“Eventually It’s Going to Erode and There Won’t Be Any Land Left”: Understanding Community Perceptions of Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity to Coastal Hazards on Mahé, Seychelles

Sammanfattning

Sea-level rise induced coastal hazards, including flooding, erosion, and saltwater intrusion, increasingly threaten coastal communities, ecosystems, infrastructure, and livelihoods, particularly in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Our study investigates how vulnerability and adaptive capacity to coastal hazards are perceived by local communities on Mahé, Seychelles. Using a qualitative research design, we conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with 21 participants across the coastal communities of Bel Ombre, Anse Royale, and Anse Boileau, analysed through inductive thematic analysis. Our findings suggest that vulnerability is perceived not solely as a consequence of environmental ex posure, but as a dynamic outcome of economic, institutional, social, and environmental processes interacting across multiple scales. Despite geographical differences in exposure, vulnerability perceptions were remarkably similar, reflecting strong island-wide social connectivity, mobility, and shared economic dependencies. Adaptive capacity was perceived as constrained by structural factors, including high living costs, unequal and limited access to financial resources, as well as governance dynamics, including weak regulatory enforcement, limited public participation, and perceived power imbalances in environmental governance. Adaptation responses were predominantly described as reactive, relying on hard infrastructure, particularly seawalls and rock-armouring, which were perceived to provide short-term protection while simultaneously constraining pathways to sustainable, long-term adaptation. Overall, our study highlights how vulnerability and adaptive capacity on Mahé are deeply embedded within socio-economic structures, governance processes, and power relations. By foregrounding local perceptions and lived experiences, our study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of coastal vulnerability in SIDS, emphasising the importance of inclusive, context-specific, and long-term adaptation strategies for coastal communities.