Sea levelsSome citizens of low-lying Pacific island nations seeking climate-change refugee status
More and more resident of Pacific island nations and territories are trying to claim refugee status in Australia and New Zealand, arguing that rising sea levels, caused by climate change, are forcing them out of their homes and destroying their livelihood. The New Zealand High Court has rejected the refugee status petition of Loane Teitota and his family, citizens of Kiribati, a low-lying Pacific Island nation near the equator, saying that Teitota’s argument was “novel” and “optimistic.” The court cautioned that if the argument were adopted, then millions of people suffering from the effects of climate change would seek refugee status in New Zealand or any other country.
Residents of the Fijian village of Vunidogoloa have been ordered to relocate under the country’s “climate change refugee” program. The village is faced with rising sea levels that flood farmlands and homes during high tide. In response, the country has spent about $879,000 to construct thirty houses, fish ponds, and farms for the relocated villagers.
“All 30 houses have been fully constructed, painted and prepared well for the villagers,” Fiji Acting Commissioner Northern Alipate Bolalevu told the Fiji Times. “The Fisheries Department is in charge of the fish ponds and the Agriculture Ministry will help the villagers with farming practices.”
Seeking refugee status is on the rise among residents of island nations and territories who are affected by climate change. Last year, Loane Teitota and his family sought refugee status in New Zealand after they were forced to leave Kiribati, a low-lying Pacific Island nation near the equator, because of rising sea level.
Teitota argued in a New Zealand court that humans cause carbon emissions which are responsible for global warming-induced rise in sea leves and changes of weather patterns. The result, Teitota’s lawyers argued, was that climate change constitutes an indirect but real persecution on him and his family. Teitota’s request was rejected by a New Zealand court on the basis that his “novel” and “optimistic” argument was unconvincing. Furthermore, the court noted, if the argument were adopted, then millions of people suffering from the effects of climate change would seek refugee status in New Zealand or any other country.
According to Fiji’s National Climate Change Policy, global sea level changes will more than double by the end of the century, based on projections from the fourth U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report. The IPCC’s fifth assessment report, released September 2013, predicted worse effects, claiming ocean levels would increase by as much as three feet by the end of the century due to climate change.
Fiji’s climate change policy is based on the fact that average monthly sea levels at the country’s Lautoka tide have been increasing at a rate of 4.6 millimeters per decade since 1993, though satellite observations show that the sea level is increasing at a rate of six millimeters per year over the same period.
Rising sea levels in Fiji will affect the country’s tourism industry, which draws in 500,000 visitors per year and employs approximately 40,000 residents. Tourism is the largest and fastest-growing industry in Fiji, contributing 17 percent to overall gross domestic product.
