Resilience at the Margins: Examining Island Women’s Adaptation Strategies to Tidal Flooding in a Small Island Context in Lampung, Indonesia

Tidal flooding is a recurring risk to women anchovy processors in Pasaran Island, Indonesia, as their livelihoods are directly linked to coastal ecosystems. This study explores women’s understanding of tidal flooding, evaluates their livelihoods’ vulnerability, and explores the adaptive responses undertaken in response to this recurring risk. A mixed-methods research design was employed to collect data from 48 respondents (census). The collection of data was conducted in November and December 2024. The analytic tools employed include Likert scale questionnaires, the Livelihood Vulnerability Index based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines (LVI-IPCC), and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA). From the study, it was discovered that women grasp tidal flooding as a natural and cyclical phenomenon governed primarily by the moon’s gravitational power. It usually hinders their daily mobility and access to city markets, though. Social capital and past experience of flooding enhance preparedness and adaptive capacity. Total vulnerability was high, with tidal flooding and climatic uncertainty the primary drivers found. Women retaliated by adopting multiple livelihood strategies, including the purchase of other locations’ processed products of anchovies, diversification into service and trade activities, and making arrangements for the out-migration of members of their households to destinations with more economic opportunities. Other households are passive and quite exposed. The study emphasized the imperative of regionally based adjustment measures that are gender-sensitive and inclusive, to be directed at enhancing the resilience of women of the coast in small island ecosystems.