Labour mobility in the Pacific will be on the agenda when the small atoll nations meet in Kiribati later this week.
Photo: Shifani Sood
Kiribati, with help from the Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation, is hosting a conference to consider how to prepare for climate migrants to move in a dignified way.
The Kiribati Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Akka Rimon, says it is part of the gradual process of preparation for something that will become inevitable.
She says one thing they will want to look at will be extensions to existing labour mobility arrangements with countries like Australia and New Zealand.
"It is really us now faced with a dilemma where what do we do, and where do we go and what do we do from here if the time comes for us to go. So yes it is going to require more labour mobility programmes. More opportunities for us to be able to migrate and become citizens of other countries."
High tides in Kili Island, Marshall Islands, February 2015. Photo: Kili/Bikini/Ejit Local Government Marshall Islands
