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The landslide that occurred behind Denimanu in March 2017 necessitating the abandonment of the island's primary school. Photo A shows the view of the landslide from the sea (Photo by Piérick Martin). Photo B shows the upper part of the landslide with a school building on the right (Photo by Patrick Nunn).
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Island societies are being disproportionately affected by climate change, a situation likely to continue for some decades. Using an example of an island affected by multiple climate-linked stressors, a situation likely to become more common in the future, this paper examines the nature of these, the ways they are perceived and responded to by local...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... numerous landslides were clearly visible on the steep slopes at the back of the pockets of coastal plain, along the edges of Yadua, the most memorable was that which occurred in March 2017 and destroyed two of the buildings comprising the island's primary school (Fig. 4A, B). Schoolchildren have since been instructed in tents (provided by UNICEF) within the main part of ...
Context 2
... numerous landslides were clearly visible on the steep slopes at the back of the pockets of coastal plain, along the edges of Yadua, the most memorable was that which occurred in March 2017 and destroyed two of the buildings comprising the island's primary school (Fig. 4A, B). Schoolchildren have since been instructed in tents (provided by UNICEF) within the main part of ...
Context 3
... numerous landslides were clearly visible on the steep slopes at the back of the pockets of coastal plain, along the edges of Yadua, the most memorable was that which occurred in March 2017 and destroyed two of the buildings comprising the island's primary school (Fig. 4A, B). Schoolchildren have since been instructed in tents (provided by UNICEF) within the main part of ...
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Human society has experienced, and will continue to experience, extensive loss and damage from worsening anthropogenic climate change. Despite our natural tendencies to categorise and organise, it can be unhelpful to delineate clean boundaries and linear understandings for complex and messy concepts such as loss and damage. Drawing on the perspecti...
Citations
... But planned relocations may have maladaptive outcomeswhen relocation unintentionally creates new harms 13including exposure to similar or new hazards at the destination site 14 , which may even worsen with time. A post-tsunami planned relocation in the Maldives involved a move to an island, Dhuvaafaru, highly exposed to SLR 15 ; post-disaster planned relocations in Fiji, Sri Lanka, India, and the Philippines 8, [16][17][18][19] ...
The planned, permanent relocation of entire communities away from sea level rise (SLR) and coastal floods is an already occurring climate change adaptation strategy. Yet, planned relocations are fraught undertakings with multiple goals, and may or may not achieve their most basic objective: to reduce risk. Here we assess risk of future coastal flooding before and after moving, for three dates and three emissions scenarios, for 17 communities from a global dataset. Most communities achieved exposure reduction with less future inundation in destinations than origin sites, but the extent varies across time and emissions scenario. In all cases, origin sites have projected exposure to SLR plus a once-per-year flood, with increasing exposure under high emissions scenarios and towards 2100. In nine cases, even destination sites have projected inundation exposure under some scenarios. Small-island-to-small-island relocations had more projected inundation in destinations than moves from a small-island-to-mainland, or from mainland-to-mainland.
... Pacific islands are particularly exposed to such impacts. They face coastal flooding from sea level rise (Ritman et al., 2022) and changing weather patterns (Paltán et al., 2021;Martin et al., 2018). These meteorological changes translate into freshwater shortages (Pearce et al., 2018), challenge food security (Barnett, 2020a) and livelihoods (Islam et al., 2023). ...
Global environmental change impacts human security in both Vanuatu and Guam – but in very different ways. This paper studies both regions through a thematic analysis of problem-centered expert interviews with local stakeholders. It provides a comprehensive assessment of pathways from environmental change to human insecurity in both regions. Climate change impacts are omnipresent in Vanuatu and coproduced by fast lifestyle change and developmental challenges. In contrast, Guam is a highly developed US territory. This reduces climate vulnerability but generates other forms of environmental change from heavy military and touristic use. The article argues that human insecurity on Vanuatu and Guam is coproduced by the interplay between economic and (post-)colonial factors and environmental change. This demonstrates that vulnerability and environmental degradation are by no means natural or inevitable, but strongly shaped by socio-economic contexts and histories. This builds an important bridge between human security, political economy, and postcolonial perspectives on environmental security.
... It was only after marathon negotiations into the wee hours on the first day of the Conference that developing countries and small island states succeeded in getting loss and damage onto the agenda. 39 Therefore, gaining a formal agreement to develop a loss and damage fund is an extremely significant success. 40 It was effectively admitted that prior efforts had failed to prevent climate change, and that adaptation now has to sit alongside mitigation on the agenda. ...
... 33 35 'Paris Agreement' (n 17) article 8. 36 Wewerinke-Singh and Salili (n 32) 4. 37 Wewerinke-Singh and Salili (n 32) 4. 38 Ibid. 39 Peel [27], Donald [28]. 40 McDonald [29], Lillo et al. [30]. ...
... 51 Andrew et al. [38]. 52 Martin et al. [39]. 53 Church et al. [40]. ...
Climate change-related events are already pushing people towards mobility, and it is likely this dynamic will only escalate as the effects of the climate crisis are more readily felt. Despite knowing this, before 2018, there were very few examples of state-level policies to manage climate mobilities. Unpacking the two path-leading policies designed by Fiji and Vanuatu in this space, we can see a significant recognition of the rights that individuals faced with mobility have and the obligations that states have to take to protect these rights and prevent harm. Although these policies are still in their infancy, we can already see significant barriers to implementation developing. In addition, considering the unequal distribution of responsibility for the drivers of climate change, there is a compelling legal and moral argument that the international community has a duty to step forward and assist states like these in discharging their responsibilities and managing climate mobilities effectively. In this chapter, I argue that the early experiences of Fiji and Vanuatu show us that the international community has a responsibility to help and I attempt to showcase what this responsibility should look like. It is my assertion that the international support must be locally led and tailored to local needs and context. Those who know how to best implement policies are already on the ground, so instead of parachuting in foreign experts, local actors should be supported and assisted with technical and financial support that builds their capacity.
... Hung and Chen (2013) contend that mapping flood vulnerability is important because it helps to guide decision-makers on how they can prepare and deal with climate change impacts. Furthermore, mapping flood vulnerability enhances the participation of community members (Martin et al. 2018;Membele et al. 2022c;Scheuer et al. 2013;Wilk et al. 2018;Yen et al. 2019). Membele et al. (2022c) argued that local and indigenous knowledge help to foster community participation and the implementation of context-specific adaptation measures. ...
In developing countries, informal settlements are mainly located in floodplains and wetlands; hence, they are frequently affected by floods. The objective of this study is to demonstrate a methodological approach that integrates the community members’ local and indigenous knowledge and GIS-based multi-criteria decision-making using the Analytic Network Process in mapping flood vulnerability in an informal settlement. The study was conducted in Quarry Road West informal settlement located in Durban, South Africa. A mixed-method approach that involved a household survey (n = 359), interviews with key informants (n = 10) and focus group discussions (n = 2) was used in this study. This study’s results showed a spatial differentiation of flood vulnerability in the study area. Households along the Palmiet River were highly vulnerable to flooding. A section of the settlement called Mcondo 1 was also highly vulnerable to flooding while maMsuthu had low flood vulnerability. The sensitivity analysis results showed that changing the indicator weights, correspondingly, affected the output of the flood vulnerability map. Therefore, this study can guide decision-makers on how to elicit adequate community participation and comprehensively integrate local and indigenous knowledge with Geographical Information System in mapping flood vulnerability in informal settlements.
... The intensification of storm surge experienced by SIDS is exacerbating increased rates of coastal erosion and shoreline recession that are already affecting wider coastal communities (Martin et al., 2018). This is highlighted in a study of the Solomon Islands undertaken by Albert et al. (2016), who identified that eleven islands have experienced severe erosion or disappeared over recent decades. ...
There is a growing consensus that sea-level rise will have a significant influence on future patterns of population mobility. Populations across the globe are already experiencing the impacts of sea-level rise, particularly in small island developing states (SIDS) and low-lying coastal regions. Despite an expanding body of research on the climate-migration nexus, there is a lack of consensus about the quality, magnitude, and even direction of the impacts of sea-level rise on migration. Through a comprehensive review of the existing literature, this chapter offers a critique of existing approaches to research and conceptual models of the impact of sea-level rise on migration. In doing so, it identifies future research directions, including suggested future modeling techniques, and significance for policy. The review focuses on two key issues that are under-represented in studies to date: first, the significant impact of sea-level rise prior to inundation and the effect they will have on drivers of mobility; second, the lack of consideration around the relationship between these impacts and complex and dynamic pre-existing patterns of mobility. A significant proportion of research into sea-level rise and population mobility has focused on the impact of inundation. Exposed populations, however, will begin to experience environmental degradation as a result of sea-level rise well in advance of this, through increased storm surge, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion into agricultural soils and freshwater. Crucially, these effects are cumulative, leading to an intensification of environmental degradation. They exert heightened stress on livelihoods, particularly those related to agriculture, and ultimately threaten the safety of people. Prior studies often conceptualize mobility decision-making as a binary choice between whether to “migrate” or to “stay.” Migration, however, represents a dynamic, non-equilibrium system, where mobility decision-making evolves in response to shifting influences and drivers. Understanding the potential influence of sea-level rise, therefore, requires an analysis of how the differing, but interrelated, impacts of sea-level rise influences the pre-existing drivers of population mobility. This literature review focuses on examining how the additional stressors resulting from sea-level rise may exacerbate and intensify migration flows. It also draws on previous empirical studies to suggest conditions under which the cumulative effects are such that pre-existing patterns of mobility break down. These “threshold” conditions raise the potential for large-scale population displacement and abandonment of settlements well in advance of the timescales suggested by projections of inundation. Identifying these conditions has important implications in developing policy interventions to support vulnerable populations in meeting the threats associated with sea-level rise.
... While sea level rise is impacting livelihoods and people globally, rates of sea level rise are not globally uniform with significant variations regionally (Meyssignac et al., 2017a,b). For example, the documented rate of sea level rise in the Western Pacific Ocean is four times that of the global average (Nurse et al., 2014) while in the ocean near and around Fiji, sea levels have been rising about 5.5 mm per year since 1992 which is roughly twice the global average (Martin et al., 2018). ...
Planned Relocation is a form of mobility in response to climate-related shocks and slow onset change. While the primary focus of the seminal Foresight report on Migration and Environmental Change dealt with mobility processes of migration and displacement, planned relocation was discussed as a viable, yet fraught adaptation strategy. Since the publication of the Foresight report in 2011, considerable research into planned relocation has progressed understanding, in part due to the emerging case study examples globally over the last 10 years. The authors of this article have undertaken research in communities across Australia and Fiji who have initiated and undertaken planned relocation processes, to varying degrees of completion and success. As part of the Research Topic—Climate Migration Research and Policy Connections: Progress Since the Foresight Report—in this article we look back at the lessons that emerged from the Foresight report, and provide key insights from our experiences, as well as through drawing on the broader literature, and through doing so offer lessons learned, and policy insights for planned relocation across these regions, and beyond. This research is especially relevant given the context of planned relocation in these two nations: Australia, a country that has experienced severe fires and flooding events over the last few years, which have raised important questions around the role planned relocation may play in future national adaptation discussions and planning, with buy-back schemes occurring across the country; and Fiji, a country at the forefront of planned relocation globally, with 800 communities listed as in need of relocation by the Government of Fiji, and numerous cases of completed, initiated and planned relocation emerging. Primary findings indicate: there are examples of people choosing to remain in sites of exposure despite relocation plans, making the notion of “voluntariness” essential; relocation has the potential to be a successful adaptation option if planned well with strong participatory governance; a need to think broadly and holistically around the needs and livelihoods of effected communities in relocation planning; and the need for longitudinal studies to track the implications and impacts (both positive and negative) of relocation in the long term.
... It also raises questions about contrasting tinkering and transformation. A few individuals or households might relocate through their own choices or be relocated because their dwellings were disproportionately hazard-exposed (transformation), while the rest of the community stays, continuing short-term adaptation strategies (voluntary or involuntary tinkering); documented examples include the Fijian relocations at Denimanu (Yadua Island) and Navunievu (Vanua Levu Island) (Martin et al., 2018;Fink et al., 2021). The strategy can be considered both transformational and tinkering, depending who is being considered. ...
Islands are at the center of discourses on climate change. Yet despite extensive work on diverse island systems in a changing climate, we still lack an understanding of climate change-related responses amongst islands and what shifting from what might be called “tinkering” (perhaps heat warnings) to “transformational” adaptation (perhaps relocation) means for these vastly different landmasses which are often grouped together by default. Through a systematic review of the climate change adaptation scientific literature, this paper critically reflects on how considering islands as a homogenous ensemble and the use of buzzwords such as “transformational adaptation” may be problematic for diverse island realities under climate change. Our findings show that the adaptation evidence base actually provides literature on contrasting island types and cultural and political contexts, including Small Island Developing States as well as other island territories. This study finds research gaps with respect to regions (e.g., South America, Africa, and Mediterranean) and that there is overall both little evidence of and a lack of context-specific definitions of transformational adaptation in island contexts. The adaptation literature does not yet fully reflect the experiences or needs of islands regarding transitions and transformations throughout history.
... Kiribati is the only country with a plan for international migration, as they have purchased land in Fiji (Corendea, 2016;Thomas & Benjamin, 2018c). In interviews, residents of villages in Fiji and Tuvalu note that people already view SLR as impacting their lives and expect that trend to continue (Martin et al., 2018;McMichael et al., 2021;Piggot-McKeller et al., 2021). Incremental retreat, which has already occurred in some villages in Fiji, where new construction must take place on higher ground, can be a way for people to maintain their place-based grounding to an extent (Piggot-McKeller et al., 2021). ...
... Incremental retreat, which has already occurred in some villages in Fiji, where new construction must take place on higher ground, can be a way for people to maintain their place-based grounding to an extent (Piggot-McKeller et al., 2021). However preferences around relocation and adaptation responses vary between individuals and can be characterized by generational differences; short distance relocation is not the preference of all community members (Martin et al., 2018;McMichael et al., 2021;Piggot-McKeller et al., 2021). Binary and linear discourses on remaining or leaving is in contrast to lived experiences of island residents . ...
Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are causing unprecedented changes to the climate. In 2015, at the United Nations (UN) Conference of the Parties in Paris, France, countries agreed to limit the global mean temperature (GMT) increase to 2°C above preindustrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. Due to the long‐term irreversibility of sea level rise (SLR), risks to island and coastal populations are not well encapsulated by the goal of limiting GMT warming by 2100. This review article investigates the climate justice implications of temperature targets in light of our increasing understanding of the spatially variable impact and long temporal commitment to rising seas. In particular we highlight the impact that SLR will have on island states and the role of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in UN climate negotiations. As a case study we review dual impacts from the Antarctic Ice Sheet under a changing climate: (a) recent climate and ice sheet modeling shows that Antarctic melt has the potential to cause rapid SLR with a distinct spatial pattern leading to AOSIS nations experiencing SLR at least 11% higher than the global average and up to 33% higher; and (b) future ice sheet melt will result in a negative feedback on GMT, thus delaying temperature rise. When considering these impacts in conjunction, justice concerns associated with the Paris Agreement are exacerbated.
... Despite accounting for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, small island states are the most vulnerable to climate change owing to their remoteness, terrestrial extents, vulnerable economies, and exposure to extreme weather events (Nurse et al., 2001). Small island states are disproportionately impacted by climate change, a situation likely to persist for many decades (Martin et al., 2018). Consequently, addressing the impacts of climate change on vulnerable small island communities is a key endeavour. ...
Small island states are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, despite not contributing much to global greenhouse gas emissions. Crafting effective science-based adaptive strategies to conserve and sustain natural resources in the face of the changing climate has important socio-economic, political, and ecological dimensions. The analysis in the current paper reveals that the island of Mauritius has been warming at a rate of 0.0216 °C/year over the period 1971–2020, with an increase in precipitation averaging 2.29 mm/year over the 1981–2020 period. The changing climate over time has had severe repercussions on the native ecosystems of the island and is threatening the long-term freshwater supply system. Science-based policy measures proposed revolve around the expansion and re-design of protected areas to be strategically located in climate-resilient regions that seek to offer refuge to native fauna and flora. To increase the resilience on freshwater supply on the island, measures proposed include the introduction of a freshwater coordination-based system that operates on water stress level, in addition to increasing the network of freshwater catchment areas in regions where precipitation is increasing over time. The insights in this paper are expected to be valuable for other small islands in adapting to climate change.
... This 'soft' limit to relocation is however a serious one, given that implementing managed retreat can take decades. In the Pacific region, because it has established guidelines for planned climate change-related relocation and has already experienced this strategy 30,43,67,68 , Fiji could show the way forward. The second challenge raised by internal relocation relates to local human capacities. ...
Atoll islands face increasing coastal risks (coastal erosion and marine flooding) due to climate change, especially sea-level rise. To face increasing coastal risks, various adaptation options are considered by atoll countries and territories, including in particular hard protection (preferred option to date), Nature-based Solutions (increasingly used) and island raising (considered a longer-term solution and a potential alternative to international migration, e.g. in the Maldives). Internal relocation within the same atoll island or atoll, which refers to long-term community movement from one threatened island area or island to a safer island area or island, has previously been disregarded by scholars as a potentially relevant climate adaptation strategy. However, in low-lying coastal areas, it offers real potential to address the dual context of increasing climate risks and the shrinking of the solution space. This paper assesses the potential of internal relocation for atolls by applying to Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia, Central Pacific, a two-fold assessment framework questioning its physical relevance (are some islands high enough to host settlements in the future?) and its societal feasibility (are the political-institutional and socio-economic conditions in place? Are people willing to relocate?). The findings show that internal relocation is both relevant and feasible on Rangiroa Atoll and should therefore serve as a pillar to develop robust in situ adaptation pathways in this atoll.
