105
and communities. This situation is compounded
by the youth and policymakers in SIDS experiencing difficulties understanding the complexities of climate change concepts and the sciences
associated with climate change.
Although this research is the first of its kind,
it offers benefits to governments in small island
development communities by providing opportunities for policymakers and development practitioners to engage in the development of
strategies and programmes aimed at enhancing
youth capacity through building their resilience
to adapt to climate change. Governments can use
the body of knowledge to implement CCA projects in local areas. This strategy would provide
excellent opportunities for governments to be
involved in more strategic activities such as the
evaluation and monitoring of project outcomes;
mobilisation of local and external funding and
resources activities; and the provision of technical assistance and support to local groups/organisations to implement CCA initiatives. By
providing new and relevant information on youth
development, the research would enable policymakers to create the necessary policies and
enabling environment to prepare the youth with
the prerequisite skills and knowledge to build
their resilience and the adaptive capacity of their
communities to respond to climate change as
active citizens.
Building the Capacity of the Youth
The youth have been neglected in the area of
CCA schemes, having inadequate knowledge and
skills to adapt to the devastating impact of climate change which affects their daily lives. A
new approach deal with youth capacity development in SIDS was identified.
The lack of understanding of the impact of climate change among policymakers and the youth
is attributed to the absence of CCE in the school
curriculum. The youth are also frustrated by the
lack of investment provided by the government to
prepare them to adapt to climate change in the
future. This is as a consequence of the quality of
the skills and training provided by the education
system in SIDS which does not prepare the youth
with the necessary skills and knowledge to build
their resilience to adapt to climate change and
create sustainable livelihoods (Carter 2008; ILO
2010; Poschen 2015). The youth want to engage
in the transformation of their communities in
SIDS and want their actions to reflect the ongoing change in civil and community participation
in SIDS governance (Cloutier et al. 2018).
Therefore, there is a need for the integration of
CCE in the school curriculum as a strategy for
enhancing the resilience of the youth to adapt to
the impact of climate change in small island
communities.
The Theoretical Contribution
of the Research to Knowledge
Besides favouring the development of a longerterm approach to achieve sustainable development,
a bottom-up approach to climate change adaptation
has added value when compared to the top-down
approach within the framework to improve youth
practicality, awareness and adaptation.
This added value can be gained when using a
hybrid approach to the development and implementation of CCA. When faced with problems in
implementing a top-down approach, it is more
feasible to shift to the hybrid approach. This
approach presents an integrated way of analysing
CCA issues by demonstrating a thorough blending of the two approaches. It is also more structured and provides a model for dealing with
CCA. The hybrid approach can reduce the excessive control and rigidity that was exerted by the
government officials who may centrally manage
projects from their headquarters (OECD 2013;
Dessai and Hulme 2004).
Key change enablers such as technological
innovations, financial and technical resource support, critical official engagement, conducive policy, enabling environment and regional
collaboration empower the youth to build their
resilience to adapt to climate change in small
island communities.
Theme 5: Controlling the Storm – Enhancing the Resilience…
and communities. This situation is compounded
by the youth and policymakers in SIDS experiencing difficulties understanding the complexities of climate change concepts and the sciences
associated with climate change.
Although this research is the first of its kind,
it offers benefits to governments in small island
development communities by providing opportunities for policymakers and development practitioners to engage in the development of
strategies and programmes aimed at enhancing
youth capacity through building their resilience
to adapt to climate change. Governments can use
the body of knowledge to implement CCA projects in local areas. This strategy would provide
excellent opportunities for governments to be
involved in more strategic activities such as the
evaluation and monitoring of project outcomes;
mobilisation of local and external funding and
resources activities; and the provision of technical assistance and support to local groups/organisations to implement CCA initiatives. By
providing new and relevant information on youth
development, the research would enable policymakers to create the necessary policies and
enabling environment to prepare the youth with
the prerequisite skills and knowledge to build
their resilience and the adaptive capacity of their
communities to respond to climate change as
active citizens.
Building the Capacity of the Youth
The youth have been neglected in the area of
CCA schemes, having inadequate knowledge and
skills to adapt to the devastating impact of climate change which affects their daily lives. A
new approach deal with youth capacity development in SIDS was identified.
The lack of understanding of the impact of climate change among policymakers and the youth
is attributed to the absence of CCE in the school
curriculum. The youth are also frustrated by the
lack of investment provided by the government to
prepare them to adapt to climate change in the
future. This is as a consequence of the quality of
the skills and training provided by the education
system in SIDS which does not prepare the youth
with the necessary skills and knowledge to build
their resilience to adapt to climate change and
create sustainable livelihoods (Carter 2008; ILO
2010; Poschen 2015). The youth want to engage
in the transformation of their communities in
SIDS and want their actions to reflect the ongoing change in civil and community participation
in SIDS governance (Cloutier et al. 2018).
Therefore, there is a need for the integration of
CCE in the school curriculum as a strategy for
enhancing the resilience of the youth to adapt to
the impact of climate change in small island
communities.
The Theoretical Contribution
of the Research to Knowledge
Besides favouring the development of a longerterm approach to achieve sustainable development,
a bottom-up approach to climate change adaptation
has added value when compared to the top-down
approach within the framework to improve youth
practicality, awareness and adaptation.
This added value can be gained when using a
hybrid approach to the development and implementation of CCA. When faced with problems in
implementing a top-down approach, it is more
feasible to shift to the hybrid approach. This
approach presents an integrated way of analysing
CCA issues by demonstrating a thorough blending of the two approaches. It is also more structured and provides a model for dealing with
CCA. The hybrid approach can reduce the excessive control and rigidity that was exerted by the
government officials who may centrally manage
projects from their headquarters (OECD 2013;
Dessai and Hulme 2004).
Key change enablers such as technological
innovations, financial and technical resource support, critical official engagement, conducive policy, enabling environment and regional
collaboration empower the youth to build their
resilience to adapt to climate change in small
island communities.
Theme 5: Controlling the Storm – Enhancing the Resilience…