Source: World Vision
- Nearly one million Pacific people displaced by climate disasters between 2010-2021
- New Zealand has no dedicated framework to manage cross-border disaster displacement
- New report calls for practical, Pacific-led solutions before pressures worsen
A new World Vision report is calling for New Zealand to take practical steps to better support Pacific peoples displaced by climate disasters.
In the ten years to 2021, climate disasters resulted in the displacement of nearly one million Pacific people [i] and the humanitarian agency says this number will grow as storms, flooding and sea-level rise intensify.
The organisation today released a report, To Stay or Move with Dignity , which outlines practical steps New Zealand could take to address climate and disaster-related displacement, while helping Pacific communities to remain safely on their land if possible.
World Vision New Zealand’s Head of Advocacy and Justice Rebekah Armstrong says widespread displacement caused by climate disasters in the Pacific is no longer a future issue.
“Cyclones, floods, and rising seas are already disrupting lives across the Pacific, and children are often the first to feel the impacts through disrupted education, food insecurity, displacement, and loss of safety.
“Most Pacific peoples want to remain safely on their ancestral lands for as long as possible, but when movement becomes necessary, families should not be left navigating uncertainty or protection gaps alone,” she says.
World Vision’s report outlines a coordinated regional approach for New Zealand to offer greater support, including:
- Increasing Pacific-led climate finance and disaster risk reduction support
- Establishing an Emergency Protection Framework for people displaced across borders by disasters
- Adapting existing migration pathways, including the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme and Pacific Access Category, to better respond to climate and disaster pressures.
Armstrong says New Zealand’s policy settings have not kept pace with the growing realities of climate and disaster-related displacement in the Pacific, with many more people seeking to come to New Zealand for climate-related reasons than current visa quotas allow for.
“Poorly managed displacement places pressure on communities, services, and regional resilience which is why early planning early matters. We’re calling for New Zealand to do this work now so that we have systems in place that are safe, predictable, and well-supported,” Armstrong says.
The World Vision report emphasises that stronger investment in Pacific-led adaptation, resilience, climate finance, and disaster risk reduction must remain the first priority.
Manase Lua of the Pacific Leaders Forum says responses must be grounded in dignity, partnership, and Pacific priorities.
“We are people of the moana, connected by ocean, whakapapa, and responsibility to one another. Across our region, communities are already living this reality and what matters is that our people are not left without choice.
“Our people want to remain on their lands for as long as possible. But where movement becomes necessary, it must be planned and supported in ways that protect dignity, strengthen communities, and reflect Pacific leadership and partnership.”
World Vision is calling on political parties to address climate and disaster-related displacement in the Pacific as part of this year’s general election.
The organisation says immediate priorities should include strengthening Pacific disaster resilience, increasing climate finance, and establishing an independent Pacific-informed advisory mechanism to guide climate and disaster mobility policy including an emergency protection framework.
Notes:
To Stay or Move with Dignity draws on an adapted systematic review of more than 300 sources, New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal case law analysis (189 Pacific cases, 2000-2025), and consultations with Tuvaluan, I-Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Ni-Vanuatu communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.
World Vision New Zealand is a global, child-focused humanitarian organisation. We work alongside children, families, and communities to tackle the root causes of poverty and injustice, serving all people regardless of faith, ethnicity, or gender.
The report’s recommendations include:
- Strengthen regional disaster risk reduction through Pacific-led, anticipatory, and integrated systems
- Provide fair, adequate, and accessible climate finance to support in-place adaptation
- Adapt and strengthen the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme as a climate resilience and disaster response pathway
- Establish an Emergency Protection Framework for disaster displacement
- Develop clearer guidance for climate- and disaster-related protection claims
- Adapt existing Pacific migration pathways to better reflect climate mobility
- Establish a dedicated rights-based pathway for proactive movement in response to slow-onset climate risks
- Establish an independent Pacific-informed mechanism to support oversight and accountability
- Strengthen settlement systems to provide culturally responsive support for people displaced by disasters and climate change.
[i] Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), Disaster Displacement in Asia and the Pacific: A Business Case for Investment in Prevention and Solutions (Geneva: IDMC; Manila: ADB, 2022), https://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/disaster-displacement-in-asia-and-the-pacific/.