We Need to Talk About Food Security

Food security can seem complex, but it really isn’t: do you have enough food on a daily basis, is it nutritious, and is food available and accessible during and after a disaster?

For example, even if food is present in your community after a disaster, people may not be able to access it because they do not have enough money, and we all know that the price of food and other goods always goes up after a disaster. So, people will eat less, which can be very harmful for children, the elderly, the sick and pregnant women especially.

We also know that because economies in the Pacific are becoming increasingly monetized, people are more inclined to work in wage-based jobs rather than in fishing and agriculture to the extent that they did 20 to 30 years ago. And this means that there is less food produced locally, and thus less food available after a disaster.

Climate Migration - Protection Needs

Under international law, certain types of migrants have legal rights, including the right to protection. Others do not, including climate migrants.  

What do we mean by protection?

In this instance we mean social protection: access to housing, healthcare, education, protection under the law. There is also the issue of your right to actually live in the city or country where you migrate to - and if you have the right to work and earn a sustainable income.

Most of these issues stem from your right to residency wherever you end up. Have the legal documents allowing you to live and work will make all the difference. Without them, migrants become even more vulnerable and trapped in an existence where choices are limited and options to make changes are few.

Climate Migration - The Practicalities

Eventually, the effects of climate change will necessitate required migration from low lying islands and atolls in the Pacific. The first choice for migrants will likely be the urban centres in their own countries. The second choice will be a neighbouring country in the region. The third choice will be somewhere outside of the region. It sounds straightforward, but there are practicalities.

It's About Managing Risk: The overlap between CCA and DRR in the Pacific

There are a lot of acronyms out there. Sometimes they can be a bit confusing - in the world of development two particular acronyms abound: CCA and DRR. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Globally, they overlap in areas and there is not enough cooperation between practitioners in the two fields to make them interventions more efficient and effective. In the Pacific, however, they are practically the same thing. Particularly because climate change is by definition a slow onset disaster.

Understanding Climate Migration: Policy and Law

An overview of the legal aspects and gaps on climate migration.

Vulnerability is Not a Bad Thing

‘A number of communities said in focus group discussions they had observed significant changes in the weather patterns over time. However, 90 percent perceived these changes to be “due to grace of God” and had no clue how much human activity had contributed to the problem.’

Does this sound familiar to you? The people around you know that the climate is changing but they don’t understand that they have to take action themselves to prepare for its effects? This is more common than you think.

What Makes the Pacific Resilient?

What makes the Pacific so resilient? Often times, too much of the discourse on resilience focuses on the policy and strategy level - at the global and national levels. This is important because it raises awareness of the issues at hand. But policy and strategy don’t actually make people resilient.

There were two fantastic articles on resilience which change the nature of the discussion out recently. The first looked at how resilience is actually just about ‘small victories’ in adapting to new situations on the ground - at the local level. Which is really what it’s all about, isn’t it?