Resisting a 'Doomed' Fate: an analysis of the Pacific Climate Warriors

Abstract

The impacts of climate change have been, and are predicted to be, particularly concentrated in tropical areas such as the Pacific Islands.1 With rising sea levels, more droughts, and more frequent and intense storm activity now evident across the region, scholars have deemed low-lying countries as likely to be uninhabitable in the future. Hugo (1996, 125) made the case early on that ‘[I]nternational relocation may provide an enduring solution’ for small islands. This pragmatic position—of migration being a vital component of an effective adaptation response—was repeated in much of Hugo’s work (see Bardsley and Hugo 2010; Hugo 2010). In this vein, Hugo’s work provided a significant contribution to the complex challenge of uninhabitability in the Pacific Islands region, but it is not the only narrative. A growing number of island nation leaders and civil society groups have vocalised their opposition to a scenario whereby resettlement abroad is considered inevitable. This essay provides details of a grassroots network that defies the inevitability narrative and, like the extensive work of Hugo, offers important and critical contributions to the serious challenges facing the Pacific Islands region now and in the future.