The Carteret Islanders: Climate change impacting our neighbours

The Carteret Islands are islands off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Their population is one of the first to be impacted by rising sea levels caused by global warming. Food crops are no longer able to be harvested, and Huene, one of the islands, has been cut in two. In 10 to 15 years, the islands will be mostly un-inhabitable and, as a consequence, over 3,300 islanders will have to relocate to Bougainville. The Tinputz communities on the mainland will have to share their land with the islanders.

This situation is particularly challenging for Carteret women as they are not only the providers of food crops but also the traditional custodians of the land. This increases the pressure they experience with these changes as they are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. So, when the fresh water is too salty to be drunk or crops have been destroyed, the only thing they can offer to their families is young coconut. Our partner, Ursula Rakova, Head of Tulele Peisa, knows that Caterets Islanders need to move to survive.

“If at least I had some money to carry stone from Bougainville and build up sea walls around the Caterets Islands, I will do that. But I know it is impossible because even if I do that, the sea will still rise.”

Tulele Peisa coordinates the relocation of the islanders and is a link between Carteret and Tinputz communities to facilitate the integration of climate change refugees. With IWDA, Tulele Peisa runs a project that aims to provide space for young women’s and men’s voices to be heard on environmental, social and natural resources issues and promotes cross cultural understanding in preparation for the relocation process.

At the end of 2008, 30 young women and men from Carteret and Tinputz travelled to 15 locations in Bougainville to share their stories, experiences and to raise awareness on the effects of climate change on the Carteret. Through training sessions, these young women and men improved their speaking skills and became ambassadors for their communities. The ‘speaking tour’ built their confidence, skills and knowledge.

In addition, through advocacy, traditional songs and dances, this project acknowledged different cultural backgrounds. This will be crucial to enable the two communities to live harmoniously. As a result of three weeks of intense travelling together, the young speakers built strong relationships and spoke very positively about how they have connected and made friends amongst the group. After the tour, two representatives from Tinputz asked to visit the Caterets Islands and experience the life of islanders first hand. Through this, they will truly understand the situation and feelings of the young Carteret.

This speaking tour has made a real and positive change in the minds of the Tinputz community. For instance, during the tour, the Tinputz communities donated live chickens, clothes and food for the young people to take home. In addition, a traditional chief and landholder of Teopasino, a plantation on the coast of Tinputz, asked Tulele Peisa to arrange to have two families relocated to Teopasino. Finally, a stronger alliance has been built between the Carterets and Tinputz. A woman chief from Teobun said:

“I did hear about the situation on Carterets but was not willing to give land (…). When I saw these young people all connected in mind and spirit and speaking out in union with each other, I retract from my thoughts and will welcome our Carterets people when they come to Tinputz.”

IWDA is proud to work in partnership with Tulele Peisa, working to address the impact of climate change.

Read more about how the Carterets are joining the global movement of climate-change action here.

Tags: caterets, climate change, Papua New Guinea

This entry was posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 under Environment and Natural Resources, Papua New Guinea.