Leaving no one behind: climate justice for persons with disabilities in the Pacific
Persons with disabilities in the Pacific face greater challenges when dealing with the impacts of climate change and increasing natural disasters. Photo: Torsten Blackwood/AFP
In times of disaster and climate crisis, people with disabilities are often the first to be forgotten and the last to be helped. Despite facing unique risks, such as inaccessible evacuation shelters, lack of accessible information, and mobility challenges, persons with disabilities are still excluded from planning, response and recovery efforts.
This exclusion is not just unjust; it is a violation of fundamental rights.
Inclusive disaster risk reduction and climate action is a right, not a privilege. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) affirms this by requiring states to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including disasters and climate change.
Community development must be shaped by the CRPD, not only to meet international obligations but to build truly resilient and just societies. Disability inclusion must move from tokenism to transformation, embedded in every stage of climate and disaster planning.
Since 2020, Nuanua o le Alofa (NOLA), the national advocacy organisation of persons with disabilities in Samoa, has taken concrete steps to realise this vision. Through the establishment of its Disaster Response and Preparedness Unit, NOLA has played a key role in policy development, accessible communication and community capacity building, ensuring that no one is left behind in times of crisis.
Living on the frontlines
Across the Pacific, climate change is not a distant threat – it is a daily reality. Rising sea levels, severe cyclones, flooding and droughts continue to disrupt livelihoods and displace communities. For persons with disabilities, these challenges are multiplied.
Residents flee Apia amid a tsunami warning in Samoa in 2009. Photo: Drina Thurston/AFP
Accessible transport is often non-existent during evacuations. Information on early warning systems is rarely available in formats such as braille, sign language or easy-to-read materials. Community shelters may lack basic accessibility features, leaving many behind in times of emergency.
During one disaster preparedness training in a coastal village, a woman with a mobility impairment told us she was forced to stay behind during a cyclone because no one thought to include her in the evacuation plan. At another event, a blind man revealed that he relies entirely on family members for warnings – if they’re not there, he’s left unaware.
These stories are not rare; they reflect deep and widespread exclusion.
In response to these urgent gaps, NOLA’s Disaster Response and Preparedness Unit has made a significant impact. The unit has influenced national policies to be more inclusive, strengthened partnerships with government agencies and local actors, and provided accessible trainings and resources.
More importantly, it has empowered persons with disabilities to understand and claim their rights, and trained stakeholders to identify and remove barriers in disaster and climate services. This model is showing the Pacific, and the world, what inclusive resilience truly looks like.
The way forward
Climate justice must be disability-inclusive. To get there, we must centre the voices and lived experiences of persons with disabilities. Too often, decisions are made for them rather than with them. Their expertise, rooted in daily experiences of navigating inaccessible environments, is invaluable in shaping effective, inclusive climate and disaster policies.
Disaster management and emergency planning don’t always consider persons with disabilities. Photo: Pacific Security College
Governments and partners must ensure persons with disabilities are not just consulted but are active decision-makers in climate and disaster planning. Consultations must be conducted in accessible formats and languages, and sustained beyond one-off events.
Emergency communication should be available in braille, sign language, audio and easy-read versions. Shelters, transportation and public infrastructure must be universally designed.
NOLA’s work provides a practical, rights-based framework that other Pacific nations can replicate and adapt. Investing in organisations of persons with disabilities, such as NOLA, is essential to making climate action inclusive, sustainable and just. When we empower those most at risk to lead, we strengthen resilience for everyone.
Now is the time to act – together, with and for persons with disabilities.
Mataafa Faatino Masunu Utumapu is a prominent Samoan disability rights advocate and the General Manager of Nuanua O Le Alofa (NOLA), the national advocacy organisation for persons with disabilities in Samoa.
Views expressed via the Pacific Wayfinder blog are not necessarily those of the Pacific Security College.
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