The loss of economic opportunities for coastal villagers who rely on fishing, farming and tourism also comes into play, as does the fact that breaking a connection with a home location can be a psychological blow.

“It’s a very sensitive issue. In most cases, communities along the coastline consider the location to be their ancestral property,” said Mr. Ben Tokataake, from Kiribati’s Ministry of Public Works and Utilities.

The challenges of geography are also huge, underlined Mr. Jeem Lippwe, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Federated States of Micronesia at the United Nations.

“The issue of relocation is a very difficult one,” he said. “The islands of Micronesia are a combination of very small islands made of corals, and a few islands with mountains. So the idea that people talk about when they say you have to move inland is not applicable. It cannot work. Because when you move inland, it means that you just move to the other side of the island, where the ocean meets you.”

In the islands with higher ground, the land tends to be rocky, hampering farming, he said. “And even if our islands don’t go under, saltwater intrusion into our farmlands and fresh water ruins our land,” he added.

Mr. Ronald Jackson, Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), said that relocation meant “hard decisions”.

“The question is what decisions and trade-offs need to be made,” he said.

Community resilience is a key theme at the three-day SIDS meeting, and will be equally so at the Global Platform, with which it dovetails.

Along with UN agencies, the SIDS event was also organized by the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), which runs the Small Island State Initiative, a programme that helps SIDS to share lessons.

“I think it is very important that the small island states get the kind of recognition that is required,” said Mr. Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s Minister for Local Government and Community Development. “The challenges that we face are for real,” he said.

Date:

22 May 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

Themes:

Climate Change, Water, Disaster Risk Management, Social Impacts & Social Resilience

Countries:

Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Fed States of