Policy Brief No.106: Urban–Rural Re-Relocation as a Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Tuvalu

This policy brief discusses customary arrangements in place in Tuvalu that provide extensive and innovative ways in which Tuvaluan people have moved to safer rural areas, both in the past and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Such peaceful urban-rural mobility is also relevant for adaptation to climate change impacts among Tuvaluan people. The authors argue that such customary practices could be prioritised in nurturing resilience in countries across the region, especially where customary links to rural areas are less strong than they are in Tuvalu.