{"id":79652,"date":"2025-11-08T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/holding-on-to-home-as-the-ocean-engulfs-the-solomon-islands\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T12:00:00","slug":"holding-on-to-home-as-the-ocean-engulfs-the-solomon-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=79652","title":{"rendered":"Holding on to home, as the ocean engulfs the Solomon Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Sikaiana,\u00a0less than two square\u00a0kilometres, is encircled by the sea\u00a0and is home to just 300\u00a0people.\u00a0 It is also more than 200 kilometres\u00a0from the main island of the Solomon archipelago.<\/p>\n

Most homes\u00a0lie steps from the shore, where high tides flood the tree line and seep into wells, making freshwater scarce.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, life continues with a sense of routine. Children walk barefoot to school,\u00a0fishermen\u00a0prepare their nets, and families tend to their gardens as they always have.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the island\u2019s only school, Principal\u00a0Tuiao\u00a0Kapule pauses to draw rainwater from a storage tank \u2013 a precious resource on this isolated atoll where every drop counts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was growing up, life in\u00a0Sikaiana\u00a0wasn\u2019t like this,\u201d he says. \u201cNow the tides are higher, saltwater levels have risen, and it\u2019s harder to grow food the way we used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watches his students playing nearby, their laughter echoing through the schoolyard. \u201cFamilies are finding it hard to cope with the changes,\u201d he says. \u201cSome students stay home when there isn\u2019t enough to eat.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a9 IOM\/Junior Patrick Makau<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

As rising tides reshape life on Sikaiana, Principal Tuiao Kapule worries about what the future holds for the tiny atoll.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Later that afternoon,\u00a0Tuiao\u00a0stands outside his home with his youngest in his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cSikaiana\u00a0is my motherland,\u201d he says quietly. \u201cBut if we ever\u00a0have to\u00a0leave, I will go. Life on this island is no longer what it used to be.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

His story mirrors that of Mary Maike, a community elder who has lived her whole life by the sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there\u2019s heavy rain, we can\u2019t harvest,\u201d she says. \u201cOur gardens depend on the weather. When the sun stays out too long, the tanks run dry, so we\u00a0have to\u00a0find wells, collect water, and boil it before we can drink.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\"Mary\n<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a9 IOM\/Junior Patrick Makau<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Mary Maike a resident of Sikaiana. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

She watches her grandchildren play as elders rest nearby; island life continues as always.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have to relocate, it will be up to our leaders,\u201d she explains. \u201cEven if we agree to move, we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know where we would go.\u00a0We\u2019d\u00a0rather stay near the sea because we rely on fishing and collecting shells. Moving inland would make life\u00a0very hard\u00a0for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the Solomon Islands, stories like\u00a0Tuiao\u2019s\u00a0and Mary\u2019s are growing more common as rising seas, stronger storms, and changing weather reshape daily life\u2014flooding gardens, contaminating wells, and eroding coastlines.<\/p>\n

On\u00a0Sikaiana,\u00a0change is clear \u2013 the\u00a0atoll rises\u00a0just\u00a0four\u00a0metres\u00a0above sea level,\u00a0shielded only by a narrow band of mangroves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Tuiao,\u00a0Mary,\u00a0and other low-lying Pacific communities, there is no higher ground. Seawalls are too costly and difficult, leaving relocation as the only\u00a0viable\u00a0option.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\"Sunset\n<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a9 IOM\/Junior Patrick Makau<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Sunset over Sikaiana, a remote atoll located more than 200 kilometres from the nearest main island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The\u00a0fate\u00a0of small\u00a0islands\u00a0threatened by climate change\u00a0is one\u00a0of the issues that\u00a0will be discussed by\u00a0delegates to the\u00a0UN Climate Conference (COP30) taking place in Bel\u00e9m, Brazil.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0not a new challenge.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the Solomon Islands Government, with support from the\u00a0International Organization\u00a0for Migration (IOM), launched the Planned Relocation Guidelines\u00a0\u2013 a framework for managing the relocation of communities from high-risk areas as a last resort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

IOM is\u00a0assisting\u00a0the Government in developing\u00a0a\u00a0standard\u00a0approach\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0planned\u00a0move, making sure\u00a0it is\u00a0transparent, inclusive, and upholds\u00a0the\u00a0dignity\u00a0of islanders\u00a0while ensuring\u00a0their\u00a0long-term\u00a0future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the sun sets in\u00a0Sikaiana, waves break softly against the shore, a steady rhythm that has long defined life on the island. Yet beneath the calm surface lies uncertainty \u2013 how long can this way of life last?<\/p>\n

Like many families across Solomon Islands,\u00a0Tuiao\u00a0and Mary hope want their children to have a safe home and a future they can build with pride. Whether they\u00a0remain\u00a0on\u00a0Sikaiana\u00a0or move elsewhere, their unity and strength sustain them with dignity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sikaiana,\u00a0less than two square\u00a0kilometres, is encircled by the sea\u00a0and is home to just 300\u00a0people.\u00a0 It is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"yoast_head":"\nHolding on to home, as the ocean engulfs the Solomon Islands - Gulf Times | News by the minute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gulf Times: Latest news across the GCC from UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/feed\/view\/en\/story\/2025\/11\/1166302\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Holding on to home, as the ocean engulfs the Solomon Islands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gulf News| UAE's Largest News aggregator site\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/feed\/view\/en\/story\/2025\/11\/1166302\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gulf Times | News by the minute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100084981843786\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-08T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762622365_image1170x530cropped.avif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1170\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"530\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"gulftimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Gulftimesuae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Gulftimesuae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"gulftimes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Holding on to home, as the ocean engulfs the Solomon Islands - 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