My Climate Risk Interdisciplinary Learning Group

13 January 2025; 13:00-14:00 GMT

Presenter: Alex Arnall

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Biography

Alex Arnall is a Human Geographer studying the relationship between society and environmental change, mainly in relation to coastal management, erosion and flooding. There are presently three central themes to my work:1) how sea level rise is understood and being acted upon by governments and affected coastal communities; 2) the social dimensions of managed retreat as a flood management and coastal rewilding strategy; 3) Natural Flood Management (NFM) in inland and coastal settings, especially with regard to local community involvement and action. To date, my research has looked at these issues and interventions in three main countries: Mozambique, the Maldives and the UK. He has a DPhil in Geography from the University of Oxford on development processes in flood-affected resettlement communities. Prior to joining the University of Reading, I worked as a Consultant for the international firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM) and then as a Research Officer at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).
picture of Vandana Singh

Paper to be presented

Title: Wishful sinking: Disappearing islands, climate refugees and cosmopolitan experimentation

Author: Carol Farbotko

 Jan 25 talk _Asia Pacific Viewpoint – 2010 – Farbotko – Wishful sinking Disappearing islands climate refugees and cosmopolitan

Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 51, No. 1, April 2010 
ISSN 1360-7456, pp47–60

     

Session Highlights

Dr Alex Arnall, a Human Geographer and associate Professor at the University of Reading, inaugurated our MCRILG talks for 2025 by discussing Carol Farbotko’s 2010 paper “Wishful Sinking: Disappearing Islands, Climate Refugees, and Cosmopolitan Experimentation”

Key points from the paper :

  • Critical examination of the way in which Western narratives use ‘disappearing’ islands like Tuvalu as evidence of the global climate crisis, burdening these islands with the responsibility of demonstrating the urgency of climate change.
  • The role of disappearing islands and climate refugees in public discourse and their impact on the cultural politics of climate change. Tuvalu has become a significant symbol in climate change debates, often dramatized by the media- eg foreign journalists and environmentalists capturing images of flooding and potential evacuation. This representation has led to a narrative of Tuvalu as a climate change “canary in the coalmine” highlighting the uneven impacts of climate change.
  • Western narratives often depict Tuvalu as small, isolated, and impoverished, reinforcing notions of its vulnerability and dependence. The paper draws on Epeli Hau’ofa’s critique of Western development discourse, which belittles Pacific islands as inherently small and economically weak. Hau’ofa urges a rethinking of small islands as connected spaces rather than isolated ones.
  • The concept of islands as natural laboratories, with Tuvalu being used to study climate change impacts. This concept has been used historically to justify Western scientific and academic pursuits, often at the expense of the islanders’ cultural identity and agency.
  • The notion of “wishful sinking,” where some environmentalist narratives appear to want islands like Tuvalu to disappear to serve as a wake-up call for global climate action. This perspective reduces Tuvalu to a mere symbol of climate change, ignoring the significance of the islands and their inhabitants.

Dr Arnall moved to his own research with  coastal communities in the Maldives and in N Wales. His Maldives work highlighted  the impact of tourism on coastal erosion and the tension between the type of adaptation favoured by local communities -notably sea walls-and the approach to adaptation favoured by international donors and government, which currently favour nature based solutions. The issue of local consultation was picked up in the subsequent discussion.

In N Wales Dr Arnall  referenced his research in Fairbourne which explores the concept of “sea level rise imaginaries” (SLRI) and how they shape the understanding and response to rising sea levels in Fairbourne, North Wales. It highlights the dominant, future-oriented discourse on sea level rise and its present-day impacts, while also addressing the resistance and alternative perspectives from local residents. The study emphasizes the need for better dialogue between these contested views to effectively address climate change and envision hopeful futures for coastal communities.

Dr Arnall shared the following questions:

  • Ethical representation: How can researchers avoid reductive or paternalistic portrayals of affected communities?
  • Local agency: How can research centre the voices and sovereignty of those most impacted by climate change?
  • Power dynamics: What are the implications of framing vulnerable regions as ‘laboratories’ for global climate research?
  • Global vs. local priorities: Are global narratives overshadowing the specific needs of local populations?
  • Impact of media narratives: How do sensationalised portrayals shape public
    understanding and policy-making?

Points from the discussion included:

  • An acknowledgement of the ‘eco colonial’ gaze and the legacy of colonialism in interactions between communities and researchers who came with their own agendas. This problem was recognised by colleagues from across the wide range of disciplines present in the meeting. The imperative -and challenge- was to have a genuine dialogue at local level to focus on what was useful, rather than simply ‘interesting’ from a research perspective. This question also came up in a discussion around the trade offs of ‘losing’ control . From a social science perspective, Dr Arnall explained that their work was able t bring in and value local, indigenous knowledge.
  • Prompted by a question from a media professional, the discussion moved on to the vocabulary of documentary film making and documentary ethics. The importance -and opportunity-to amplify local voices through film and video was emphasised.
  • Finally, the conversation concluded with a question on the potentially positive side of international influence on  national policy making and if metaphors such as the ‘canary in the coalmine’ could in fact be helpful. The response was that  they can be since they can raise  much needed international attention. Metaphors can be  powerful but they can also be counterproductive.

 

Dr Arnall’s slides for this talk: 25.01 Slides MCRILG presentation Dr Alex Arnall.

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