Knowledge, perceptions, concerns, and behaviors to climate change—the Caribbean context: an introduction

The small island developing states (SIDS) of the Caribbean region are identified as being on the front lines of climate change due to high biophysical and socioeconomic exposure to slow-onset and extreme events along with limited adaptive capacity. However, in spite of the region’s global significance for biodiversity, central location to economic trade routes, and importance as a global tourist destination, the Caribbean has been largely neglected in the environmental psychological climate change literature. This symposium aims to address the research gap in studies exploring knowledge, perceptions, concerns, and behaviors to climate change for Caribbean SIDS. The five papers of the symposium explore these issues from different viewpoints, for different stakeholders and for a number of islands in the region. This introduction to the symposium details the importance of understanding how community members engage in climate change issues and provides an overview of the articles included as part of the symposium.