Fiji on the Front Lines of Climate Mobility

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CHAPTERS

01:41 Climate Impacts Unfolding in Fiji

04:54 Government-Led Planned Relocation Framework

08:17 The Concept of Vanua: Cultural Ties to Land

13:10 Community Concerns and Decision-Making Around Relocation

16:44 Fiji as a Regional Migration Destination

22:16 Policy Gaps and Research Priorities

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:03.060] - Julian Hattem

Fiji has been at the forefront of climate migration discussions in the Pacific for years, and there are a couple of reasons why. The country, which consists of about 100 inhabited islands scattered across hundreds of miles, has faced significant challenges due to climate change. Like many other Pacific island nations, many of Fiji's islands are low-lying and struggling to cope with rising sea levels, land erosion, and extreme weather, which have forced some some people to think about leaving their homes. But as one of the largest economies in the region, Fiji is also a destination country for many people from other Pacific islands, including those affected by climate change. So how does a country simultaneously confront the challenges of climate change while also becoming a destination for people who are themselves fleeing these same factors elsewhere? This is Changing Climate, Changing Migration, coming to you from the Migration Policy Institute. My name My name is Julian Hattem, and this podcast examines the complicated questions about the intersection of climate change and human movement. Today we are turning our attention to Fiji, which is facing some of the thorniest climate migration-related questions in a lot of different ways. My guest is Sargam Goundar, who is a Fijian doctoral researcher at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

[00:01:31.220] - Julian Hattem

Sargam, hello. Thank you so much for joining us today. We are very glad to have you.

[00:01:35.400] - Sargam Goundar

Bula vinaka, Julian. It's a pleasure to join the MPI podcast.

[00:01:40.860] - Julian Hattem

Oh, great. So we have talked before on this podcast about some of the issues in other Pacific Island nations and across the region more generally, especially about the challenges caused by rising sea levels in low-lying atoll nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu. What is happening in Fiji? What sort of climate-related challenges do residents face? And to what extent have people either been able to adapt to those changes in their homes, or are they being driven to leave their homes and migrate?

[00:02:10.770] - Sargam Goundar

That's a good starting point for this discussion, Julian. I think an important thing to point out is that climate change is no longer something people in Fiji are preparing for. But it's something communities are already living with. And for example, people are seeing stronger cyclones, more frequent flooding, coastal erosion, seawater entering farmlands and freshwater supplies, and changes to rainfall patterns that affect agriculture and livelihoods. For instance, growing up in Fiji, cyclones were something we all experienced. But today communities are also dealing with slower changes that are happening year after year, and it's getting more intensified. I personally have visited coastal communities where people point to places that used to be dry land when they were children, but now regular flooding during high tides take place all the time. Farmers talk about seawater affecting their crops, and families worry about rebuilding their homes after repeated storms. And there are also extreme weather events, like I mentioned, more frequent flooding, storm surges, stronger cyclones. And in this instance, for example, Cyclone Winston in 2016 is one of the examples many people will have heard about. It affected around 540,000 people, which is more than half of Fiji's population at that time.

[00:03:53.420] - Sargam Goundar

But what often gets overlooked is that these impacts didn't end with the cyclone, when the cyclone passed. Recovery took years. And it's also important to understand that these impacts don't affect every community in the same way. Some communities can adapt where they are, while others are reaching a point where remaining in place is becoming increasingly difficult. And that raises much bigger questions, such as, should we rebuild here, or should we begin thinking about moving? But at the same time, as you know, decisions to move are influenced by many things, including things like jobs, education, family, housing, and existing social networks. And so climate change often adds pressure to these existing challenges rather than acting as the only reason people move.

[00:04:52.770] - Julian Hattem

That's great. That's a great overview. And I do, I want to talk about the decision-making process in a bit and the kind of complicated balancing act and questions that people are left with. But I do want to, I want to first talk about the response by the government, which I understand has been relatively proactive. And in particular, about the number of places and the kinds of places that are at risk. I believe that the government has identified something like more than 800 communities that could need to be relocated within the country to avoid climate-related risks. And nearly a decade ago, back in 2018, it launched some guidelines for how to relocate many of those communities. I mean, before we talk about the kind of decisions for how to move or not to move. Can you talk about the planning for what movement can look like? I mean, about the relocation, the intentional and coordinated relocations that have been ongoing in Fiji? What is the process that the government has been using and how did it come about?

[00:05:56.820] - Sargam Goundar

Sure. Fiji is often recognized as one of the leading countries in developing policies for planned relocation, as you just mentioned. But also, what's important to understand is that planned relocation is considered a last resort. And what that means is that the first priority of the government is to help communities remain where they are safely. And that might involve building seawalls, improving drainage, restoring ecosystems, or strengthening infrastructure. So relocation is really generally considered only when a community is facing serious and ongoing risks and those adaptation measures are no longer enough to manage the risks. And that's why Fiji often describes its planned relocation efforts as a last resort rather than the first response. And through my work with the Fijian government agencies and international organizations, one thing I have noticed is that the emphasis on consultation and community participation. And relocation isn't simply about, you know, changing your address and moving houses. It's about moving people's lives. And in this case, over the past decade, Fiji has developed several policies and procedures, including their National Plan Relocation Guidelines, the National Climate Change Act, and the Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund. And other governance arrangements to support relocation in a more coordinated and rights-based way.

[00:07:44.190] - Sargam Goundar

And many countries are now looking at Fiji's policy examples as well, because there are relatively still very few national relocation frameworks globally.

[00:07:55.820] - Julian Hattem

I love that phrase that you just used, relocation isn't just changing your address, it's about changing people's lives. I think that that's that's great. That's very evocative. I mean, I guess what is the status of some of these? I mean, have communities, have individuals been relocated? How has that process gone? Where and where have they gone?

[00:08:16.980] - Sargam Goundar

Yeah, so Fiji has fully relocated two communities and partially relocated four others at the moment. And these communities generally relocated to nearby higher grounds, usually on or close to their customarily owned land. To reduce climate risks while also maintaining connection to their cultural and social ties to the place. On the question of like successfulness of these relocations, and I don't think there's a simple yes or no answer here. If success means reducing exposure to climate risks, then they are certainly important achievements. For example, Vunidogoloa, which is often recognized as Fiji's first climate-related planned relocation community. They moved approximately 2 kilometers inland because of coastal erosion and flooding. And today the community is much safer from those immediate coastal hazards, but relocation is much more than moving houses, as I've mentioned. Communities are rebuilding their livelihoods, children are adapting to their new schools, families are maintaining cultural practices, and people are creating new relationships with the new place. So it is important to see relocation as an ongoing process rather than a completed project, you know, and working with the government and international organizations made it clear for me that relocation of families, of communities, it continues long after construction has finished.

[00:10:07.030] - Sargam Goundar

Yeah.

[00:10:07.930] - Julian Hattem

So I'm interested in some of the issues and challenges that you talk about and the decision to move or not to move. I mean, to an outsider, having to move 2 kilometers, which is a mile or so for those of us who use the mile system. That doesn't, that doesn't seem like a huge distance, to be frank, right? That's not— I mean, that's, you know, a fifteen minute walk. Uh, like, I guess, what is the— what are the concerns about having to move that? You know, because what, what kind of, uh, challenges am I overlooking if I say, oh, 2 miles, it's, you know, that, that's, that, that's not that far? It's— why, why is that more difficult than might meet the eye, than one might expect?

[00:10:49.280] - Sargam Goundar

For example, in Fiji's case, the most important I would say is their connection to land, especially for indigenous communities. And, you know, in Fijian context, it's called "vanua," the concept. And I think it's probably one of the most important concepts for understanding relocation in Fiji. And it's, on the other hand, it's also the most hardest concept to translate in English. Vanua doesn't simply mean land, which is often thought as the literal translation, but it's much more than that. It encompasses land, it encompasses people, culture, identity, ancestors, customary relationships, and spirituality. And for someone like me who has grown up in Fiji, vanua simply isn't somewhere people own. It's about families that have lived in that one place for generations. It's where ancestors are buried. It's where traditions continue. So when people and communities relocate, they aren't simply moving from one location to another. It's important to understand that they're leaving places that hold generations of family history. Cultural meaning, and emotional significance. And that's why planned relocation in Fiji isn't only like an engineering or infrastructure project, it's also very much social, cultural, and emotional process. And yeah, it is different for people who might be living, who has bought a place or a house or property in a suburb, in an urban area in Fiji or wherever, and then later, a few, 10 years maybe down the line, you want to move to another better place.

[00:12:42.590] - Sargam Goundar

So it's sort of like, okay, I'm changing address, I'm changing place, I'm moving with my family to another place. So you would leave that behind, you sell that off. But in the case of Fiji's relocation, as I've said, it's a much more deeper social and cultural connection to the place than just a matter of the house and the location itself.

[00:13:08.020] - Julian Hattem

Uh, I guess that raises the question, has there been backlash, uh, by local communities to efforts to relocate them? I know, um, in other contexts, certainly their planned relocation efforts have in some cases been very slow moving. They can take years, sometimes even decades to go from conception to enactment, in part, in part because people are conflicted about, you know, having to leave home, the reasons that you just described, you know, leaving home even if a mile or so, a couple of kilometers, is not a decision that people make lightly. I guess, yeah. What sort of pushback or what has there been pushback or resistance to this, to these relocations in Fiji? And I mean, to what extent, what has happened to people who declined to relocate and to have stayed in their own home? Have they felt some of the brunt of climate-related impacts?

[00:14:01.940] - Sargam Goundar

Again, I think this is a really important question. And I would probably describe it as an understandable concern rather than backlash. Communities, for example, naturally ask questions like, "Will we still be able to fish?" and "Can we continue farming?" or "Will we still be able to be close to our traditional fishing grounds?" which is the case in Fiji. 'Can we maintain our cultural traditions and practices?' And so those are completely reasonable questions, and through my work and broader research and literature, I have seen that communities generally want to be involved in genuine consultation and participation and decision-making throughout the process. So in other words, people want to relocate, want relocation to happen with them rather than to them. And yeah, and on the question of whether what happens to people who do not choose to relocate, every community is different. And that's something I have really come to see through both my research and professional experience. Planned relocation in Fiji is intended to be a collaborative process. Rather than something imposed on communities. So some households or people may initially choose to remain because of, you know, the cultural ties, livelihoods, or personal circumstances that I've mentioned.

[00:15:37.130] - Sargam Goundar

And in those cases, government continues to work with communities while also supporting adaptation where possible. And I would say ultimately these decisions involve balancing people's safety with their rights, with their identity, identity and their connection to place. Yeah.

[00:15:58.660] - Julian Hattem

That's great. I, I want, I guess I want to zoom out a little bit and look across the region because Fiji is, you know, one of many island countries that is affected by the impacts of climate change, but it is also something of a regional hub for migration in the Pacific, if I understand correctly. And my understanding is that among those migrants are other people from other Pacific islands that are themselves confronting climate change-related issues. I know you've done some research across Fiji looking into some of the ramifications of this movement, this in-migration from other Pacific Islands to Fiji. Can you tell us what you have seen? I guess, who is moving to Fiji, why, and what kind of response has that in-migration had from local communities?

[00:16:44.140] - Sargam Goundar

Yeah, one thing I've noticed that surprises people is that Fiji is not only a country that people leave, but it's also a country that people move to. And Fiji has long been a regional hub within the Pacific, and people come for many reasons, including higher education, job opportunities, healthcare, family connections, and business purposes. And the available data really challenges the common narrative of Pacific Islands as migrant sending countries. For instance, in my recent publication, I found that by 2020, Fiji was home to around 14,000 international migrants, and around 4,000 were born in other Pacific Island countries, which means roughly 1 in every 4 international migrants who came to Fiji were from elsewhere in the Pacific, mostly from neighboring countries such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands. And there are also migrants from elsewhere. I know these numbers in relation to other big countries seem much smaller, but looking at, you know, the small, relatively small population of Fiji and other Pacific Island countries, these numbers are actually significant. And what this tells us is that Fiji is already functioning as one of the Pacific's major destination countries. And climate change, as I've mentioned earlier, is increasingly becoming another factor that may influence immigration to Fiji.

[00:18:26.880] - Sargam Goundar

But it's also important to be careful here because at the moment we aren't seeing large numbers of people moving to Fiji solely because of climate change, and research has shown that mobility decisions are usually shaped by multiple reasons rather than one single factor only. And on the question of local communities' response to immigration to Fiji, that's really the central question that my recent paper and my doctoral research is exploring. One of the reasons I became interested in this topic is because we hear a lot about people who move and much less about communities that receive them, especially in the Pacific context, you know. And what I have found was that local people's views were much more nuanced than simply being supportive or opposed to immigration. Many participants showed a strong sense of Pacific values of compensation— sorry, compassion, regional solidarity, and a willingness to help neighboring island countries facing climate challenges. For example, they talked about Fiji's long history of supporting neighboring Pacific Island countries. But at the same time, many participants were also concerned about Fiji's adequate, if Fiji is adequately prepared if climate-related immigration increases in future. For example, they expressed concerns that unchecked immigration policies in the context of climate change could negatively affect the lives and livelihoods of local Fijians.

[00:20:12.060] - Sargam Goundar

Their concerns were mostly centered around issues like job opportunities, economic pressures, and the country's limited resources, being a small island developing country itself, which is highly exposed to climate change impacts. So those concerns weren't necessarily directed at migrants themselves, but they reflected like broader socioeconomic and development challenges that Fiji is currently experiencing. For example, Fiji's population is becoming increasingly urban with around 56% of people now living in urban areas, and the national capital Suva and its surrounding urban areas are growing rapidly, creating more pressure on housing and infrastructure. And in my study, participants recognized that these increasing pressures might get worse with increasing immigration numbers if planning doesn't keep pace. So the central finding was that participants were trying to balance humanitarian compassion with practical concerns about Fiji's future. And I think that's a much more realistic picture than thinking receiving communities as either welcoming or hostile.

[00:21:36.100] - Julian Hattem

That's great. There are several points there that I just want to reiterate and which I think ring very familiar to me as an American and someone who reads about responses to humanitarian migration generally, which is that there is this often an abstract desire to help people in the abstract. But then when it comes to the nitty-gritty, like, oh, is my rent going to double because now there's a whole lot of people in my area? And I think some of those You know, when it hits, when the rubber hits the road, when the pocketbook gets involved, it can be a difficult challenge, which I find interesting. And I guess also to reiterate your point about climate migration generally, overall, climate change is rarely the sole driver of movement in general. It's particularly the case with regards to international movement. I mean, you said that, but just to reiterate, to make clear. You mentioned, you mentioned planning, right, and balancing humanitarian concerns with kind of practical, practical issues of, you know, making sure that, you know, there's— the hospitals have enough capacity and schools have enough capacity to suit all people. I guess, how, how is the government and how are other international partners responding to these kinds of pressures and these kinds of pressures, rather, and the prospect of increased migration, both within and to Fiji for climate and other urbanizing factors, other reasons?

[00:23:05.710] - Sargam Goundar

At the moment, there aren't so much in-country or national planning on climate-related cross-border migration, and understandably, because most movements are focused internally and domestically, and clean relocation is also nationally happening. So there aren't that sort of already deliberate kind of planning existing that exists in Fiji. Also regionally, there is no such, like for example in Europe there's this Schengen area which enables movement of countries between the region. It's not that case in the Pacific. We don't have an open mobility system in the region. But there is, in terms of climate mobility context, recently the region's countries, they endorsed this Regional Climate Mobility Framework. However, this is again, it's a voluntary commitment for the countries. They are not legally bound to enable any specific pathways for countries between Pacific Island countries to enable movement because of climate change. And one of the biggest lessons from both my research and professional experience on climate-related mobility has shown that it's not only about supporting people who move, it's also about preparing and supporting the places that receive them. And as I've mentioned, at the moment, for instance, Fiji has developed internationally recognized policies on national plan relocation and climate adaptation within the country, but there are still relatively few policies that specially or specifically address climate-related immigration into Fiji or preparing the communities for that possibility.

[00:25:12.450] - Sargam Goundar

And my research suggests 3 priorities in this case. The first step is better evidence. In the Pacific context, we still know relatively little about climate-related migration between Pacific Island countries. Like, for example, in America and/or Europe, there's much more migration data about where people goes, what happens, how are communities responding. In the Pacific case, that is still relatively underexplored, sort of to say, and we need much more greater investment in research and data collection so that, you know, we can better understand who is moving, where they are moving, and the role that climate change is actually playing in those decisions. So better data will be able to also help governments plan based on evidence rather than assumptions. Secondly, governments need to develop clear and more comprehensive policies for climate-related immigration or mobility so that communities understand how migration would be managed. From the receiving perspective. And thirdly, investment should also support receiving communities, particularly vulnerable and marginalized groups, through housing, schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and jobs, so that, you know, population growth doesn't place additional pressure on communities that are already facing development challenges, for example, in Fiji's case. It also means involving receiving communities in planning and policy decisions.

[00:27:00.070] - Sargam Goundar

And one reason I chose this topic is because we hear a lot about migrants. We hear very less about communities receiving them in these processes. And if governments want climate mobility policies to succeed over the long term, they need to start, you know, to understand both perspectives. And as you mentioned, regional cooperation is equally important as well, because mobility isn't just Fiji's challenge in this case, it's a shared Pacific issue. So regional collaboration across the Pacific Island countries will continue to be very important.

[00:27:41.130] - Julian Hattem

We are almost out of time, but I want to close briefly by looking ahead. I guess if climate change keeps going at its current pace, are we likely to see continued mobility and migration both within and to Fiji? And if so, what that— what might that look like? Or I guess in other words, is increased mobility and movement inevitable and it's just a question of managing it correctly? Or, you know, what, what could Fiji look like 50 years from now?

[00:28:11.920] - Sargam Goundar

Yeah, I think mobility will become an increasingly important part for climate adaptation across the Pacific. We'll probably continue to see different forms of mobility across the region, and some communities will relocate within Fiji. Labor migration may continue growing. Education and family migration will remain an important aspect. Fiji will probably continue serving as a regional hub And as someone working at the intersection of research and policy, I think the real question isn't whether people will move, rather mobility has always been part of our history in the Pacific. Climate change is changing the context of mobility rather than creating new mobility itself. So I think the real challenge is making sure mobility happens in a way that protects people's dignity, their rights and well-being while also supporting communities receiving them. That's why I think listening to both people on the move and receiving communities is important if we are going to develop fair and sustainable climate migration policies. And ultimately, I would say climate mobility is lived as much as it is governed. So yeah.

[00:29:33.500] - Julian Hattem

We need to wrap things up there, but that was great. Thank you so much for coming on today, Sargam. I really appreciated your time. Thank you for your time.

[00:29:40.030] - Sargam Goundar

Thank you so much, Julian.

[00:29:42.080] - Julian Hattem

Sargam Goundar is a doctoral researcher at the University of Otago in New Zealand. She has previously worked at the UN Platform on Disaster Displacement, the International Organization for Migration, UNICEF, and the Government of Fiji. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration. Make sure to catch all of our new episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else it is that you get your audio. If you really want to help, please leave us a review, which goes a long way to making it easier for new listeners to find us. If you want to know more about climate mobility in the Pacific, we've had several conversations on the topic. You might want to check out our discussion with renowned legal scholar Jane McAdam on an episode called Are the Pacific's Climate Migration Experiments a Preview for the World? And retired U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott H. Swift joined us on an episode called Migration, Climate Change, and Security in the Pacific. You can find those conversations and many more on our brand new, completely redesigned website. It's at migrationpolicy.org/podcasts. You can also keep tabs on what MPI is up to with a twice-a-month newsletter from our digital magazine, the Migration Information Source.

[00:31:04.480] - Julian Hattem

You can sign up for that on our website too. This episode was produced by Daniella Espacio, with editorial oversight from Michelle Mittelstadt, and additional assistance provided by Lisa Dixon. Our theme music is a song called "Touch" by Patrick Patrikios. Once again, my name is Julian Hattem. Thanks for tuning in.