The Concept of Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Resilience in the Pacific

Pacific Indigenous knowledge of climate crisis is based on centuries of knowledge production and community reproduction, which is significant to climate adaptation and mitigation globally. It is also based on daily experience and observation, continuous adaptation, innovative responses to disasters, the development of resilient mechanisms, protection of the environment, and the centrality of interconnections between the ocean, sky, land, and people. Indigenous knowledge of the Pacific’s climate is interdisciplinary and supports the provision of unique Pacific voices often missing from Pacific regional positions on climate change, often suppressed during global climate negotiations. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2022 Report suggested the need for climate-resilient development adaptation and mitigation measures, including Indigenous and local knowledge and system transitions, to reduce risks from the human-induced climate crisis. Still, it fails to suggest how this can be achieved. This study addresses this gap by exploring existing climate-resilient mechanisms with case studies of two communities in Fiji and Samoa. The climate crisis is an ongoing security risk for Pacific communities, and this study will help bring Indigenous climate resilience mechanisms to the forefront of Pacific climate resilience scholarship.