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Marshall Islands Marshall Islands

impacting them and what kind of observations they’ve seen. Heine notes: “As President, my first official act in 2016 was
It’s there that we can discuss what possible adaptation solu- to declare a state of emergency during my first month in of-
tions they could be exploring.” fice. We experienced a [more] serious drought than we have
Beyond this, Jetnil-Kijiner stresses two distinct features for had in many years. That emergency continued for more than a
the national adaptation initiative: “One is the human rights year. Following the drought, we had another state of emer-
core of it, but then it’s also going to be one of the few Nation- gency when we had dengue fever on Majuro and Ebeye. We
al Adaptation Plans that takes into consideration the nuclear know that dengue fever is affected by changes in the climate
legacy, and how the nuclear legacy can inform how we plan and we’d never had dengue fever in Majuro before.”
for climate change action.” To highlight the way climate affects people’s rights, the
Heine government campaigned for a seat on the UN Human
Nuclear displacement Rights Council, which was achieved in 2019. She explains:
Today, lessons from decades of Marshallese anti-nuclear “Our reason for getting a seat on the HRC was to bring the
struggle inform contemporary debates around how climate climate change crisis to the forefront … to create a special
change will affect land, culture and possible displacement in mandate in the HRC to address climate change as a human
the atoll nation. rights issue – the right to live in our ancestral lands, the right
In March 1954, the United States conducted its largest ever to perpetuate our language and culture that is a product of
atmospheric nuclear test, codenamed Bravo, on Bikini atoll. these unique environments, the right to maintain our sover-
Radioactive fallout contaminated nearby islands, leading the eign territory of our land and ocean space as a country. Even
evacuation of local villagers and US military observers. if islands were to disappear, these are of great importance to
Just weeks after the Bravo test, schoolteachers Dwight us.”
Heine and Atlan Anien and customary chiefs Kabua Kabua At international climate negotiations, RMI is increasingly
and Dorothy Kabua lodged a petition with the UN Trusteeship highlighting issues of adaptation as well as emissions reduc-
Council. It highlighted the importance of land as a source of tion.
culture and identity – land that was being vaporised or con- “We are trying our best at an international level to get
taminated by the nuclear tests. Beyond the health hazards, more nations to focus on adaptation, to increase funding and
the 1954 UN petition stressed that the Marshallese people support for small island nations,” Jetnil-Kijiner said.
“are also concerned for the increasing number of people However the failure of most industrialised nations to pledge
removed from their land …. land means a great deal to the new and additional climate funding is a serious problem, as
Marshallese. It means more than just a place where you can developing country NDCs are often conditional on support
plant your food crops and build your houses or a place where from OECD states (at least 136 countries have made their
you can bury your dead. It is the very life of the people. Take NDCs partially or wholly conditional on receiving one or more
away their land and their spirits go also.” types of support – climate finance for mitigation or adapta-
People from Bikini, Rongelap and other atolls are in exile tion; technology transfer; and capacity building).
from their home islands to this day. The parallels with loss Hilda Heine highlights the failure of OECD countries to meet
of land from sea level rise and salinity of water sources are their 2020 commitment for adaptation and mitigation fund-
clear. ing: “We all know that the US$100 billion commitment that is
Developing the RMI National Adaptation Plan, Kathy Jetnil- there in the Paris Agreement hasn’t been met, so we continue
Kijiner notes that “we’ve looked at land tenure already and to ask countries to ramp up their financial contribution.”
how are we going to deal with land issues if we have to move. Dr. Heine welcomes new US pledges for bilateral climate
So that is a conversation that definitely can’t come from the finance but also calls for more contributions to multilateral
top and it can’t come from a political level. It has to come structures like the Green Climate Fund.
from our traditional leaders and from conversations with our “I continue to support the Green Climate Fund because it’s
community.” a big pot of money that has one set of requirements, rather
Jetnil-Kijiner says the ongoing exile for people from the than have multiple funds that we need to write grants to,”
nuclear atolls informs contemporary discussions about pos- Heine said. “One of the challenges we have is that our grants
sible displacement from climate change and extreme weather office only has one or two people. When you have multiple
events: “One thing for sure that we’ve identified is that mass requirements for grant writing, it makes it very difficult for
relocation is something that we will not consider as a require- our people. That was one of the good things about the Green
ment, although it will be an option to relocate. We are look- Climate Fund: we know what the requirements are and it’s
ing at relocation within islands, consolidating centres, moving easier to follow.”
from different areas.” As countries prepare for COP26 in November, the RMI’s
agenda remains constant: mobilising local communities,
Climate funding developing adaptation plans, strengthening public financial
Successive governments in Marshall Islands, under Hilda management, campaigning internationally for emissions re-
Heine and her successor David Kabua, have been forced to ductions, seeking climate finance and reparations for loss and
re-allocate funding from long-term development programs to damage. But time is short, and more support is required.
emergency response, following flooding, king tides, drought or
the introduction of new diseases. nicmac3056@gmail.com

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