SHORT COMMUNICATION Progressive climate change and disasters: island perspectives Ilan Kelman • Shabana Khan Received: 11 November 2012 / Accepted: 8 May 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 Nearly ten per cent of the world’s population live on islands (Baldacchino 2006). Islands have been a significant place for international research and innovation. They are home to rare biodiversity and act as political security flashpoints. The significance of islands and their dynamics has been acknowledged in many such forms offering lessons, knowledge, and wisdom frequently transferable across oceans and continents (e.g. Baldacchino 2007a; Lewis 1999; McCall 1996). This short communication examines island perspectives for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA). It evaluates trends and observations, extending an invitation for further exploration. From the perspective of progressive climate change and related disasters, islands have often been viewed from two disparate positions. First, that islands stand as relatively isolated, fragile, and vulnerable communities needing help and, second, that islands actively contribute and participate in global efforts for DRR and CCA, with the literature acknowledging both these positions and their interlinkages (Connell 2013; IPCC 2007; Lewis 1990). The literature accepts that these island characteristics do not exist in isolation (Connell 2013; Lewis 1999; Me ´heux et al. 2007; Mercer et al. 2007), indicating a need to draw lessons from both while joining them in order to avoid getting caught up in only one viewpoint. Some of the key island lessons from research, policy, and practice relate to governance, islandness, interconnections, migration, alliances, and knowledge forms. 1 Governance The size of islands has been noted as being an important factor regarding governance for DRR and CCA, as compared to continental areas, particularly in terms of proportional impacts of hazards and proportional vulnerability (Lewis 1999). When a small storm or I. Kelman (&) Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo, Oslo, Norway e-mail: ilan_kelman@hotmail.com S. Khan University of Delhi, New Delhi, India 123 Nat Hazards DOI 10.1007/s11069-013-0721-z Author's personal copy