Impact of Climate Change and Accessing Services in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

With rising sea levels, changes in rainfall, increased frequency of El Niño-type conditions, and increased intensity of cyclones, the Pacific Islands region is exposed to climate change. A large proportion of the people are marginalised and are among the most vulnerable and least prepared to cope with its impacts. There are many competing definitions of the concept of vulnerability, but in the context of the Pacific Islands countries (PICs), it is referred to as the lack of power, influence, and control of those affected by climate change. The lack of power is reflected where access to resources is minimised. This can be viewed in various ways, including a lack of access to basic services such as enabling infrastructure, transport, hospitals, and others. In addition, the lack of access to income-generating opportunities further complicates the challenges imposed by the impact of climate change. In most of the PICs, including Papua New Guinea (PNG), Kiribati, Vanuatu, Marshal Islands, and Cook Islands, the chances of access to basic needs such as food, water, and land for survival are threatened. Approaches to dealing with climate change, displacement of people, and issues of traditional land ownership and relocation must be taken seriously. The paper presents some challenges of accessing services mainly caused by lack of effective management by the government of Papua New Guinea in the midst of climate change.

1 Introduction

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is located within the Blue Pacific¹ continent countries in the Asia–Pacific region. It occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, as well as numerous smaller islands and archipelagos. Apart from the 600 small islands and atolls, it has four big islands: Manus, New Britain, New Ireland, and Bougainville. PNG has diverse ecosystems, rich biodiversity, and a unique cultural heritage. It is home to hundreds of indigenous tribes, each with its distinct customs, rituals, and languages. Traditional practices, art, music, and dance continue to play a significant role in the country’s cultural identity. Agriculture, mining, and natural resources drive the country's economy.² PNG is rich in mineral resources, with products such as coffee, cocoa, palm oil, and tropical fruits being significant exports. However, despite its abundant natural resources, the country faces poverty, limited infrastructure, and social inequality.³

PNG is located in one of the regions most exposed to natural hazards and climate change.⁴ The low-lying nature of the islands makes them particularly exposed to even small increases in sea level. Some consequences of sea-level rise include saltwater intrusion, land loss, displacement, relocation, and food insecurity.⁵ A large proportion of women, children, and persons with disabilities are marginalised and are among the most vulnerable and least prepared to cope with the impacts of climate change. There are many competing definitions of the concept of vulnerability, but in the context of the Pacific Islands countries, it is referred to as the lack of power, influence, and control of those affected by climate change.⁶ The lack of power is reflected where access to resources is minimised. This can be viewed in various ways, including a lack of access to basic services such as enabling infrastructure, transport, hospitals, and others. In addition, the lack of access to income-generating opportunities further complicates the challenges imposed by the impact of climate change. Thus, PNG faces an uphill task in ensuring primary access to services threatened by climate change and extreme weather events.

This paper apart from this introduction is composed of five sections including the second section which contextualises the impact of climate change in PNG. The third section describes some characteristics of climate-related human mobility in the country. The fourth section focuses on challenges people face in access to land and its spillover impacts for climate or natural disaster-induced migrants. The fifth covers lack of planning and management of induced migrant resettlements and finally the conclusion.

2 Contextualising the Impact of Climate Change in PNG

Australian geographer Heathcote (1979) defined natural disaster as ‘extreme geographical events greatly exceeding normal human expectations in terms of magnitude and frequency and causing significant material damage to man and his works’.⁷ However, more recent works⁸ attempt to understand the impact of these hazards especially with an appreciation on the social context inclusive of socio-economic, political and other factors, including dimensions of exposure, vulnerability, and capacities. For instance, the Council of Europe defines disaster stating that ‘natural disasters are frequent and global occurrences that range from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis to crop failure, famine, drought and floods’.⁹ This gives an understanding on the definition and how these disasters affect the country’s physical as well as economic and social features. It is important to explore the impact of climate change in PNG in two parts; first as disaster, second the consequence of these impacts on the environment, as well as the socio-economic impacts on people who are affected.

• A. Disasters and their Impacts

PNG continues to be ranked highest in the World Disaster Index.¹⁰ It ranked 9th in 2021, and in 2017 as per the World Risk Index, it was ranked as the world’s 12th, respectively. These results place PNG as one of the most at-risk countries globally. The risk factor is also reflected through ranking in the 2024 INFORM Risk Index, which assesses country-level vulnerability and coping capacity related to climate change.¹¹ PNG is categorised under very high climate risk, its ranking being determined by high levels of exposure to flood, drought, and cyclone.¹² The country’s lack of coping capacity is ranked the 12th lowest coping capacity per the World Risk Report 2023. In other words, PNG is among the countries that are least prepared to cope with the aftermath of any disaster.

As a country, it has encountered various disasters including heat waves and drought, flooding and landslides, and cyclones and storm surge.¹³ For instance, PNG has been facing increasing temperatures from 31–32 ℃ annually around November and has a prolonged period of excessively hot weather.¹⁴ These heat waves have significant impacts on both natural ecosystems and human communities leading to heat exhaustion and heart stroke, especially in vulnerable populations including the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing health conditions. Additionally, increased temperatures can expand the range of disease-carrying vectors like mosquitoes, potentially leading to a higher incidence of diseases like malaria and dengue fever.¹⁵

PNG has experienced notable droughts over the years. The droughts in 1997 and 2015 resulted in widespread food insecurities.¹⁶ The impact of the 1997 drought was severe, with destruction of crops, drying up of the local sources of drinking water, and intensified bushfires from the coast to the crests of the main mountain ranges, destroying economic trees, subsistence food crops, and dwellings. Drought occurrences in the country in 2015 continue to impact the environment and its people. PNG currently ‘faces an annual median probability of severe meterological drought of around 4%’.¹⁷ The 2015 drought has also had severe and wide-ranging impacts on PNG affecting both the environment and human communities through reduced rainfall leading to water scarcity, livestock losses, reduced agricultural productivity, and other negative impacts. Water scarcity contributes to hardships experienced by those especially in rural locations where people depend entirely on the environment for survival.

PNG, due to its geo-climate features, is prone to flooding.¹⁸ Some of the key causes of flooding in the country include heavy rainfall and saturated soil leading to landslides. In 2012, a number of incidences of flooding and landslides occurred in several provinces, including Southern Highlands, Morobe, Western Highlands, Enga, Sandaun, National Capital District, Central, and Gulf.¹⁹ Flooding resulted in extensive destruction of houses and casualties, including deaths across these provinces. Apart from these fatalities and injuries, there were displacement and economic losses, agricultural, and other impacts. PNG with its rugged nature and widespread locations has on many occasions been unable to fully recover from the damages caused.

In addition, in the Pacific region, cyclones are a significant natural hazard.²⁰ When cyclones make landfall, they can bring about various impacts, including storm surges. The impacts of cyclones and storm surges can cause significant damage to buildings, infrastructure, and vegetation, which can lead to economic losses and displacement of communities.²¹ In November 2008, Cyclone Guba petered down from Vanuatu from the north of Australia, swept through the Oro Province of PNG, causing swelling rivers, unstable soil as well as rough seas, consequently resulting in the destruction of homes, food gardens, infrastructure including roads and bridges.²²

In short, disasters contribute to the displacement of communities and destruction of homes and infrastructure which has resulted in economic losses for the affected. Droughts, flooding, and landslides as well as cyclones and storm surges negatively affect agricultural fields and other community resources. This can have a significant impact on food security and livelihoods in affected areas. The spillover impacts of natural hazards in the next section demonstrate the impacts of climate change on people in PNG.

3 Human Mobility in the Carteret and Manam Islands

Since mobility can be a form of adaptation to climate change and other disasters; it is expected of populations who live in severely affected locations to move.²³ Similar to other parts of the world, the Pacific Islands too are expecting large-scale climate-induced mobility among the severely affected communities. PNG, despite being the only Pacific Island country that is not surrounded by the ocean, does have sinking atolls and coastlines being affected by climate change and people living within the affected areas are bound to migrate.

The relocation of people as a result of climate-related impacts and disasters causes friction when these people are relocated onto other lands. The basic cause of the friction originates from the concerns around migrants settling on lands that are traditionally owned by people in the destination. For example, the Carteret islanders in Tinputz are confronted with challenges including struggles such as social disarticulation.²⁴ This is because around 80% of the people in rural areas survive on subsistence agriculture and need their land for food cultivation. Moreover, in PNG, traditionally, clans or tribes own land communally. Most of this land is patrilineally owned, although there are a few locations where women also own land.²⁵ PNG has Land Acts that govern the land management framework but land ownership in PNG is also complicated by people’s oral histories and social identities and their connections to the physical land features.²⁶ Land is tied to locality—whether terrestrial or marine—[and] is the basis for membership and nationality for most Melanesians. Research in general has summarised the significance of land and therefore highlighted the importance of land ownership: ‘Land is our life and our physical life-food and sustenance. Land is our social life; it is marriage; it is status; it is security; it is policies; in fact, it is our only world’.²⁷ As Banks argues, resources are deeply connected to the creation and continuation of kinship relations and identities of people.²⁸ Land ownership is often difficult to identify because people have stories and diverse connections with landscape and social life. This can cause complications in separating people from the physical features they associate their identity with, and in turn, this can affect the delivery of infrastructure and services when land ownership is contested.

The complicated land ownership in PNG has also contributed to numerous conflicts. Jorgensen cites the following reasons for these conflicts.²⁹

• multiple claimants to particular pieces of land;

• complex land histories giving rise to claims from conflicting clans;

• the State’s recognition of indigenous land rights giving rise to pressure by these landowners on the State.³⁰

Numerous candidates contesting ownership over an area of land have caused difficulties in identifying the rightful owners of that land. This has been the case with the climate-induced migrants of Carteret and the Manam islands. Their chances in securing land for cultivation are slim.³¹ Several clans often claim ownership over one stretch of land, which is usually complicated by the absence of written records, the lack of specific surveyed measurements, and the use of imprecise natural features such as a mountain range or valleys as boundaries.³²

It is important to explore the issue of relocation in PNG in the context of the Manam islanders who are victims of volcanic eruption. This approach is taken to understand the manner in which displaced populations are resettled in the country.

In this sub-section, two cases concerning planned relocation in the Carteret and Manam Islands are presented to demonstrate how human mobility is coordinated. Induced migration in these cases refers to those who are forced to relocate. These are people who have been relocated to new locations.

• A. Tinputz Atolls

The Carteret Islands, also known as Tinputz Atolls, are made up of six small main islands and are among the atolls that are less urbanised—Carteret Islands have gained significant attention as it is often cited as one of the first places to be affected by climate change-induced sea-level rise.³³ The islands are located in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARoB), and none of these islands are higher than two metres above sea level.³⁴ Rising sea levels create susceptibility among those who live along the coast, leading to increased coastal erosion, flooding, saltwater intrusion, and inundation. Storm surges have led to the intrusion of saltwater into freshwater sources, impacting drinking water supplies and agricultural land. Coastal inundations caused by cyclones have led to severe coastal erosion, damage to infrastructure, and the loss of coastal habitats.³⁵ As per Caritas reports from PNG, many coastal villages and atolls have lost land due to sea-level rise. An example from the Carteret Islands confirmed the impacts as the sea is ‘basically eroding our shorelines (and) we have lost 60–70 m of land’.³⁶

Agriculture and fishing are the primary sources of livelihood for the Carteret islanders. Climate change affects their ability to sustain themselves through these activities due to changes in rainfall patterns, increased storm frequency and intensity, and the degradation of marine ecosystems. The scenario becomes complicated because it is one of the most densely populated island groups, that lack available land for agriculture and gardening due to sea-level rise and changes in rain patterns. This has led to food security challenges, increased economic vulnerability, and consequent displacement of communities.³⁷ The rising sea level has affected the livelihood of the islanders to an extent that most of the islanders cannot sustain themselves on their island homes. The destruction of the natural environment extends to soil erosion and sedimentation of water bodies. The existing infrastructures such as roads and communications cables are destroyed. These impacts threaten homes, and access to essential services, resulting in land loss and community displacement and relocation.³⁸

As per the results from a case study³⁹ on Carteret Islands, the resettlement agenda has been around for several decades mainly due to climate change and food insecurities. Several families were relocated along the Kieta-Buka Highway but many returned to the islands due to land disputes and failure of migrants integrating with the receiving community.⁴⁰ After the Bougainville Civil War, frustrated islanders saw unfulfilled promises from the Bougainville Government as a delay in their relocation and they initiated their own arrangements to relocate.

The current relocation of climate-induced migrants for resettlement on Tinputz is the initiative of the Carteret islanders through the Tulele Peisa, the local NGO endorsed by the islanders and is led by Ms. Ursula Rakova, a social worker from this island, who is the prominent voice for the people of the Carteret Islands.⁴¹ This NGO has secured 81 hectares of land donated by the Catholic Church in Tinputz.⁴² The relocation of the people in Tinputz took place in 2009. As per the Post Courier, a national newspaper, various partners, mainly NGOs including the Lutheran Pentecostal Church of Germany, City Pharmacy Group of Companies in PNG, Catholic Coalition on Climate Change of the US, Caritas New Zealand, and Sisters of Mercy, Brisbane, Australia, assisted in various ways to resettle some of the islanders. The relocation plan initiated by the Carteret islanders through Tulele Peisa began in 2007, and a proposal for the relocation of half of the population was advocated for.

Results from a case study on the relocation of the Carteret islanders revealed that ABG had conducted feasibility studies to relocate the IDPs on Karoola, Buka Island. The ABG was just about to secure land when the islanders successfully secured land in Tinputz. In spite of the government’s efforts, Tulele Peisa went ahead with their collaboration with the Catholic Church on Bougainville to settle islanders on Tinputz.⁴³ There appears to be a lack of information to explain the reasoning behind this arrangement.

There also seems to be a lack of the Government of PNG’s (GoPNG) involvement in this relocation process. The Tinputz initiative was organised by Tulele Peisa, the local NGO of the Carteret Islands in partnership with other partners. Since there was little or no involvement of the government, multifaceted challenges have occurred. To prevent compounded impacts such as settlers and landowners of those who relocated, getting into conflicts currently experienced in Madang and Tinputz, action must be taken to rectify the current situation as well as setting a course for future relocation centres around the country. A call for an approach to cater for displaced climate-induced migration has been around for a while now but without much attention from the government. In 2015, Kaigabu Kamnanaya, an employee of the National Disaster Centre, PNG made a request, but nothing has been developed thus far.⁴⁴

The experience from Tinputz Atolls highlights the complex challenges faced by the relocated population, particularly in relation to land use and communal land ownership. As per Edward’s study, the relocation process involves socio-economic and cultural aspects.⁴⁵ Relocated Carteret islanders encountered challenges including landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, loss of common lands and resources, increased health risks, and social disarticulation.⁴⁶ The settlers are confronted with multiple challenges including access to land for gardening and fishing. The original landowners of the Tinputz area often deny access to land use for gardening to the migrants. In a recent conversation,⁴⁷ Ursula Rakova, the chief executive of Tulele Peisa, admitted that ‘land and the host community were seen as the enemies, and the islanders were very much keeping to themselves for a while and not mixing with mainland people’. These were the times when there was a lack of understanding from both parties: the settlers and the landowners. Despite the challenges, there have been some positive stories on relationships between the two groups of people in Tinputz. Tulele Peisa with another local NGO⁴⁸ ‘facilitated post-relocation counselling’. Supporting both groups with counselling as well as training on farming skills to the settlers have enabled these people to work the land allocated to them. This training was important as the settlers whilst living on the island did not make gardens for survival due to land insecurity. Also, the government of PNG provides those on the island, with food every quarter to supplement their local diet of coconuts and fish⁴⁹ There seems to be a lack of available information on the success rate on continuing peace among the settlers and the landowners. Therefore, research is required to further understand the relationship of the two groups of people in Tinputz. Currently, there seems to be a lack of emphasis on the negative aspects.

The case of Manam is also important as it points to the impact of a natural disaster in the form of volcanic eruptions forcing people to migrate. The experience of Manam can contribute to the understanding of relocation of induced migrants as it is one of the two major relocation experiences in PNG. Therefore, it is important to view closely the experience of the Manam islanders as induced migrants.

• B. Manam Islanders

The case of Manam islanders in Madang, PNG, further illustrates complications in relocating people to another location. Manam Island is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, whose people have been continuously displaced due to the volcanic eruption.⁵⁰ The Manam islanders have been officially declared as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.⁵¹ Displacement of the islanders had initially been temporary as they would shift for short periods, from 2–3 months during the volcano’s eruption. Earlier, islanders sought refuge in the mainland with their ‘hereditary exchange of resources such as nuts and fish on the mainland’.⁵² The islanders exchanged foodstuff, including pigs prior to their displacement. They capitalised on these traditional relationship ties to relate to the mainlanders. However, this relationship has been challenged, now that the islanders are without these resources and cannot reciprocate as the eruption has destroyed their villages as well as their resources.

The 2004–2005 volcanic eruptions witnessed a lot of Manam islanders migrating to the mainland. A majority of the displaced people live in makeshift houses built of traditional materials. After several eruptions, over 9000 IDPs were relocated to the mainland near Bogia into care centres in ‘Potsdam, Asuramba, and Mangem, as well as several informal centres’.⁵³ Displaced young men built temporary shelters which have deteriorated but people still live in them.

After six months of settlement in the care centres, there were land use issues as reported by the UNHCR.⁵⁴ The landowners whose land the care centres were established on did not accept the settlers residing on their land. The displaced people have experienced challenges in meeting their basic needs such as having access to safe drinking water, privacy, and lack of access to food. The local village near the Asurumba care centre asked their local MP to evict the Manam islanders.⁵⁵

As per an IOM report⁵⁶ despite 15 years of resettlement, the settlers continue to face challenges including land tenure, agriculture, education, health, shelter, and others. Although in the case of Manam relocation was induced by volcanic eruptions, settlers are now confronted with sea-level rise due to their settlement on the sea shore where erosion is inevitable. Settlers do not have access to proper shelters, education, and land for gardening. Connell and Lutkehaus’ work demonstrated seven challenges namely: alteration of livelihood, little available land, absence of piped water, lack of funds for school fees, land ownership issues, weak traditional leadership, and increase in disputes with local host landowners.⁵⁷

The latest experience on Manam in 2021 illustrated clearly the lack of preparedness to deal with natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions in PNG. Despite the occurrences of volcanic eruptions, over three decades serious lack of services continues. As per a situation update, the settlements continued to lack basic services including health and proper housing with the recent eruption. The Madang Provincial Government through the Manam Restorative Authority appears to have limited capacity to provide necessary services for the victims of volcanic eruptions.⁵⁸

As noted, challenges in land ownership and relocation of induced migration including climate-induced migrants and other disasters such as volcanic eruptions can contribute to complications or problems in the relocation sites. Although the example on Manam Island is not directly related to climate change, climate change will be an issue in the near future. As per the World Bank PNG Country Profile, ‘sea-level rise also threatens the integrity of Papua New Guinea’s coastal resources and biodiversity’ including land.⁵⁹ It is crucial to highlight that both Tinputz and Manam settlements experience similar challenges whilst living in their respective settlements. It is also important to unpack some challenges surrounding access to basic services in the destination of the induced migrants.

4 Challenges in Access to Land and Its Impact for Climate-Induced Migrants

Having access to land and basic services is paramount to any individual, family, or a community, as this provides comfort and convenience for survival in any context including for those affected by climate change and other natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions. In the midst of climate change and natural disasters in PNG, those affected face serious challenges. Most communities lack access to land and to basic services including health and sanitation facilities and Tinputz and Manam resettlements as induced migrant communities are no exception. This section has a twofold aim; first it will contain discussions around the lack of access to land and incidental effects thereof, while the second will focus on the spillover impact of the former.

• A. Challenges in Access to Land

The experiences of these two communities (Manam and Tinputz) illustrate the challenges encountered by the induced settlers. It is evident as per the studies of Connell and Lutkehaus and Edwards, that resettlements of Tinputz and Manam islanders on the coast of Bogia, Madang, lack basic services.⁶⁰ As it turns out, both communities are confronted with some common issues including landlessness as the major issue, challenges in adjusting to a new livelihood, food insecurity, lack of funds to send children to school, lack or absence of piped water, and other challenges.

Landlessness in the context of PNG especially in rural areas such as in Tinputz and Manam is a serious issue. Being landless refers to those who do not own land and miss out on being self-sufficient, as land is the source of livelihood. In the observation of Connell and Lutkehaus ‘disputes increased with the local ‘host’ landowners, as islanders struggled to adapt to the mainland’.⁶¹ It is also clear that the ‘host villages’ or original landowners did not welcome the settlers. As the population of Manam grew, so did the pressure for their needs. Densely populated settlements compounded with ‘inadequate access to land and lack of resources created problems and conflicts’.⁶² These challenges have been continuous and have caused ongoing challenges for the original landowners as well as the settlers with little or no intervention from the government and its partners.

Tinptuz also experienced similar issues with lack of access to sufficient land especially the one similar to their original home. As Edwards points out, ‘default low-lying atolls have little relief, wide-open vistas, and lots of sand, a hard environment to replicate.⁶³ Low-lying islands have a high ratio of shoreline to land area, and it can be observed that all atoll dwellers live within a few metres of the sea. Acquiring a similar stretch of coastline on the mainland with ready access to the shore is unlikely. Coastal sites are prime locations and local landowners are reluctant to give up a narrow, shoreline strip. This in itself may pose challenges to the settlers who are not used to engaging in activities on the mainland of Bougainville. For instance, the Carteret islanders will have to adjust themselves to the new environment when engaging in their daily tasks.

Being relocated to a new environment can alter the livelihood of the settlers. These settlers will have to change the way they think and engage in activities such as gardening, fishing, and other usual tasks they were engaged in at their previous destination. Islanders who are used to mainly fishing on their spacious shoreline strip would probably have a beachfront that is half the size of the beach on their original destination. Displacement from disaster can lead to disruption in ‘people’s livelihoods, housing conditions, health, education, security, social life, and environment’.⁶⁴ People feel neglected in their destination as they are placed in a helpless situation. In a country like PNG where almost 80% of the people heavily rely on the environment for survival, this is disastrous. Impacted communities and their people would suffer especially if there is little or no support from the government or other stakeholders.

Security in the context of climate change and natural disasters, as in the case of the Carteret Islands and Manam can be seen in the light of the law and order issues that erupt from relocation and its multifaceted challenges.

Lack of funds for school fees is another issue the settlers have to deal with. Settlers therefore struggle to send their children to school. The Manam Islanders previously while living on their island could sell copra to make money, while currently in the settlement they have nothing. As a result, a lot of school-age children stay at home, ‘Although education is still highly valued among the Manam islanders, the high cost of school fees has meant that often it is only the children from elite families’ who get to attend school.⁶⁵ And this contributes to the increase in uneducated or illiterate youth within the community in the care centres as well as the temporary shelters within the villages.

Many have echoed the issue of food insecurity being encountered by many displaced settlers. Many families within the settlements suffer from lack of food supply. As per the results from the International Organisation for Migration, little or no land for gardening contributes to many of the challenges faced by the settlers.⁶⁶ As demonstrated by Teddy Basse, a settler in a Manam Settlement—‘vegetables and other sources of protein are in short supply. Many children suffer from potbellies, while pregnant and lactating mothers eat the same food as everybody else, thereby lacking the necessary nutrients, the assessment said. Insufficient access to land and overuse of the soil have exacerbated food shortages, and families routinely skip a meal. We survive on what little we can grow on the land around us’. There is no doubt that settlers encounter compounded issues, relating to land ownership in their new destination.

Families in both Tinputz and Manam are struggling to provide sufficient food supply for their homes. Issues on access to sufficient land contribute to families not having enough food. The change of environment also plays a part in the lack of food supply. For example, Manam islanders struggle to cope with working on land on the settlement as they complain about the land being infertile and their food crops not yielding as much as their gardens back on Manam, a volcanic and fertile island.

The original landowners on the other hand have occasionally shown their frustrations through disagreements, by getting into conflict with the settlers. There is insufficient information to present their experiences in sharing land with the settlers. Perhaps research is required to explore the process and procedures followed by the government of PNG to acquire land for the settlers. It would only be fair to the original landowners if the government of PNG and other stakeholders heard their side of the story on how their land was acquired in the resettlement process. Apart from that, if there are benefits for the landowners both in the short and long-term to at least give these people some peace of mind as well as preventing occurrences of conflict over land ownership issues. As pointed out by Edwards,⁶⁷ any ‘resettlement project needs culturally appropriate compensation for both hosts and those displaced, and greater commitment from national and provincial government, especially in relation to long-term planning’. Lack of culturally appropriate negotiations with the original landowners on the initial settlement of disaster-induced Manam islanders continues to be an issue today. A recent source illustrated⁶⁸ aggrieved landowners of Bunabun village expressing concerns regarding the growing rift between them and the settlers causing lawlessness in the community. Mr. Joe Masep, a landowner called for the ‘government and other agencies to step in to settle the issue of resettling the islanders’. It is important to include the original landowners and the settlers from the beginning to the end of the decision-making process to allow for understanding among all partners involved.

The issue of land ownership is one of the most complicated in a Melanesian context and has contributed to numerous conflicts. This, as Jorgensen argues, is due to three main reasons: numerous claimants to particular pieces of land, complex land histories giving rise to claims from conflicting clans, and the State’s recognition of indigenous land rights giving rise to pressure by these landowners on the State.⁶⁹Having no land in a climate-induced environment together with experiences of other disasters can exacerbate land ownership issues as in the case of Manam and Tinputz. In PNG, numerous candidates contesting ownership over an area of land has caused difficulties in identifying the rightful owners of that land. Several clans can often claim ownership over one stretch of land which is usually complicated by the absence of written records, the lack of specific surveyed measurement, and the use of imprecise natural features such as a mountain ranges or valleys as boundaries.⁷⁰

In the background where land rights have assumed the status of a stumbling block in the way of relocating the climate change-induced people, it should be noted that land rights issues in PNG cannot be eliminated, but they can be managed in a way that the landowners benefit from the use of their land. For instance, the State can pay rent to the landowners. Cultural approaches in dealing with climate change and displacement of people from one location to another as well as issues of traditional land ownership and relocation must be taken seriously. In the relocation process, relevant stakeholders including non-governmental organisations, churches, and the government, must coordinate with landowners on relocation destination or land for climate-induced migrants to prevent unforeseen challenges such as violence over land use.

• B. Other Impacts

Other impacts refer to some spillover effects of climate change and other disasters on induced migrants. These impacts are multifaceted as they are the results of various factors. The other impacts of climate change and natural disaster-induced migrants are many and include: lack of basic essential services such as health, water and sanitation, electricity, lack of income and others. It is important to unpack some encounters of induced migrants regarding the availability and access to service provisions through the lens of these migrants in Tinputz and Manam.

The health of the displaced population is usually at risk especially when they are confronted with a lack of proper water and sanitation facilities, an essential part of a person. The practice is that many including both within induced migrant settlements as well as original landowner villages, still drink from well water in PNG. Despite the availability of tanks and piped water, this practice continues in many isolated communities in the country. This practice is unhealthy and contributes to health issues faced by induced migrants in the settlements. Many faces ‘common health issues such as diarrhoea and water-related diseases’.⁷¹ The services available for these settlers remain the same as these results reflect the experiences of Manam settlers in 2016, seven years after the result of people drinking contaminated well water within a generally unhealthy environment was reported.⁷² Today the difficulty in access to and shortage of medical supplies continues as there is ‘still (lack of) basic services with medicine running out’.⁷³ This could mean that not much effort has been invested into service provision to improve the health of the settlers, and that water and sanitation facilities within the induced migrants settlements in PNG is neglected.

Apart from issues relating to water and sanitation, malaria was another challenge. Change of location caused an increase in cases of malaria among the Manam.⁷⁴ The Carteret islanders on the other hand also experienced an increase in cases of malaria while they were still on the island. Results from Edwards revealed that the fact that these people suffered from the ‘inadequate diets and the risk of increased prevalence of certain diseases means that, prior to relocation, the physical health of islanders may be poor’.⁷⁵ Cases of malaria were common among the Carteret islanders. This was due to the constant contact with the wet soils on Han Island which served as an incubator for the breeding of mosquitoes resulting in incidences of malaria.⁷⁶ This is the impact of climate change on the island and the lack of available health services at their original destination to address health issues.

In addition, seeking medical assistance in the care centres is difficult as there is lack of money to fund for transport and required medical services, as revealed by Manam islanders.⁷⁷ There is little or no effective medical services in the induced migrant resettlements. Access to basic services is a significant aspect of any community and settlements of climate or natural disaster-induced locations are no exception. Services such as built infrastructure including roads, classrooms, hospitals, power poles and electricity supply, water supply, and any other services must be made available and accessible to those affected. Experiences of the Carteret and Manam settlers have illustrated several challenges in service delivery including water sanitation and hygiene. There are implications that the government has neglected its responsibility to provide essential services in induced migrant settlements in PNG.

5 Lack of Planning and Management of Induced Migrant Resettlements

Planning and management of any community is important and the induced migrant resettlements are no exception. As such, planning for a resettlement of climate or other natural disaster-impacted people is significant. However, there is a lack of effective management in the overall operations of services, including health facilities, especially at the district level of government. The effects of this have trickled down to service provision within the communities and also include the induced migrant settlements. Campos-Outcalt, Kewa, and Thomason focused on decentralisation and administration of health services at the sub-district level and revealed some staggering results.⁷⁸ They have demonstrated difficulties such as a lack of finances, transport to do health runs, and limited professional support. Work by Howes and others confirms the financial difficulties encountered in delivering health services in PNG.⁷⁹ This trend is also evident in the climate or natural disaster-induced settlements as in the case of Carteret and Manam.

The Carteret islanders experience multifaceted challenges including⁸⁰ land insecurity, homelessness, lack of basic services, and others. Challenges associated with re-establishing their livelihoods, especially when they were dependent on fishing which is being disrupted by climate change, also abound. Government support in providing alternative livelihood options is crucial for the economic sustainability of these communities. Although the government has played an important role in supplying food rations on a quarterly basis to those who still live on the islands; its role in the relocation process is currently unclear. It is also believed that both the Bougainville and PNG Governments know about our proposal but have not helped at all. They have not spent a toea (cent) to help us with the relocation.⁸¹ In other words, the State has done little to support the Carteret islanders.

Lack of government support in these resettlements has manifested in several ways. Among other challenges, lack of infrastructure and basic services including education and basic healthcare services are quite visible. After almost two decades post the initial resettlement of Manam islanders, a lack of basic services still exists. A recent source⁸² illustrated that ‘there is also a need for a school and other services’. The experience of both resettlements is evident through the challenges encountered due to a lack of infrastructure.⁸³ Manam resettlement encountered overcrowding in the community due to lack of available land. The government struggles to provide essential infrastructure such as water supply and sanitation in the resettlements. This can be elaborated to illustrate the lack of concern or oversight on the part of the PNG government and its stakeholders. The lack of basic services can significantly impact the well-being of the relocated communities.

Those responsible at the provincial and district levels were ill-prepared to take up responsibilities to manage the funds provided to deliver services to the local communities. Several other studies on the impact of decentralising health services in PNG have shown similar results.⁸⁴ There are more negative impacts than positive ones regarding decentralisation on the overall delivery of health services. These results demonstrate a lack of support that can be provided for climate-induced migrants in a new location with little or no available health services. The question is how can the spillover impacts of climate change be effectively addressed when there is a lack of effective management in the government system? Although the government of PNG is working in partnership with international partners through NGOs and other renowned actors including Red Cross, Asian Development Bank, and others, it needs to look for alternatives to turn the situation around to take on challenges created by climate change.

The role of the government is unclear in terms of resettlement of the induced migrants. And also, it has shown little interest in supporting the displaced people despite its efforts on the general agenda on climate change. Despite initial arrangements in relocating the victims of the eruptions, there is little or no information available for further understanding the role of the State, ‘uncertainty, lack of political will, and the absence of a government policy on internally displaced persons have hindered attempts to provide definitive and durable solutions’.⁸⁵ Therefore, most importantly the government of PNG has an outstanding task to develop a relocation policy for its climate affected population. For PNG as a country that is located in a high-risk zone that is exposed to climate change and natural disaster, having a relocation policy is important. The resettlement of induced migrants is an important agenda, especially in the midst of climate change. Therefore, it is important that the resettlement process is well thought out and carefully planned. Planning is an important part of any project and it is significant for any government to consider various factors involved in the initial organising of resettlement of induced migrants.

In addition, the government of PNG has done little to obtain land for people forced to move from the Carteret Islands to the now-called Tipputz Atolls on the mainland of Bougainville. Most land disputes among the islanders are due to customary land ownership systems which have been examined in the earlier section. These challenges appear to be the result of a lack of vision and planning by the government of PNG. The government of PNG through its Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution 2020 outlined nine priority areas for adaptation including coastal flooding, inland flooding, food security, cities and climate change, climate-induced migration, damage to coral reefs, malarial and vector-borne diseases, water and sanitation, and landslides. However, this is not evident in the locations where the impact of climate change has posed challenges, in the case of planned relocation of climate-induced migrants.

6 Conclusion

PNG has been experiencing severe climate change issues through landslides, floods, cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, and the problems caused by sea-level rise. As it turns out, the country is currently confronted with the relocation of climate change–affected populations and access to basic services. The cases of the Manam and Carteret islanders in PNG have demonstrated problems encountered by induced migrants in their destinations. Both relocation sites experience land ownership issues that affect the overall well-being of the relocates. In such a situation, the government must intervene to rectify the spillover impacts of unplanned relocation efforts.

Social and economic challenges of climate change include loss of livelihoods, increased poverty, food insecurity, and displacement and eventual relocation of coastal communities that exacerbate existing social and economic challenges and can lead to social unrest. Furthermore, the country’s limited resources and infrastructure make it difficult to adapt effectively to these changes. Addressing the impacts of climate change and improving access to services in PNG, require a multifaceted approach. It involves international cooperation, adaptation measures, sustainable development practices, and investments in infrastructure, health care, education, and disaster management. Efforts should also empower local communities, promote climate resilience, and ensure equitable access to services, particularly for vulnerable populations. PNG, like many other countries, needs to follow adaptation and mitigation strategies to address these impacts. This includes implementing measures to improve coastal protection, investing in resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable agriculture practices, conserving biodiversity and ecosystems, and enhancing health care and social safety nets.

Additionally, international cooperation and support are crucial to assisting PNG in building resilience and mitigating the effects of climate change. The PNG government also needs to formulate a planned relocation policy for climate-induced migrants. PNG requires a comprehensive approach that integrates climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies with efforts to improve access to basic needs and services. This includes investing in resilient infrastructure, sustainable agricultural practices, water resource management, healthcare facilities, and education. Furthermore, enhancing community resilience, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and empowering vulnerable populations are crucial for ensuring equitable access to basic needs and services in the face of climate change.