By Hotter temperatures, increased droughts, loss of species, and an increase in severe storms are just a few of the effects we’re now facing due to rising global temperatures. Communities in parts of the Solomon Islands and Fiji are feeling the effects of climate change first-hand, as rising sea levels erode burial sites. This issue is more than just about soil erosion. It’s about the erasing of identity, ancestry, and cultural memory.
Climate Change Catastrophe: The Disappearance of Ancestral Graves in the Pacific Islands
Rising Seas Are a Threat to Ancestral Burial Grounds
Across the Pacific, communities are dealing with the realities of climate change as the ocean continues to swallow up land. Coastal villages in Fiji, like Togoru, have been forced inland as land is washed away. Lavenia McGoon has lived on the Fijian Islands for almost 60 years in a wooden house along the shoreline. McGoon noted that in 30 years, they had already lost almost 55 meters of land on their plantation. One forgotten consequence of this crisis is the loss of coastal burial grounds.
In the Togoru cemetery, approximately 200 people who were once buried there have been relocated inland as a precaution., However, some communities have not been as fortunate. In the village of Lilisiana in the Solomon Islands’ Malaita Province, three rows of graves have already been lost, and another 22 graves are in danger as the sea claims sacred burial grounds. 70-year-old Fay Saemala, a matriarch of the small fishing village, feels this loss deeply.
Saemala stood overlooking Lilisiana’s cemetery and told the Home Planet Fund, “As a small girl, I used to come to this village to visit my grandfather. Now he is buried in this graveyard, which is being washed out to sea.”
The situation has become so critical that during high tide each day, several graves are covered by water.
ABC News reported that Fiji is preparing for the day it needs to move coastal villages inland due to rising sea levels. The Fiji government predicts that more than 600 communities will be forced to move. To put that into perspective, more than 70% of the country’s 900,000 citizens live within 3 miles of the coastline.
According to Monash University, sea levels in the western Pacific Islands have been rising two to three times faster than the global average. Scientists estimate that within the next 30 years, low-lying nations like Kiribati and Tuvalu could become uninhabitable.
Local Efforts to Protect Their Dead
Image still via Oxfam Australia
Some local communities are done letting climate change interfere with the right to grieve and are building walls with whatever they can find to protect the remains of their loved ones. A Lilisiana community has taken the initiative to build a sea wall around the sacred graveyard using old coconut trees. This is a traditional construction method called “Balibali.”
Frank Taeburi, a youth advocate from Lilisiana, stresses the urgency of building seawalls, telling Malaita Issues, “These graves hold our history, our love, and our connection to those who came before us. We’re committing to doing everything we can to protect what’s left, to save this piece of who we are.” Already, the community has noted some positive results as the sand is no longer washing away.
For many, the idea of relocating the remains is not yet an option, and McGoon in Fiji has built a makeshift seawall using old rubber car tires piled under coconut trees on the beachfront. But McGoon acknowledges that there is no stopping the water, and this is just buying her some time.
These makeshift seawalls are more than just last-ditch efforts. They’re a powerful expression of care and the desire to honor the dead for as long as they can.
Rising Cultural and Spiritual Stakes
Coastal erosion happening on the island of Nggatokae in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. Image via Wikicommons.
Losing burial grounds to the sea is not just a material or logical loss for Pacific Islanders but a spiritual one.
For many Pacific Island cultures, burying loved ones near the ocean is a burial practice that is rooted in spiritual tradition. Many islanders believe that the ocean is a doorway to the afterlife and a place where the spirits reside.
Graves represent lineage, belonging, and help connect past and future generations. When the sea washes the graves away, it washes away more than rituals. For many locals, graveyards slipping into the sea is like losing their loved ones for a second time. Virginia Tome from Lilisiana highlights the implications of washed-away graves, saying: “Having the grave helps maintain that connection, which is now being lost for these people.”
Rising Sea Levels and Climate Justice
Image still via Oxfam Australia
Coastal burial grounds slipping into the sea are not just a cultural loss, but a matter of climate injustice.
Rising sea levels also expose a deeper injustice for these coastal communities: the denial of the right to grieve in place.
Ironically, places like Fiji and the Solomon Islands, which produce the least global emissions, are feeling the effects of climate change the hardest, with limited to no external funding. For example, if you look at the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research in 2023, you’ll see that Fiji accounted for only 0.01% of global emissions, and the Solomon Islands accounted for even less. Despite the numerous organizations that are working to raise awareness about climate change in these communities, it isn’t enough to stop burial grounds from washing away.
Rising sea levels also expose a deeper injustice for these coastal communities: the denial of the right to grieve in place. Globally, burial grounds are sacred, and visiting these sites is a way for mourners to stay connected with their loved ones. For Pacific Islanders, no amount of compensation can make up for this loss, as there is often no compensation available for these communities, who are largely invisible in the broader discourse on climate change.
We’ve seen how the world discusses climate change in terms of numbers and percentages, making it feel like an abstract concept. But for communities in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, climate change is a heartbreaking reality. These communities deserve to be heard by the world and included in the global climate conversation because their right to grieve is being washed away.
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