Abstract
As anthropogenic climate change accelerates sea-level rise, low-lying atoll populations face unprecedented existential threats of displacement. This ethnographic study investigates the climate-induced relocation of the Carteret Islanders in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, focusing on the critical intersection of forced human mobility, customary land tenure, and Indigenous rights. Drawing on 14 months of qualitative fieldwork across the Carteret Atolls and the Tinputz relocation settlement on the Bougainville mainland, this research critically examines how environmental displacement disrupts matrilineal land inheritance systems, spiritual connections to ancestral seascapes, and host-migrant social cohesion. Findings reveal that while planned relocation initiatives organized by local non-governmental organizations provide physical safety from marine inundation, they simultaneously introduce severe legal ambiguity regarding host community land rights, sovereignty, and cultural identity. The study demonstrates that conventional international legal frameworks fail to accommodate the complex customary land dynamics inherent in Indigenous Pacific displacement. Ultimately, this paper argues for a rights-based, culturally anchored relocation framework that integrates Indigenous land sovereignty and customary law into international climate adaptation policy and funding mechanisms.
