Reports
Climate Change and Indigenous Rights in Papua New Guinea
- Asia Team
- 30 May 2025
Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century. Beyond an environmental crisis, it is also a complex socio-economic and political issue that deeply affects populations around the world in diverse and often unequal ways. Rising global temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters have profound consequences for human health, food security, access to water, and migration patterns (United Nations, n.d.; WHO, n.d.; Omolere, 2025). These changes are not just scientific phenomena; they also raise fundamental questions about the protection of human rights.
Among the rights most impacted by climate change are the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, housing, self-determination, culture, and development (OHCHR, n.d.). For many communities, particularly those with deep ties to their land and ecosystems, the erosion of environmental stability is directly linked to the erosion of cultural identity and autonomy (Harvey, 2019; Cosentino, 2016). In this light, climate change is both a threat multiplier and a human rights issue.
This report will provide an overview of the climate-related challenges faced by Papua New Guinea (PNG), one of the world’s most environmentally and culturally diverse countries (Mamo, 2025). While climate change affects entire populations, Indigenous communities, due to their distinct cultural practices and ways of life, face distinct and compounded vulnerabilities. Consequently, this report will explore these dynamics and assess how climate change contributes to the violation of both global and locally-recognised human rights.
Among the rights most impacted by climate change are the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, housing, self-determination, culture, and development (OHCHR, n.d.). For many communities, particularly those with deep ties to their land and ecosystems, the erosion of environmental stability is directly linked to the erosion of cultural identity and autonomy (Harvey, 2019; Cosentino, 2016). In this light, climate change is both a threat multiplier and a human rights issue.
This report will provide an overview of the climate-related challenges faced by Papua New Guinea (PNG), one of the world’s most environmentally and culturally diverse countries (Mamo, 2025). While climate change affects entire populations, Indigenous communities, due to their distinct cultural practices and ways of life, face distinct and compounded vulnerabilities. Consequently, this report will explore these dynamics and assess how climate change contributes to the violation of both global and locally-recognised human rights.
✨ AI summary
Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century. Beyond an environmental crisis, it is also a complex socio-economic and political issue that deeply affects populations around the world in diverse and often unequal ways. Rising global temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters have profound consequences for human health, food security, access to water, and migration patterns (United Nations, n.d.; WHO, n.d.; Omolere, 2025). These changes are not just scientific phenomena; they also raise fundamental questions about the protection of human rights.
Among the rights most impacted by climate change are the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, housing, self-determination, culture, and development (OHCHR, n.d.). For many communities, particularly those with deep ties to their land and ecosystems, the erosion of environmental stability is directly linked to the erosion of cultural identity and autonomy (Harvey, 2019; Cosentino, 2016). In this light, climate change is both a threat multiplier and a human rights issue.
This report will provide an overview of the climate-related challenges faced by Papua New Guinea (PNG), one of the world’s most environmentally and culturally diverse countries (Mamo, 2025). While climate change affects entire populations, Indigenous communities, due to their distinct cultural practices and ways of life, face distinct and compounded vulnerabilities. Consequently, this report will explore these dynamics and assess how climate change contributes to the violation of both global and locally-recognised human rights.
Among the rights most impacted by climate change are the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, housing, self-determination, culture, and development (OHCHR, n.d.). For many communities, particularly those with deep ties to their land and ecosystems, the erosion of environmental stability is directly linked to the erosion of cultural identity and autonomy (Harvey, 2019; Cosentino, 2016). In this light, climate change is both a threat multiplier and a human rights issue.
This report will provide an overview of the climate-related challenges faced by Papua New Guinea (PNG), one of the world’s most environmentally and culturally diverse countries (Mamo, 2025). While climate change affects entire populations, Indigenous communities, due to their distinct cultural practices and ways of life, face distinct and compounded vulnerabilities. Consequently, this report will explore these dynamics and assess how climate change contributes to the violation of both global and locally-recognised human rights.
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