Lessons from Contemporary Resettlement in the South Pacific

Abstract

Depending on the scale and distance of migration, a variety of challenges face both those moving because of climate impacts and the communities receiving these migrants. The lessons drawn from resettlements and planned relocations thus far--most notably in the Carteret Islands of Papua New Guinea--underscore the importance of adequate funding, careful planning, restoring traditional livelihoods, and ensuring voluntary community participation throughout the entire process. Critical hurdles persist, however, particularly for the most vulnerable communities within nation-states. This article explores the importance of adequate funding and identifies the dangerous and nagging impediments present, even as climate-induced migration advances in the adaptation discourse. With a focus on the Carteret Islanders' ongoing relocation and resettlement to the island of Bougainville, this article argues that communities may face economic development and political gaps. Economic development gaps inhibit communities' abilities to address redevelopment needs that elude appropriate classification for funding because they are neither strictly "climate" nor "development" categories. Additionally, political gaps exacerbate the challenges of accessing existing funding for local communities that are at odds with the national governments that purportedly represent their interests. These gaps compound the general lack of adequate funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Considering models for a new framework, this article explores the applicability of existing community-oriented funding regimes to address the political and economic development challenges that climate migrants face. ********** A politically contentious issue, climate change-related migration suffers from ambivalent recognition in many forums, including in legal, political, and international negotiations. The existence of the climate change migration phenomenon, however, at least for the kinds of relocation typical of small island atoll communities in the Pacific, is credible and verifiable. (1) Indeed, a number of communities are already well into the process of relocation--and for each, durable solutions are critical. (2) This article focuses on the relocation difficulties facing communities that are currently moving as a result of climate forces, specifically in Papua New Guinea (PNG). A review of their plight reveals that two important gaps in assistance compound the inherent challenges of relocation and cause the nagging lack of funding for climate change action, generally, and adaptation, specifically. These gaps are either economic development gaps--in which communities cannot address redevelopment needs that, because they are neither strictly "climate" nor "development," elude appropriate classification for funding--and political gaps--in which existing funding is inaccessible for local communities that are at odds with the national governments charged with representing their interests. This article first provides a brief background on the contested phenomenon of climate-induced migration and then looks at the specific instances of planned relocation in the South Pacific. Extrapolating from concerns of the Carteret Islanders of PNG, this article later explores the gaps in research and management that hamper relocation and may adversely affect successful, long-term resettlement. In the final part, it considers the perils and possibilities of current funding regimes and explores possible amendments to improve the odds of success for relocating communities. Considering sound models for a new framework, this article explores the applicability of existing, though smaller, community-oriented funding regimes and community-based adaptation generally as a paradigmatic framework to address the political and economic development challenges that climate migrants face. MIGRATION IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC While the movement of peoples as a result of climate change-induced pressures may be difficult to predict and clearly identify, certain types of movement are more straightforward than others. …