Sovereignty, Resurgence, and Climate Change: Carving healthy, sustainable, and resilient Belauan communities

Abstract

In Climate Change and Global Health, authors Hanna and Mclver describe Pacific Island nations as the “canaries in the coal mine of climate change and health.” Mounting threats to food and water security, infrastructure, and public health and safety due to decreasing levels of freshwater supply, increased coastal flooding and erosion, ocean acidification and coral bleaching, indicate multiple concerns for human and environmental communities in the Pacific Islands region. In Belau, an island chain in the Southwestern region of Oceania, research studies have primarily focused on how climate change effects the ocean and fisheries, a male-gendered sphere in Belauan culture. While this research is critical for understanding the broader environmental impacts of climate change very little research has been done to understand the effects of climate change on the land and land-based food sources—which is considered women’s sphere of responsibility and influence. Additionally, the focus on the environment and science fails to account for the impact of rising sea levels on the territorial sovereignty of Island nation-states. My research asks, what are the gendered dimensions of climate change and how do women contribute to mitigation, food security, and sovereignty in the face of environmental change? This dissertation is a qualitative study of how women’s organizations, such as Mechesiil Belau, are working to address the impacts of the climate crisis within the community and on a national level.This research extends the existing discussion of the climate crisis to address both the impacts these changes are having on women’s daily lives and their families as well as the strategies these women are using to address their needs. While this research focuses on how women are responding to changes in their island environment, climate change is also forcing many people to abandon their island homes often taking up residence as refugees or immigrants in other island countries. This study recognizes that migration is as much a survival strategy as is growing food and yet migration raises unique questions related to Indigenous identity in diasporic contexts. Through interviews with women who have experienced environmentally motivated migrations, this project seeks to understand the myriad ways women are working to support their families while also striving to maintain their Indigenous identities. My research approach creates a space for women to discuss issues of climate change and how they are responding to it. By placing Belauan women’s stories and experiences at the center of this project, this research will also deepen our understanding of the gendered impacts climate change has on migration, food security, and sovereignty.