This spreadsheet contains data on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) composition or other waste types (household, plastics) compiled by Jasmine McHugh under the supervision of Dr. Simron Singh (University of Waterloo, Canada) between September and December 2025.

As one of the lowest-lying island nation states in the world, the Republic of the Marshall Islands is vulnerable to sea level rise, flooding and the associated impacts on soil and water salinity. Persistent drought is further affecting agricultural production and access to drinking water, and heat stress is increasingly common. The number of Marshallese people residing in the USA has increased rapidly from 6650 in 2000 to an estimated 30,000 in 2018. While we know that climate change is already affecting the Marshall Islands and that there are significant migration flows, we do not know to what extent people already migrate because of climate change. This paper addresses this gap and presents findings from interdisciplinary fieldwork in the Marshall Islands and destination areas in the USA. The research team conducted a survey (N = 278), focus group discussions, expert interviews and a geo-spatial analysis of flood extent and migration rates to study the relationship between climatic events, ecosystem services and migration. The results show that respondents primarily cite education, health care, work and family visits as migration drivers, and only few mention climate impacts or environmental change. However, respondents do identify impacts of climate change on their livelihoods, health and safety, and the study finds significant correlations between climate impacts, trends in ecosystem services and migration propensities at household level. Furthermore, 62% of Marshallese respondents in the USA indicated that climate change affects their decision to return to Marshall Islands in the future.

Potential land loss in Pacific island countries from rising sea levels raises many concerns regarding how nation states will continue to function politically and economically in the event of climate-induced relocation of their populations. This piece expands that conversation, addressing the impacts of relocation on cultural heritage, drawing on data from interviews with migrants from the Marshall Islands to the United States. The study seeks to understand the challenges and opportunities of cultural preservation among the Marshallese diaspora. Marshallese accounts of life in the United States indicate many opportunities for cultural preservation, particularly for those living in communities with large Marshallese populations, while also presenting challenges based on social, economic, and geographic differences between the U.S. and the Marshall Islands. Understanding the means through which Marshallese migrants maintain cultural traditions and the challenges current migrants face, can help us address potentially irreversible, but avoidable losses of cultural traditions in the event of mass displacement.

Small island states around the world are among the areas most vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise. In this paper, we present results from an innovative methodology for a quantitative assessment of multiple hazards on coastal risks, driven by different hydro-meteorological events, and including the effects of climate change. Moreover, we take an additional step by including in the methodology the option to assess and compare the effectiveness of possible disaster risk reduction measures. The methodology is applied to a real case study at the island of Ebeye (the Republic of the Marshall Islands). An example is provided in which a rock revetment is implemented as a risk reduction measure for the island. Results show that yearly expected damages may increase, by the end of the century, by a factor of three to four, depending on the sea level rise scenario considered, while the number of yearly affected people may double. Putting a cap on the temperature increase (e.g. 1.5 vs. 2 °C) according to the Paris Agreement may reduce damages and number of affected people by about 20 and 15%, respectively. However, impacts for same warming levels can vary substantially among different emission scenarios. Disaster risk reduction measures can be useful for mitigating risks in current and future situations but should be incorporated within long-term adaptive planning for these islands.

The outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference was a great disappointment for many participating governments, especially those from the Pacific Islands. The atoll states of Kiribati, Tuvalu and Marshall Islands were all expecting some meaningful commitments to reduce emissions. The failure to achieve these meant more attention had to be focussed on adaptation strategies. This chapter explores some dimensions of on-going population growth and urbanisation in Kiribati and Tuvalu in the wider context of international migration as an adaptation strategy. Both countries have a tradition of temporary labour migration overseas and in recent years some limited access to residence in New Zealand has been provided through an annual ballot via a special Pacific Access Category in immigration policy. The chapter explores several hypothetical migration scenarios and their impacts on the projected population growth for the two countries through to 2030.