Abstract
The small Pacific island state of Tuvalu was one of few states to have remained free from COVID-19 in 2020, after closing its borders quickly. With an economy supported by remittances, Tuvalu has a century-long history of temporary and increasingly permanent migration, to the urbanised capital island, Funafuti, and to New Zealand. Migration became a vehicle of adaptation and response to COVID-19 with people being encouraged to move to outer islands, for health security and to engage in agriculture and fishing. Some 15% of the population left Funafuti for outer islands, putting pressure on their resources. Smaller numbers left the main island of Funafuti for other islands on the same atoll. Such decentralisation reversed longstanding migration flows, in and beyond Tuvalu, and proved the key to resilience.
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Acknowledgement
I am grateful to Eliala Fihaki and Tapugao Falefou for their generous assistance.
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Connell, J. (2021). Double Jeopardy: Distance and Decentralisation in Tuvalu. In: Campbell, Y., Connell, J. (eds) COVID in the Islands: A comparative perspective on the Caribbean and the Pacific. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5285-1_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5285-1_8
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