The physical reality of climate change in the mind of something dying from it

Medium: Mixed media installation – found items, scavenged materials, audio Size: Enormous – humankinds biggest challenge Price: Already Sold Out by a Capitalist Economy – But Yet To Be Paid For

Adapt and Survive - Visual Arts Exhibition and Film

The exhibition “Adapt and Survive” was the result of a portfolio-based submission for the degree Master of Arts in Pacific Studies. Thesis Title: An exploration via art practice of climate change impacts and adaptation in the Pacific Islands region. Research Group Name: Oceana Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, The University of the South Pacific Student: Sarah Louise Hemstock Principal Supervisor: Akanisi Kedrayate Co-supervisor: Frank Thomas Advisor: Joanna Beasley External Advisor: K Nadim Chaudry This is the first art practice-based submission at USP. The research and documentation carried out during the course of this MA culminated in a final exhibition – Adapt and Survive -documented here. This exhibition should be seen as equivalent to a thesis submission. Additional activities carried out and contributing to the MA portfolio included the planning and execution of the “EcoArts” community project and exhibition – which is documented separately

Practices of climate change adaptation in the Pacific: survey of implementing agencies (phase II)

Various and diverse socio-economic, political and environmental challenges face the countries of the Pacific region. Over the last few decades, climate change has risen to increasing prominence as a key challenge and focal point for both national governments and communities to address. This has largely been a result of the ongoing climate change projections for the Pacific region, coupled with various observations by locals of changes to the climate, seasons and their local environment. Together, these observed and projected impacts of climate change can have profound social, economic and environmental implications for all Pacific Island Countries (PICs). To date, a series of broad-brush climate change related impacts have been reported in the literature; the impacts of which include a significant strain on crucial community sectors such as agriculture and fisheries, freshwater resources, human health, economic security, physical infrastructure and coastal resources

A biomass energy flow chart for Fiji

Terrestrial above ground biomass production and utilization was analyzed for Fiji for the years 2003-2012. The total production of biomass was estimated to be 72.67 PJ of which 24% is from food, 44% of agricultural residues, 10% dung and 22% from forestry. Of the 72.67 PJ biomass produced only 11% was used as fuel, 12% as industrial wood and 24% as food. The unutilized biomass resulted into a loss of 38.5 PJ of energy (44 GJ per capita or 2.56 Mt of wood equivalent) which is 53% of the total biomass theoretically produced. Scrutiny of the availability and use of biomass resources is important if biomass energy is to be used on a sustainable basis. Lack of detailed literature in this area in Fiji potentially opens a path for further detailed studies to understand the full contribution of biomass to future sustainable energy supply

Changing Climate for Quality Assured Regional Qualifications in the Pacific: An innovative collaboration (EU-PacTVET & EQAP)

The Pacific region embraces 22 countries and territories. With more than 7,500 islands over 30 million square kilometres, their combined land mass accounts for only two per cent of this area. Climate change and disasters threaten Pacific economies, livelihoods and cultures, and impact a range of sectors, including natural resources, agriculture, food security, education, public health and infrastructure. The Pacific leaders have continued to reaffirm the ongoing urgency of addressing the challenges posed by, and the impacts of, climate change as a regional priority.1 At the Forty-Sixth Pacific Islands Forum held in September 2015 the leaders of the Pacific small island states reiterated their concerns that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihood, security and well-being of the people of the Pacific. Pacific Island Countries (PICs) recognise a commitment to sustainable development is a national responsibility but also realize that this cannot be achieved without a regional approach. The European Union Pacific Technical, Vocational Education and Training in Sustainable Energy (SE) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Project (EU PacTVET) aims to develop a quality assured regional qualification and accreditation process. This paper reflects discussions, views and validations from members of government agencies, private industry, training providers, non-government organisations, community groups, donors, and industry associations surrounding a regional accreditation strategy

Assessment of the domestic energy use impacts of unplanned refugee settlements on the forest ecology of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

This study monitors the forest ecology in Himchari National Park, Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, and between the areas in Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh. The area has a rich biodiversity, including globally endangered species such as Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) and Boilam Trees (Anisoptera scaphula), which are threatened by anthropogenic development, newly refugees’ unplanned settlements and their use of domestic energy. Geographic Information System (GIS) and Landsat satellite images are used to monitor forest coverage for 1995–2018. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is applied to quantify forest area. Focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys were conducted to reveal stakeholder perceptions about their dependency on forest resources as ecosystem services. Close to the refugee camp areas, the forest coverage changes to grassland due to the unsustainable forest resource extraction. Despite the free of charge supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, the refugees burn 2,380 metric tons of firewood every month to satisfy energy for cooking. Besides, 200,000 households frequently use bamboo, small trees, and shrubs to maintain their dwellings' structure. Thus, deforestation caused by immigration between 2017–2018 is similar to that caused by the effect of climate change, including severe tropical cyclones in 1994–1995. This research identifies domestic energy supply deficiency and impacts, and the need for comparatively durable housing materials to reduce stress on forest resources and health hazards

Accredited qualifications for capacity development in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation

Increasingly practitioners and policy makers working across the globe are recognising the importance of bringing together disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. From studies across 15 Pacific island nations, a key barrier to improving national resilience to disaster risks and climate change impacts has been identified as a lack of capacity and expertise resulting from the absence of sustainable accredited and quality assured formal training programmes in the disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation sectors. In the 2016 UNISDR Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, it was raised that most of the training material available are not reviewed either through a peer-to-peer mechanism or by the scientific community and are, thus, not following quality assurance standards. In response to these identified barriers, this paper focuses on a call for accredited formal qualifications for capacity development identified in the 2015 United Nations landmark agreements in DRR and CCA and uses the Pacific Islands Region of where this is now being implemented with the launch of the Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Professionals, for DRR and CCA. A key issue is providing an accreditation and quality assurance mechanism that is shared across boundaries. This paper argues that by using the United Nations landmark agreements of 2015, support for a regionally accredited capacity development that ensures all countries can produce, access and effectively use scientific information for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The newly launched Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Professionals who work in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation may offer a model that can be used more widely

Eco arts exhibition by the Uakatakata (heatwave) artists group

Pacific cultures and societies are central to the USP mission, vision and values and a theme that permeates every aspect of the Strategic plan. Central to the positioning of the university as the international leader in Pacific Studies, Arts and Culture is the creation of an internally recognized centre for visual and performing arts and pacific heritage which will showcase and promote pacific talent in all areas of art. The idea of an innovative interdisciplinary program, such as the one described here, which draws upon creative expression, community experiences and academic research on climate change to support and underlie these goal