SYDNEY, Apr 13 (IPS) – Growing cycles of poverty and extreme weather threaten many towns and cities in the Pacific Islands, especially those located on the coasts. Urban centers in the Pacific region have grown at unprecedented rates this century, placing increasing pressure on national resources for urban planning. But governments are now making progress toward improving the lives of people in the informal settlements that dominate urban sprawl in some of the region’s largest cities.
“The threat is already serious and growing,” said Pasha Carruthers, climate change loss and damage advisor at the Organization for Regional Development. Pacific Community (SPC)Told the IPS. “For many households, recurring floods, extreme heat and infrastructure damage are pushing them into cycles of loss and damage, where recovery is incomplete and vulnerabilities deepen over time. Without targeted interventions, climate change will rapidly erode human development gains and further entrench urban poverty.”
Today 80 percent According to the United Nations report, most of the world’s population lives in towns and cities. in comparison, about 30 percent Pacific Islanders are urban dwellers. But, overall, the urban growth rate in the region is much higher than the global average. According to the report, urban centers are growing at 4.5 percent per year in the Solomon Islands, 4.1 percent in Papua New Guinea and 2.4 percent in Vanuatu, much higher than the global average of 1.4 percent. World Bank.
The long history of Pacific Islanders, particularly in Melanesia, has been predominantly rural and the influx of people, particularly younger generations, into urban centers has been driven by the modernization objectives of post-independence governments in the 20th century. They promise jobs, cash income, access to hospitals and higher education, and a more exciting lifestyle.
But developing island nations have, for decades, struggled with limited budgets, resources and expertise to invest in urban planning. The lack of affordable housing, the expense of building construction and the scarcity of owned and serviced land have contributed to the organic growth of unplanned illegal settlements. For low-income people, they provide the only viable housing. But, at the same time, settlers face poor security of title to the land where they are living and, in some cases, illegal occupation of state or customary owned land and the absence of services such as electricity, water, sanitation and waste management.
From 2010 to 2020, more than 23,000 new buildings were built in informal settlements, but only 6,500 buildings were built in formal residential areas in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), where an estimated half of residents live in settlements, reports. PNG National Research Institute. In the neighboring Solomon Islands, the city of Honiara is growing at 6–8 percent per year, with the settlements, which are growing at 12 percent, home to almost half the population. 40 percent Of its population, Australian National University reports.
Now, many settlements, located on disaster-prone marginal lands, are at the urban edge of climate damage. According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization report, in the southwest Pacific during this century, ‘the total number of tropical cyclones may decline, but the impact of tropical cyclones will increase due to increased average intensity and more intense rainfall and more coastal flooding due to sea level rise.’ (CSIRO).
The destruction they can wreak on coastal cities was highlighted when two category 4 cycloneJudy and Kevin landed in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, three years ago. They left a trail of destruction in damaged roads, buildings and infrastructure, the loss of food gardens around the city, and increased poverty in the city’s slums.
In Fresvota, a settlement of about 12,000 people on the outskirts of Port Vila, the most threatened dwellings collapsed, others lost roofs and walls, leaving many people facing severe flooding and loss of local income and even access to clean water. Chief Ken Hiwo, a community leader in Freswota, recalled at the time, “When we have a cyclone the most vulnerable people in the settlements are the elderly, those in poor health or with medical conditions and those who have no relatives.”
Nearly two years later, the Fresvota community was again among those devastated. As residents faced extreme rainfall during the wet season, the magnitude of which was 7.3 Earthquake The attack took place in December 2024 near Port Vila, a city of about 64,000 people. It resulted in deaths and injuries, while collapses and damage occurred to homes, schools, hospitals and roads. Infrastructure losses for the country were estimated at 200 million usd.
“In the last two years, we have experienced a lot of flooding and rain,” Kathy Hivo, Ken’s wife, told IPS in recent days. “But when we had a lot of rain, we also experienced earthquakes. Houses and buildings were damaged, businesses had to be closed and many people were affected. Many lost their livelihoods.”
Even today, “We’re still in shock – we’re still trying to build back up. We’re still trying to get back to our normal lives,” she added.
Upgrading Fresvota into a climate-resilient community is critical to achieving the country’s sustainable development goals (SDG) 11Which calls for building resilient, safe and sustainable cities by 2030.
“One of the most urgent measures is for governments to formally recognize informal settlements within urban planning, climate adaptation and disaster risk management systems, such as early warning systems and basic service networks,” Carruthers told IPS. And “community-led risk mapping, secure tenure pathways and inclusive planning processes are essential so that residents become partners in the solution.”
And significant political will is emerging to make strong urban growth a reality in many Pacific Island countries. For example, the Government of Vanuatu has begun to implement Vanuatu Affordable and Resilient Settlement (VARS) Project To improve land management and living conditions in Port Vila’s 23 settlements with development including improved drainage, roads, water, sanitation and waste services.
Reforming land ownership policies is also important to increase affordable housing for long-term climate resilience. This means reconciling land ownership issues with the need to expand urban residential areas and associated infrastructure. Carruthers advocates, “serving more land through partnerships with customary landowners, investing in climate-resilient social housing and supporting incremental housing upgrades that reflect how low-income households actually build over time”.
PNG is also driving reforms with a joint initiative between the Municipal Authority for Port Moresby and the National Housing Corporation to relocate informal settlements to formal suburbs with similar infrastructure and basic services. In April last year’settlement in suburbia The project was launched in the Eight Mile settlement, a sprawling community of about 25,000 people located on the northeastern outskirts of PNG’s capital. ‘Unplanned settlements have been with us for too long and this phase needs to end. Our people deserve a better standard of living and a good quality of life. Powys ParkopThe Governor of the National Capital District (Port Moresby) told the media.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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