A ‘Cost Barrier’ Perspective to Adaptation on a Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) and Mangrove Rehabilitation Projects (MRP) in Solomon Islands

Mangroves are among the most fragile ecosystems in the world. At the same time, they are under considerable pressure from processes associated with climate change such as increases in temperature, salt intrusion through storm surges and sea level rise. There is a paucity of research which look at the connections between climate change and conditions of mangroves under an anthropogenic perspective. This paper reports a study of “cost as a barrier” to adaptation on a case study of Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) and Mangrove Rehabilitation Projects (MRP) in the Solomon Islands. Questionnaires were used as instruments to obtain information from project participants to identify the cost related barriers the project participants perceived to obtain from these conservation projects. The study has identified the fact that the communities have different attitudes and perceptions toward climate change challenges. The different scales and magnitudes of climate change impacts that are perceived at the study sites, and the different subsistence realities showed that project participants have varied responses and points of view regarding such impacts. Because of this, the project participants are constrained by a set of different barriers as obstacle in their process of adapting to the new environment conservation policies at these sites. A mapping on the socio-economic costs and benefits of these projects to the villagers was performed, and identified the fact that costs of conservation programs acts as barriers to long term adaptation at these sites

Assessing the potential role of education as a tool for adaptation to climate change in two rural communities in Solomon Islands

More than 85% of the Solomon Islands’ population live in villages and communities within 1.5 km from the coast. Therefore, these communities are exposed to extreme ocean-based events, whose intensity and variation are expected to increase due to climate change. The government realises the expected devastating impacts on the population, and has partnered with aid-donors to invest millions of dollars in climate change related programs, especially mitigation, adaptation and transformation strategies in rural communities. This paper describes people´s perceptions of the role of education as an adaptation and transformation tool to cope with negative impacts from climate change. We describe the situation of two study sites in rural communities in Solomon Islands. One study site covered Oibola Village, Langa Langa Lagoon, Malaita Province, in 2013. The second study site covered communities of Keigold and Mondo, Ranogha Islands, Western province, in 2015. In both locations, we identified that communities were applying a climate change focused education that can be considered a useful model for adaptation to climate change to be replicated in other rural communities in Solomon Islands. In both study sties, we found converging insights with regard to participants’ strong beliefs that formal education provided a long-term adaptive mechanism to climate change and extreme environmental events

Impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and food systems in Pacific Island countries (PICs): Evidence from communities in Fiji and Solomon Islands

COVID-19 mitigation measures including border lockdowns, social distancing, de-urbanization and restricted movements have been enforced to reduce the risks of COVID-19 arriving and spreading across PICs. To reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures, governments have put in place a number of interventions to sustain food and income security. Both mitigation measures and interventions have had a number of impacts on agricultural production, food systems and dietary diversity at the national and household levels. OBJECTIVE Our paper conducted an exploratory analysis of immediate impacts of both COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on households and communities in PICs. Our aim is to better understand the implications of COVID-19 for PICs and identify knowledge gaps requiring further research and policy attention. METHODS To understand the impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on food systems and diets in PICs, 13 communities were studied in Fiji and Solomon Islands in July-August 2020. In these communities, 46 focus group discussions were carried out and 425 households were interviewed. Insights were also derived from a series of online discussion sessions with local experts of Pacific Island food and agricultural systems in August and September 2020. To complement these discussions, an online search was conducted for available literature. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Identified impacts include: 1) Reduced agricultural production, food availability and incomes due to a decline in local markets and loss of access to international markets; 2) Increased social conflict such as land disputes, theft of high-value crops and livestock, and environmental degradation resulting from urban-rural migration; 3) Reduced availability of seedlings, planting materials, equipment and labour in urban areas; 4) Reinvigoration of traditional food systems and local food production; and 5) Re-emergence of cultural safety networks and values, such as barter systems. Households in rural and urban communities appear to have responded positively to COVID-19 by increasing food production from home gardens, particularly root crops, vegetables and fruits. However, the limited diversity of agricultural production and decreased household incomes are reducing the already low dietary diversity score that existed pre-COVID-19 for households. SIGNIFICANCE These findings have a number of implications for future policy and practice. Future interventions would benefit from being more inclusive of diverse partners, focusing on strengthening cultural and communal values, and taking a systemic and long-term perspective. COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to strengthen traditional food systems and re-evaluate, re-imagine and re-localize agricultural production strategies and approaches in PICs