Influence of Spiritual Beliefs on Autonomous Climate-Change Adaptation: A Case Study from Ono Island, Southern Fiji

Most climate-change adaptation in the Pacific Islands has been framed in secular terms yet applied in contexts where routine decision-making is spiritually informed. This may be a major reason why such externally-sponsored adaptation has met with very limited success to date. This highlights an opportunity for reframing adaptation in ways that are more acceptable to target communities. Using a case study of traditional communities on a remote island in southern Fiji, information was collected using focus groups and informal interviews about people’s attitudes towards climate change, its causes, effects and remedies. Particular attention is given to understanding the ways in which people’s spiritual beliefs, incorporating both Christian and pre-Christian understandings, influence their perceptions of climate risk and determine their preferred adaptive responses. Given that this study is likely to be representative of rural, faith-engaged, contexts across the Pacific Islands region, it is argued that the results are widely applicable and should inform a re-evaluation of international/donor approaches to enabling climate-change adaptation in this region.