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September 10, 2020
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The idea of moving an entire population en masse is just one of several radical measures under consideration by the island populations most threatened by rising seas. The world’s only atoll nations—in the Pacific, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands; in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives—have

Sinking Islands, Drowned Logic; Climate Change and Community-Based Adaptation Discourses in Solomon Islands

The saltwater people of Solomon Islands are often portrayed to be at the frontline of climate change. In media, policy, and development discourses, the erosion and abandonment of the small, man-made islands along the coast of Malaita is attributed to climate change induced sea-level rise. This paper investigates this sinking islands narrative, and argues that a narrow focus on the projected impacts of climate change distracts attention and resources from more pressing environmental and development problems that are threatening rural livelihoods.