Published on and written by Cyril Jarnias
Tuvalu has only 26 km² of emerged land scattered across nine coral atolls, but these ribbons of sand are worth more than anything to its inhabitants. In this Polynesian state of around 11,000 people, land is not just an economic resource: it underpins identity, sovereignty, family cohesion, and the country’s future. Understanding land rights and ownership in Tuvalu means entering the heart of a system where custom, law inherited from British colonization, gender issues, and the climate emergency collide.
Land as a Pillar of Tuvaluan Culture
In Tuvaluan culture, land is one of the three great pillars, on par with family and spirituality. It has long been considered the ultimate form of wealth and power: those who could feed their community from their land, provide goods for major customary feasts, and contribute to ceremonies were granted prestige and respect.
For Tuvaluans, land and sea form a whole: the terrestrial territory is rooted in the lagoon, the reef, the navigation channels, and the fishing grounds. Traditional practices – agriculture on fragile soils, lagoon fishing, collective resource management – serve to sustain the community and maintain ecological balances.
Historically, pressure on space was lower. The population was relatively small relative to available land, families lived and farmed together, sharing meals and work. In this context, a community-based land system like Tuvalu’s operated with a certain fluidity. Today, the urbanization of the capital atoll Funafuti, the monetization of the economy, and migration abroad are shaking up this old order.
The Kaitasi System: “Eating from the Same Land”
The heart of Tuvalu’s customary land tenure system is the kaitasi system, a term often translated as “eating from the same land.” It expresses the idea that a single plot feeds several people who derive common rights from it, rather than a single owner enjoying exclusive rights.
A Family and Collective Regime
In practice, land is held by extended family groups – the kainga – who recognize a common ancestor. Anyone who lives on a plot or derives their livelihood from it (food, materials, agricultural income) is, in principle, part of the rights community associated with that parcel. Under kaitasi:
On the same parcel, multiple co-owners are recognized. Any major decision (lease, exchange, change of use, or construction of significant structures) requires unanimous agreement from the rights holders. Land cannot be sold in the conventional sense, but it can be leased or exchanged, especially within the kinship circle.
Customary registers – where they exist – often list a group head, typically a man, as the primary titleholder, with the list of kaitasi co-holders underneath. This structure reflects deeply communal ownership, even when the state requires formal registration.
A System Under Strain
This system was long considered effective in the context of relatively homogeneous small communities. Disputes were settled within families, boundaries were known to all, and the emphasis on mutual aid limited conflict. But several phenomena are undermining it:
Approximately 5,000 non-indigenous residents in Tuvalu have no customary land rights on indigenous lands.
The result is a tangle of rights that is sometimes difficult to unravel, fueling disputes and complicating the implementation of projects (infrastructure, housing, climate adaptation).
A Hybrid Legal Framework: Custom, Common Law, and Land Laws
Tuvaluan land law rests on a superposition of norms: Constitution, parliamentary laws, customary law, and the inheritance of British common law.
Constitution, Laws, and the Place of Custom
Tuvalu’s Constitution, adopted at independence and amended several times, enshrines protection of private property, while emphasizing that the use and management of land remain subject to law and the public interest. It also recognizes the place of customary law, particularly for matters of land, fishing, family, and community responsibility.
The Laws of Tuvalu Act 1987 explicitly incorporates custom into the legal order. Courts are required to take customary rules into account when deciding many civil and criminal matters, especially regarding land titles, inheritance, or adoption.
Several texts then structure the land architecture:
The **Native Lands Act** and the **Tuvalu Lands Code** govern indigenous lands, customary rights, and inheritance; the **Land and Title Act** regulates the registration and transfer of properties; the **Land Registration Act** organizes the land registry; the **Trust Land Act** concerns collectively held trust lands; the **Foreshore and Land Reclamation Act** assigns ownership of the shoreline to the state and regulates land reclamation.
Overall, this shapes a system where custom remains the primary source of legitimacy over land, but where Western-inspired registers and courts add an additional layer of security – or sometimes conflict.
Three Main Property Regimes
Today we distinguish three broad categories of land rights in Tuvalu:
The Caledonian territory* is divided between customary lands (95-98% of the land, inalienable and governed by kaitasi), the rare freehold lands from the colonial era, and state or public lands used for infrastructure, often managed through leases with customary owners.
In addition, there are land leases (leasehold), which allow individuals, businesses, or public entities to use a plot for a fixed term (often between 30 and 99 years), while leaving the bare ownership with customary families or the state.
Expropriation and Protection of Rights
The legal framework provides strong protection against arbitrary expropriation. Any forced acquisition of land by the state must be based on:
– a clear public purpose (infrastructure, environment, collective service);
– formal notification to the rights holders;
– a possibility of challenge in court;
– compensation deemed “fair,” calculated based on the value of the property and, in principle, lost income or relocation costs.
In practice, the tension between urgency of projects (e.g., for climate change adaptation) and complexity of customary rights makes these procedures delicate. Hence the importance of mediation and the role of customary institutions.
Registration, Transactions, and the Role of Land Courts
Land registration in Tuvalu does not follow the exhaustive cadastral model of many countries. Authorities combine official registers, decisions of the Lands Courts, and recognition of custom.
Registering Without Erasing Custom
When a land transfer occurs under written law (authorized sale, exchange, long-term lease), a formal deed must be drawn up, signed by the parties and often witnessed. It is then registered with the Land Registry to have full effect against third parties. The Registrar of Titles keeps track of these transactions, which coexist with many rights simply recognized by custom.
In many cases, especially in outer islands, transfers are still done informally, based on oral agreements validated by family heads and customary councils. The law acknowledges this reality, while emphasizing the added value of registration to ensure legal security, especially against outside actors.
Lands Courts and Dispute Resolution
Land disputes are frequent: contested boundaries, poorly settled inheritances, disagreements over use rights or rents. To handle them, each island has two local jurisdictions:
The judicial system of the Marshall Islands includes two specialized courts: the Island Court, which handles minor civil disputes and petty offenses, and the Lands Court, which is competent for land matters such as successions, leases, exchanges, and adoptions related to land rights.
Each Lands Court is composed of local magistrates (usually six) who know the customs and genealogies. They apply the Tuvalu Lands Code, the Native Lands Act, and local usages. Decisions can be appealed to a Lands Courts Appeal Panel, and then – as a last resort – to the Magistrates Court or the High Court of Tuvalu.
Formal procedures coexist with many customary mediations, conducted by clan chiefs, elders, or religious authorities. These mechanisms prioritize restoring harmony over punitive sanctions, which remains consistent with an island society where everyone knows each other and shares a limited space.
An Example of Customary Rules: Accretion, Village, and Land Exchange
The Tuvalu Lands Code illustrates the finesse of traditional rules applied by the Lands Courts. For instance, it specifies the fate of land gained from the sea (natural accretions): if adjacent to existing land, it belongs to the owner of that land; if isolated, it may revert to the state, which can allocate it to indigent persons.
On some islands (Nanumanga, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau), village lands are used collectively for housing. If the village moves, these plots revert to their original owners. People without land can exchange a plot for a house site with the agreement of the Kaupule and the Lands Courts, or obtain permission from an owner to build on it.
Exchange is also regulated: the Lands Court verifies that the land remaining to an owner after a transfer is sufficient for them and their children. On some atolls (Nanumea, Nukufetau, Funafuti), outright sale of land or taro pits is prohibited, to avoid monetary dispossession; only exchange or lease is allowed.
Gender, Custom, and Discrimination: Women and Land
Behind the communal discourse, land rights in Tuvalu are marked by highly gendered power relations. The customary system, reinforced by texts like the Native Lands Act of 1956 and the Tuvalu Lands Code of 1962, largely favors men.
A Dominant Patrilineal Succession
In theory, inheritance can follow patrilineal or matrilineal lines, but in practice, it is
most often sons who become the primary heirs of land. Daughters can access land ownership in two typical cases: in the absence of a male heir, or when they remain on the family land without marrying or as the sole surviving child.
Several rules reinforce this logic:
– the principle is that the married woman depends on her husband’s land;
– the traditional intention is to keep titles in the father’s name, so that the male lineage retains symbolic control of the land;
– upon marriage, a woman retains a right of access to the land resources of her family of origin, but in practice this right is exercised under the control of her brothers.
Certain practices allow exceptions: a daughter may be designated temporary heir pending a final division of land, and a son may lose his heir status if he neglects his parents, for example by stopping sending money from abroad, which could then benefit a more present sister.
Laws That Entrench Imbalances
The land laws themselves contain discriminatory provisions. The Native Lands Act and the Tuvalu Lands Code regulate women’s rights to land and other property unequally, consolidating a patriarchal structure. The 1956 law provides, for example, that custody of a child born out of wedlock automatically goes to the father if he acknowledges paternity, once the child is two years old, which has indirect implications for that child’s future land rights.
The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, origin, political opinion, religion, or disability under Article 27, but it does not include sex. The High Court has ruled that differential treatment based on gender is not discriminatory. Moreover, it allows differences in treatment regarding land, marriage, divorce, or burial if they follow personal beliefs or customs.
As a result, gender equality is not recognized as a fundamental right. International conventions like CEDAW have regularly called out Tuvalu, urging it to:
– amend Article 27 of the Constitution to include discrimination based on sex or gender;
– repeal the discriminatory provisions of the Native Lands Act and the Tuvalu Lands Code;
– train customary judges and Lands Court magistrates to protect women’s land rights.
The government has initiated revisions of these laws, but the process is slow, hindered by the cultural sensitivity of the issue and resistance from some communities to change.
Mobilization and Calls for Reform
Despite these obstacles, internal dynamics are pushing for greater equality. The Department of Gender Affairs receives a growing number of complaints from women related to land use or control. It coordinates referral services, and the Te Paagatasi a Tuvalu policy (2024) explicitly sets the goal of improving women’s access to resources – including land, credit, and technology.
A proposal to reserve parliamentary seats for women, included in the Te Kakeega III plan (2016–2020), has not yet been submitted to Cabinet, a sign that political recognition of these issues remains limited.
Foreigners and Property: Land Reserved for Tuvaluans
In a country where land is an identity and cultural pillar, foreign access to property is strictly regulated. The principle is simple: non-Tuvaluans cannot own land in fee simple.
Leases Instead of Titles
Foreigners – individuals or companies – can, however, enter into leases with customary owners or the state for specific projects (small hotels, economic activities, equipment). These leases can be long-term (up to 99 years), but the land remains legally held by citizens or the government.
The conditions of these leases involve:
To acquire land, one must comply with national laws (Foreign Investment Act, Land and Title Act), proceed with registration in the land registry, and engage in often complex negotiations with multiple members of families holding kaitasi rights.
The existence of multiple co-owners, sometimes scattered across several islands or even abroad, and the absence of a comprehensive cadastre, greatly complicate the task of foreign investors. Moreover, the extreme vulnerability of the territory to climate change, weak infrastructure, and banking constraints (near absence of ATMs, cards, and modern financial services) make the real estate environment unattractive for conventional speculation.
The State Itself Often a Tenant
Significantly, even the government does not always directly own the land on which its infrastructure sits: it sometimes leases land from customary owners, with public budgets dedicated to these rents. This situation illustrates how the sovereignty of the state over the soil coexists with the strong sovereignty of indigenous clans.
Inheritance and Succession: A Fine Mesh of Rules
Land inheritance in Tuvalu is an area where civil law and custom intermingle. When a person dies, their land can be transmitted:
– according to a will (“native will”) that meets formal requirements (signature before two unrelated non-beneficiary witnesses, compliance with Lands Code rules);
– according to intestate succession rules, i.e., in the absence of a valid will.
The Lands Courts validate or organize successions according to precise rules: priority to the eldest son of the first wife, distribution between sons and daughters, handling of cases without descendants, hierarchy of collateral relatives. The goal is to respect customs while limiting the fragmentation of parcels.
An interesting element is the possibility of redistributing land from persons absent for more than 15 years with no intention of returning – with special rules for Funafuti. Here again, the Lands Court must investigate the reality of the person’s ties and projects before ordering a redistribution.
Climate Change: When the Sea Redraws the Land Map
The land question in Tuvalu cannot be understood without addressing the existential threat posed by sea-level rise. With an average elevation of about two meters and natural high points under five meters, the archipelago is one of the most vulnerable states in the world.
Lands That Are Disappearing, Flooding, and Salinizing
The impacts of climate change on land are multiple:
– inundation of growing coastal areas during high tides;
– accelerated beach erosion, worsened by sand or coral extraction and dynamiting of reef channels;
– saltwater intrusion into freshwater lenses, making fresh water scarce and unusable for agriculture;
– soil salinization, reducing the productivity of essential crops like taro, coconut, pumpkin;
– increase in extreme events (cyclones, storms, droughts) that degrade land and infrastructure.
Up to 95% of the capital atoll’s surface could be flooded during high tides by 2100 under some scenarios.
Retreat or Resistance? The Bet on Land Reclamation
Faced with this reality, Tuvalu has chosen a strategy resolutely focused on in situ retention of its population and sovereignty. Rather than planning a mass evacuation, the country is investing heavily – with donor support – in land reclamation and raising its elevation.
Two flagship projects illustrate this approach:
The Long-Term Adaptation Plan (L‑TAP) envisions up to 3.6 km² of raised land to gradually accommodate the population from all nine atolls in the capital.
The table below summarizes some key data on these projects:
| Project / Plan | Area Created or Raised | Main Location | Primary Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCAP – Phase 1 | 7.3 ha | Fongafale, Nanumaga, Nanumea | Green Climate Fund, State of Tuvalu |
| TCAP – Phase 2 / 1A | 8 ha | Fogafale (Funafuti) | Australia, New Zealand, United States |
| Funafuti Land Expansion (target) | +7 ha (≈ +5% of area) | Fongafale | Cumulative TCAP program |
| L‑TAP (Te Lafiga o Tuvalu) | 3.6 km² (target) | Capital and areas to be raised | Government of Tuvalu, partners, UNDP |
These new lands must be carefully planned in terms of use, land status, and customary rights. Authorities are planning community occupation plans, integrating housing, schools, critical infrastructure, and recreation areas, so that these raised spaces become the foundation for a habitable Tuvalu beyond 2100.
The Coastline, State Property… Under Community Oversight
The Foreshore and Land Reclamation Act assigns to the Crown (i.e., the state) ownership of the shoreline and seabed, while recognizing public rights of navigation, fishing, and passage, as well as any pre-existing private rights. Any reclamation of the coastal zone must be authorized by the responsible minister, following a consultation procedure:
Required measures to ensure dissemination and deadlines for claims
Announcement in two successive issues of an official publication
Broadcast by radio for two consecutive days
Posting at island police stations
At least six weeks to file objections or claims
Once the operation is authorized, public and private rights over the reclaimed area are generally extinguished, and the newly created land belongs to the state, except in specific cases (e.g., when an owner reclaims their own coastal fringe, but this does not confer an opposable right in court). This legal centralization of the foreshore must, however, contend with the strongly held feeling that coastal communities are the natural guardians of these spaces.
Migration, Sovereignty, and “Digital Nation”: When Land Overflows the Soil
The potential disappearance of Tuvalu’s physical territory raises a dizzying question: what becomes of land rights, maritime sovereignty, and even the legal existence of a state if its lands are submerged?
Fixing Maritime Boundaries and Statehood
In international law, the Montevideo Convention traditionally ties statehood to four elements: defined territory, permanent population, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states. The idea that a country could lose its emerged land without losing its international personality was hardly considered until recently.
Tuvalu has pioneered a different approach. In 2023, a constitutional revision proclaims that:
– the “State of Tuvalu” will exist in perpetuity, regardless of any loss of physical territory resulting from climate change or other causes;
– the baseline coordinates used to delimit the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone will remain fixed, regardless of coastline regression.
We affirm the permanence of maritime zones despite sea-level rise, and we welcome recent advisory opinions from international jurisdictions (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in 2024, International Court of Justice) that reinforce the idea that legal stability should be preserved for the benefit of small island states.
Pacific Leaders
Tuvalu has also negotiated bilateral agreements to this effect. The Falepili Union treaty concluded with Australia in 2023 – and in force since 2024 – is a landmark example. Its Article 2(b) states that the “sovereignty and statehood of Tuvalu will continue, along with the rights and duties pertaining thereto, notwithstanding sea-level rise.” Several other countries have signed communiqués recognizing the permanence of Tuvaluan maritime boundaries.
On the land front, this means that rights over the exclusive economic zone – and the valuable fishing licenses that represent a major share of the national budget – should not disappear even if emerged lands drastically shrink or even become temporarily uninhabitable.
“Mobility with Dignity” and the Risk of Depopulation
The Falepili Union goes further by creating a specific migration corridor to Australia: from 2026, up to 280 Tuvaluan citizens per year (about 2.5% of the current population) can obtain permanent residency there, with access to the labor market, education, and some social protections. The scheme, which adds to existing programs to Australia and New Zealand, is explicitly presented as a “mobility with dignity” measure in the face of climate change, not merely a labor import scheme.
Migration pathways could involve more than 4% of the population per year, allowing a large proportion of Tuvaluans to live abroad over several decades. Although remittances support the economy, this growing diaspora risks weakening the transmission of customary land rights, especially through the 15-year absence rule in the Lands Code.
The government insists on one point: it does not wish to organize a total national relocation, as long as all other adaptation options have not been explored. The symbolic value of anchoring to ancestral land remains central, even to support the claim to continuous sovereignty.
Toward a “Digital Nation” and Rights Detached from the Soil
Aware that the materiality of the territory is threatened, Tuvalu is also thinking about unprecedented forms of property and representation. The “Digital Tuvalu” project, promoted internationally, aims to transfer part of the state’s functions into digital space: land archives, cultural data, citizenship registers, virtual institutions.
In support of this approach, legal experts are exploring the possibilities offered by blockchain technology and digital assets (NFTs, in particular) to secure certain rights:
– rights to revenue from fishing licenses or potential mineral resources;
– revenue from the national .tv internet domain, which is already a significant income source;
– creation of symbolic non-fungible “shares” representing identity elements or economic values.
Anglo-Saxon law, largely integrated into Tuvalu, has recently begun to recognize digital assets as a form of property that can be held in trust. In theory, this could allow certain “collective goods” – including statehood and certain economic rights – to be placed in trust structures for the benefit of the Tuvaluan people, to protect them from physical and political contingencies.
These avenues remain largely conceptual, but they show how the land question in Tuvalu today goes beyond the mere relationship to the soil to touch the very foundations of property law and sovereignty.
Land Adaptation, Social Justice, and the Future of Property in Tuvalu
At the intersection of land, gender, climate, and international law, Tuvalu finds itself in an extreme but emblematic position regarding the challenges ahead for many small islands.
Domestically, the country must reconcile several imperatives:
To secure land rights in Tuvalu, it is necessary to consolidate their security through adapted registration without dismantling kaitasi solidarity, correct gender inequalities in the law, plan land use transparently and equitably while respecting customary rights, and articulate custom and written law in expropriation and resettlement procedures to avoid conflict and injustice.
At the international level, Tuvalu is fighting to ensure that:
– the partial disappearance of its lands does not lead to the loss of its exclusive economic zone or the questioning of its statehood;
– major emitters responsible for climate change acknowledge specific responsibility, including for financing, reparation, and, where applicable, provision of resettlement land;
– innovative mechanisms – digital nation, digital assets, new property concepts – serve to strengthen, not weaken, the collective control of the population over its resources.
In this fight, land remains the common thread. Whether it is the ancestral plots where taro is still planted, the artificial surfaces reclaimed from the lagoon, the land titles registered in the registry, or the maritime coordinates etched into the Constitution, it is always the same question: how to guarantee Tuvaluans the right to decide their future from their own territory, real or reinvented, in a world where the sea is rising and the rules of the game are changing?
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Until this question is resolved, land rights and property in Tuvalu will remain at the center of one of the most crucial conversations of our time on climate justice, sovereignty, and the very meaning of “having land.”
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Cyril Jarnias is an independent expert in international wealth management with over 20 years of experience. As an expatriate himself, he is dedicated to helping individuals and business leaders build, protect, and pass on their wealth with complete peace of mind.
On his website, cyriljarnias.com, he shares his expertise on international real estate, offshore company formation, and expatriation.
Thanks to his expertise, he offers sound advice to optimize his clients' wealth management. Cyril Jarnias is also recognized for his appearances in many prestigious media outlets such as BFM Business, les Français de l’étranger, Le Figaro, Les Echos, and Mieux vivre votre argent, where he shares his knowledge and know-how in wealth management.
