Negotiating relocation in a weak state: land tenure and adaptation to sea-level rise in Solomon Islands

Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change is likely to be associated with an increase in sea-level rise and extreme weather events, which will exacerbate migratory pressures in the western Pacific. Much attention has recently been paid to the prospect of transnational refugee flows from the territories comprising low-lying atolls, such as Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Tokelau and Tuvalu. However, very little attention has been paid to the localised relocations that are likely to occur within the larger and more mountainous states, such as Papua New Guinea or Solomon Islands. Furthermore, while most land in the Pacific is formally held under customary tenure, existing scholarship tends to emphasise state-based norms and institutions and largely overlooks the role of customary systems in shaping adaptation to climate change. This emphasis is also reflected in national regulatory frameworks governing land and climate change adaptation.