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Climate Change Climate Change

they can extend the boundary for us.” Migration) and other agencies who are working on this policy
For all the challenges they face, the people of Walande at a global scale.”
have successfully navigated the changing environment, In 2013, Displacement Solutions developed “The Peninsula
drawing on community bonds and limited government support Principles on Climate Displacement within States”, which
to rebuild their community on safer ground. It’s a striking detailed a diverse range of issues that governments must
example of community-initiated relocation, drawing on address for displaced communities: land acquisition;
cultural ties with neighbours. But Walande is not the only providing both transitional shelter and permanent housing;
village around the Pacific that may be forced to relocate more the preservation of social and cultural institutions,
than once, as livelihoods and ecosystems are still threatened chieftainships and clan relations disrupted by displacement;
by the adverse effects of climate change. equal access to public services; aiding family and community
cohesion; addressing the concerns and priorities of the host
Uprooted peoples community that owns land used by displaced people; and the
The Pacific Ocean is home to many uprooted peoples, establishment of grievance procedures and effective remedies
displaced by colonial labour policy, warfare, nuclear to address related social disruption and intercommunal
testing, or forced resettlement by colonial states. Climate tensions.
displacement echoes this colonial history, but today, global It’s a long list and hardly surprising that most Pacific
warming is recognised as a more existential security threat to governments often lack the resources and staff to assist
people across the region, impacting low-lying atoll nations, uprooted peoples in a way that respects their human rights
drought-affected highland valleys, and even the Forum’s and cultural aspirations.
largest member, with Australian communities battered by In 2018, Fiji’s Ministry of Economy and other government
mega-fires and repeated flooding. departments adopted the Fiji Planned Relocation Guidelines.
Media headlines often highlight the plight of “climate The same year, Vanuatu’s National Policy on Climate Change
refugees”, but most displaced people have not crossed an and Disaster-Induced Displacement was adopted, aiming
international border, and refugee law does not currently to address “displacement risks in the broader mobility
recognise climate change as creating obligations for state context of Vanuatu, including traditional and customary land
protection. arrangements, development pressures and rural to urban
Erica Bowers is a climate displacement researcher and migration, recognising that displacement is triggered not only
co-author of the Human Rights Watch report. She notes that by natural hazards, but also from other crises.”
with internal climate displacement, local governments and In Solomon Islands, the experience of dislocated
neighbouring communities bear the cost of hosting families communities like Walande led to the adoption of Planned
driven from their home. Relocation Guidelines in 2022. The policy stresses the need to
“The climate crisis is a human rights crisis and we see support community-initiated planned relocations, maintain
planned relocation of whole communities as an issue where adequate living standards and protect people’s rights and
considerable human rights challenges apply, before, during communities’ cultures. It notes the “requirement for people-
and after the relocation,” she told Islands Business. “There’s centred, participatory and inclusive dialogue and decision-
a lot of focus on cross-border relocation, so-called climate making at all stages of the relocation. Ensuring ownership by
refugees, but the reality is that more people are moving Affected Communities is necessary to facilitate the protection
internally through local-scale relocation.” of the rights and dignity of all people involved in relocation,
Forum member governments have started to address the and is essential for durable solutions.”
multifaceted issues raised by community relocation, even The Guidelines aim to ensure that all communities have a
though the issue lags behind action on emissions reductions central role in outlining their future needs and aspirations
and climate adaptation. With support from UN agencies with respect to relocation, climate adaptation and sustainable
and non-government organisations, new policies are being development, and are able to direct the relocation process
developed that recognise displacement involves complex before, during, and after the relocation itself.”
issues around housing, land access, livelihoods, and property
rights in a region with extensive customary land ownership. Intangible cultural trauma
Civil society groups have also highlighted the more
New Pacific guidelines intangible elements of climate displacement, as communities
Pacific governments have begun to develop formal moved away from customary land, ancestral burial grounds
guidelines, standards and policies to address climate and sites of cultural heritage. Moving to a new home without
displacement in a manner that respects the culture, land rights can bring a mix of emotions and trauma, as well as
capacities and human rights of affected communities. the disruption of community leadership in the new location.
“The need for these policies is coming from the ground Recent examples of climate displacement have also
up,” Erica Bowers notes, “but at the same time, there is highlighted the reality that there is not one affected
also increasing discussion at a global level, in the UNFCCC “community”, given different and sometimes competing
Global Task Force on Displacement, the Platform on Disaster
Displacement, at IOM (the International Organization for Continued on page 15

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