Study on resettlement of climate refugee

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K18590
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Sociology and related fields
• Research Institution: Hosei University
• Principal Investigator: Fujikura Ryo 法政大学, 人間環境学部, 教授 (10274482)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 中山 幹康 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 教授 (10217945)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 気候変動 / 海面上昇 / 環礁国 / マーシャル諸島 / 移民 / 小島嶼国

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A survey of university and junior college students in the Marshall Islands and Kiribati was conducted on their intentions to move abroad and the reasons for doing so. In both countries, better education was cited most often as the main reason, followed by work, health and family. The percentage of students who wanted to migrate because of climate change was small, especially in the Marshall Islands.
A survey of immigrants from the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau in the United States found that many of them were poorly prepared in their home countries prior to emigration and were only placed in low-skilled occupations due to a lack of English language skills and education.

Free Research Field

環境システム科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

国土がサンゴによって作られる環礁だけからなる国は、気候変動による海面上昇の結果、国が水没してしまうことが予想される。そうした国のひとつであるマーシャル諸島からは米国に多数の住民が移住している。マーシャル諸島に住む大学生は、より良い教育、医療、家族との同居が移転の理由であり、気候変動を理由としている人は３％にとどまっていた。一方、米国在住のマーシャル人は母国に帰らない理由として多くが海面上昇などの環境悪化を理由としている。