Food production and climate change in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories

This paper is a review of climate change trends and projections for the Pacific region and discusses the implications of climate change for food production. Observed climatic data and climate trends and projections for the Pacific region are presented and their current impact on food production and implications for the future are discussed. The climate of the Pacific region is changing and people are now experiencing increase in intensity or severity of extreme events like cyclones, storm surges, floods and droughts. These extreme events are causing substantial damage to agriculture and fisheries and associated infrastructure with negative impact on food production. Although effects of increasing temperature, changing rainfall patterns, sea level rise, salt water intrusion, and acidification are less immediate, food production is also under stress from these climatic factors but it remains difficult to predict the likely outcomes with certainty because of limited empirical data for the Pacific regio

Assessment of a seaweed bloom issue on Funafuti atoll and associated solutions; conducting awareness sessions for the local communities

Since 2011 the small South Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu has been affected by algal blooms, the most recent being a large growth of the brown alga Sargassum on the main atoll of Funafuti. The gravity of the situation led to an invitation to the authors from the Tuvalu Government to conduct an initial survey of the problem in November 2013. The bloom was seen to be localized on the lagoon side of the main populated island of Fongafale, distributed in a variably dense belt up to 100 meters from the shoreline. A total of 19 species of macroalgae were found in the survey area, the dominant one being the Phaeophyceae Sargassum polycystum C. Agardh with individual plants reaching up to 2 meters in length with a cover ranging between 16 and 23% of the substratum. For seven transects laid from the southern tip of the island to the end of the populated area, wet biomass ranged between 0.45 and 3.56 kg m-2, with an average of 1.68 kg m-2. There was a correlation noticed between the density of human population on the shore and algal biomass, with the highest figures opposite a school and hotel. Water quality tests also showed nutrient levels almost twice as high in front of populated areas than in unpopulated areas of the island. The algal belt was seen to be concentrated in water less than 1 m deep, becoming sparser as depth increased. The high amount of Sargassum biomass available makes it a good candidate for use as a fertilizer additive for agricultural practices in Tuvalu. Benefits from seaweed-based fertilizers are numerous and individual farmers have already reported success with the blooms species on the atoll. Additionally, the Sargassum biomass could be converted into biogas using the process of anaerobic digestion in simple household digesters, to meet the need for renewable energy in lighting and cooking

Sustainable agro - fertilizers from marine plants in Pacific small island developing states (SIDS)

The effects of Climate Change are forcing farmers in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to find novel methods to maintain crop productivity and sustainability. Past practices using chemical fertilizers and poor waste management severely damaged many coastal areas, leading to an ecosystem shift towards algal dominance. A proposed approach to deal with both the loss of crop productivity and the overabundance of seaweeds in SIDS, is to devise methods that divert excess marine plant biomass into agricultural uses through the conversion of the biomass to solid and liquid fertilizers. Seaweed-based fertilizers have already been tried with much success on crops in developed nations such as the United States and in European countries, but these are very expensive to import into Pacific Islands, and beyond the means of most farmers in the region. By empowering local farming communities with the knowledge to convert locally-available marine plant biomass into sustainable, ecologically friendly agricultural fertilizers, they would be able to make economies on the purchase commercial fertilizers which are detrimental to the environment, while at the same time reducing the spread of seaweeds on their coral reefs, and boosting the production of subsistence and cash crops which will improve their food and financial security

Climate Change Implications for Crop Production in Pacific Islands Region

The purpose of this chapter is to bring to the fore implications of climate change on the status of crop production in the Pacific Islands region. The Pacific Island people derive their livelihood or secure their food security from natural resources sectors including agriculture,forestry, fisheries and aquaculture; that is, their livelihood is depended on the environment. Any threat or impact on their environment will have profound impact on people’s livelihoods. The PICTs limited land resources are under constant pressure from many factors including climate change. Agricultural crops contribute substantially to people’s food security status

The proliferating brown alga Sargassum polycystum in Tuvalu, South Pacific: assessment of the bloom and applications to local agriculture and sustainable energy

Since 2011, the small South Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu has been affected by algal blooms, the most recent being a large growth of the brown alga Sargassum on the main atoll of Funafuti. The gravity of the situation led to an invitation to the authors from the Tuvalu Government to conduct an initial survey of the problem in November 2013. The bloom was seen to be localized on the lagoon side of the main populated island of Fongafale, distributed in a variably dense belt up to 100 m from the shoreline. A total of 19 species of macroalgae were found in the survey area, the dominant one being the phaeophyceaen alga, Sargassum polycystum C. Agardh, with individual plants reaching up to 2 m in length with a cover ranging between 16 and 23 % of the substratum. For seven transects laid from the southern tip of the island to the end of the populated area, wet biomass ranged between 0.45 and 3.56 kg m−2, with an average of 1.68 kg m−2. There was a correlation noticed between the density of human population on the shore and algal biomass, with the highest biomass figures opposite a school and a hotel. Water quality tests also showed nutrient levels almost twice as high in front of populated areas than in unpopulated areas of the island. The algal belt was seen to be concentrated in water less than 1 m deep, becoming sparser as depth increased. The high amount of Sargassum biomass available makes it a good candidate for use as a fertiliser additive for agricultural practices in Tuvalu. Benefits from seaweed-based fertilisers are numerous, and individual farmers have already reported success with the blooms species on the atoll. Additionally, the Sargassum biomass could be converted into biogas using the process of anaerobic digestion in simple household digesters, to meet the need for renewable energy in lighting and cooking

Integrated flood vulnerability assessment of villages in the Waimanu River Catchment in the South Pacific: the case of Viti Levu, Fiji

This paper uses a holistic approach within a catchment scale, through the application of both climatic and non-climatic parameters, to analyze the impacts of river floods on the human security needs of rural riverine communities in the Waimanu Catchment situated in Nausori, Fiji. Consideration of both climatic and non-climatic factors is required since non-climatic factors could be controlled to build resilience against floods. The indicator-based flood vulnerability index methodology is applicable worldwide, but the indicators used in this study were specifically related to the Pacific Island context. In the context of fluvial flood vulnerability, effects of land management and climate change are not mutually exclusive of each other. Consequently, vulnerability assessments should consider the connection between people’s actions and ecosystems for the entire catchment area since upstream land use practices influence flood vulnerabilities downstream. In our research, a community-based flood vulnerability index system in conjunction with rainfall variability and land use assessments was used to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the flood vulnerability, and it was found that increased rainfall, poor agricultural practices, gravel extraction, and improper waste management predominantly increased the exposure and sensitivity of midstream and downstream communities to river floods by modifying river morphology. Midstream communities in the Waimanu Catchment were most vulnerable to river floods due to their very low adaptive capacity in terms of poor ecosystem health and lack of natural resources to cope with the subsequent impacts of floods, being most sensitive to changes in land use and land cover

Food sources and dietary quality in small Island developing states: Development of methods and policy relevant novel survey data from the Pacific and Caribbean

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have high and increasing rates of diet-related diseases. This situation is associated with a loss of food sovereignty and an increasing reliance on nutritionally poor food imports. A policy goal, therefore, is to improve local diets through improved local production of nutritious foods. Our aim in this study was to develop methods and collect preliminary data on the relationships between where people source their food, their socio-demographic characteristics and dietary quality in Fiji and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in order to inform further work towards this policy goal. We developed a toolkit of methods to collect individual-level data, including measures of dietary intake, food sources, socio-demographic and health indicators. Individuals aged 15 years were eligible to participate

The effect of temperature on the growth of two pest seaweeds in Fiji

Macroalgal blooms are becoming problematic worldwide which is further exacerbated by climate change. This study looks at the effects of temperature on the growth of two pest macroalgae from Fiji, Sargassum polycystum and Gracilaria edulis, under laboratory conditions. The two algal species were subjected separately to different temperature regimes (28 , 30 , 32 and 34 Results showed a significant difference in the Specific Growth Rate (SGR) of G. edulis between the four temperatures with optimal growth at 28-30 . The SGR of S. polycystum could not be determined for experimental reasons due to biomass loss. The optimal temperature for rhizoidal length (RL) of G. edulis was 32-34 , while for S. polycystum RL was 28°C

An analysis of ecosystem-based adaptations in Pacific Island countries

Pacific Islands Countries and Territories’ (PICTs) has one of the richest and most complex ecosystems globally, surrounded by oceans with marine and terrestrial diversity. These diverse ecosystems are essential for the well-being of Pacific Islanders in terms of their livelihoods, food security, recreation and cultural activities; and they are also integral to Islanders’ heritage and identity. The well-being and cultural heritage of the Pacific Islanders are under threat from severe climate change-related impacts; and this is further compounded by several non-climate-change related factors such as overfishing and pollution, all negatively impacting the countries’ ecosystems. These negative impacts include: ecosystem degradation, loss of ecosystem services, and biodiversity loss. Therefore, a nature-based approach such as ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) can be a useful tool in adaptation planning for the PICTs. PICTs have identified EbA as a more sustainable way towards addressing the impacts of climate change due to its costeffectiveness and suitability to the Pacific Islands countries. This is because EbA is a nature-based approach, and its implementation necessitates the involvement of the communities and/or resource owners. EbA projects in the Pacific region have been piloted in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Samoa. An analysis of the results from the four Island nations’ pilot projects revealed that knowledge integration is a significant factor in decision-making under a social-ecological system where the technical or scientific knowledge and the traditional or indigenous knowledge complement each other and, in many cases, validates the indigenous knowledge. However, as PICTs’ economies depend mainly on ecosystem services, both on land and in the ocean for individual and community wellbeing, more research is warranted to further understand how EbA practices best integrate food security and livelihoods

Rainfall and land use impacts on water quality and communities in the Waimanu River Catchment in the South Pacific: the case of Viti Levu, Fiji

A community-based assessment along with a water quality framework was used to explore the Waimanu River water quality and to determine the impacts of the water quality on the communities which rely on the river for livelihood, sustenance, and recreation. Since both climatic and non-climatic factors affect the river system, the study used rainfall variability as well as land use assessments in addition to the community-based assessment to assess the effects of changing environmental factors on the river water quality. It was found that frequent rainfall intensified the runoff into the Waimanu River of contaminants arising from unsustainable land use practices in the Waimanu Catchment including agriculture, gravel extraction, logging, deforestation, and improper waste management. These led to physicochemical and microbial pollution in the river which augmented the vulnerability of the riverine communities to water pollution by hampering their food, water, income, and health securities. The river water quality is expected to further deteriorate as future climate change projections predict an intensification of annual rainfall events, thereby increasing river water contamination and risks to aquatic life and human life. Non-climatic factors that endanger water quality could be controlled by implementing better upstream land and waste management strategies on a catchment scale to minimize the adverse impacts of declining water quality on downstream communities. Methodologies employed in this study to monitor and maintain river water quality are applicable on a global scale to promote the health and security of riverine communities