Pacific Island Climate Refugees

Policy inaction will lead to devastation.

By Isaac Williams

Definition of Refugee

“Someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” - United Nations High Commissioners of Refugees

What about Climate Refugees?

Background

Humanitarian crises are inevitable in the South Pacific region as climate change directly impacts environmental transformations in Pacific Island Nations with devastating impacts on Pacific Island populations.

Changes in climate cause decreases in livability for people currently living in these islands. This drives emerging migration patterns of displaced populations due to the effects of climate change. Current international framework regarding mass displaced people focus on political refugees not climate refugees complicating support efforts.

The addition of UN definition of refugee and incorporations of why this definition does not allow for the proactive descions for future Pacific climate refugees

Source: Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology http://www.bom.gov.au/pacific/projects/pslm/

First Wave of Migrations:

Rural to Urban

Displacement for Pacific Nations encompasses internal migrations from rural areas prone to sea water rising, saltwater intrusion, and other effects to urban areas.

Rural migrants to these growing urban centers face the inability of obtaining land, the lack of employment opportunities, the increase of health and sanitation issues with growing population density, the limited access to infrastructure, and the advent of squatter communities (Campbell & Warrick, 2014, 6).

This is evident in the atoll nation of Kiribati where migrations from rural outer islands to the capital of South Tarawa presents major problems concerning overcrowding and water shortages (Pacific Islanders Faced with Migration | UNFCCC, 2017).

"Island Nation of Kiribati Affected by Climate Change" by United Nations Photo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Resettlements of displaced Pacific populations internally or internationally cause societal and economic issues associated with the losing of one’s ancestral homelands. Victims of climate change displacement may face (Campbell & Warrick, 2014, 24):
• Unemployment
• Culture and Identity Loss
• Homelessness
• Loss of Governing Autonomy
• Financial Burden
• Mental Health Effects
Issues stated above are guaranteed without a structured pathway that directly mitigates the humanitarian problems that come with displacement.

The U.N. definition of refugee must include those who are affected by the increasing effects of Climate Change. Currently there are no internationally accepted legal definition of people who are displaced and need migration assistance solely based on the long-term effects of climate change.