Pacific island countries cannot take the orthodox road to development. Over recent decades, numerous studies have detailed factors of economic geography that make Pacific island states unique, including: small size, distance from markets, expensive transport costs, a heavy reliance on imports, a remarkable vulnerability to natural disasters and, increasingly, exposure to the effects of climate change.
These features of island economies mean that the cost of production in the Pacific is higher than it is in most other parts of the world. In this context, orthodox prescriptions for economic growth and export-led development do not hold, and policymakers must look for unique solutions. Increasingly, attention is being paid to opportunities linked with migration and mobility.
Planning for climate-induced migration
As climate change brings new challenges, Pacific policymakers are calling for other forms of mobility as well.
In 2015, leaders from the Coalition of Low-Lying Atoll Nations on Climate Change (CAN-CC)
However leaders from atoll states are also calling for support to prepare their people for ‘migration with
dignity’. Faced with the reality that global negotiations look unlikely to prevent changes to the global climate
system that threaten the very existence of their nations, leaders from atoll states suggest the time has come
to plan for migration and resettlement. These calls are being heard by policymakers abroad. As Australian
shadow minister for immigration Richard Marles indicated late last year, ‘Australia being a destination for
climate change migrants surely has to be up for discussion … we have to talk about this now rather than wait
until the issue is upon us’. A new report [pdf] from the World Bank and the Australian National University
(ANU) proposes the establishment of an Australia and New Zealand Atoll Access Agreement, which would
allow open access to Australia and New Zealand for people from the atoll nations of Kiribati and Tuvalu.
People living on other atoll islands in the Pacific already have migration opportunities to metropolitan
countries (namely France, New Zealand and the United States). Analysis contained in the World Bank/ANU
report suggests open access would see i-Kiribati and Tuvaluan migration to Australia and New Zealand
increase significantly, while remaining a tiny fraction (0.6 per cent) of the overall permanent migration
program.
Clearly, migration and mobility is a multidimensional and transnational issue, requiring political cooperation
between policymakers in Pacific island countries and metropolitan countries abroad. The second post in this
two-part series will explore prospects for political cooperation to enhance opportunities for greater mobility in
the region.