Why Young Pacific Islanders need to be in Conversations around Climate-Induced Migration

According to the UN’s high level panel on internal displacement every year more than 50,000 people in the Pacific are forced to flee their homes because of the devastating impacts of disasters and climate change. The Pacific Islands are among the world’s most disaster prone countries, with weather related changes that destroy homes, crops, and land and pose an existential challenge to many communities. With all of these effects, it impacts not only the way of life of Pacific Island people, but also their culture and traditions. A  survey done by Samisoni Pareti, Editor of Islands Business Magazine who did a study back in 2015 on the impacts that climate change has on people moving in the Pacific Islands, highlighted that 70% of households in Kiribati and Tuvalu, and 35% of families in Nauru would migrate if climate change worsened their island ,  (springer.com).100% in Tuvalu and Kiribati, and  in Nauru are already experiencing the impacts of climate change through droughts, sea level rise, cyclones and flooding. As the study showed, climate change was not the only reason why people migrated. They also took into ancestral lands or to migrate to other places due to the impacts of climate change. This decision has profound implications for their identity, culture and future. Those who choose to stay may face threats of displacement, disaster, and derogation. Climate change not only affects current generations of, but also the ones to come.

Many different youth from across the Pacific Islands are working to find ways to adapt to the changing climate and the different levels of severity present. Young people are collaborating together alongside different climate focused groups to address the effects of the environment on migration.  Therefore, it is vital to have young Pacific Islanders to be part of the climate mobility conversation and policy making on addressing the intersections between climate change, environmental degradation, disasters and human mobility.

The Pacific Islands over the years have been experiencing droughts, floods, rise in temperature and the eroding of coastal islands according to the Asian Development Bank. These events vary from slow- to rapid-onset, but all have profound impacts on the Islands which can have effects on extreme weather events. That will continue to intensify, including storms, cyclones, droughts and heat waves. Erosion which, since the early 2000’s, has been caused by flooding of lowland and coastal areas, has impacted coastal infrastructure. 

With all of these climate and environmental impacts, Islands nations are forced to adapt through climate adaptation and mitigation. There are a variety of policies and programs that are in place to help, as a way to lower the flow of people emigrating. For example, the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Programme (PACC) initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREO) are working to reduce the effects of climate vulnerability in the Pacific, promoting  resilience through the building of climate resistant infrastructure. Another example is the Kiwa Initiative, which is a multi-donor program that aims to strengthen the resilience of people in the Pacific through Nature-Based Solutions as a form of adaptation. Policies like the Pacific Island Framework which was initiated by several Island governments is a framework that helps in building capacity and resilience as a way to address the impacts of climate change. All of these are different policies and programs that have been adopted and implemented to get Pacific Islanders involved and work to lessen the climate impacts. Nonetheless, youth in the Pacific should be part of all planning and conversations around climate change and the way migration impacts. 

When it comes to youth in the Pacific, they should continue to play a role in projects focused on climate change and migration. There are some projects in the region where youth are consulted on this matter.

• For example, 2013 Pacific Climate Change and Migration Project by the United Nations Economic Social Council for Asia Pacific (ESCAP), International Labour Organizations (ILO) and United Nations Development Agency (UNDP),looked at ways young people could share their voices to develop the capacity to address the impacts of climate change. The project helped in getting more than 50 children and youth involved ages 10 - 16 as a way to share their knowledge on the topic, to have a say on what they think should be done to enhance national capacities and improve cooperation on the topic. Different people from the mentioned UN agencies met and worked to get their insights which helped in fueling the program.
• Another example is a project lead by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other partner agencies like the ESCAP, ILO, and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). The project called “Enhancing protection and empowerment of migrants and communities affected by climate change and disasters in the Pacific region” the focused on empowering communities in the Pacific who`s mobility was affected by climate change.  Specifically focused on climate change and disaster related migration, displacement, and planned relocation. The programme also works to empower communities through training and skill development activities to increase labor mobility schemes and pre-departure orientation to support migrants to migrate safely.

These are only two examples of the work to empower communities, including young people, participate more actively in addressing the climate migration related challenges in the Pacific region and to acquire new abilities in the process.

Young people in the Pacific play a crucial role in finding and applying solutions to combat climate change impacts on human mobility. This is the reason young people in the Pacific play a key role and will continue to be drivers of the climate movement.

About the author:

Olivia Karp holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Toronto Metropolitan University (formally known as Ryerson). She did her masters from Laurier University in International Public Policy where she specialized in human security and environmental policy. Olivia has six years of experience in the migrant and refugee field holding positions like Settlement and Youth Intern at FCJ Refugee Center, Youth Program Support at CultureLink Settlement and Community Services, Mentor at WoodGreen Community Services to a newcomer to Canada, and Rise Mentor at Apathy is Boring. Throughout her work in this sector she had advocated for the importance of refugee and migrant inclusion. Which has helped to expand her horizon on the topic of climate migration. She was the Climate Mobility contact point for the Migrant Youth and Children Platform (MYCP) for their climate mobility team through the UN Major Group for Children and Youth network. Olivia was also a Contact Point for the YOUNGO (Official UNFCCC Youth Constituency) Youth Migrant and Climate Change working group. In both of these roles she has organized various events, workshops, networking sessions, and social media campaigns. Olivia is know pursing a Masters of Global Migration at UCL.

This article is part of the IOM Blog Series: Youth Voices on Migration, Environment and Climate Change