Coastal protection: best practices from the Pacific

Pacific coasts are constantly changing as a result of natural processes such as tides, strong currents, rain, storm surges, strong wind, cyclones and sea level rise. With increasing human activities within the coastal areas in terms of human settlement, land use changes, flow of solid and liquid waste and coastal developments such as beach ramps, jetties, causeways, coastal protection structures, reef mining and extractions of sand and beach aggregates, there is ever increasing change along Pacific coasts. In addition, climate change and climate variability and extreme weather events have exacerbated the rate of change of Pacific coasts. The coast has been defined as the zone where the land and sea meet. The main features of Pacific coasts are dominated by coral reefs, reef ridges, inter-tidal ridges, beaches, cliffs, wave actions and mangroves. Pacific coasts are designated important areas for providing vital Pacific livelihood. The coastal ecosystems, human sett lement and other major supporting services and basic infrastructure are centred on the coastal zone. Coasts are being used for many reasons. The underlying problem is that Pacific coasts are in a state of crisis. A number of human engineering interventions over the past decade have contributed and accelerated the coastal erosion problem in the Pacific Region. The Pacific coastline is over 50,532 km long. Both natural processes and human engineering work are blamed for causing coastal erosion. This guide has been produced to inform and assist coastal experts, managers, and Pacific communities understand the various measures they can take to reduce coastal erosion

Rainfall Trends, Drought Frequency and La Nina in Tuvalu: A Small Equatorial Island State in the Pacific Ocean

Droughts, as complex climatic hazards, can threaten livelihoods, economies, and ecosystems in low-lying island states. In extreme cases, drought may cripple national development in these countries, and produce long-term impacts that hinder national efforts to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. This study addresses rainfall trends, the frequency of droughts, La Niña influences and the relationship between rainfall and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the small Pacific country of Tuvalu. The study follows this order of approach: (1) examine observed rainfall time series for four meteorological stations across Tuvalu; (2) decompose observed rainfall time series and develop detrended rainfall time series; (3) evaluate and identify rainfall trends, including drought frequency; (4) define drought in Tuvalu using box plots; (5) evaluate the seasonal cycle of rainfall; (6) identify La Niña years and (7) test the correlation between SST, an indicator of La Niña events, and rainfall. The findings of this study revealed that (1) de-trended rainfall time series show declining trends in all four rainfall stations over the period 1953-2012; (2) the frequency of drought ranges from three to fourteen years with a mean of nine years; (3) the occurrence of drought appears to follow the La Niña years; (4) boxplots provide an effective option for defining drought and, finally, (5) there is empirical support for a moderate to strong correlation between the de-trended values of SST and rainfall in the area of study

Overview of Water Security in Pacific Islands with Recommendations for Best Practices

The demands of increased populations, increased food production, industrial and manufacturing activities, natural resources extraction and power generation are likely to contribute significantly to the deteriorating state of water security in the Pacific Islands in the future. This report presents recognised approaches and best practices that will contribute to improved current state of water security in the region. The purpose of this report is to help decision-makers, water resource and sanitation practitioners make best use of the relevant knowledge provided by the wealth of experiences gained from implementing water-related projects at the community and national levels. These initiatives aim to address various specific objectives such as the installation or expansion of a central water supply system, water safety planning, water resources monitoring, rainwater harvesting, seasonal rainfall projections and public outreach and awareness. While using information in this report, readers are advised that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to water security. Water security issues are not always the same in all Pacific countries. Small low lying islands have different water problems than higher and larger Islands. Water security is complex and multi-dimensional in nature. The report aims to be a descriptive guide rather than a prescriptive manual. It is hoped that the positive lessons presented in this report will help water practitioners to select and design a strategy best suited to their circumstances and specific needs. Pacific countries face major challenges in achieving water security. Fragile ecosystems are under pressure from human induced activities, and urbanisation further exacerbates water stress. Increasing population will increase the demand for food and, therefore, agricultural production and food processing. Climate change is one of the biggest threats faced by Pacific countries. Floods, droughts and cyclones are frequently experienced in the Pacific causing damage to infrastructure, property and crops; and loss of human lives and livestock. At the current rate of population growth in the region, more people are likely to be affected. While infrastructure development may be a preference for many PICs in achieving long-term water security, this is not always possible. Alternatively, a more feasible approach is to improve water resource management as a preparedness strategy in addressing water resources issues that arise due to the impacts of climate change. The report recognises that water security is complex and multi-dimensional, with many contributing factors such as biophysical, infrastructural, institutional, political, social and financial. The various approaches that can be undertaken to address water security are explored. The right enabling environment is a prerequisite for the achievement of water security. The report will discuss major important ingredients of the right enabling environment for water security, such as the legal framework, policies, plans, institutional arrangements, financing mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation and human capacity. Conducting water resources assessment is necessary, as part of the enabling environment, to determine the status of water security. Water resources assessment is a tool for measuring, collecting and analysing water information for the purpose of improving the management of water resources. Data is a fundamental requirement in water resource assessment and it is vital to have information in the following critical areas: Hydrological data; Physiographic data; Basic and applied research data; Manpower training and knowledge; Mapping technique and Socio-economic data. This overview and best practices report will also include a list of valuable lessons learnt which are recommended for water and sanitation practitioners and decision-makers for the planning, design and implementation of future water-related projects

Home gardening as a panacaea: A case study of South Tarawa

The Republic of Kiribati is a small, highly infertile Pacific Island nation and is one of the most challenging locations to attempt to support dense urban populations. Kiribati, like other nations in the Pacific, faces an urban future where food insecurity, unemployment, waste management and malnutrition will become increasing issues. Homegardening is suggested as one way to address many of these problems. However, the most recent study on agriculture production in urban centres in Kiribati shows that, in general, intensive cultivation of homegardens is not a common practice. This disparity between theory and practice creates an opportunity to re-examine homegardening in Kiribati and, more broadly, in the Pacific. This paper examines the practice of homegardening in urban centres in Kiribati and explores reasons why change has or has not occurred through interviews with homegardeners and government/donor representives. Results show that homegardening has increased significantly in the past five years, largely because of the promotion of homegardens and organic composting systems by donor organisations. While findings further endorse homegardening as an excellent theoretical solution to many of the problems that confront urban settlements in Kiribati and the Pacific, it raises additional questions regarding the continuation of homegarden schemes beyond donor support programmes

Food security: best practices for the Pacific

This report presents selected good practices and techniques that may contribute to improving food security and building community resilience to the impacts of climate change and other factors on agriculture, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry, and natural resources in the Pacific region. The objective of this report is to provide a summary of best practices that can improve people’s livelihoods for policy-makers, teachers, researchers, and communities. It is non-prescriptive as food security is complex and multi-dimensional. All countries in the Pacific experience different levels of food security issues so solutions to their challenges are not the same. The intent is to cover a wide range of food security issues, best practices, techniques, and methods so that each country may choose relevant interventions which suit their needs. The report highlights the importance of the traditional knowledge held by early Pacific settlers. It considers the importance of links between food, water and energy, and defines food security as ‘having the social, economic and physical access to nutritious and safe food at all times leading to healthy life’. The report highlights that there is more involved with food security than the problem of hunger. There are diseases such as non-communicable diseases (NCD) and HIV/AIDS, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies (VMD) and malnutrition issues that affect food security. The challenges highlighted include growing populations, changing diets, price increases, and local foods being affected by environmental and climatic factors. The links between global, regional and national instruments and frameworks are all part of providing an enabling environment for food security. At the global level, FAO summarises the important global themes as: the right to food; nutrition; poverty; resilience; social protection; climate change; biodiversity; energy; fisheries; forestry; land and soil; sustainable agriculture; tenure rights; and water. In the Pacific, the regional framework highlights seven important themes: 1. building national and regional partnerships to address challenges of food security; 2. developing effective legal instruments that ensure food control systems are in place; 3. having access, availability, stability and uses of locally produced food; 4. the consideration of infants and vulnerable groups by all actors; 5. provision of good information for making informed decisions; 6. provision of good food indicators for effective monitoring and evaluation; and 7. addressing several cross-cutting areas in appropriate and practical ways. At the national level, most countries have legal frameworks in place that have links to food security but few countries have developed food security policies. The need to incorporate DRR in policy-making is highlighted. The report provides background on the use of different tools and methods relating to food security for assessment and monitoring purposes. These tools or methods are options that policy-makers may choose to adopt or modify as relevant to their needs. These include vulnerability guidelines (CFSVG); emergency food security analysis; indicators of food security; crop models; participatory models and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Case studies are presented on project and programme interventions that build adaptive capacity and community resilience in terms of food security that have positive effects on health and livelihoods. These include the Safe Food Awareness Campaign; tracking progress in maternal and child survival; improving child nutrition; the ‘Towards A Food Secured Pacific Strategy’; a mixed gardening project in Kiribati; restoring sustainable livelihoods and seaweed farming in Fiji; traditional crops and sponge culture in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM); revival of ‘sup sup’ gardens and aquaculture in the Solomon Islands; community-based fisheries management in Tonga; and pearl oyster farming in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Case studies on food security adaptation and mitigation interventions are given including: the use of traditional knowledge; improving drainage and farming of climate resilient crops; ‘ridge to reef management’, and seed banks in Fiji; adaptation to drought; best performing crops - sweet potato and taro in FSM; developing a nursery of drought-tolerant crop seeds in PNG; testing taro for salt tolerance and piloting aquaculture for mangrove crabs in Palau; introducing drought resilient varieties of cassava and sweet potato and fish pond farming in Vanuatu; agroforestry in Vanuatu, Tonga and Solomon Islands; and ‘keyhole’ gardening in Timor-Leste. Examples of mitigation measures include: REDD+ in Fiji; agroforestry in the Pacific; trees for protection and shelter in Kiribati; sustainable fishing schemes; climate proofing fisheries assets; demersal fish management, pond aquaculture, and post-harvest processing; protecting fish stocks, habitats and breeding grounds; promoting ecosystem based management; and improving soil health and minimising polluted runoff