2021

Author(s): Johnson K, Mortensen S, Gueguen-Teil C, Torre AR

Disasters and climate-related risks displace millions of people each year. Planned relocation is one strategy used to address displacement and is increasingly being analyzed for the potential opportunities and challenges it creates for relocated people. However, little attention has been paid to the secondary impacts of planned relocations, and how they influence the risk, vulnerability and well-being of other groups, particularly people who live on the land that is selected for relocation sites, or in neighboring areas. This paper explores how current and potential future planned relocations in Fiji and the Philippines redistribute vulnerabilities to non-target communities who previously lived on, or alongside, relocation site land. The notion of cascading displacement is introduced to illustrate a serious consequence of planned relocations in which insecurity and displacement are re-created and perpetuated due to a failure to consider the needs of non-target groups who are directly disadvantaged by relocation processes. Insights from this paper may be used to inform future relocation policy and practice for more equitable and sustainable outcomes for all involved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/disa.12475