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Walande’s residents face ongoing struggles after climate-induced relocation, with no land security or adequate support.
For the people of Walande in Small Malaita, climate change is not just a distant threat—it is their reality. Forced from their sinking island home by rising seas, they relocated to the mainland in search of stability. Instead, they remain in limbo, grappling with insecure land tenure, inadequate housing, and limited government support.
Their story is one of many stories in the pacific. Across the Solomon Islands, coastal communities are experiencing the same fate. Rising sea levels, storm surges, and erosion are not abstract concepts but immediate dangers forcing people to abandon their ancestral lands. The crisis is unfolding in plain sight, yet solutions remain slow and uncertain.Walande was once a thriving island community, established in 1937. For decades, residents fought to hold back the encroaching sea, building stone walls and securing funding for a seawall. But by 2009, 85% of their island had vanished beneath the waves. With no land left to stand on, relocation became their only option.
But moving inland did not bring the relief they had hoped for. Instead, it introduced new struggles—land disputes, lack of infrastructure, and the uncertainty of rebuilding their lives from scratch. While the government introduced Planned Relocation Guidelines in 2022, these policies have yet to be fully implemented, leaving communities like Walande to navigate the challenges largely on their own.
A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) reinforces what Solomon Islanders have long understood: climate-induced displacement is not just a looming threat—it is already happening. The report, “There’s Just No More Land: Community-led Planned Relocation as Last Resort Adaptation to Sea Level Rise in Solomon Islands,” highlights how Walande residents, despite making the painful decision to relocate, remain caught in uncertainty.
“Walande’s story is a warning that communities cannot face the climate crisis alone,” said Erica Bower, climate displacement researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Solomon Islands’ government can be a global leader on rights-respecting planned relocation approaches, but only if it urgently implements its guidelines and ensures that communities displaced by the climate crisis have adequate support.”
Their plight mirrors that of many other coastal villages. The slow pace of government action means that communities are often left to fend for themselves, relying on their own limited resources or sporadic international aid. While some adaptation projects have helped mitigate short-term risks, they do little to address the deeper, long-term challenges of land security, sustainable resettlement, and the preservation of livelihoods.
HRW conducted over 130 interviews with affected community members, government officials, and experts, alongside an analysis of satellite imagery, adaptation aid data, and government policies. The findings confirm that while the Solomon Islands government has taken steps by adopting Planned Relocation Guidelines, these remain largely unimplemented, leaving displaced communities in precarious conditions.
“Despite leaving their ancestral land as a last resort, the people of Walande remain vulnerable,” the report states. The challenge is not just adapting to rising seas but ensuring that those forced to relocate have land, homes, and livelihoods to sustain them. Without concrete government action, relocation remains an incomplete solution, offering little more than survival rather than security.
Walande’s struggle is part of a broader Pacific crisis. Across the region, entire villages are being displaced, with international aid offering temporary assistance but no lasting solutions. Meanwhile, climate change continues to accelerate, making relocation an urgent reality for more communities.
HRW is calling on the government to fully implement its guidelines, provide adequate support for displaced communities, and address land tenure challenges that leave climate refugees without security.
