Staying with the tide : a story of climate (im)mobility in Fiji

Abstract

Coastal communities in Small Island Developing States are facing relocation due to the damage caused by sea level rise. Salawai (a pseudonym) is a small coastal community in Vanua Levu, Fiji Islands, that experiences issues in relocating due to traditional obligations people have towards sacred sites in their village. Due to the salinisation of the soil, crops do not grow anymore and the reef resources are depleting and will not sustain the community's needs without proper management. With little support from the government and stakeholders, the village is rebuilding its knowledge and proposing a coping strategy. Cultural attachment to the village site remains strong; but many fear the impacts of climate change and are considering moving out, leaving behind ancestral connections and traditional knowledge. Based on current ethnographic fieldwork in Fiji among coastal communities, this paper looks at how relocating communities engage creatively with the ocean as the place in which the problem lies next to the solution. It also reflects on how island peoples can learn from each other in times of climate change and transformation.