OIM - Climate Mobility and Relocation in Solomon Islands de 2025

Insights from Community Experiences and Key Stakeholders CLIMATE MOBILITY AND RELOCATION IN SOLOMON ISLANDSThe opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not imply expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. _____________________________ This report is funded by the IOM Development Fund (IDF) under the project Solomon Islands: Developing Planned Relocation Guidelines in the Context of Slow and Sudden Onset Disasters.

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Email: iomhoniara@iom.int Website: www.iom.int Cover photo: Kia, Isabel Province. © IOM 2023/Junior Patrick MAKAU Required citation: Allen, M., PhD, R. Monson, PhD, J. Cox, PhD, D. Oakeshott, PhD and R. Maetala (2025).

Climate Mobility and Relocation in Solomon Islands: Insights from Community Experiences and Key Stakeholders. International Organization for Migration (IOM), Honiara.

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PUB2024/047/ELInsights from Community Experiences and Key Stakeholders

CLIMATE MOBILITY

AND RELOCATION IN

SOLOMON ISLANDS Matt Allen, PhD Principal Consultant, Sustineo Pty Ltd; Honorary Associate Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Rebecca Monson, PhD Professor, Australian National University Law School John Cox, PhD Senior Research Associate, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne David Oakeshott, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University Ruth Maetala Co-Founder, Dignity Pasifik (Gender Disaggregated Data for Development)Vure, Choiseul Province. © IOM 2023/Nathalie HANLEYACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank Robert Hortle, PhD, Nina Davis and Tom Sloan of Sustineo, for doing the editorial review. Further review was provided by Nathalie Hanley (IOM Solomon Islands) and Christopher Richter (IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific). The in-country data collection was carried out by Margaret Sandy and Kitchener Bird of Dignity Pasifik, under the guidance of Ruth Maetala, who was also directly involved in some data collection activities. Rex Solo (IOM Solomon Islands) also accompanied the in-country research team during the community consultations. Other Dignity Pasifik staff contributed to logistical support and data

Pasifik, under the guidance of Ruth Maetala, who was also directly involved in some data collection activities. Rex Solo (IOM Solomon Islands) also accompanied the in-country research team during the community consultations. Other Dignity Pasifik staff contributed to logistical support and data translation and transcription, including Patricia Maike, Laura Litia Afia and Tracy Teasanau. Above all, we are indebted to the communities in Aruligo, Nukukaisi, Titiana and Walande, and to the key informants who took the time to share their experiences and perspectives with us. Without them this report would not have been possible. iii Climate mobility and relocation in Solomon Islands: Insights from community experiences and key stakeholdersKia, Isabel Province. © IOM 2023/Junior Patrick MAKAUCONTENTS Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................................iii List of tables ..............................................................................................................................................................................vii Acronyms and abbreviations ..............................................................................................................................................vii

1. Executive summary .......................................................................................................................................................1

2. Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Background and context .....................................................................................................................................5 2.2. Purpose ......................................................................................................................................................................7 2.3. Report structure ....................................................................................................................................................7

3. Methodology and data collection activities .......................................................................................................9 3.1. Methodology ..........................................................................................................................................................9 3.2. Data collection methods .................................................................................................................................10 3.3. Research ethics and research permit .........................................................................................................12 3.4. Data analysis .........................................................................................................................................................12 3.5. Research limitations ...........................................................................................................................................13

4. Analysis and findings ...................................................................................................................................................15 4.1. Community consultations ...............................................................................................................................15 4.2. High-level key informant interviews ...........................................................................................................35

5. Conclusion and implications for draft relocation guidelines ...................................................................47

Annex A: Community consultation key informant interview guide ................................................................53

Annex B: Community consultation focus group discussion guide ....................................................................57

Annex C: High-level key informant interview guide ...............................................................................................61

References .................................................................................................................................................................................63 v

5. Conclusion and implications for draft relocation guidelines ...................................................................47

Annex A: Community consultation key informant interview guide ................................................................53

Annex B: Community consultation focus group discussion guide ....................................................................57

Annex C: High-level key informant interview guide ...............................................................................................61

References .................................................................................................................................................................................63 v Climate mobility and relocation in Solomon Islands: Insights from community experiences and key stakeholdersA boy stands on the reef in Fiu, Malaita Province. © IOM 2024/Junior Patrick MAKAULIST OF TABLES Table 1. Key characteristics of case study communities ....................................................10 Table 2. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions conducted during community consultations .................................................................................11 Table 3. High-level key informant interviews by sector and sex ....................................12 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CDF Constituency Development Fund FGD focus group discussion KII key informant interview MECDM Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology MLHS Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey MPA Member of Provincial Assembly NGO non-governmental organization SOP standard operating procedure vii Climate mobility and relocation in Solomon Islands: Insights from community experiences and key stakeholdersLilisiana, Malaita Province. © IOM 2022/Junior Patrick MAKAUAoke Island, Malaita Province. © IOM 2024/Junior Patrick MAKAU1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents the findings of the primary research for the project Solomon Islands: Developing Planned Relocation Guidelines in the Context of Slowand Sudden-onset Disasters, funded by the IOM Development Fund. The research – conducted by Sustineo, in partnership with Dignity Pasifik – entailed the collection and analysis of qualitative data from community consultations in four communities in Solomon Islands that had directly experienced relocation, as well as from “high‑level” KIIs. This report presents findings from 36 community-level KIIs, 24 community-level FGDs and 13 high-level KIIs, and maps out their implications for the development of the Relocation Guidelines for Solomon Islands (hereinafter the Guidelines). The research methodology strongly emphasized gender and social inclusion, in line with international

high-level KIIs, and maps out their implications for the development of the Relocation Guidelines for Solomon Islands (hereinafter the Guidelines). The research methodology strongly emphasized gender and social inclusion, in line with international best practice approaches to displacement and relocation. Underpinned by a combination of feminist and Melanesian tok stori methodologies, these aspects of the approach included prioritizing interviews with women; convening separate group discussions with women, men and young people; asking specific questions about the participation and inclusion of marginalized groups; and applying a gender‑sensitive lens to the analysis and interpretation of data. Informal tok stori engagements also provided an avenue for women and young people to speak more freely and produced important findings that have added nuance and depth to the research. The community-level research uncovered both similarities and differences between the four communities in terms of participants’ responses to the key issues and themes that were explored during the KIIs and FGDs. These differences are to be expected given that the four communities were purposively selected to represent the range of different types of relocation experiences and contexts that are found across the Solomon Islands. These include differences in relation to: land tenure arrangements; the degree of cultural and linguistic similarity between resettled and host communities; whether the relocation occurred internationally, interprovincially, intraprovincially or locally; when relocation occurred; and the nature of the relocation drivers. The four communities were Titiana (Western province), Nukukaisi (Makira province), Walande (Malaita province) and Aruligo (Guadalcanal province). Themes, issues and perspectives that were common across the four communities were: • Broad recognition of distinct roles for a range of stakeholders in the relocation process, including the Government of Solomon Islands, provincial governments, churches, NGOs, community leaders and the communities themselves; • Notable gender differences in participants’ views about the inclusivity of existing community governance structures, with men seeing these as adequate and inclusive and women seeing them as excluding women’s voices and participation; • A strong preference, regardless of the underlying land tenure arrangements, for land

community leaders and the communities themselves; • Notable gender differences in participants’ views about the inclusivity of existing community governance structures, with men seeing these as adequate and inclusive and women seeing them as excluding women’s voices and participation; • A strong preference, regardless of the underlying land tenure arrangements, for land recording, registration and titling; • Support for a phased approach to relocation; • Consensus that the relocation site must afford access to government services, community infrastructure and facilities, and resources to support livelihoods; and not to be prone to natural hazards; • Strong emphasis given to the role played by local non-State actors in dispute resolution, including churches, chiefs and other community leaders. 1 Climate mobility and relocation in Solomon Islands: Insights from community experiences and key stakeholdersKey areas of difference between the four communities were: • Views on who should hold primary responsibility for initiating and leading a relocation. In two communities, participants identified the Government of Solomon Islands but at Walande there was a strongly held view that the community should initiate and lead the process, and at Titiana there were clear gender differences on this issue. • Preferences for the relocation site to be on government-owned land or customary land. Walande was again the exception, with participants expressing a clear preference for customary land. • Preferences for land titles to be held by individuals/households or at the community level. Nukukaisi was the only community where participants expressed a preference for individual titles. • Perspectives on the most important attributes of the relocation site. Participants at Walande placed higher priority on “being close to the place of origin”. • The nature of disputes that were reported, with participants at Aruligo and Nukukaisi emphasizing disputes with local landowning communities, and those at Walande and Titiana highlighting intracommunity disputes. The high-level KIIs corroborated several of the common themes that emerged from the community‑level research while also highlighting other important issues. Following are the key themes and issues raised by participants: •

highlighting intracommunity disputes. The high-level KIIs corroborated several of the common themes that emerged from the community‑level research while also highlighting other important issues. Following are the key themes and issues raised by participants: • The need for a dedicated intraministerial relocation unit within the Government of Solomon Islands that works with existing government climate change and disaster management structures; • A critical role for the State in conducting risk assessments of vulnerable communities, planning for services in relocation sites and providing information to affected communities; • A significant role for churches, with several participants emphasizing that churches enjoy greater capacity and local legitimacy than government agencies; • The need for inclusive consultation processes that consider local cultural practices and institutions and also encompass host landowner communities; • The need to recognize the long-term horizons over which consultation, education and awareness-raising must take place; and to develop a broader national conversation about climate change impacts; • The need for permanent tenure arrangements for relocated communities and for land titles to be held communally; • The need to prioritize existing community links, social networks and cultural affinities in selecting a relocation site. 2

1. Executive summaryBuilding upon the themes and issues that were consistently raised by participants across the community‑level and high-level engagements, as well as the lessons gleaned from the diverse experiences of the community-level participants and the specialist expertise of the high-level participants, the following implications for the Guidelines are highlighted: • Relocation must be a last resort. It may require consultations over generations, and there is an urgent need for increased engagement with communities. • The Guidelines must build upon existing institutional arrangements and systems, and link local, provincial and national governance arrangements. • The Guidelines must support collective landholding, and communities must be extensively involved in all aspects of relocation including selecting sites and determining appropriate landholding arrangements. • The Guidelines should identify specific measures to support groups at risk of being excluded, including women, and involvement of churches and NGOs is essential to ensure inclusion. • Relocation must be phased.

•

involved in all aspects of relocation including selecting sites and determining appropriate landholding arrangements. • The Guidelines should identify specific measures to support groups at risk of being excluded, including women, and involvement of churches and NGOs is essential to ensure inclusion. • Relocation must be phased. • Relocation should occur to sites that are broadly similar to the site of origin ecologically, economically, culturally and socially. 3 Climate mobility and relocation in Solomon Islands: Insights from community experiences and key stakeholdersCommunity members gather coral and stones to build sea walls in Lilisiana, Malaita Province. © IOM 2022/Junior Patrick MAKAU2. INTRODUCTION 2.1. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Solomon Islands is a geographically diverse country, made up of six major islands and around 900 smaller ones, home to more than 700,000 people. The country is vulnerable to both acute natural hazards – including floods, cyclones and earthquakes – and the slow-onset impacts of climate change, especially rising sea levels and coastal inundation. Like other Pacific Island countries, Solomon Islands has a negligible climate footprint but disproportionately suffers from the adverse effects of climate change which is primarily caused by emissions from large advanced and emerging market economies. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognizes that countries in the Least Developed Country category, which includes Solomon Islands, are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Solomon Islanders are already experiencing these impacts as more frequent and intense weather events associated with climate change endanger lives, destroy homes, destroy crops and the soil, and pose an existential challenge to people who understand themselves by reference to their ancestral lands. In the 2008 National Adaptation Programmes of Action, the Government of Solomon Islands states that climate change is the “most important environmental and developmental issue for Solomon  Islands” and that adaptation measures need to be implemented with “some urgency” (Solomon Islands, Government of, 2008). In a similar vein, the Government recognizes that climate change will threaten the achievement of Solomon Islands’ national development goals and will place added burden on government resources (Solomon Islands, Government of, 2012). The severity of

(Solomon Islands, Government of, 2008). In a similar vein, the Government recognizes that climate change will threaten the achievement of Solomon Islands’ national development goals and will place added burden on government resources (Solomon Islands, Government of, 2012). The severity of climate change impacts and the urgency required in addressing them is also recognized at the regional level where the Pacific Islands Forum has affirmed in the Boe Declaration on Regional Security and the Kainaki II Declaration for Urgent Climate Action Now that climate change is the single biggest threat facing the region (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2018 and 2019). Climate-driven relocation is already occurring in Solomon Islands and more communities are expected to need to relocate in the future. The Government of Solomon Islands has already identified several communities that may benefit from planned relocation, such as Choiseul province’s capital, Taro. There are also documented instances of communities conducting community-driven relocations following accepted traditional protocols. Solomon Islands also has a deep history of diverse forms of migration and mobility, including State‑led resettlements during the colonial period, and more recently, voluntary internal migration as people have moved to urban, peri-urban and rural areas in search of better access to government services and employment and other livelihood opportunities. The experiences and lessons of these relocations, as well as those that have occurred elsewhere in the Pacific, provide important lessons to inform future relocations. This is particularly the case for a range of issues that make Solomon Islands a unique context for relocation planning and implementation. This includes the prevalence of customary land tenure arrangements and customary claims to alienated land, the widespread authority and legitimacy of non-State actors such as churches and customary leaders, the constrained capacity of national and provincial governments, and the country’s immense social and ethnic diversity. 5 Climate mobility and relocation in Solomon Islands: Insights from community experiences and key stakeholdersClimate change-related migration in Solomon Islands has legacies and echoes from “past colonial experiments with relocation and resettlement long before climate change became a concern” (Hviding and Borrevik, 2019: 518). Most Solomon Islanders live on the coast, which, for many, is itself a result

experiments with relocation and resettlement long before climate change became a concern” (Hviding and Borrevik, 2019: 518). Most Solomon Islanders live on the coast, which, for many, is itself a result of migrations from inland hamlets to coastal villages during the early colonial and missionization period. Many others have travelled further afield and settled in urban areas or around resource projects for the education and employment opportunities on offer (Chapman, 1972; Hicks et al., 2021). However, regardless of their reasons for moving, migrants did not abandon or cede ownership of the lands they moved from. Many travelled through historical networks of connection, typically through kinship links established through intermarriage, trade and even warfare, which allowed them to gain rights to use land at their new locations. Although 87 per cent of land in Solomon Islands is still held under customary tenure, it can both enable and complicate migrations in response to climate change (Monson and Fitzpatrick, 2015). Such is the strength of customary claims to land in Solomon Islands that the ownership of the 13 per cent of land that is alienated is far from legitimate in the eyes of many original landowners, some of whom who continue to contest the historical alienation of their land, especially land that is now owned by the State. Solomon Islanders generally agree that they must establish and respect their relationships to landowners. McDougall (2016) and Stritecky (2001) have shown that even during the Ethnic Tension (1998–2003) – where the rights of landowners and migrants was a crucial point of contention – Solomon Islanders agreed on the rights of landowners over their land. Trundle (2020) has shown how settlers and landowners in Honiara negotiate land use informally, giving them considerable flexibility and legitimacy that then bring into question the State’s claims to be able to manage land through formal legal channels. Any migrant must first establish who owns the land, but this is a fraught question for those with claims to own it. Landownership has been the crucial means through which many Solomon Islanders have

flexibility and legitimacy that then bring into question the State’s claims to be able to manage land through formal legal channels. Any migrant must first establish who owns the land, but this is a fraught question for those with claims to own it. Landownership has been the crucial means through which many Solomon Islanders have sought to gain access to development, services and a more secure place in the global economy. Claims over land proliferate where major resource projects are proposed and constructed; it is compensation and rent for the use of land that offer the financial resources needed to send children to school, build larger houses and participate in the formal economy. At the Gold Ridge mine on Guadalcanal, for example, landowning groups have fragmented and the number of competing landowner associations has proliferated (Nanau, 2009:218). Within communities, social divisions emerge between different generations (Kabutaulaka, 2001) and can concentrate power and authority in senior men (Monson, 2015 and 2017). More broadly, settler and landowner narratives can crystallize islandwide identities and precipitate tensions between them (Allen, 2012 and 2018). As Foukona and Allen (2019) argue, when State laws fix landownership around ideas of exclusive title, inequalities are magnified, creating conditions where conflict over land becomes more likely. Against this complex social and historical backdrop, the Government of Solomon Islands is in the process of developing relocation guidelines that support its response to slow-onset changes to the environment and sudden-onset disasters. The development of guidelines is being led by the MLHS and the MECDM, in partnership with IOM. The guidelines are aligned with the Government of Solomon Islands National Development Policy and the National Climate Change Policy. The primary objective of the guidelines is to facilitate the relocation of communities that inhabit areas affected by disasters, climate change and environmental degradation. Relocation is a strategy of last resort, but when it becomes necessary there must be clear guidelines in place to ensure that the process is safe and effective. The project is supported by an advisory committee, comprised of eight Government of Solomon

disasters, climate change and environmental degradation. Relocation is a strategy of last resort, but when it becomes necessary there must be clear guidelines in place to ensure that the process is safe and effective. The project is supported by an advisory committee, comprised of eight Government of Solomon Islands representatives, three academic representatives, three civil society representatives and one IOM representative. The advisory committee ensures that the project is conducted in a transparent manner that the rights and dignity of relocated persons are respected, and that all processes involved are followed correctly. 6

2. Introduction2.2. PURPOSE Sustineo, in partnership with Dignity Pasifik, was engaged by IOM to support the development of relocation guidelines that: are informed by past and contemporary experience (internationally, in the Pacific and in Solomon Islands) and by community and stakeholder consultation; address the particular needs of women and other disadvantaged groups; and provide durable, rights-based solutions.

This report presents findings from the main research phase of the project, which has entailed the collection and analysis of qualitative data from consultations in four communities that have directly experienced relocation, as well as from high-level KIIs. This study presents the key findings from 36 community-level KIIs, 24 community-level FGDs and 13 high-level KIIs, and map out their implications for the Relocation Guidelines for Solomon Islands (hereinafter the Guidelines). In line with the overarching feminist and tok stori approaches adopted for the research, strong gender and social inclusion lenses have been applied throughout the data collection and analysis, and important gender and intergenerational differences are highlighted in this report. 2.3. REPORT STRUCTURE Section 3 provides an overview of the research methodology, data collection methods and data analysis activities. Section 4 presents the research analysis and findings, with subsections for each of the four case study communities and the high-level KIIs. Section 5 draws out the key implications of the research findings for the Guidelines. 7

Section 3 provides an overview of the research methodology, data collection methods and data analysis activities. Section 4 presents the research analysis and findings, with subsections for each of the four case study communities and the high-level KIIs. Section 5 draws o