Climate change is an existential threat to Pacific Island countries and can pose displacement and migration risks for families and communities across the region. This “forced” migration means the loss of an ancestral homeland, a unique and enduring connection to the land, and a significant cultural identity.
The World Bank supports efforts to better understand community-led adaptation and social resilience. Through new research, Social dimensions of climate change: Pacific series, Our teams have been listening and documenting how people and communities in the Pacific have adapted to climate change and how support can be improved to better meet their needs. I did.
Half of the population of the Pacific Ocean is Live within 10km of the coast Sea level rise, coastal erosion, and salt water intrusion will make the risk of displacement, loss of housing, and loss of traditional lands even more pronounced.of world bank estimates that without efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, 49 million people in East Asia and the Pacific will be forced to flee their homes by climate impacts by 2050.
There is little formal documentation of how Pacific communities experience and respond to climate-related risks and hazards on a daily basis. Some traditional methods of protecting coastlines appear to be reaching their limits, and international adaptation interventions often last only as long as project funding continues. Moreover, local communities see their coping strategies as addressing more immediate concerns, such as education, employment, and livelihood improvement needs, rather than big-picture challenges like climate change. Therefore, doubts remain regarding the following points How is community work best accomplished and what practices and approaches are best avoided? Understanding these issues is important for including the voices of vulnerable groups and addressing relative power at the community level.
Pacific peoples are not passive bystanders in the face of climate change. Instead they They are first responders to climate risks and have long influenced decisions about how climate impacts are managed locally. Communities across Melanesia have a history of coping with the effects of rising sea levels.
Temporary and permanent migration It is one of the most widely documented local responses to this situation, both as a direct means of escaping natural disasters and as a way to enable communities to grow, trade, and prosper. In the Solomon Islands, past colonial authorities planned the relocation of communities, both domestic and international arrivals.
Currently, climate-related migration and resettlement in many Pacific countries is small-scale and occurs primarily outside government planning. Nevertheless, internal migration can be difficult and can contribute to conflict and land disputes.
Our research will help development agencies and national governments better understand the obstacles faced by affected populations, including social issues that can impact how communities can adapt to climate change. suggests that there is a need. For transformative and sustainable change, it is important that external adaptation support fits local community expectations and is provided in a culturally and contextually appropriate manner. Ensure that support does not reinforce or exacerbate community divisions, and that planned interventions continue to adapt, respond to, and build on the experiences and priorities of Pacific Islanders. In order to do so, it is important to improve dialogue and understanding.
of Social dimensions of climate change: Pacific series It aims to understand how different communities perceive and experience day-to-day climate change, how they respond to risks, and their future plans and aspirations. This series documents how climate risks manifest at the community level, including variation across intersecting forms of social difference such as gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, and disability.
Read more of the research report and share your own perspective in the comments below.