Relocation of reef and atoll island communities as an adaptation to climate change: learning from experience in Solomon Islands

Projections of sea-level rise generally imply that Pacific low-lying reef and atoll islands will be subject to considerable environmental changes, gradually diminishing their habitability. As a result, the option of abandoning the islands either through increased migration and/or relocation has been proposed as a potential adaptation strategy. Drawing on insights from Solomon Islands, this chapter explores how outlying island communities both historically and recently have engaged in human mobilities and partial relocations beyond the islands and in what ways these practices form active and deliberate adaptation strategies. Based on findings, it is argued that moving people into new locations as a response to climate change could have large socio-cultural, economic, and environmental consequences, potentially creating new vulnerabilities for the communities involved. Thus, any required future relocation of communities must be planned carefully, in order to select appropriate destinations for resettlement, and to guarantee long-term ownership or user rights to land and other resources in order to secure people's livelihood opportunities.

DOI: 10.1017/cbo9781139235815.008 openalex: W813964637 mag: 813964637