Climate-smart ocean planning in small island developing states—exploring pathways in Dominica

Climate change is recognised as a major challenge for marine spatial planning (MSP), requiring innovative climate-smart planning approaches. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, such as rising sea levels and intensified extreme weather events. It is crucial to enhance the capacity of systems to respond to such effects, thereby increasing climate resilience of SIDS. This study identifies barriers and pathways to integrate climate change considerations into MSP in the Commonwealth of Dominica (Dominica), a SIDS and large ocean state in the Eastern Caribbean. A qualitative document analysis of climate-relevant policies, reports and Dominica’s Integrated Coastal Master and Marine Spatial Plan (CMSP) was conducted, augmented by semi-structured interviews. The results reveal that the CMSP considers climate change while placing a stronger emphasis on adaptation measures as opposed to mitigation measures. However, plan implementation and revision, as well as contextual factors, such as human and financial resource constraints, present the greatest barriers to climate-smart ocean planning in Dominica. It is argued that climate-smart ocean planning in SIDS must take a holistic view, acknowledging the limited opportunities for applying flexible, adaptive and long-term planning while emphasising the development of context-specific, feasible solutions.