Local responses to climate change and disaster-related migration in Solomon Islands

This analysis draws primarily on the perspectives of people living in vulnerable locations and aims to improve policy and practice around climate-related migration within Solomon Islands and the Pacific region more broadly. This research paper is informed by mixed-methods primary research, incorporating qualitative and quantitative data collection in five selected communities, plus data from relevant secondary sources. The analysis seeks to address a key information gap: local perspectives on climate-related vulnerability and experiences of migration.

The principal findings from this analysis in relation to climate-related migration are:

1. First, climate change and natural hazards represent one of several factors driving human migration in Solomon Islands.
2. Second, social capital and informal networks are critical resources for managing the risks and impacts of climate-related migration.
3. Third, the study raises important questions about climate-related migration and the intangible losses and damages experienced by communities whose collective identities and social capital are grounded in deep cultural connections to customary land or ancestral “homelands.”