Abstract
Loss and damage (L&D) has emerged as a central pillar of global climate governance, yet its assessment remains dominated by event-based, economically oriented, and technocratic approaches. Such frameworks, while valuable for standardization, often fail to capture the cumulative, socially embedded, and interpretive dimensions of climate impacts, particularly in small island and coastal contexts. This paper reconceptualizes L&D as a processual and socially mediated phenomenon, rather than a discrete outcome of climatic events. Building on a layered framework encompassing material, relational, and interpretive dimensions, the study develops CLiX (Climate Loss Indexing through Cross-Layered Exploration) as a process-based methodological approach that integrates quantitative indicators with participatory and qualitative methods. Empirically, the paper draws on mixed-methods field research from coastal Sri Lanka, including household surveys, focus group discussions, and participatory mapping. The findings show that climate-induced losses are not only material but are shaped by structural livelihood dependencies, unequal access to resources, and historically mediated interpretations of risk and damage. Non-economic losses such as psychological distress, identity erosion, and altered sense of place remain under-recognized, while existing inequalities shape differential exposure and recovery. The paper makes three contributions. First, it advances a process-based reconceptualization of L&D, emphasizing temporality and cross-layer dynamics. Second, it demonstrates how loss is socially produced and unevenly distributed, extending relational approaches to vulnerability. Third, it introduces CLiX as a methodological reorientation that bridges measurement and meaning through integrative and participatory assessment. By moving beyond technocratic measurement toward a more holistic understanding of loss, the paper contributes to ongoing debates on climate justice, resilience, and adaptation, with implications for more equitable and context-sensitive L&D policy and practice.
This paper, developed as part of the project “Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience: Assessing Climate-Induced Economic and Non-Economic Losses and Damages in the Indian Ocean Island Nations,” aims to generate evidence-based insights into the multifaceted impacts of climate change on small island states in the Indian Ocean region, encompassing both economic and social dimensions
Keywords: Loss and damage, Indian Ocean SIDS, climate justice, vulnerability, non-economic loss, participatory methods, resilience