Climate Migration and Kiribati: Discourse, Development and New Zealand’S Role in the Pacific
Climate Migration and Kiribati: Discourse, Development and New Zealand’s Role in the Pacific New Zealand NGO, Government, and I-Kiribati Perspectives Olivia Sage Swain Eyles A Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. December 2020 Abstract The effects of climate change are being felt globally, but especially by Pacific Island Countries (PICs) that face challenges of rising sea levels, salt-water inundation, and more extreme weather events. Conversation about climate change in this region has turned to adaptation methods, including the idea of climate change-induced migration. The discourse of ‘climate refugees’ has emerged, suggesting potential for large numbers of international migrants as PICs become uninhabitable due to climate change. As a low-lying atoll nation, the Republic of Kiribati has been placed at the forefront of this issue as an example of a state that may become uninhabitable in the future. However, notions of climate migration are complex and contested, raising a number of questions around the dominance of Western knowledge, power and discourses in climate change issues, as well as issues Justice and responsibility that arise from entire nations becoming uninhabitable. This thesis aims to explore the ongoing debate over climate change migration in the Pacific region, focusing on representations of Kiribati, the implications of these representations for the responses of Kiribati and New Zealand organisations to climate change, and what role New Zealand Government and Non- governmental Organisation (NGOs) have in these issues. This thesis uses a post-structural approach to complete a media discourse analysis of New Zealand and international news articles to uncover the dominant representations of Kiribati in relation to climate change migration and adaptation.
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