Ruins of Vakaloa Resort, west Tongatapu, following TC Harold. Photo: #ToddHenryPhoto
A Tongan researcher from the University of Waikato found that in the Pacific region, particularly in Tonga and Samoa, people don't want to move despite what she calls the "stigma" associated with climate change.
Lora Vaioleti conducted research alongside the University of Auckland and Mana Pacific Consultants, that drew on Pacific-based researchers and methodologies.
"Access to land is an increasing concern." - Tongan researcher Lora Vaioleti
She said the research "brought up an interesting insight" that people in Samoa and Tonga want real-life support.
"People obviously don't want to move; they want real, practical, hands-on support as well," the survey found, but Vaioleti said they did not know why so they followed up with some interviewees.
They then found there were families who may have a piece of land, but they didn't have the funding to build on that land.
"What they were actually doing was they had a longer-term process where they were moving within Tonga; but because they didn't have access to sufficient income within Tonga, they were planning a 10-to-15-year stay in New Zealand to raise that income in order to build a home in a different location in Tonga.
"So we described this as kind of a dual mobility process that was happening because of climate change in Tonga.
"We noticed that link between internal mobility and overseas mobility that was climate change-related in Tonga, and we also saw hints of that in Samoa to a lesser degree."
Climate mobility is an umbrella term for situations where climate change and other environmental factors are drivers for people moving.
The research indicates that climate impacts are already an important factor in decisions to move.
Vaioleti said climate change was not just impacting where people's homes were - it also impacted food security, fishing, and the cultural connections between New Zealand and its closest Pacific neighbours.
She said despite these difficult conditions, many Pacific families showed resilience and chose to stay because they had loved ones buried in the area, or they had a sense of belonging to their place, or because there was not other land available to move to.
According to Vaioleti, one of the greatest concerns of many people in leadership, in Tonga in particular, was the lack of availability of land.
"We're talking about relocation, or people moving from lower-lying areas to higher areas. Access to land is an increasing concern.
"There's not enough government land there to relocate people from areas they know are at high risk of further erosion.
"They simply have no land option to relocate people from some of those areas."
She said the land tenure system had been highlighted by several government and community leaders as needing to be looked at, "in terms of how fit for purpose it is for the future - particularly a future where we're looking at more people moving within Tonga, having to relocate from lower-lying areas and coastal areas".
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But not everyone plans to stay put.
"For some locations, the extreme conditions mean that whole communities are planning to relocate.
"We know that people are planning to move because of climate change in the coming five years."
Vaioleti conducted the research along with the help of colleagues Professor Sandy Morrison and Dr Timote Vaoileti who lent critical networks, leadership and expertise to the research, securing access to communities and the Pacific and Māori research methodologies.
Nearly 900 research participants took part in Tonga and Samoa across all major island groups, as well as Tongans and Samoans living in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.
Research activities included surveys, one-on-one talanoa with leaders, and targeted group talanoa with women and youth.
The research also employed creative approaches to gather insights on future mobility, including future visualisation sessions and future scenario planning workshops.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Vaioleti said one frustration which came through in talanoa was that there were mainly short-term projects.
"They go for a little bit, maybe for a targeted area, and it's not necessarily clear why that particular targeted area had that intention; but then you know that project wraps up, the money runs out, or what have you.
"People in Tonga and Samoa asked for deeper awareness programs, but particularly ongoing [ones].
"We hear climate change this, climate change that, you know, there's a flurry of activity, and then it's done, but this is an ongoing issue.
"It's going to be an increasing issue for people in Tonga and Samoa and other Pacific Islands, and they're really looking for some ongoing, longer-term investment and awareness raising and adaptation support."
The research was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.