Page 34 - FMR64_Trafficking and smuggling & Climate crisis and local communities_2020_web

FMR 64
34 Climate crisis and local communities
www.fmreview.org/issue64 June 2020

and power to all houses. Locally sourced risk and to increase resilience and adaptive
and constructed sea walls are recent capacity; these strategies are undertaken
additions, and mangroves have been planted at the individual, family and community
as protection against coastal erosion. level, and are distinctive in their variety of
The community has built a new chapel motivation, direction and outcome. Although
and a community hall. The community much migration policymaking in the region
has lobbied for a school, which has been is, for the time being, only broadly taking
promised by the national government; when account of mobility pressures and processes
it is built, the population of Funafala is in the climate change context, there are some
likely to increase further. Currently, families dedicated policy instruments. For example,
with children split their time between the Fijian government has developed national
the capital and Funafala so that their Planned Relocation Guidelines, launched at
children can attend school and indeed, the COP24 in 2018, to guide stakeholders in all
3
population of Funafala is currently lacking stages of the process of relocation in response
a younger cohort. The residents agree that to climate change. The Fijian government
more young families are likely to move has also set up a Climate Relocation and
to Funafala once a school is established. Displaced People’s Trust Fund (launched
Community members speak about at the UN General Assembly in 2019): the
the importance they attach to preserving world’s first relocation fund for people who
their culture and health – priorities which are displaced or who relocate due to climate
they carefully balance against the longer- change impacts. Meanwhile, Vanuatu has
term risks of climate change. Currently, established a National Policy on Climate
nobody feels physically unsafe, and the Change and Disaster Displacement, an
simple houses are relatively easily reparable instrument guiding public authorities and
from damage associated with flooding, non-governmental actors in implementing
storms and erosion. Funafala people are sectoral and systems-oriented approaches
well aware of the prominent wider debates where displacement occurs. However,
about Tuvalu becoming uninhabitable at moving from broad policy goals and
some point in the future but meanwhile guiding principles to clear directives and
are renewing their indigenous connections implementation arrangements for the Pacific
to land while there is still time, building Islands continues to prove challenging. In
cultural and social as well as livelihoods the meantime, any policy development needs
resilience. The Funafala example aligns to be based on a sound understanding of the
with the national policy priority in reality of people’s mobility strategies and
Tuvalu to adapt to climate change in situ. the factors at play in their decision making.
Physical fortification of low-lying islands, Importantly, policy development should
which is probably necessary to enable recognise that people address climate risk
communities to remain on indigenous (directly and indirectly) across the multiple
land in the long term, is an issue that places where they live and through the act
needs to be more highly prioritised by of being mobile, and should incorporate
Tuvalu’s international partners. While innovative, flexible mechanisms of support.
the technical and financial challenges to Fanny Thornton Fanny.Thornton@canberra.edu.au
achieving physical fortification are many, Associate Professor, University of Canberra
local cultural, social and environmental www.canberra.edu.au
impacts will also need to be carefully
considered should large-scale projects Karen E McNamara karen.mcnamara@uq.edu.au
Associate Professor, University of Queensland
such as land reclamation become feasible. www.uq.edu.au
Policy context Olivia Dun olivia.dun@unimelb.edu.au
Affected island communities are pursuing Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
www.unimelb.edu.au
a range of mobility strategies to lower their