https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145212 2026-10-03T09:07:22Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149249 Title: Climate vulnerabilities in small island developing states : a case study of Wainibuku Hart community, Fiji Abstract: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific face accelerating and disproportionate climate impacts, and yet peri-urban settlements within these island nations continue to expand as destinations for people relocating from rural and outer-island communities. These communities remain structurally vulnerable while climate change compounds these existing stressors. Despite their growing significance, peri-urban settlements remain among the least studied and least served by adaptation policies in the Pacific region. This study addresses this empirical gap through a community-level case study of climate change vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the Wainibuku Housing Assistance and Relief Trust (HART) Community in Nasinu, Fiji. Drawing on the exposure-sensitivity-adaptive capacity framework and contextual vulnerability theory, this study employed a mixed-methods design. Data were collected through 40 structured household surveys and four Talanoa discussions with fourteen participants. Findings reveal cascading vulnerability outcomes, with women and lower-income households bearing disproportionate burdens. However, residents demonstrate substantial adaptive capacity through incremental household strategies and reciprocal social networks rooted in traditional knowledge systems. A critical determinant differentiating households with sustained adaptive capacity from those without was the degree of inclusion in formal adaptation policy structures. This study contributes evidence from an underrepresented context in Pacific climate research. It highlights that effective adaptation policy must move beyond top-down, technocratic approaches and involve communities from the earliest stages of policy design to implementation. Such approaches are essential to ensure that adaptation interventions effectively reach and serve communities like Wainibuku. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146104 Title: Dissonances between policy framework and customary practice in gender equality of small island developing states : the case of LGBTQI+ rights in Mauritius Abstract: Despite growing international recognition of LGBTQI+ rights, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) continue to face challenges in translating formal legal commitments into substantive equality. This dissertation examines the dissonance between State-level legal and policy frameworks and entrenched normative practices shaping the lived experiences of LGBTQI+ individuals in Mauritius. Although Mauritius has ratified key international human rights instruments and experienced progressive judicial developments, these advances remain unevenly realised due to persistent socio-cultural, religious, and institutional barriers. Employing a qualitative research design, the study integrates legal and policy analysis with semi-structured interviews conducted with LGBTQI+ individuals to assess the alignment between legal commitments and lived realities. The findings reveal that, notwithstanding constitutional guarantees, international obligations, and limited anti-discrimination protections, LGBTQI+ persons in Mauritius continue to face marginalisation in healthcare, employment, family life, and access to justice. These exclusions are sustained not by formal customary law, but by deeply embedded normative practices, heteronormative social structures, religious conservatism, and weak institutional accountability within a small island context characterised by dense social networks and limited anonymity. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality and legal pluralism, the dissertation argues that legal reform alone is insufficient to achieve substantive equality in SIDS. Instead, meaningful change requires shifts in social norms, strengthened institutional responsiveness, and inclusive policymaking that centres marginalised LGBTQI+ voices. The study concludes with context-specific recommendations to bridge the persistent gap between policy and practice relating to LGBTQI+ rights in Mauritius. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z