Land squeeze threatens climate-exposed islanders

Perth Now

13-05-2025

The Walande community is running out of space to grow food and build homes.
Sea level rise threatens the viability of low-lying land for growing swamp taro crops and a collapsing seawall could push the indigenous Solomon Islands community further inland.
The land squeeze and food insecurity have some members of the community considering relocation - another move after life on their former island home was made untenable by climate change-fuelled extreme weather.
Sea level rise, intensifying storms and higher king tides forced islanders to flee to the mainland more than a decade ago.
Today, all that's visible of the tiny island above water are a few wooden posts sticking out.
Walande community secretary Fred Dauburi said the 50-hectare plot on the mainland was not enough for 800 people.
"The population of this community is increasing rapidly but a piece of land will not expand," he told Human Rights Watch in a recent report.
The community made the move with little financial support from the national government or international donors.
Human Rights Watch climate displacement researcher Erica Bower said it was not unusual for Pacific Island communities to be forced to move more than once when they instigated the relocation themselves.
It was less common when governments or NGOs were actively involved in the move to a more-resilient location, underscoring the need for more assistance.
"This story highlights the consequences of inadequate support for climate-exposed communities," Ms Bower told AAP.
The Solomon Islands government is one of just six with guidelines for planned relocation, a "beautiful document" largely collecting dust on the shelf.
"It's not being implemented," she said.
For the international community, funding was key, with Solomon Islanders receiving an average of $A31 a year in foreign aid for climate adaptation.
Keeping the money flowing is another challenge.
The Walande people were able to secure a small sum to rebuild their failing sea wall but the funds ran out before it was finished.
Ms Bower said tensions over land were a huge problem throughout the Pacific, often stemming from informal arrangements made decades ago.
"The government should play a role in mediating those conflicts and in attempting to support communities to find solutions," she said.
Ms Bower said the move from the island had taken a toll, with one resident paddling her canoe back to the island every night.
"The way she described it was 'as salt water people, we live by the ocean, we need to live on an island'."