Pacific Islanders speak out about living on the frontlines of the climate crisis

Excerpt from savethechildren.org.au

The water is rising in the Pacific – and so are community voices.

Mary lives in an incredibly remote village in the Solomon Islands. She knows climate change has already arrived on her island, and she’s keen to have her voice heard. We asked Mary to tell us how climate change is impacting her life.

The mother of five uses her traditional dugout canoe to catch fish for her children to eat, but the produce she grows in her garden is essential to her family’s food security. Mary describes how an increase in rain is ruining her crops.

“…The irregular weather pattern has caused a reduction in food crop harvest in my garden. The vegetables grow well when we plant them, but then insects and rain damage the crops before harvest,” she says.

Mary has also noticed changes to the beach skirting her village. “Now the sea level is very high too. Our sea shore has eroded. Where we used to have our boat sheds and canoe house is now covered by the sea.” 

Mary says even her children feel the effects of climate change, and it’s impacting their ability to learn. “My children and the other children in the village walk to the next village to attend primary school. They must cross two rivers to get to school,” she says. “When it rains, they don’t go to school because the rivers are flooded and make it impossible to cross.”