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Migration from atolls as climate change adaptation: Current practices, barriers and options in Solomon Islands

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  • Thomas Birk
  • Kjeld Rasmussen

Abstract

Adaptive strategies are important for reducing the vulnerability of atoll communities to climate change and sea level rise in both the short and long term. This paper seeks to contribute to the emerging discourse on migration as a form of adaptation to climate change based on empirical studies in the two atoll communities, Reef Islands and Ontong Java, which are located in the periphery of Solomon Islands. The paper will outline current migration patterns in the two island groups and discuss how some of this migration may contribute to adaptation to climate change and other stresses. It shows that migration currently improves access to financial and social capital, reduces pressure on natural resources and makes island communities less vulnerable to extreme weather events and other shocks — all factors that contribute positively to adaptive capacity. It also shows that there are major barriers to migration that reduce the efficacy of positive outcomes to both migrants and their home communities, including high transport costs and problems in gaining access to housing, employment and government services in urban destination areas. If it is accepted that voluntary migration may play a positive role in adaptation to climate change in exposed atoll communities, addressing some of the barriers to migration seems logical. This may be done by efforts to stimulate migrant income opportunities, by improving migrant living conditions and by improving the transport services to the islands.

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  • Thomas Birk & Kjeld Rasmussen, 2014. "Migration from atolls as climate change adaptation: Current practices, barriers and options in Solomon Islands," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(1), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:natres:v:38:y:2014:i:1:p:1-13
    DOI: 10.1111/1477-8947.12038
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andreas Egelund Christensen, 2011. "Marine gold and atoll livelihoods: The rise and fall of the bêche‐de‐mer trade on Ontong Java, Solomon Islands," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35, pages 9-20, February.
    2. Barnett, Jon & Webber, Michael, 2010. "Accommodating migration to promote adaptation to climate change," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5270, The World Bank.
    3. Arjan de Haan, 1999. "Livelihoods and poverty: The role of migration - a critical review of the migration literature," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 1-47.
    4. Robert A. McLeman & Lori M. Hunter, 2010. "Migration in the context of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change: insights from analogues," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(3), pages 450-461, May.
    5. Ms. Aiko Mineshima & Mr. Christopher Browne, 2007. "Remittances in the Pacific Region," IMF Working Papers 2007/035, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Andreas Egelund Christensen, 2011. "Marine gold and atoll livelihoods: The rise and fall of the bêche‐de‐mer trade on Ontong Java, Solomon Islands," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(1), pages 9-20, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Becchetti & Sara Mancini & Sara Savastano, 2022. "Food Security during the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Impact of a Rural Development Program and Neighbourhood Spillover Effect in the Solomon Islands," CEIS Research Paper 545, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 15 Dec 2022.
    2. Martina Angela Caretta & Valeria Fanghella & Pam Rittelmeyer & Jaishri Srinivasan & Prajjwal K. Panday & Jagadish Parajuli & Ritu Priya & E. B. Uday Bhaskar Reddy & Cydney Kate Seigerman & Aditi Mukhe, 2023. "Migration as adaptation to freshwater and inland hydroclimatic changes? A meta-review of existing evidence," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(8), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Stacy‐ann Robinson, 2020. "Climate change adaptation in SIDS: A systematic review of the literature pre and post the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), July.
    4. Simon D. Donner, 2015. "The legacy of migration in response to climate stress: learning from the Gilbertese resettlement in the Solomon Islands," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(3-4), pages 191-201, August.
    5. Xiaomeng Fang & Weili Liu, 2023. "Exploring Intra-Island Population Mobility and Economic Resilience: The Case of Hainan Island, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Vargas Falla, Ana Maria & Brink, Ebba & Boyd, Emily, 2024. "Quiet resistance speaks: A global literature review of the politics of popular resistance to climate adaptation interventions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).

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