Article IV Review

Study on Assessing Economic Vulnerability of Small Island Regions

L. Adrianto and Y. Matsuda

Major factors including geographical size, insularity, remoteness, and proneness to natural
disasters are the primary reasons why SIDS has special disadvantages over natural disasters. These
factors increase the vulnerability of SIDS to disasters caused by climate change.

The small size of SIDS translates to limited natural resources and a relatively small network of
industries and sectors, giving them an economy that is weak to withstand the demands of climate
change response. As disasters cause a massive impact on the economic sector, the natural resources
become more limited and people’s demand to secure their basic needs increase. This limitation in
geographical size also limits the network and connections across sectors and industries in the area,
making it harder for them to produce the sufficient goods they need, thus slowing down their
recovery after disasters and making them more vulnerable to future disasters.

The insularity and remoteness of SIDS result in a higher transportation cost of import goods, and
the lack of constant transportation results in inconsistent supply despite the constantly changing
demand. This distance feature makes it hard for SIDS to receive the help and support they need
during disasters since the transport of help is already a challenge. Because delays are expected,
recovery slows down and slower recovery entails an increase in vulnerability to future disasters.

The proneness of SIDS to natural disasters exposes them to a greater risk of fatalities, displacement,
and economic breakdowns. Because of the factors mentioned above, that increase the vulnerability
of SIDS to natural disasters, their often exposure to these calamities further slows down their
capacity to create calamity-resilient communities. While still recovering from a previous disaster,
SIDS prone to disasters are expected to confront more disasters soon after. The economy is having
difficulty recovering and oftentimes, the community is already becoming reliant on external aid.

The composite index of economic vulnerability uses economic variables or indicators to assess the
vulnerability, fragility, and the lack of resilience to outside factors. Countries were classified as
island developing countries, SIDS, non-island developing countries, developing countries, and
developed countries, and comparisons were made through three economic variables or indicators:
exposure to foreign economic conditions, remoteness and insularity, and disaster proneness. It is
hypothesized that the higher these three variables are in a certain country, the higher their
vulnerability. With this vulnerability index, it is concluded that SIDS are more vulnerable to the
impacts of climate change than all other categories identified.
As an island country in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is highly vulnerable to disasters brought by
climate change. It is an area that is very prone to natural disasters along with the archipelagic
feature that makes it difficult to transport help and support across islands.