Risky places: climate change discourse and the transformation of place on Moch (Federated States of Micronesia)

Pam, Christine, and Henry, Rosita (2012) Risky places: climate change discourse and the transformation of place on Moch (Federated States of Micronesia). Shima, 6 (1). 8. pp. 30-47.

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Abstract

Scientific predictions of climate change that place small islands 'at risk' from sea-level rise and an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events are well accepted by Small Island States. This paper discusses responses to climate change discourse on Moch Island, a coral atoll in the Mortlock Islands of Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia. We examine climate change discourse in terms of how it contributes to the constitution of 'risky environments', and focus on how the concept of 'risk' contributes to the way that people currently engage with and understand their island places. Whilst a past history of human resourcefulness in response to social and environmental change in the Pacific is well documented in the literature, the contemporary discourse of climate change introduces a notion of risk that stifles people's agency and trust in the effectiveness of their own knowledge and practices.

Item ID: 21815
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1834-6057
Keywords: Micronesia, climate change, risk and uncertainty, local knowledge
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Funders: School of Arts and Social Sciences, JCU
Date Deposited: 14 May 2012 05:55
FoR Codes: 16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1601 Anthropology > 160104 Social and Cultural Anthropology @ 100%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9603 Climate and Climate Change > 960309 Effects of Climate Change and Variability on the South Pacific (excl. Australia and New Zealand) (excl. Social Impacts) @ 40%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9603 Climate and Climate Change > 960311 Social Impacts of Climate Change and Variability @ 30%
95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9599 Other Cultural Understanding > 959999 Cultural Understanding not elsewhere classified @ 30%
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