together can propel some states to rapid and sustained development, or that constrain others’ progress? We aim to use a data-driven approach to identify enablers of and barriers to development in a data poor context. The methods developed could potentially help answer development questions in other parts of the world where data have been scant for many decades due to war, poverty or other factors, thus whilst focussed on small islands, the generic outcomes will have wider value.

The ECaS research group focusses on climate change impacts and adaptation, sustainability science, and global environmental monitoring including innovative use of Earth observation data, including Earth system science. We have a world-leading reputation for research on climate change impacts and adaptation strategies, with lead authorships in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment report.

Candidates must have or expect to gain a first or strong upper second class degree, in an appropriate discipline, not necessarily Geography. For the latest information on postgraduate opportunities see www.southampton.ac.uk/geography/postgraduate/research_degrees/studentships.page?

The PhD project will commence September 2019.