Social and cultural dimensions of environment-related mobility and planned relocations in the South Pacific

This chapter presents a general review of the current trends related to climate-induced human mobility in the Pacific region. After a basic introduction to the impacts of climate change on the region, it reviews the existing body of knowledge on migration, displacement, and planned relocation induced by slow and rapid-onset environmental drivers. Climate change is further exacerbating the natural features of the Small Islands, which are by nature already extremely exposed and sensitive to extreme environmental events. Migration has been used by islanders for generations in order to cope with the adverse environmental impacts. This chapter addresses some detailed accounts of the latest trends – in particular countries of the Pacific – and makes use of recent studies to outline those trends while underlining social and cultural dimensions. Finally, it illustrates specific examples of recent and ongoing disaster-induced planned relocation in the region based on the author’s own research in Fiji.