Unsettled

Urbanization is occurring rapidly in
Melanesia at 3-4 percent per annum. Due to unaffordable land
and housing in formal urban areas, new migrants settle on
marginal land without formal legal titles (‘informal
settlements’). These settlements are growing and new
settlements are emerging within and on the outskirts of
towns and cities across Melanesia, at a rate that outpaces
efforts to serve them. Settlements in the Melanesian
capitals of Suva, Port Vila, Honiara, and Port Moresby
comprise 20 percent-45 percent of the city population and at
current urbanization rates will be between 30 percent and 65
percent by 2023. Information about informal settlements is
scarce. This report provides a rapid review of water and
sanitation services in the informal settlements in and
around the capital cities of Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu,
and Papua New Guinea.