Climate Change, planned relocation and land governance in the Pacific region

The adverse effects of climate change in the Pacific are increasingly forcing people to relocate in order to cope with the threats to their livelihoods. Relocations such as retreating from coastal areas in response to changing environmental conditions have long been a part of the adaptive strategies, culture and practice of Pacific Island communities. Relocation processes are particularly complex, as most of the land is under customary tenure and land is a common cause of conflict. Yet customary land tenure as a factor in relocation is seldom mooted in discussions on adaptation strategies in the Pacific. This dissertation explores the complex relationships between relocation and land tenure, in particular how cultural norms associated with land ownership impact on sustainability of population movements resulting from climate change in the Pacific, focusing on Fiji as case study. The conceptual framework explored on Hybridity and the use of Pluralism as aspect of Hybridity through the “nuanced approach” suggested that the interaction between state and community governance need to be captured through complex dynamics including tensions, challenges and synergies. One way of capturing those tensions and synergies is to look at theoretical frameworks that study barriers to the governance of adaptation such as Biesbroek’s (2013b) theoretical framework. Key results underline the need to reframe the role of traditional community leadership in planned relocations through the “middle-ground approach to relocation”, a “nuanced approach” where, rather than being limited to participation and consultation, their role in the relocation process should be central and active. The thesis proposes a re-conceptualisation of the role of traditional authorities in the relocation process and a conceptual framework including the “typology of planned relocation.” It proposes to redefine the role of customary chiefs and land owners as central in land acquisition while considering “resilience,” “perceptions” and “immobility” as key concepts for conceptualising planned relocation as an adaptation strategy to climate change in order to develop appropriate policy responses that would address challenges associated with land. Starting with the observation that the way land is accessed, negotiated and secured in planned relocation is central, results from our study suggest that land acquisition based on the “nuanced approach” emerging from the examination of pluralism as aspect of hybridity strongly echoes the need for addressing relocation through a “middle-ground approach”. Both approaches are key to determine
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mobility and immobility outcomes approached through Carling’s aspiration-capability model (2002). Barriers that might undermine “ability” to relocate and therefore limit adaptation include “staggered or partial relocation” of the community to the new destination site that would leave part of the community “trapped” as “involuntary relocatees” in their site of origin and strongly affect community cohesion minimizing opportunities for sustainable relocation as opposed to “whole or full community relocation”. After putting in perspective field study results with the political frameworks at work in the region, the study finds that regional governance is a promising venue to address planned relocation through the “nuanced approach to relocation” as it allows specific challenges and cultural features the region holds to be addressed, including specific issues surrounding customary ownership of the land, directly conditioning water access and security. The thesis also argues that land management in the context of climate-induced relocation in the Pacific would benefit greatly from a strong and coherent regional framework that would support national and local governance specific to each country. Ultimately, the dissertation provides specific policy recommendations that could serve as tool for future policy in the region while proposing directions for future research on climate change, human mobility and land tenure.