On Monday, November 20, 2017, ELP hosted a colloquium event titled: Climate, Migration, and the Marshall Islands. Professor Maxine Burkett and Juno Fitzpatrick presented on the goals of the Marshall Islands Climate and Migration project, the methodology of conducting research, and the preliminary findings from this year’s fieldwork in locations within the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Hawaiʻi, and the continental U.S. (specifically Oregon/Washington).
Juno, having just arrived in Hawaii from conducting fieldwork, presented on the project and its findings from a social science perspective. The central questions of the project were:
- To what extent are climatic stressors, and their impacts on ecosystems, livelihoods and habitability, already driving migration in RMI?
- What are the impacts of migration in source and destinations areas?
- How do migration reasons and consequences vary among different types of respondents?
Generally, after conducting various interviews of the local Marshallese population, the team confirmed a high rate of out-migration occurring (95% of respondents had migrant siblings or children). Although the Marshallese do not directly cite climate change as the reason for the migration, they certainly are perceptive of the changes that climate change has brought about to the islands. Specifically, some of the key preliminary findings included the following:
• Respondents were concerned about climate change and sea level rise, but more as a future risk than as an acute current problem.
• Drought posed a bigger problem currently, affecting health and agricultural productivity.
• Main drivers of migration in and from RMI are work, education, healthcare and curiosity/pull of American lifestyle.
• Respondents strongly resisted the idea that their islands would become uninhabitable in the future. “Don’t give up on us”.
Professor Burkett then discussed the project and its findings through a legal lens. Particularly, she discussed the role of international and domestic laws in addressing climate-induced migration and the gaps in existing policies and legal frameworks.
With these preliminary findings in hand, the project’s focus moving forward will be:
to identify policymakers‘ needs for information about climate change-related thresholds and tipping points in the USAPI for migration and propose a framework to manage migration effectively under circumstances of uncertainty.
For more information about the project, visit https://rmi-migration.squarespace.com/
The Weather Channel has also composed an illustrated story on climate change and Marshallese migration to Arkansas which references the research project by Professor Burkett and her team. View the story: http://features.weather.com/us-climate-change/arkansas/