The adaptable community resilience assessment framework for small islands and coastal communities (SICC): A scoping review

Abstract

Being geographically isolated, physically exposed, under resource constraints, and lacking sovereignty makes small island communities more vulnerable to climate change and disasters than mainland regions. Regrettably, there is a lack of research on what could be the responsive model or framework to assess risk and resilience in small island and coastal communities (SICC). Using a scoping review strategy, this article examined thirty-five peer-reviewed articles published during 2000–2024 to identify gaps in the existing frameworks for assessing resilience. Established practice indicates that, First, most assessment frameworks are continentally biased as they are developed to identify risk inland on the mainland. Second, coastal vulnerability assessment tools are often tweaked and used by SICC specialists to examine small islands' risk and resilience. Third, various dimensions, variables, and indicators can be used to analyse the small island community's resilience, which can be adjusted to the physical, socio-economic, institutions and governance as well as environmental characteristics of each island. The overall findings suggest that the development of community resilience assessment tools is useful for understanding and reducing risk, vulnerability, and ensuring sustainable development for coastal and small island communities. Moreover, SICC resilience assessment research requires consideration of non-traditional variables, including new type of climate risks, community's agency, social capital, island sovereignty, and stakeholders' participation to ensure continuity and consistency in building small islands' resilience. Further enhancements are required to account for spatial and temporal dynamics when constructing the resilience of small island communities.