**4. Results: Content Analysis**

A qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles documents how people in Solomon Islands perceive the threats posed by climate change (see Table 1). Of the 73 articles published in the Solomon Star on climate change on Malaita from 2015 to 2020, 34 (47%) identify sea-level rise as a critical and imminent threat for coastal communities. This recurrent theme is best expressed in a newspaper article from 2017:

*"At the heart of the climate change concern is the looming disappearance of our tiny atolls in the region underwater. Communities living on these low-lying atolls have little hope because of the threat being posed by the rising tide (* ... *) The last thing we want to see happen is our islands turning into a watery grave."* [45]

**Table 1.** Content analysis of articles published in the Solomon Star (2015–2020) on climate change in Malaita (n = 73).


Note: there can be more than one theme per article.

Tropical cyclones are also often mentioned in newspaper articles on climate change on Malaita: Eighteen articles (24%) specifically mention the impact of extreme weather events on the livelihoods of saltwater people. One article prominently features a photograph of the abandoned houses on Walande Island:

*"Every year there is some sort of an event whether it be prolonged dry season which throws all our crops of whack, a cyclone that we could only prepare for for 24 h, increased rainfall and flooding that surprised us in the night, killing our children and robbing us of our homes. This is our normal."* [46]

Ten articles (14%) highlight the problems for agriculture and drinking water caused by saltwater intrusion.

*"Seasonal crops that (the saltwater people) relied on for survival such as yam and pana are adversely a*ff*ected. (* ... *) Fruit trees are no longer bearing fruit and the coastal swamps that used to host their swamp taro patches are devastated by saltwater intrusion killing their crops in the process. Coastal wells and streams that the island residents depended on for survival are either dried up due to extreme temperatures or su*ff*er as a result of saltwater intrusion."* [47]

Other climate change threats highlighted in the Solomon Star are higher sea water temperatures (4%) and changing rainfall patterns (11%).

Forty-four articles bring up a potential climate change adaptation measure (60%). A major topic is the resettlement of island communities on the mainland (19 articles). Samson Sade, for example, writes that people on the man-made islands in Lau Lagoon in North Malaita are facing an "*existential threat*" and that resettlement in unavoidable:

*"The rise in sea levels and erratic weather patterns make these islanders no longer safe in (their) homes so intimate with the sea. As a result, the residents have no choice but to flee the ever-deteriorating impacts that climate change has brought on their island environments."* [47]

Other articles focus on introducing new drought- and salt-resistant crops (four articles), highlight the need to reduce CO2 emissions (four articles), and call for resilient infrastructure (four articles). Three articles highlight the need to strengthen community-based resource management, for example, the protection of mangroves. Another three articles focus on enhancing the capacity of government agencies. The need to educate the public on the threats posed by climate change is mentioned in only two newspaper articles. Other articles propose climate change adaptation measures as diverse as setting up a carbon trading scheme, mainstreaming gender in decision making processes, strengthening community-based monitoring, praying, and playing soccer.

Many articles in the Solomon Star describe a specific CCDRM project implemented by government agencies or development organizations such as WorldVision and Solomon Islands Red Cross. Projects issue a press release, conduct an activity, or invite journalists to join a field visit. As such, the articles on climate change reflect, to a large extent, the logic and priorities of these CCDRM projects. More problematic is that the budgets of these projects are also often mentioned in the newspaper, which can raise unrealistic expectations of people and lead to skepticism. Stephen Di'isango [48], for instance, records the frustrations of villagers in the province:

*"There are huge sums of money injected into programs supporting implementation of the national climate change strategies by Solomon Islands Climate Change program (at least 10 million Solomon dollar) but no one knows or sees the e*ff*ect of it* ... *"*

Particularly, the plans of MECDM and the provincial government to facilitate the resettlement of people from the artificial islands have generated much friction:

*"In 2011, then Minister for Environment John Mo*ff*at Fugui announced Fanalei and its nearby sister island of Walande would be amongst the first atolls and islands the government was looking at implementing relocation programs over the next two years. The relocation, he said, will be funded under a 30 million dollar European grant. Six years on, the residents of Fanalei said they are yet to see or receive any funding assistance from the national government."* [49]

False expectations of financial assistance risk undermining the adaptive capacity of coastal communities. Historically, the wane asi were highly autonomous communities with no central authority, who could respond to changing environmental conditions, for example, by building higher sea walls or settling in better locations (see Asugeni et al. [50] for a recent example of community-based adaptation to climate change). However, nowadays many communities seem to be waiting for the government to take action. Leslie Sanga [51], for example, quotes a villager from East Malaita who says:

*"The rising sea is now under some of our houses, it's only a matter of time before these houses collapse. Soon, we will have to relocate. There's no question about that. But who will fund our relocation? That's the question we've kept asking. Relocation is not cheap, it's like starting life all over again. So we need the government to assist us build new homes."*

In fact, many people do not want to resettle. Ronald Toito'ona [52] highlights the experiences of the wane asi on Kwai Island on East Malaita:

*"For years they have built seawalls around the island, with no direct support from the government. Most have also refused to relocate to the mainland, not wanting to leave their ocean life behind. 'We are the salt-water people and we have a very close bond to the beach and island environment,' said Erastus David Mafane, an elder living in the island of Kwai. 'Relocating to the mainland might be a better idea for others, but not us.'"*

#### **5. Discussion**

The sinking islands narrative has become deeply embedded in public perception and policy discourses in Solomon Islands, and forms the foundation of climate change policies and CCDRM projects. It is, however, based on several assumptions, simplifications, and inconsistencies.
