The Pacific region is among the most impacted in the world by climate change. Among its low-lying islands, there is no escape from rising coastal waters and extreme weather events. Freshwater exists in precarious balance with the encroaching sea.
As part of a legacy of systemic oppression, Indigenous Pacific Islanders with disabilities are particularly at risk. Because they are less likely to be formally employed, their livelihoods depend on fishing and farming – which have been significantly affected by climate change. During disasters, the structural barriers that Pacific Islanders with disabilities face every day – like the lack of accessible information and transportation – can become a death sentence.
Faced with the urgency of increasing disasters, disabled grassroots activists across the Pacific are championing disability-inclusive climate action. It’s a fight not just against nature, but against a world that often overlooks people with disabilities. Rising Tides, Raising Voices is a call for intersectional, inclusive, community-led solutions to the encroaching global crisis.
