Abstract
In this chapter, a brief history of environmental management within the Pacific Islands is presented with strong emphasis on the linkages between good environmental management as a key to economic and human development. Readers are reminded not only of the ancient and long journeys carried out by Pacific peoples to reach where they live today, but also of recent events that have galvanized people into seeking more prominent voices on key issues such as nuclear testing and the need to protect themselves against newer environmental challenges such as deforestation and mining. Voices of locals, communities, academics, and institutional, spiritual, regional bodies and global approaches are presented here.
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- 1.
Many have challenged the environmental deterministic and other economic rationalist approaches to the island Pacific. Most famously the late ‘Epeli Hau’ofa critiqued such views in ‘Our Sea of Islands’ where he provided an alternative view or vision of the Pacific which involved seeing the ocean as an integrated part of Pacific lives.
- 2.
Carew-Reid (1989).
- 3.
Now known as the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the SPC , based in Noumea, New Caledonia, was created in 1947 by six major powers who (at that time) had political interests in the Pacific region—Australia, New Zealand, France, the United Kingdom, United States and Netherlands. The rationale for the establishment of the SPC was largely to secure Western political and military interests in the Pacific, but there was very little open debate, especially of nuclear testing. It could be argued that the constraints of debate in the SPC ultimately led to the establishment of the South Pacific Forum (PIF ). Today the SPC is largely concerned with issues and themes such as economic development, fisheries and aquaculture, geoscience, health , social development, gender issues and statistics for development. It also has climate change projects.
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Carew-Reid (1989).
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Bryant-Tokalau (1994).
- 6.
Supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP ) and funded by Australian Aid.
- 7.
Capacity 21 refers to some of the principles of Agenda 21 which were agreed to at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED ) held in 1992. These principles included: environmental protection is an integral part of the development process; the need for all citizens to have access to information and other opportunities necessary for them to participate in decisions about environmental management; effective environmental legislation and standards; environmental costs to be internalized and economic instruments developed to facilitate that; the engagement of women in all efforts to achieve sustainable development; and special recognition given to indigenous people, their knowledge and traditional practices, enabling them to participate in the process towards sustainable development.
- 8.
And, it should be said, the large numbers of consultants and international agencies which have worked with and for those countries. In recent years however, more local consultants have been involved in translating concerns into reports for bi- and multilateral donors and the Development Banks.
- 9.
The two-week Earth Summit adopted Agenda 21, a blueprint for action to achieve sustainable development worldwide. Agenda 21 , although weakened by compromise and negotiation, is considered to be one of the most comprehensive and potentially effective programmes of action ever sanctioned by the international community . Indeed, the Earth Summit influenced all subsequent United Nations conferences by placing emphasis on the integral relationship between environment and development, in essence support for socio-economic development while protecting the environment from deterioration and a partnership between the developing and more industrialized countries in order to ensure the planet’s healthy future.
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The Republic of Kiribati for example, with three island groups, spread across an ocean area of 35 million square kilometres does not have the resources to control poaching fishing fleets.
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The Barbados meeting resulted in the Barbados Plan of Action, and Mauritius in the Mauritius Strategy, both of which had as a broad objective, the sustainable development of SIDS.
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Goulding (2016) discusses the complexity of negotiating Pacific climate diplomacy and looks at the role, and success, or otherwise of regional institutions in trying to bring about a coordinated Pacific response in climate negotiations.
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The Quaternary period is generally taken to mean the most recent 2.6 million years which includes the present day. The period was faced with dramatic climate changes, much species extinction and the rise of humans.
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Nunn (1991), p. 5.
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Nunn, p. 50.
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ASPEI was the Association of South Pacific Environmental Institutions which was established out of UNEP (the UN Environment Programme) in the 1980s and tasked with looking at potential impacts of Climate Change.
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ASPEI produced the 1988 report ‘Potential Impacts of Greenhouse Gas generated climate change and projected sea-level rise on Pacific Island states of the SPREP region.
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ASPEI produced the 1988 report ‘Potential Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Generated Climatic Change and Projected Sea Level Rise on Pacific Islands States of the SPREP Region’.
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Barnett and Waters (2016) do provide a more nuanced representation of vulnerability to climate change.
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Bell, Taylor, Amos, and Andrew (2016).
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George Carter (2015) Establishing a Pacific voice in the climate change negotiations.
- 24.
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UNEP had regional seas programmes in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Africa, Asia. The model was developed to find a way of multiple countries bordering the same ocean to develop a manageable plan for sustainably managing their ocean resources.
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ASPEI, the Association of South Pacific Environmental Institutions, was chaired at various times by staff of the University of Papua New Guinea, and The University of the South Pacific.
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Bryant (1994).
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SPREP (1992).
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Barnett and Campbell (2010), p. 101.
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Goulding (2016: 196) also comments on the important roles played by PICs in major global alliances
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Bryant-Tokalau (2008).
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Glacken (1967).
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Clarke (1990).
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Clarke (1990), p. 248.
- 36.
Rudiak-Gould (2013).
- 37.
Clarke (1990).
- 38.
Walter and Hamilton (2014).
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Isabel province in Solomon Islands is also known as Ysabel.
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Walter and Hamilton (2014).
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Walter and Hamilton (2014).
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It is noted that at the time of writing this book, Patrick Nunn, author of ‘The Hand of God’ has more recently written on why secular climate change projects fail, and on the role of spirituality in climate change adaptation .
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Caritas (2014).
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Bhagwan (2014).
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www.pmc.aut.ac, 12 March 2015.
- 46.
People do comment in on-line forums, such as the Climate Change and Development Community (www.ccd-pc@solutionexchange-un.net) that despite the importance of climate negotiations, keeping PIC delegates engaged in the international negotiations is a challenge. Discussion currently surrounds ways of spreading the load, so each of the 14 countries can take the lead to coordinate various issues of interest and importance.
- 47.
ccd-pc@solutionexchange-un.net, 6 November 2014.
- 48.
Micronesian subregional politics have not been discussed in depth here, but Gallen (2016, pp. 176–188) does point out that there are different allegiances within the area loosely named Micronesia. The same could be said of other parts of the region, belying the views that all are in agreement over key issues.
- 49.
Sometimes in the past this has occurred after a period of concern over certain forum leaders whereby a more ‘neutral’ leader might be a safer pair of hands.
- 50.
In November 2014, the leaders of China and India met in a summit with Pacific countries. China discussed, for example, the feasibility and implementation of the US $2 billion concessionary loan for infrastructure development in the eight PICs. Climate change support was high on the agenda, although details of any specific climate change projects and how the largely infrastructural projects will be funded and loans repaid, for example through the Exim Bank’s concessional loans is yet to be outlined. ‘China keen to assist infrastructure development and climate change in the Pacific’ By Online Editor 2:59 pm GMT+12, 22/11/2014, Fiji. http://www.pina.com.fj/index.php?p=pacnews&m.
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Iati (2010).
- 52.
Powles (2010).
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MacLellan (2015a).
- 54.
It should be recognized however that Australian Aid funds the Pacific Leaders Programme and as part of that gave support (2012/2013) to ‘Future Climate Leaders’ (FCLP2) working with the University of the South Pacific’s Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development. The aim of the project was to enhance ‘skills and knowledge of climate change staff and students as well as Pacific Islanders at the community level’ (Australian Aid/USP 2013). With cuts in Australian Aid in 2014, some projects in the overall leaders programme (such as awards) have currently been delayed but the PLP continues in 2015.
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- 56.
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Fry and Tarte (2016) came to a similar conclusion with the main concern being what the pressure on and shifting of allegiances will mean for Pacific peoples.
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Fry (2015), p. 1.
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para. 11, www.sids2014.org/samoapathway.
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Manoa (2016: 96).
- 61.
para. 105, www.sids2014.org/samoapathway.
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Bryant-Tokalau, J. (2018). Pacific Responses to and Knowledge of Climate Change. In: Indigenous Pacific Approaches to Climate Change. Palgrave Studies in Disaster Anthropology. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78399-4_2
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