Envisioning South-South relations in the fields of environmental change and migration in the Pacific Islands - past, present and futures

Eberhard Weber

doi:10.1186/s40728-014-0009-z

Abstract

Climate change poses severe threats to developing countries. Scientists predict entire states (e.g. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Maldives) will become inhabitable. People living in these states have to resettle to other countries. Media and politicians warn that climate change will trigger migration flows in dimensions unknown to date. It is feared that millions from developing countries overwhelm developed societies and increase pressures on anyway ailing social support systems destabilizing societies and becoming a potential source of conflict.Inhabitants of Pacific Islandsahave been mobile since the islands were first settled not longer than 3,500 years ago. Since then people moved around, expanded their reach, and traded with neighbouring tribes (and later countries). With the event of European powers in the 15thcentury independent mobility became restricted after the beginning of the 19thcentury. From the second half of the 19thcentury movements of people predominately served economic interests of colonial powers, in particular a huge colonial appetite for labour. After independence emigration from Pacific Island countries continued to serve economic interest of metropolitan countries at the rim of the Pacific Ocean, which are able to direct migration flows according to their economic requirements.If climate change resettlements become necessary in big numbers then Pacific Islanders do not want to become climate change refugees. To include environmental reasons in refugee conventions is not what Pacific Islanders want. They want to migrate in dignity, if it becomes unavoidable to leave their homes. There are good reasons to solve the challenges within Pacific Island societies and do not depend too much on metropolitan neighbours at the rim of the Pacific such as Australia, New Zealand and the USA. To rise to the challenge requires enhanced Pan-Pacific Island solidarity and South-South cooperation. This then would result in a reduction of dependencies. For metropolitan powers still much can be done in supporting capacity building in Pacific Island countries and helping the economies to proposer so that climate change migrants easier can be absorbed by expanding labour markets in Pacific Island countries.

Highlights

Setting the challenges Climate Change has become one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. For many years it has been seen from a perspective of mitigation: what can be done to prevent climate change from happening? Today’s major concerns are: how can societies adjust, adapt to or at least cope with the impacts arising from climate change? In this discourse the question is, if moving away is a suitable adaptation strategy, or an acknowledgement that adaptation has failed
People living in countries that soon might disappear from the world map are frightened that they will be exposed to inhumane treatment like today asylum seeker in Australian detention centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru: locked away for indefinite time, with few rights and even less opportunities to decide over their lives
Metropolitan powers have a role to play: they should meet their obligations in helping Pacific Island countries to generate capacities so that people can contribute to the societies of the countries receiving them

Summary

Introduction

Setting the challenges Climate Change has become one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Two Pacific ACP countries (Cook Islands and Niue) are in a free association with New Zealand. On the other hand the water body around the islands is tremendous: the combined Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of all 15 Pacific Island countries and territories is almost 25 million km2 With this they cover an area considerably bigger than Russia, the world’s largest country and almost three times the land area of China. With a population at home of around 190,000, has another 120,000 people living overseas, mainly in New Zealand (World Bank 2011). In the early 16th century the Pacific Oceans was little more than a seemingly endless body of water between the Spanish colonies in Asia and the Americas During this time many islands were added to European knowledge, their locations drawn into the maps of the Pacific Ocean. States of Micronesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Palau Fiji Islands Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Vanuatu

New Caledonia

Solomon Islands

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Findings

Conclusion