Background
This case study, shared by Dr Olivia Yates, is based on her PhD research (1), a resulting policy brief (2) and a peer-reviewed research article (3) co-authored by a team at the University of Auckland, documenting Tuvaluan and Kiribati migration journeys to Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) in the context of climate change and the wellbeing implications of climate mobility.
A systematic review (4) examining the psychosocial and cultural impacts of Pacific climate-related mobility conducted by Dr Yates found that only 3 out of 31 studies considered Pacific methodologies in their research design, reflecting a bias towards Eurocentric research paradigms and resulting in a lack of understanding of climate mobility from Pacific, relational perspectives of wellbeing. Alongside an appeal for Pacific-centred approaches, there is a push for more evidence-informed climate-related migration policies.
Tuvalu and Kiribati are two Pacific island nations that consist of low-lying atolls and coral islands deemed to be “on the extreme frontlines of the global climate emergency” according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Climate change is already impacting Tuvalu and Kiribati through sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, more frequent extreme weather events and reduced food and water security.
While most people do not want to leave their ancestral lands, some are travelling to other countries to secure their futures. Aotearoa NZ is the most likely destination for climate migrants because of its geographic proximity and long-standing – albeit fraught – relationships with the Pacific.
Climate migration policies
There are currently no legally binding frameworks that support international climate migration. Similarly, in Aotearoa NZ, no immigration policies directly permit climate mobility. Government progress on the topic currently also does not consider climate justice or the place of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840). This means that Tuvaluans and I-Kiribati who wish to migrate must do so with neither the support of the New Zealand government nor their home country.
Understanding the mental health and wellbeing impacts of climate migration
Based on Talanoa (a Pacific research method) and Critical Community Psychology approaches, both of which centre relationality and justice, the researchers built committed, reciprocal relationships with Kiribati and Tuvaluan communities in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland to enable collaborative research uncovering communities’ priorities for change. This work revealed that people are worried about losing their cultures, languages, and identities, which are protective factors against the mental health and wellbeing impacts of climate mobility. Climate change heightens these concerns because being separated from their ancestral lands long-term is likely to adversely impact identity, language, culture, and overall well-being, as highlighted in a quote from one participant:
If we don’t continue to speak about our culture and how things are or continue to teach the younger generation the language, then what is going to happen to Tuvalu and the culture itself? Like yes, I’m Tuvaluan, and me not being able to speak Tuvaluan fluently doesn’t make me any less Tuvaluan. But if we don’t have a home to go back to, if we don’t have our elders to teach us the ways... then where does Tuvalu sit in like 50 years? – Nui, Tuvalu
Nevertheless, many community members remain hopeful about Tuvalu or Kiribati’s ability to adapt, evolve and rise. They do not believe that cultural loss is inevitable, as long as their communities remain collectively committed to maintaining their languages and cultures, and that they receive adequate government support.
Key insights and lessons learned
Dr Yates identifies an array of policy recommendations to make it easier for Tuvaluans and I-Kiribati to migrate to Aotearoa NZ, and, importantly, that create supportive socio-environmental conditions that protect mental health and wellbeing. While this case study considers Tuvaluans and I-Kiribati, the insights are potentially relevant to other frontline Pacific peoples who wish to migrate (to Aotearoa NZ) for climate-related reasons. The policy recommendations are classified into three key categories:
Making the journey easier through widespread immigration reforms
A lack of formal immigration pathways to facilitate climate mobility risks recreating precarious living conditions in Aotearoa NZ, entrenching poverty and poor (mental) health outcomes. The creation of a new climate mobility-specific visa pathway and reforming existing pathways is needed. One possible avenue to climate and mobility justice is to create a collaborative climate migration pathway that is co-designed between Māori, frontline Pacific peoples and the New Zealand Government.
Supporting Communities to Regrow Roots
Language, culture and identity can be protective factors against adverse well-being impacts. Strengthened support services are needed for Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati communities, including community-led initiatives to ease resettlement burdens, support the maintenance of identity and cultural heritage (roots), and foster community engagement.
Rewriting the Narrative
There is a paucity of knowledge regarding climate mobility among New Zealanders. Current knowledge draws upon common media representations of migration, Pacific peoples, and climate change. However, these are incomplete and risk creating hostile attitudes towards climate migrants and climate policies. A communications strategy to educate and prepare Aotearoa NZ for climate mobility from the Pacific is needed.
Recommendations
Beyond the policy solutions discussed above, Dr Yates describes further recommendations that speak to the social determinants of mental health and wellbeing in the context of climate mobility. There is a clear need to frame climate mobility in terms of justice, strengths and responsibilities. This will include the design of targeted communications using climate justice principles to increase public support for climate mobility initiatives. Climate justice also involves creating opportunities for connection and fostering ongoing, reciprocal relationships between Tuvaluans, I-Kiribati and other residents of Aotearoa NZ. These relationships can increase a sense of belonging in Aotearoa NZ, and motivate learning about the climate crisis by Aotearoa NZ residents, which can evoke empathy and build solidarity. Strong communities are better equipped to support members’ mental health and wellbeing, including in preparing for and responding to climate hazards.
Dr Yates also emphasises the need for climate mobility research that places Pacific ontologies at the heart of research design and a climate-just research framework that is Pacific-led and participatory at every stage.
Other future research suggestions include examining:
- The mental health and wellbeing impacts of climate mobility for other diasporic Pacific communities in Aotearoa NZ;how climate mobility differentially impacts people with intersecting structurally disadvantaged identities (potentially including mental health problems);the intergenerational consequences of climate mobility on mental health and wellbeing;the potential of public education for climate mobility justice; andthe place of partnerships between Māori and frontline Pacific communities.
References
1.Yates O (2022). PhD thesis: Stories of Neighbours and Navigators: Perceptions and Implications of Climate Mobility from Tuvalu and Kiribati to Aotearoa New Zealand. The University of Auckland. Available here: https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/64635
2. Yates O, Manuela S, Groot S, Neef A (2019).Research Report and Policy Brief. “Neighbours and Navigators, Preparing for Climate Mobility from Tuvalu and Kiribati to Aotearoa”. University of Auckland (2019). Available here: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/education/research/research-centres-and-units/the-centre-for-asia-pacific-refugee-studies-/news-and-updates0/research-report-and-policy-brief.html3. Yates, O. E. T., Groot, S., Manuela, S., & Neef, A.(2023). There's so much more to that sinking Island!”—Restorying migration from Kiribati and Tuvalu to Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Community Psychology, 51(3), 924–944. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22928
4.Olivia E. T. Yates, Sam Manuela, Andreas Neef & Shiloh Groot (2022) Reshaping ties to land: a systematic review of the psychosocial and cultural impacts of Pacific climate-related mobility, Climate and Development, 14:3, 250-267,DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2021.1911775
Written by / Acknowledgements
This case-study was drafted by Remy Shergill, Stacey Pizzino, Ans Vercammen and Suhailah Ali, and reviewed by Dr Olivia Yates, who contributed to this work.
Notes
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the founding document signed between representatives of the British Crown and over 500 Māori Rangatira (chiefs/leaders) from across the country. It has played a major role in how the Māori population in New Zealand was treated by successive governments and the wider population.