What are the human rights consequences of climate change? Walande was once a vibrant island community in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands, home to Solwata (pidgin for saltwater) people known for their deep connection to the ocean. Over the last decades, storms grew stronger, tides higher, and so-called “king tides” repeatedly flooded their homes. The rising sea has erased their land, forcing the community to confront profound loss and relocate to the mainland.

Human Rights Watch, along with the award‑winning XR studio NowHere Media and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, is proud to present Solwata, a mixed reality experience narrated by Academy Award–nominated actor and climate and human rights advocate Mark Ruffalo, that puts viewers inside the slow-motion catastrophe as communities contemplate uncertain futures and reconstruct home. And while this story focuses on Solomon Islands, many other communities and millions of lives along coastlines around the world are facing similar risks as climate change accelerates.

Solwata was created in consultation with members of Walande, Ngongosila and Kwai communities, and we thank them for their partnership in bringing their urgent stories to a global audience. We would also like to thank our creative, production and technical partners NowHere Media and Agog in helping create this immersive story to highlight the human rights consequences of climate change.

Solwata invites audiences not only to understand the challenges relocating communities face, but to stand alongside them and consider what responsibility the rest of the world has to communities facing climate relocation.

By immersing policymakers and the public in the lived experiences of climate‑driven relocation, this project can push governments to adopt rights‑respecting relocation policies and to ensure communities have direct access to the resources they need to make decisions on their own terms, with dignity. Solwata is part of Human Rights Watch’s larger strategy to work alongside communities relocating on the climate frontlines, spotlight their stories, and hold their governments accountable to protect their rights. Solwata demonstrates how immersive storytelling can complement rigorous research and advocacy, helping people connect more deeply with urgent human rights issues. Learn more about our work on planned relocation in Panama, Senegal, the Philippines, and to build a global coalition for more dignified climate relocation approaches.