With land disappearing, dead coral on the beach and fewer fish in the sea, Sāmoa and its Pacific neighbours should be high on the agenda this month as world leaders gather at the Cop27 conference. 

The Pacific Islands forum leaders made a declaration at their July 2022 meeting that the Pacific is facing a climate emergency threatening ecosystems as well as people’s livelihoods, security and wellbeing. They have called it the single greatest threat facing the Blue Pacific – and rightly so. This is not just evidenced in the latest science but also in the daily lived realities of people in Pacific communities.

In Sāmoa, the impacts of climate change are here now. Many of the coastal villages are shrinking at a fast pace due to sea level rise, a phenomenon that villagers had not anticipated would happen in their lifetime. More and more families have moved inland to escape not only the sea, but the sea spray which damages property including houses – iron roofing and window frames that once needed replacing every five years, now require replacing due to rusting at least once a year. And moving inland means starting all over again, rebuilding homes, replanting crops and adapting to a different kind of terrain. The swift reaction is a demonstration of adaption and resilience in the face of climate adversity, but the economic loss and damage to their livelihoods is major.

And there’s another more important if invisible cost. When people move away from their coastal lands, they lose a sense of belonging and identity. For instance, the village of Neiafu has always been a coastal village – in fact the area is known as the aai (village headquarters or centre) where traditional and cultural meeting houses are located and village meetings take place. With an increased number of families relocating, village chiefs are concerned about the loss of culture and heritage and a fragmentation of the village, resulting in difficulty maintaining peace , harmony and a sense of collectivism – all integral aspects of Sāmoan culture. But such losses are not recognised or documented by the UNFCCC (United Nations framework convention on climate change) as “loss and damage”.

Farmers and fishermen look to their elders

Farmers are concerned about their crop productivity due to droughts and are constantly trialling crops that may grow well without the need for much water. Such trials include the introduction of fertilisers and pesticides. While there are some short-term benefits to these, there’s a negative impact on the fertility of the land and its natural nutrients. Farmers are also dealing with the introduction  of new pests and many are returning to their elders’ traditional knowledge for inspiration.

Many Sāmoan villagers depend on fish for survival, but fishermen lament that in certain spots where fish were once abundant they’re now scarce; fishermen are forced further out into the ocean in search for food.  This comes with increased risks of drownings, with such tragedies affecting many families in the village of Neiafu.

Fishermen have also reflected on changes on the reef. Fish and shellfish abundant there 20 years ago are disappearing, and corals are bleaching, damaged and dying, washing up on the beach with high tide. Like the farmers, fishermen are also revisiting traditional knowledge, creating fish traps, group fishing and looking into the possibility of sharing reefs with neighbouring villages where the corals are less damaged.

Looking beyond Sāmoa

Many neighbouring Pacific countries will be sharing similar experiences to those of Sāmoa, if not worse. And like Sāmoa, they live with an understanding of the interconnections between the ocean, sky, lands and people, knowing that a balance between all these elements must be maintained and protected.

Adaptation and resilience are not new concepts to the region. Many Pacific Islands have experienced climate crisis – cyclones, flooding, landslides – in the past and they have relied on their own strength in the face of those calamities. But what these Pacific nations don’t have is the power and influence to get leaders of developed countries to commit to what is necessary for the survival of their region. They don’t have enough climate financing to address the loss and damage, let alone create and implement scientific and technological resources that could help protect their environment and its natural resources – food and water security for example.

The inter-government negotiations at the climate change conference Cop27, currently being held in Egypt, are essential for the Pacific region – as well as the rest of the world. Although the Pacific nations and Small Island Developing States are currently bearing the brunt of the developed countries’ greed and hunger for power, it does not mean those countries won’t see and feel it themselves in the near future. Climate crisis is inevitable – Hurricane Ian in Florida was the most recent reminder of that. It is urgent that governments increase their commitments to reduce emissions at Cop27. And importantly, there need to be legal processes to ensure government leaders are held accountable for their actions and inactions.

It is equally vital for leaders of developed countries to agree to doubling their collective provisions for climate financing to assist with adaptation and mitigation in the Pacific and Small Island Developing States, and the legality of such commitments should also be prioritised to ensure non-provision is penalised.

The Pacific Ocean Climate Crisis Assessment (POCCA) research is part of a ground-breaking Pacific-led, multi-disciplinary project investigating all aspects of climate across 16 Pacific countries, a partnership between the University of Canterbury and the University of the South Pacific, funded by the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.