1 Introduction

Global climate change is expected to have a greater impact on human mobility around the world.Footnote 1 To the east and south of Papua New Guinea, in the southwest Pacific are the Solomon Islands (Fig. 1). It consists of a double chain of 997 islands, including 6 large ones (Choiseul, Santa Isabel, New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Malaita, and San Cristobal-Makira) as well as numerous smaller ones.Footnote 2 Its topographical features serve as a metaphor for the difficulties of migration brought on by climate change. Until recently, movement between islands in the Solomon Islands was voluntary, either through marriage or other social interactions.Footnote 3 However, social, economic, and climate change-related impacts have begun to force people into migration, in particular towards Honiara city, the capital of Solomon Islands. An increase from 68,298 to 87,633 in the total number of migrants who had moved between provinces, was recorded between the 1999 and 2009 census records.Footnote 4 Rural–urban migration can also be seen happening and was validated in the latest census of Honiara in 2019 with the fastest annual growth rate of 5.9% and an increase of 57,033 since 2009, or 5700 people per year.Footnote 5 Although there is an indication that migration is becoming more evident through these census reports and urban settlement expansions, limited studies have been conducted to determine the driving factor behind the decision to move from provinces into Honiara’s peripheral zone. The literature available has evaluated the connection between migration and climate change on a global scale, particularly as it relates to the Pacific islands.Footnote 6 However, there is scant academic literature that addresses this issue locally in the Solomon Islands. Over the decades, governments have ignored the need to consider the critical linkage of climate change-induced human mobility as a priority subject in their policies. Recently, the Solomon Islands government adopted a plan for relocation guidelines in 2022 (hereinafter the SI Planned Relocation Guidelines), prepared by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).Footnote 7 Will this Planned Relocation Guidelines 2022 be fully supported by the government and feasible to implement by responsible authorities?

Fig. 1
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Location of Solomon Islands—study site. Map shows the location of the study sites-Lord Howe settlement and the fishing village. Map Source Google Earth Pro

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This chapter presents the results of a study conducted using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods using semi-structured, open-ended questionnaires carried out at selected communities and government offices, particularly the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster, and Meteorology (MECDM) and the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Survey, the two key focal organisations that will be implementing the SI Planned Relocation Guidelines 2022. A total of 38 respondents were interviewed from the two settlements. The two selected communities were the Lord Howe settlement and the Fishing Village, situated in the east to central of Honiara City, the capital of Solomon Islands that is located in the Guadalcanal Provinces. Selection of these two sites was based on the place of origin of the settlers which was the most vulnerable location of climate change impacts in the Solomon Islands.Footnote 8 The interview results show that most respondents originated from the Malaita province. Furthermore, these locations were depicted as the most vulnerable to disasters and climate-related natural hazards in Honiara City. There were 15 persons who were interviewed in the Lord Howe settlement and 23 from the Fishing Village settlement. Government officials were consulted through email and face-to-face interview conversations. The interviews took place over two months between mid-March and April 2023. Most of the secondary data was obtained from existing literature on the research topic.

This chapter discusses the intervening factors of climate change-related migration, rural–urban migration to Honiara City, and the options to address resettlement challenges and make recommendations for institutional, legal, and financial mechanisms for the nation’s resettlement programme. It is hoped that discussions from this chapter will provide insights for a better understanding of the different social, economic, and cultural attributes of climate-related human mobility in relation to Honiara City and thereby inform the development and implementation of sound and viable decisions to address climate change-related planned relocation and rural–urban migration in the Solomon Islands. Also, this could point out some improvements to the provisions of the existing Land and Titles Act for relocation and resettlement in Solomon Islands. With these research objectives, the chapter is divided into five sections. Following this introduction, the second section describes features of climate change-induced human mobility in the Solomon Islands. Section 3 elaborates on the government’s policy framework on climate change, migration, and planned relocation, and Sect. 4 provides critical recommendations for planned relocation. The chapter concludes with recommendations for research and policy development.

2 Intervening Factors in Climate Change-Induced Rural–Urban Migration in Solomon Islands

This section outlines the relationship between climate change and rural–urban migration in the Solomon Islands taking into account environmental, social, and economic drivers. Pacific islands consist of over 22 countries and territories accommodating more than 10 million people. The smaller islands in the Pacific are characterised by high levels of exposure to climate-related dangers and a limited ability to adapt. In this situation, people from Pacific islands may be uprooted or decide to migrate in search of safer living conditions.Footnote 9 The decision to move is still uncertain as the population in most Pacific islands has a strong connect to culture, land, and family.Footnote 10 Most Pacific island communities are in a crisis due to climate change impacts and are faced with livelihood, food, and water security problems, increasing salination and droughts.Footnote 11 In addition to increasing salination, droughts and sea level rise, climate-induced coastal inundation could severely impact coastal livelihoods, thus reducing their food security status. This will affect most coastal and low-lying atolls resulting in a significant loss of livelihood security, island habitat degradation, and land loss that triggers relocation of affected communities.Footnote 12 These climate-induced impacts in the Pacific islands have become more pointed and present themselves in three aspects that add weight to the migration perspective and are presented by Campbell in Table 1.Footnote 13

Table 1 Links between loss of land, livelihood, and habitat security and migration
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Since climate-induced problems have been occurring and are projected to get worse, relocation is considered a possibility for Pacific island groups. Migration or long-term relocation is not something new in the Pacific; as this has already been implemented recently by neighbouring countries like Fiji, which has for instance relocated two communities of Denimanu and Vunidogoloa villages. In addition, relocation has occurred across international borders as well; for instance, the I-Kiribati resettlement in the Solomon Islands at Wagina and Titiana; the Tuvalu settlement of Kioa in Fiji.Footnote 14 As households are rendered unable to meet their daily subsistence needs and wants, they will tend to decide to migrate to more favourable localities with better services and livelihood security opportunities. Urban centres or central capital towns are centres of economic development, have agglomeration effects, and provide more job opportunities, and therefore, these are becoming the prospective location for some migrants.Footnote 15

Climate change and worldwide migration have been widely acknowledged and recorded.Footnote 16 However, as noted earlier, in the local context, limited academic literature is documented. The present chapter aims to fill this gap by investigating the link between climate change and migration and its impact on the livelihood of migrants in the local context of the Solomon Islands by highlighting the lived experiences of the people. The following section illustrates the findings of the study investigating the factors leading to migration to Honiara from other provinces.

  1. A.

    Factors Leading to Migration to Honiara City

As noted in the earlier section, the study deployed semi-structured questionnaires and interviewed 38 respondents at the Lord Howe and the Fishing Village settlements of Honiara. Table 2 below shows the responses of the sample population from the two study sites.

Table 2 Sample population interviewed
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The Fishing Village settlement was established in the 1950s, after World War II. People from this community originated from the Lau Lagoon artificial islands located in the North Malaita province of Solomon Islands. The settlement is situated within Vura ward along the Kukum Highway, adjacent to the Solomon Islands National University, and close to the coastline. The settlement is zero metres above sea level and has a relatively flat terrain. As a result, it is particularly exposed to coastal flooding and storm surges. As of the present, 200 people have been living in this community. Due to the increased population and a shortage of space inside the designated land border of the Fishing Village, a majority of their members were voluntarily relocated to Lio Creek, which is located behind the Solomon Islands National University. It is unclear who arranged the relocation of these Fishing Village settlers who had illegally settled on government land but were later given land titles when those areas were formally legalised and registered by the Ministry of Lands. Most houses in the Fishing Village are permanent structures, with a few semi-temporary structures on a registered property. Livelihood strategies of households differ by gender, with the majority of the male population engaged in fishing and the majority of the female population involved in selling cooked food. Sometimes root crops and vegetables are bought from farm producers from around the Guadalcanal Plains and resold at the local market.Footnote 17 Some people were employed in the public and private sectors and received salaries and wages to sustain their family’s needs and wants.

The Lord Howe settlementFootnote 18 is located at the Mataniko riverfront, geographically extending south to the Mataniko Highway and west to the National Referral Hospital in Mataniko ward. The Lord Howe settlement was originally owned by settlers from the Lord Howe atolls in the Malaita province. It is one of the most densely populated settlements in Honiara. With its geographical location, this settlement is exposed and vulnerable to flash floods and sea level rise. This settlement has suffered loss and damages due to the flash flood in 2014.Footnote 19

People explained that they moved to Honiara because of anticipated socio-economic benefits, and due to environmental factors. The first settlers to the Fishing Village in this case were forced to migrate due to social difficulties such as conflicts in their native land with other tribes.Footnote 20 Other relatives joined their cousins in moving to the Fishing Village to live in peace and secure land for future generations. The survey emphasised that the decision of young people to migrate is influenced by pull factors such as economic opportunities, and push factors such as an expanding population, a lack of jobs in rural areas, and risks to their livelihoods.

The study illustrated five important reasons for migration. On hearing the accounts of various interviewees about their decision to move, it is clear that they were based on the following: (1) climate change, agricultural deficit, and water scarcity that are examples of environmental challenges; (2) employment; (3) education; and (4) family, including marriage. Figure 2 demonstrates that 70% of the population interviewed, migrated from their area of origin due to serious environmental challenges and sought employment opportunities to pursue their livelihood and aspirations, 19% came to Honiara to pursue tertiary education, and 6% went for family reasons like marriage or parents working in Honiara City. The findings from the data collected show that rural–urban migration is triggered by accumulated environmental issues that threaten a household’s livelihood status. Thus, the decision to move occurs when livelihood strategies and asset capital in the place of origin are dismissed and threatened by population growth putting more pressure on the limited resources of island habitats.Footnote 21

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Rural–urban migration factors stated by respondents

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Fig. 3
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Location of a fishing village and b Lord Howe settlement

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In addition, it was noted that most respondents from both the Fishing Village and the Lord Howe settlements migrated from Malaita province’s low-lying and artificial islands, such as Ontong Java, Lau Lagoon, Langalanga, and Walande, where people struggle with food production, availability and access owing to rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and dwindling water supply. Agricultural yields have decreased in atoll islands where each household was assigned a small patch of land to cultivate swamp taro.Footnote 22

Artificial islands, such as the WalandeFootnote 23 and other regions in Malaita province, have already been seriously impacted by sea level rise, forcing residents to migrate to urban centres with abundant opportunities. One of the interviewees from Walande artificial islands expressed that there was no other way to obtain resources such as land to cultivate root crops than to barter with adjacent communities located on the mainland of south Malaita for daily staple food supplies such as most root crops.Footnote 24 These atolls and artificial islands have limited natural capital such as land resources to provide for household staple food supplies. Families living on artificial islands depend on trading marine products with communities on the mainland islands for staple supplies, building materials, and necessities that cannot be obtained from their customary territories.Footnote 25 From their perspective, moving to Honiara City will provide access to resources, employment, and easy access to everyday necessities and wants, instead of living on their man-made islands.

The majority of respondents, in the Fishing Village and Lord Howe settlements, had daily sustenance access from Honiara’s central marketplaces. Many of them were working in private and government organisations and had acquired tertiary education. They received salaries to sustain their livelihood. A number of them were self-employed or private entrepreneurs and market vendors. Some households in the Fishing Village did gardening in the backyard of their home to supplement their incomes and wages received. Some who did not own enough space around their homes, bought green vegetables, root crops, and firewood from farmers nearby Honiara city and resold it at the local markets. In the Lord Howe settlement, most respondents emphasised that there was no space to grow small green gardens, in their existing settlements. Most green staple products such as fruits, green vegetables, and root crops were purchased from the local central market, and protein was purchased from the shops. Some respondents were employed and some were market vendors who sold cooked food, mostly by women as a means to generate income for their family. However, certain items that could only be obtained with cash, were a challenge for some residents in the city, particularly for those households with low-income earners such as cleaners and storekeepers.

The Lord Howe settlement has become more crowded now than in the past, as more migrants are moving into the area, leaving limited room for expansion. As explained in the later section, both these settlements are prone to sea level rise, coastal inundation, and tsunamis as seen in the image in Fig. 3. The Fishing Village is more vulnerable to storm surges. The question as to where will they go if their settlement gets submerged by the rise in sea level or flooded by the river is a major and real concern for the settlers in the Lord Howe settlement.Footnote 26

Given the threat of climate vulnerability and overpopulation facing the existing settlements of Fishing Village and Lord Howe, the next section evaluates the willingness of migrants to relocate to another potential relocation site within the proximity of Honiara.

  1. 2

    Willingness to Relocate from Existing Settlement

An equal percentage of respondents showed interest in relocating from their current location in Honiara. Further, there is no discernible difference between genders with almost 50% of female respondents also agreeing to relocate. Regarding the expectations that the respondents had with regard to the relocation sites, most of them stated that they would want that the relocation sites be on registered land, be disaster-proof from flooding and landslides, accommodate essential services like road access and water, have enough space to grow food and be conducive for them to set up their business plans. They also want the relocation site to be close to Honiara, the centre of all economic activities. The findings of the study reveal that the relocation site and its proximity to economic activities is considered a key element in selecting the potential site for relocation of the population from these two settlements. In other words, the respondents preferred a relocation site in proximity to Honiara City due to the access to better education, health services, and employment. There is a high generation of cash and a market within urban centres such as Honiara. People from these two settlements showed a willingness to move, but they emphasised that the Government must ensure that they are relocated to areas near Honiara. As of now, the time period within which the government will relocate them is uncertain, and the Relocation Guidelines 2022 that were recently adopted are yet to be implemented by the authority responsible for the same. Furthermore, land availability within Honiara City or on its outskirts is constrained.

In contrast, those who disagreed with moving to a new location responded that priority should be given to those populations back home who are victims of the impacts of climate change. Others felt that moving far from the coast would not be compatible with their existing livelihood as they were fishermen and moving far from the ocean would not be feasible. The study shows that the older generation of settlers in these two communities are content to continue to dwell there, whereas the younger generation, or those who have recently migrated to Honiara, are keen to leave these two areas. Another reason for wanting to leave would be to accomplish personal aspirations of becoming a business owner or owning a property bought for their own family. In this scenario, the next part of the paper discusses the policy and legal initiatives undertaken to manage the migration and relocation in the Solomon Islands.

3 Policy and Legislative Framework Governing Migration and Relocation in the Solomon Islands

Being part of the Pacific Islands, the Solomon Islands is vulnerable to both sudden and slow climate-driven change.Footnote 27 On the international front, the Solomon Islands is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),Footnote 28 it’s the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.Footnote 29 The Solomon Islands has also adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.Footnote 30 Within the Pacific regional level, the Solomon Islands has endorsed the Pacific Plan, the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change (PIFACC), and the Regional Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management.Footnote 31 In pursuance of its international commitments, Solomon Islands has been evolving detailed policy and legal mechanisms to address the challenges associated with climate change and migration.

Before discussing specific policy initiatives, it is crucial to refer to the legal safeguards within in the Constitution that provide for the protection of fundamental rights, equity, and freedom of the entire citizenry. According to section 3 of the Constitution, every person born in the Solomon Islands ‘has a right to the fundamental liberties and rights of the individual.’Footnote 32 These fundamental rights include the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, and protection of private property from deprivation. Freedom of movement within the Solomon Islands is notably protected in section 14.Footnote 33Though the constitutional provisions provide for the State’s commitment to uphold the protection of the rights of every person, it does not provide for social and economic rights or the rights to better housing and good health to be attained as a civil commitment.Footnote 34

The following section analyses Solomon Islands law and policy relating to climate change-induced migration and relocation.

  1. A.

    National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP)

The Solomon Islands’ national disaster risk management strategy encompasses two primary objectives: ‘disaster management for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery and disaster risk reduction for reducing hazard risks and potential impacts for disaster events’.Footnote 35

In general, this NDMP strategy recognises the need to identify and comprehend hazards, especially climate change, as the foundation of disaster risk management. The Plan envisages a core role for the National Disaster Council, which was established under the National Disaster Council Act (NDC Act).Footnote 36 The National Disaster Council as the institutional arrangement will coordinate with the Provincial Disaster Committee to deal with concerns relating to disasters in the Solomon Islands.Footnote 37 Other significant aspects of the plan include its focus on human rights including individual rights, equity, justice, gender, and minority cohorts of society. Section 17 paragraphs (M) and (N)Footnote 38 of the NDMP ensures the protection of the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable members of the community. For instance, the plan captures the role of ward and village committees to ensure full participation by all members of the community in preparing plans to respond during disasters and after recovery periods. More is captured on disaster preparedness and displacement, which in this context of the plan, provides for affected populations such as management of evacuation centres and building resilient communities in Solomon Islands rather than relocation of climate-affected communities in Solomon Islands. Notably, the NDMP addresses disaster risk reduction and displacement of affected communities in the short term after a disaster occurs but does not make provision for planned relocation.

  1. 2

    Policy on Climate Change 2012–2017 [CCP]

In pursuance of the country’s commitment at the international level, Solomon Islands has taken steps to address climate change concerns. The National Climate Change Policy 2012–2017 recognises climate change as a sustainable development issue and develops solutions to meet the risk and vulnerability assessments of Solomon Islands’ most vulnerable communities.Footnote 39 The guiding principles identified in the Climate Change Policy include stakeholder participation and collaboration, gender equity and involvement of youth, children, and people with special needs, and respect for the culture and rights of indigenous people.Footnote 40 It also specifically notes that climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction are closely interrelated and shall be aligned.Footnote 41 The government’s commitment to vulnerability adaptation and disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies and measures is discussed in section 8.3 (a) of the National Climate Change Policy. The inclusion of community relocation in section 8.3 (m) highlights the urgent necessity for formulating the relocation guidelines.Footnote 42 The policy places more emphasis on adaptation to climate change impacts, that is, building the capacity of communities to take adaptation-appropriate actions as stipulated in the National Adaptation Programme of Action 2008 (NAPA). An example of this is increasing food production in affected communities by adopting new techniques or using rainwater tanks to store water for domestic use on atoll islands. The policy considers relocating communities as a last resort action in adaptation, in the Solomon Islands. Perhaps with the ongoing revision of this climate change policy, there is leverage for issues related to relocation that will complement the relocation guidelines that will be explained further in the next section (b) of this chapter. Furthermore, the Climate Change Policy recognises the need to assess and develop a plan of action for urban adaptation.Footnote 43 The Honiara Urban Resilience and Climate Action Plan 2016 sets out a comprehensive framework of action activities. This citywide plan includes upgrading of informal settlements, flood proof housing and buildings, coastal protection, livelihood-based protection, ecosystem services and water, rivers, and disaster risk reduction and management. The communities of the Fishing Village and the Lord Howe settlement have been identified as priorities in the action plan with the instalment of early warning systems on site and the building of a sea wall protection which are also part of the plan. Realising the threat of climate change and consequent migration, Solomon Islands has developed a specific policy initiative focusing exclusively on planned relocation.

  1. 3

    Solomon Islands Resettlement Programme

The Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Survey set up this initiative from 2014 to 2016, but the progress of the programme was not satisfactory; therefore, the budget committee abolished it in 2017.Footnote 44 The purpose of this programme was to assist the national government’s resettlement programme in the aftermath of the 2014 flash floods, which caused massive economic losses and displaced many households in Honiara City. The goal of this initiative was for the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Survey to expedite land acquisition via power of domain or purchase of private or customary land owners, prepare sub-divisions of lots on the newly relocated location, and issue an allocation of plots of land to winning bidders. Under the programme, interested parties such as Ministries, NGOs, or private households could submit bids for the plot of land advertised by the National Land Board. This project was implemented in 2014, and the criteria to allocate land was based on those household owners at Koa Hill and the Lord Howe settlement whose homes were destroyed during the flood. Not all managed to obtain a land title for a fixed-term estate (FTE) due to the delay in payment of land premium as the value of land was too expensive for some.Footnote 45 Similar Programme was carried on in later years. However, it was more focused on activities, such as consultations and meetings with landowners, which were primarily logistical and administrative, with no actual land acquisition for resettlement.Footnote 46 The multiple obstacles in dealing with customary land and ownership hampered the smooth functioning of the programme. For instance, in customary land tenure, land boundaries were not demarcated and did not have proper official records.Footnote 47 Hence, the process of determining who owns the land took a long time. In the rural society of Solomon Islands, land symbolises the identity of the forefathers and it is considered as a wealth to sustain their future generations.Footnote 48 Land, including all natural resources, must be protected for the sake of those who have passed and for the future generations.

Formal registration of land in the Solomon Islands is implemented under the Land and Titles Act [LTA], which regulates the tenure, acquisition, and registration of interest in land and allows indigenous Solomon Islanders to acquire a perpetual estate, which can be granted by the National Land Board.Footnote 49 The National Land Board has the power to allocate interest on land, determine land allocation, and consider and approve the level of rent, etc.Footnote 50 The Act provides for customary land acquisition and compulsory land acquisition for government interest or development.Footnote 51 These two divisions are as follows.

Division 1 allows the Commissioner or the provincial government to purchase or lease customary land. As per this Division, customary land may be sold or leased to the Commissioner or any Provincial Assembly, for mining operations, or the installation of telecommunication towers on unregistered land. Division 2 deals with compulsory land acquisition for public purposes.Footnote 52 Both these divisions are mandatory, whether customary landowners want it or not and the government was required to compensate customary landowners. However, the complications associated with these land acquisition procedures thwarted the Solomon Islands Resettlement Programme.

Learning from these drawbacks and challenges, Solomon Islands has taken the initiative to adopt all-inclusive and comprehensive guidelines on Planned Relocation known as the 2022 Planned Relocation Guidelines.Footnote 53 The following section evaluates the core features of the 2022 Planned Relocation Guidelines.

  1. 4

    2022 Planned Relocation Guidelines

The Solomon Islands Planned Relocation Guidelines of 2022 was developed under the project titled ‘Solomon Islands: Developing Planned Relocation Guidelines in the Context of Slow and Sudden Onset Disasters’ and was funded by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).Footnote 54 It was developed through primary research, including baseline investigations conducted in several affected communities across the country and a secondary desktop review study on pertinent guideline toolkitsFootnote 55 by different researchers contributing to this document.Footnote 56 Various government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and stakeholders were consulted on the document through meetings and workshops. It contains important concepts and principles on orderly migration that benefits both migrants and society.Footnote 57 The SI Planned Relocation Guidelines is a living document, which means it is subject to changes and options as needed while being implemented.Footnote 58

The main concepts embraced by the SI Planned Relocation Guidelines start with the need for inclusive and participatory planning and decision-making to be used in all four stages of the process before relocation, development of the relocation plan, during relocation, and after relocation. This calls for the inclusion of all stakeholders—including migrants, host communities, and others—in the planning and decision-making processes. This process is intended to make sure that all impacted communities and stakeholders are fully informed on the methods and pertinent mechanisms employed in the relocation process. To make sure that the relocation process does not impair the rights to access basic capital to both relocated and host communities’ populations, it is also necessary to assess the livelihood security of nearby migrant and host communities. The third principle makes sure that the relocation process is coordinated and planned according to the necessary mechanisms that strictly adhere to the target timeline for all relevant stakeholders. This is to avoid the practice of ‘Solomon time’Footnote 59 which would ordinarily require a long time to complete everything. This requirement includes provisions to ensure an integrated approach by many sectors and agencies to participate in the various stages of the relocation process to eliminate duplication and limit resource and time waste. For example, at the time of implementing the first phase, before relocation, it is mandatory for the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management, and Meteorology to conduct a vulnerability assessment, while the Ministry of Lands and Housing identifies sites using sets of Standard Operating Procedures. Later in the phase of ‘developing a relocation plan’, it recommends the involvement of ideas from other disciplines as well. Hence, the process does not only involve a mono-disciplinary field of experts but also a collaboration from different sectors.

Aside from the aforementioned principles, any relocation procedure undertaken in the Solomon Islands must respect local customs, culture, and knowledge. The Solomon Islands’ way of life and progress are profoundly rooted in their customs, beliefs, and traditional knowledge with respect to how they live and what rules or values were passed down from generation to generation. For instance, before relocation, it is critical that the culture of the relocated people be not undermined by the host communities, and relocated populations may wish to bring the remains of their loved ones to the relocated place. Before the relocation phase, therefore, the Standard Operating Procedures should incorporate the action plan on how this would be handled and implemented.

Should the necessity arise, the relocation plan guideline may be modified and changed. Thus, monitoring and assessment are offered because modifications and problems could occur during the actual implementation. In this case, a new development may be initiated through institutional structure and arrangement, such as a revision to the current climate change policy, a proposal for new climate change legislation, or through changes to the policy and planned SOP. The articulated guidelines will enable the safe, well-coordinated, and planned migration of vulnerable individuals to suitable locations in the Solomon Islands.Footnote 60

The main features of the guidelines are divided into four (4) phases: (i) before relocation,Footnote 61 (ii) developing a relocation plan,Footnote 62 (iii) during relocation,Footnote 63 and (iv) following relocation.Footnote 64 These four sections were presented in a well-structured format, stating the main activities, responsibilities, and descriptions of specific tasks to be carried out under each phase.

The initial phase shall be conducted before the commencement of the relocation process. It involves the identification of communities to be relocated, the planning of relocation, and the identification of a potential relocation site. For these tasks to be completed concurrently during this phase, extra time will be needed.Footnote 65 For instance, the integrated vulnerability and adaptation assessments are to be deployed at this phase to determine all potentially affected communities and collect baseline data to inform planning, monitor change, and measure the impacts of adaptation action areas.Footnote 66 This Integrated Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment is expected to give information on the ability of communities to adjust to climate change risk as well as the duration of various hazards on the impacted population in either rural or urban settlements in the country.

Another important mechanism at this planning stage is the planning of the financial budget and the cost that will be incurred in the relocation process. It is important to explore potential financial sources whether through the existing national or provincial budget on disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, or development planning; or community contribution in the form of cash, labour, and materials might also be considered as a sourceFootnote 67 and, further, external sources could be tapped to finance the relocation process.

The decision to be relocated is decided by the community through their Village Disaster Risk Committee (DRC)Footnote 68 assisted by faith-based and non-government organisations and a formal request is submitted to the National Climate Risk Resilience Committee (N-CRR). Another approach to this task is for the N-CRR to initiate the process based on the vulnerability and adaptation assessment and the community’s decision that they would not be able to adapt to the risk of climate change impact. Through this approach, both village DR, Provincial Climate Risk Resilience Committees (P-CRR)Footnote 69 and the village DR committee shall together decide on whether a planned relocation is necessary. Simultaneously, the host communities and other communities in proximity shall establish a village DR committee, which shall accommodate the tribal leaders, church leaders, and the existing community organisation committee members. The sole responsibility of this committee shall be to facilitate matters to be regulated under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that would be considered in issues related to the involvement of women, youths, and marginalised groups, the minimum standard for free, prior and informed consent, assessment of the potential impact of relocation on indigenous knowledge, practices, and artefacts.

Finally, the process of identification of relocation sites shall be deployed by the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Environment. Notably, the decision-making and planning process must include all individuals and households that will relocate. A proposed SOP shall be established to facilitate the process of identifying the relocation site through an active community-led process of negotiating new land arrangements, such as the type of land ownership, exploring land acquisition mechanisms, and considering marine and land resource access for the relocated and host communities.Footnote 70 The SOP on-site identification might as well consider learning from successful cases on land acquisition for relocation in the Solomon Islands, such as the acquisition of Choiseul Bay township land or the Bina Harbour land acquisition case. Taking the example of the Auluta-Bina Harbour land acquisition, a pilot project funded by AusAid through the Solomon Islands Institutional Strengthening Land Assistance Project, popularly known as the SIISLAP that was implemented by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey. The Project had set out preconditions as per the Customary Records Act such as tribal genealogy or family tree justifying custodianship; agreed tribal boundaries; and tribal land authority through a long participatory process and in consultation with the communities and land resource owners. Despite challenges on technicalities of the system used to articulate and record genealogies, the project learned, through community wide consultation, to develop a functional framework on recording and registering customary land and to promote mediation and reconciliation to resolve disputes, rather than ending up in courts of law.Footnote 71 In the prior phase of relocation, there might be some community members who are not willing to be relocated. In such an instance, an SOP shall be developed to ensure that the land rights claims to their original site are not affected, just as those who relocated from alienated sites shall not claim their fixed-term titles. For customary land ownership types, households shall reclaim their rights to relocation; those who hold fixed-term land titles to a previous site shall not go back to their previous site but will retain the ability to return to those sites periodically.Footnote 72

The next phase of the relocation process deals with the development of a relocation plan, strategies to be implemented during relocation, and evaluation measures following relocation. A relocation plan must be created in compliance with the ‘Solomon Islands laws and policies, including but not limited to human rights law, development policies, and environmental and climate change policies’.Footnote 73 Any legislation or policies regarding provisions for water sanitation, education, and infrastructure development will be incorporated into the relocation plan. The specification of a relocation plan shall include measures to ensure smooth progress on the phases of relocation of the concerned individuals and establishment of housing, utility services (water, electricity, transportation infrastructure, education, health facilities, and access to markets), a budget to finance relocation, and measures to ensure the protection of the marginalised people in situations of vulnerability such as the elderly and people with disabilities, measures to mitigate or prevent risks, a full proposed site plan of the relocated site, and details of monitoring tools to evaluate possible complaints and feedback.Footnote 74

Provisions of ongoing monitoring and evaluation are mandatory to ensure adequate social-economic welfare of the settlers.Footnote 75 Section 7 stipulates specific strategies to ensure the sustained development of the new site and the facilitation of new settlers into the economic and social life in their newly relocated environment.Footnote 76 Comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of the entire process, from initial planning to actual relocation, is detailed in section 8 of the relocation guidelines. Continuous social and environmental monitoring will be the responsibility of the ward and village DR committees or other suitable local authorities, with assistance from the P-CRR at intervals, to be decided with the relocated community. The N-CRR committee will take the lead and provide ongoing assistance for the climate-proofing of education, economic prospects, and resilience to climate change at the new relocation site.Footnote 77

The planned relocation guidelines encapsulate a human rights approach concept to protect displaced persons rights. In the absence of Standard Operating Procedures, the implementation of the proposed relocation guidelines will remain pending. In this scenario, the following points are suggested based on the field study and assessment of the legal and policy measures initiated by the Solomon Islands.

4 Going Forward

The existing guidelines, particularly the NDMP 2018, address a specific situation that a person is in but do not provide answers for relocation.Footnote 78 The goals of the Solomon Islands Climate Change Policy will also need to be revised in order to be in line with the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Survey’s Solomon Islands Resettlement programme and the Planned Relocation Guidelines 2022.

The Constitution of the Solomon Islands recognises indigenous customary rights and protects customary ownership.Footnote 79 The Perpetual Estate (PE)Footnote 80 ensures the rights of indigenous Solomon Islanders’ to occupy and possess the land. The LTA that deals with land tenure and property rights as explained in section 3.1 has limitations when it comes to dealing with land acquisition or registration of customary land. Another pivotal aspect related to the LTA and planned relocation or resettlement of climate refugees is the interpretation of the existing provisions of the LTA.

It is important that the methods for customary land acquisition in Division 1 of the LTA be thoroughly reviewed as having one person dealing with compulsory acquisition land can result in officers involving in in corruption and bribery. Instead of an acquisition officer, a specific department under the Ministry of Lands should deal with land purchases that could be included in the standard operating procedures so that the land acquisition process can be facilitated by an appointed department or an existing unit within the current structure in the Ministry of Lands. This department shall conduct the process of land acquisition of the perpetuate estateFootnote 81 from landowners to registration of fixed-term estate.

Furthermore, the terms ‘relocation settlement’ and ‘resettlement land’ should be explicitly added to a section in the LTA to make provisions for the relocated site as per the Planned Relocation Guidelines. The language should be interpreted to accommodate the needs of climate change-induced migration or relocated communities rather than individuals in the context of land tenure ownership. This means that when a community is relocated on customary land, the site must be registered to community trustees on the PE or FTE as a whole lot or by a parcel number. This is not the case when the community is transferred to a place on registered land owned by the commissioners of lands. The proposed amendments to the LTA must be made to incorporate in the envisaged Standard Operating Procedures, which call for planning before relocating the communities in areas in danger from the effects of climate change.

  1. A.

    Revise National Territorial Spatial Plan to Address Rural–Urban Migration

Migration is widely recognised as a climate change adaptation strategy.Footnote 82 In other words, rather than spending and directing government budgets towards disaster response and preparedness measures, transferring vulnerable communities that are always at risk of climate change-induced harm, would be more prudent.Footnote 83 The issue of regional disparity between rural and urban regions in terms of economic development and social infrastructure service delivery has become a controversial challenge to any society. For the Solomon Islands, as a least developing nation with a non-homogenous culture, ethnicity and vast, scattered islands, its physical characteristics and cultural diversity have been an obstacle to government planning towards effective goals for development. This has inflicted challenges to service delivery, communication, coordination of development programmes and prioritisation of development policies nationwide.Footnote 84 Rural–urban migration results from a spatial imbalance in development and service delivery in any geographical location as well as threats to livelihood due to environmental changes such as climate change. The country’s National Development Strategy 2016–2030 is comprehensive and aims to enhance the social and economic circumstances of all Solomon Islanders.Footnote 85 The national development strategies over the past several decades had embarked on decentralisation and had stressed on ensuring balanced regional development. The need to have development growth centres around the country for economic activities so that they are not concentrated only in the main city but also extend to rural areas as well, was also emphasised.Footnote 86 However, despite having stated these intentions for development plans for economic growth centres, there is no clear criteria mentioned in the national plans nor a blueprint on how to set up these designated centres, their location or the economic feasibility of implementing them. As a result, creating a national spatial plan that outlines clear guidelines for planning and laying out a road map for climate change relocation programmes and land purchases can close the gap in mass migration to urban areas. To balance spatial disparities in service delivery, employment opportunities, and development, the government must realign the revised National Development Strategy concerning other sectoral ministerial plans and policies such as the climate change policy, Planned Relocation Guidelines, provincial plans, industrial development policies, and sectoral agriculture plans. Noting that the Planned Relocation Guidelines 2022 emphasised sectoral integration into the process of planned relocation, the revision of the national development strategy and intended National Planning law, should make provisions for the relocation of vulnerable communities in the country’s national comprehensive plan. A classic example of this is the designation of geospatial locations on blueprints that will indicate development opportunities in various sectors and the drawing of thresholds through integrated Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment to determine the feasible areas for relocation and setting up of national economic centres. At first, the government will identify relocation sites based on the standard operating procedures set under the SI Planned Relocation Guidelines 2022 that align with other economic development strategies towards livelihood and job creation opportunities. Spatial planning would enable relevant stakeholders to assist the capacity of the communities to increase resilience and livelihoods that are threatened by environmental changes, thus discouraging climate-induced migration flooding into the central capital of Honiara. The government has already used this workable mechanism to counter, and although this exercise appears hard, it can potentially create a road map of the country’s success in combating environmental-induced migration into urban centres.

In addition to this, it is necessary to re-establish the Site Development Fund, a distinct consolidated fund under the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, to enable completely serviced land for resettlement. This means that all utility services—water, power, road access, and schools—for relocated planned areas should be available on resettlement-registered land. This fund could be generated through the revenue on sale of land to provide well served sub-division on alienated land in the Solomon Islands.Footnote 87

  1. 2

    Creating New Climate Change Legislation

Without a defined legal framework on climate change-induced migration and relocation, unresolved challenges and issues connected to human rights and land ownership protection, in the Solomon Islands will remain in dispute. As previously stated, the national government has produced policies; however, a national Climate Change Act is required to supplement these government policies. In fact the climate change division believes that a national climate change law is critical.Footnote 88 The legal framework will provide for establishing an administrative board and strengthen the climate change unit to deal with climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, as well as any other issues related to climate change as well as the government’s obligations under international treaties. Another significant aspect that would be captured in the proposed Climate Change legislation is the creation of trust funds that would serve the planning of prior, during, and after relocation of risk communities.Footnote 89 Fiji, for example, has adopted the Climate Change Act 2021. This Act came about three years after their Planned Relocation Guidelines were developed. Section 4(d) of the Act explicitly stated a provision for the establishment of an institutional and governance arrangement for the implementation of the Act.Footnote 90 Notably, the Fiji Climate Change Act 2021 makes provisions to address various matters subject to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures and mechanisms for implementation of the Act.Footnote 91 Section 78 of Part 12 of the said Act also makes provisions for a trust fund,Footnote 92 which will be used to facilitate the relocation and displacement of at risk communities. This is to be facilitated through a framework to secure funds from internal and external sources.Footnote 93 As a result, the Fiji Climate Change Act 2021 implies a mandate for setting up an institutional framework and legal mechanism that assists relevant authorities in implementing the relocation of vulnerable communities, as well as addressing climate change-related concerns associated with this Act. This is also an example of how the proposed Act for the Solomon Islands will enable and enhance existing climate change policies, Planned Relocation Guidelines, and other additional policies outlined previously.

However, with inadequate technical knowledge to draft and enact a climate law, the likelihood of adopting a law seems bleak.

5 Conclusion

To summarise, this paper demonstrates that environmental challenges, chances for work, and a better life in Honiara, are factors in the rural–urban migration and relocation. Sea level rise and food security severely threaten the atolls and artificial island communities of Solomon Islands. As a result, the government must act quickly to adopt a comprehensive approach and execute robust Standard Operating Procedures to supplement the implementation of the Solomon Islands’ Planned Relocation Guidelines 2022. Three options are proposed in this study:

  1. (i)

    Protect the rights of migrants through land rights protection; use the Land and Titles Act to facilitate the removal and resettlement of vulnerable communities through appropriate land acquisition and registration measures.

  2. (ii)

    Align the National Development Strategy with other sectoral policies to handle the country’s rapid urbanisation growth; a comprehensive approach is needed to address the expanding rural–urban migration by integrating these policies.

  3. (iii)

    Create new climate change legislation—without a legal framework and revisions to the current LTA, the relocation of vulnerable communities, individual households, and the rights of migrants will not be taken seriously.

In addition, research on other thematic aspects of financial implication to justify relocation as a priority adaptation action rather than a last resort by the government would help influence and redirect government capital investment to urgently hear the call of the voices of the vanishing communities on the outer island atolls and artificial islands across the country.