Island and coastal regions belong to the most climate change-exposed habitats. Today, people living in island states experience the devastating effects of extreme tropical cyclones, rising sea levels, droughts and ocean acidification. In some cases, entire cultures are at risk of extinction because traditional livelihoods can no longer provide sufficient resources for survival while landmasses are submerged and salinized by high tides.

The report “Home Lands: Island and Archipelagic States’ Policymaking for Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change” analyses strengths and weaknesses of existing national and regional policy frameworks on human mobility in a warming world. In particular, the report considers the extent to which this topic is addressed in the policy landscape of nine island and archipelagic countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean; Fiji, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu in the Pacific; and the Philippines in the Western Pacific. First-hand interviews with experts from across the regions underline ways in which governments, together with regional and international partners, employ different strategies to either enable people to stay or ensure they are able to migrate in good conditions. Stories from focus group discussions complete the picture. Based on these insights as well as policy analyses, the report provides overarching key recommendations as well as regional and country-specific recommendations. 

Archipelagic and island countries are economically and culturally diverse, and their populations have different vulnerabilities and capacities to adapt in situ to adversity. It is understood from other contexts that migration decisions may diverge in response to environmental stressors depending on a number of factors at multiple levels, including local agricultural conditions, adaptation options, possibilities for income diversification, and the presence of safe pathways for migration. As an example of the latter, inter-island mobility is facilitated through the framework of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission (OECS), which grants its Member States’ citizens freedom of movement and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which provides freedom of movement for certain types of skilled labour under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). This framework provides clear access to a migration pathway for some families affected by climate change impacts to diversify income sources. While many Pacific countries have recognized the importance of international migration to promote socio-economic development and to respond to climate change, for example, in Kiribati’s 2015 National Labour Migration Policy, pathways to labour migration are generally limited to bilateral agreements with partners in the region.

The policy landscapes analyzed for the report show that responses to address human mobility in the context of climate change are quite heterogeneous across island and archipelagic countries. Specific guidelines, adaptation plans or policies have been developed in some countries – notably, Dominica’s Resettlement Strategy (2019), Fiji’s Planned Relocation Guidelines (2018), and Vanuatu’s National Policy on Climate Change and Disaster-Induced Displacement (2018) – while the topic is an emerging field of policy action in others. Examples of planned relocation in Fiji highlight that inclusive and participatory processes are crucial, including providing livelihoods options at the new site. In general, the 2017 hurricane season in the Caribbean, Cyclone Pam in the Pacific, and Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Philippines all seem to have prompted targeted discussions on the climate-migration nexus among government officials in the study regions as they have created unprecedented disaster displacement.

Despite the differences between the diverse island areas of study, “Home Lands” revealed common challenges these countries face, including scarcity of arable land, remoteness, aid dependency, challenges to distribution of relief during crises, insufficient funding for recovery and development, and limits to personnel capacities, inter alia. Interviewees cited these and other compounding circumstances for migration and emphasised that they may become so strong that people feel they have no other option but to move out of harm’s way in order to have the chance of a decent future. Moreover, important data and research gaps hinder specific action on climate change-related mobility. For example, in the case of the Philippines, government officials and academic experts perceived the evidence base on climate-mobility linkages to be insufficient for the issue to be championed politically.

Regardless of the state of legislative development, key interviewees underline ways in which governments can capitalise on the strengths inherent to island and coastal communities to further build resilience using existing and innovative practices. They show that doing so can help to avoid some of the worst climate impacts: extreme human suffering, particularly of the poorest, when people are unable to move out of hazardous areas, but also chaotic displacement situations. For example, fostering skills partnerships for migration and expanding regular pathways for migration – as envisioned in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration – can ultimately enable people to move in dignity before climate impacts become life threatening.

This study, “Home Lands: Island and Archipelagic States’ Policymaking for Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change” has been conducted as part of a programme implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It represents a collaborative effort between the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), GIZ, several local researchers, and the policymaking and stakeholder community in each of the nations in focus. Read more here

About the authors:

Julia M. Blocher is a Doctoral Researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) @juliablocher

Dr. Kira Vinke is Project Lead of the EPICC project at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) @kiravinke

Mechthild Becker is a Scientific Assistant at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

Photo: Island in the Pacific © IOM 2017/Muse Mohammed