Biography

Brook went to the University of Oregon School of Law from 2006-2009, where she was engaged in community, national, and international activism in a variety of forums. She also served on the steering committee and as Vice-Chair for the American Civil Liberties Union of Lane County, and she was a Morse Fellow for the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, an interdisciplinary center for scholars and activists, dedicated to the legacy of Senator Wayne Morse - one of two US Senators to vote against sending troops to Vietnam. Brook also spent her last semester as a visiting student at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Brook started her own practice in April of 2010. She brings creative problem solving and negotiation strategies to clients of all organizational shapes and sizes. She is particularly interested in climate-change related torts, and she has traveled extensively, meeting with individuals in coral island countries and semi-autonomous islands, speaking with individuals who feel the impacts she writes about in her blog - drowningislands.com

Article Title

Autonomy in the Context of Climate Change: The advantages and disadvantages of independence in the wake of disappearing shorelines

Abstract

As the countries of the Caribbean know all too well, there are advantages and disadvantages that come with independence. Although not a Caribbean country, the San Blas Archipelago is a string of islands in the Caribbean Sea which identifies in part as a segment of the continental country of Panama, but also as a semi-autonomous group of low lying islands that has fought for and enjoys relative independence from its mainland neighbor. The San Blas Archipelago is home to the Kuna indigenous people group- a tribe that fiercely protects its bloodline, culture, politics, and the islands themselves. However, as they have watched their low-lying islands erode over the past several decades, they are forced with the difficult decision of moving forward, with or without Panama’s support. In fact, some have posited that the deep-seeded resentment or lack of trust that forms naturally as a part of the struggle for independence has caused the Kuna indigenous peoples to sidestep Panama altogether as they evaluate their relocation options. Unlike the low lying coral island nations of the Maldives, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu, the Kuna people in the San Blas Archipelago do not enjoy compete sovereignty, therefore they may not be able to ask these questions and then make these decisions on their own. Conversely, unlike the autonomous countries named above, they may ultimately benefit from the “protection” of Panama. Time will tell whether the world community will run to the aid of climate-induced relocating peoples or not.

Climate induced displacement and relocation are intricate, complex issues in and of themselves. But to ignore the significance of autonomy and independence is an overly simplistic way of looking at this problem. This paper explores how the Caribbean countries can watch the Kuna as they interface with the world community during their attempted relocation, applying the lessons learned to their own respective countries and their respective political frameworks.