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Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on "The Environments of the Poor in the Context of Climate Change
and the Green Economy: Making Sustainable Development More Inclusive", 24-26 Nov 2010 in Delhi,
India

Climate change adaptation of the poor and vulnerable in small coastal Islands in the
Pacific: implications for poverty reduction

Anjeela Jokhan and Murari Lal

The University of the South Pacific
Fiji Islands
In a world that is becoming increasingly networked, globalised and western knowledge-based,
the situation of the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) continue to be one of growing vulnerability
with an increasing inability to respond to these changes. The small island sizes, their remoteness,
fragile ecosystems and economies make these countries very special cases. In their effort to
address these challenges, the PICs have embraced sustainable development (SD) as a pathway
for the future by becoming party to various international, regional and national agreements.

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) rely heavily on imported food and given the continuous
increase in the price of imported foods the PIC face a real challenge in maintaining adequate
food imports and spending more GDP on imports of food. Local food production, both marine
and terrestrial are threatened by temperature of sea water rising and soil salinisation.

Climate Change is the greatest challenge facing the world since the beginning of the 21st
century. The effects of climate change are already being observed on every continent and
sectors. Climate Change is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, particularly
floods, storms and droughts. Compared to an average of 300 natural disasters per year from
1980-2000, this past decade saw 426 events per year. The climate-related worldwide disaster
occurrence rose from 50% in the 1980s to 82% since 2005.

What is at stake in the Pacific Island Countries?

Coastal protection – mangroves, reefs, mudflats, sea-grass beds

Climate regulation – seasonal and decadal cycles (e.g. El nino) and long-term processes – oceans
as heat sink and carbon sink.

Environmental flows – river and floodplain services – livelihoods, soil fertility, sediment
deposition

Biodiversity conservation – reefs, the deep sea, polar ecosystems, shelf-seas, mangroves,
floodplains, ancient lakes
Cultural services – coastal heritage, identity and spirituality, education and knowledge, aesthetic
enjoyment, food, culture

Some examples of impacts of Climate Change in the PIC:

- Impacts on fisheries
-
PICs rely heavily on the oceans for food (fish, sea shells, sea grass and others). With a rise in
the temperature of sea water a real impact is seen on food supply. Since most populations are
living in the coastal areas this has a major impact on their livelihoods. Less abundance of food,
smaller organisms and the loss of biodiversity are real issues for these people.

- Ecological stability of mangroves and coral reefs.

Coral reefs not only provide protection to the shorelines but provides various types of marine
food. Coral bleaching is a global phenomenon that seems to be increasing in frequency, scale and
severity. The South Pacific experienced major mass coral bleaching in 2000. During late
February through to early March 2000, mass bleaching occurred in Fiji after a prolonged period
0
of temperatures in excess of 30 C. This coincided with similar coral bleaching being reported
across the South Pacific from Papua New Guinea to Easter Island. A major bleaching occurred
subsequently in Fiji in 2002 and mainly affected the north sides of the two main islands, which
had escaped the 2000 bleaching. Kiribati suffered severe bleaching in 2003 in the Phoenix
Islands and in the Gilberts in 2005 (Lovell, 2005). A real impact of this is being experienced
throughout the PICs.
 

Mangroves also provide protection to the coastal shorelines and therefore are crucial in the
survival of populations in coastal areas. The impacts of loss of mangroves (both due to the
impact of stronger currents and human activity) are fast eroding our coastal shores. In addition to
this mangroves provide a haven for many organisms which are food for coastal communities.
With the loss of mangroves these ecosystems are affected, thus reducing food supply.

-
- Impact on agriculture due to soil salinazation

PICs rely very heavily on imported food. They are small countries with small populations and
therefore industries are not present. Agriculture is the only industry which PICs can invest in.
However, to a large extent this is not developed in the PICs. In any case with the impact of rise
in food prices countries are trying to improve agriculture. However, they are faced with the issue
of soil salinazation. With sea level rise and along with higher wave and wind patterns water
intrusion into the soil is already occurring and is likely to occur further. This means that people
living in the coastal areas face difficulty with agriculture. Tuvalu is a good example of a atoll
island which relies on fresh ground water and rainfall. With the ground water become more
saline the need for water for human consumption is becoming demanding let alone water for
crops.

There is therefore the need to look at local crops that can be farmed for food and which are salt
tolerant. Currently the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the University of the South
Pacific are carrying our research on salt tolerance in Giant Swamp taro (Cyrtosperma merkusii) a
local aroid and hopefully inducing salinity tolerance in one of the cultivars, by doing so ensuring
future food security for the islands. Giant swamp taro is not only a highly consumed aroid and a
local staple root crop but also holds immense cultural significance for Micronesians, who happen
to be one of the most drastically, affected group of island nations by the incidence of increased
soil salinity (Eid and Huisbergen, 1992; Gerald,2007).

In terms of aquatic food, a significant effort is being made on developing aquaculture but again
with soil salinisation this has not become a significant venture. Developing and maintain
aquaculture is expensive, at least initially and this is one of the deterrent faced by countries.
-
- Social consequences due to sea level rise and coastal erosion leading to relocation

Many PICs are extremely vulnerable to climate change induced risks (e.g. large scale inundation
due to sea level rise and widespread damages with high intensity tropical cyclones). They could
be among the first to be forced to abandon and relocate from their homes due to accelerated sea
level rise. Most people in PICs can be classified as coastal dwellers because most settlements are
in coastal areas. This is because of the ease of obtaining food and transportation. The sheer
smallness of the islands means that with sea level rose and soil salinazation most people are
being affected. In several cases the only choice that people have is relocation to higher grounds
inland. This means that large investments need to be made and this is an option which
governments are unwilling to make, given so many other pressing needs. In Fiji itself two large
towns have a clear need to relocate. Signs of climate change are evident but it is not yet seen to
be an option for the government because of the large resource implications it has. This issue
remains unresolved.

The combination of development choices, adaptation actions and capacities will allow us to
address the issue of climate change effectively. Understanding the implications of the impacts of
a changing climate at the local level is necessary to effective adaptation. It is important to
understand adaption as part of development choices. Loss of land is a major concern throughout
the Pacific, considering that in many countries, a large proportion of their population live in rural
areas. Even for the higher and larger islands, the loss of land associated with sea level rise will be
devastating in the coastal areas. In the atolls, where the average height of landmass is less than
5m, the loss of land or whole islands will mean catastrophic changes (Veitayaki et al 2007). .
Below is a table illustrating poverty scenarios in some PICs

Country Poverty level Comments

Vanuatu 40% Largest investment is in
infrastructure an education.
Low in health and agriculture
Palau 25%
Kiribati 22% There is variability within the
population. Households with
female Head of Household
and those with elderly HH are
often poorer
Solomon Islands 23% Larger percentage of overall
household expenses goes to
food. In poorer household
about 60%
Fiji 33% Poor 20% of the population
would spend about 8-0% if the
income on food

The measurement of poverty in PICs is not that simple and numbers presented here may not
necessarily be a true a true picture by normal definition because of the social structure in PICs.
People, particularly in the rural areas live in communities, extended families. They share food
and other necessities, brig in collective income and food and share this. Therefore, to determine
poverty in such structures is not simple.

In a attempt to reduce poverty, equip the people with knowledge and skills, and to work towards
more sustainable future several national and regional projects are being carried out in the PIC.
These address issues at the research and higher education levels, short term training of policy
makers and other practioners as well as a significant work is being done with communities to
build their resilience.

Climate Change adaptation is critical in the PICs. This requires a large investment in capacity
building. Vulnerability in the Pacific context is at several levels. with food insecurity being at the
centre. Several impacts of climate change are fewer and less gardens, less pre-cyclone
preparation, no surplus of root crops and no storage, delayed post-cyclone replanting,
diminishing food wild food stocks, etc. These of course have an impact on population growth,
preservation of land, imported food, disaster relief, changing traditional knowledge, reduced
incentives for younger people, community governance and social cohesion.

 
Changing traditional knowledge is to some extent having an impact on the vulnerability of the
PICs. Formal education no longer emphasises on traditional learning by seeing and experiencing
things. There is a breakdown in traditional education and a loss of knowledge and skills. The
values are changing and less incentives are given for labour input. Many cultures say that every
day we plant something in the ground so when a natural disaster hits, we do not lose all our
food. Also, the tradition of storing food underground is being lost. We no longer plan for our
future. This leads to less production and higher reliance on aid and imports, making the PICs
very vulnerable.

Social vulnerability is also an issue. At the national and regional levels the political and
economic systems become the root causes leading to a loss in development directions. Pressures
at the provincial and national scales are impacted for example local markets, institutional
capacity and service provision. At the local level unsafe conditions such as dangerous settlement
locations, unemployment , special groups at risk and lack of access to information. All these lead
to how we prepare for and respond to disasters

Gender dimensions also come into the picture because men and women are affected differently
by climate stress because they have different roles to play in everyday life. Naturally, women
are seen to be responsible for food security because they are responsible for dependants.
However, they are excluded from information and access to resources..

The practical target for PICs is ensuring development is more sustainable. An approach that will
permit continuing improvements in the quality of life at a lower intensity of resource use, thereby
preserving for future generations an undiminished or even enhanced stock of productive assets
(manufactured, natural and social, capital)’The language of climate change is global - but the
action has to be profoundly local and PIC’s hopes lie in sustainable consumption of natural
resources

The University of the South Pacific’s role in Education for Sustainable Development.  
Education for multiple stakeholders. The University is a position to provide education for
institutions, civil society, media, youth, communities, governments, private sector – focus on
knowledge, skill & perspective through its various Outreach Programs

Flexible learning. with its forty years of experience in distance and flexible learning in formal,
non-formal and informal modalities it is able to address all three Pillars of SD (Economics,
Environment, Society/Culture)

The University is also engaged in Advocacy, Networking and Awareness Building.

Overall the University undertakes education and capacity building to help communities towards
assessing specific vulnerability of sectors and communities, monitoring the threats and impacts
of climate change, assessing the potential impacts of climate change, impacts f mitigation and
 adaptation activities on ecosystems, and monitoring the sustainability and success of adaptation
and mitigation activities.

References

1. Eid, E and C.H.Huisbergen.1992. Sea level rise and Coastal Zone Management. Default
hydraulics, Switzerland, no.471.
2. Gerald,D.M.,M.S.Fenster,B.A.Argow and I.V.Buynevich. 2007.Coastal Impacts due to
Sea level rise
3. Lovell, E. 2005. Coral Bleaching In Fiji and the South Pacific. PIMRIS Newsletter.Vol.
17. No. 4.PIMRIS Coordination Unit. Marine Studies Programme, University of the
South Pacific.
4. Veitayaki, J., P. Manoa and A. Resture. 2007. Addressing climate change and sea level
rise in the Pacific Islands.