By: Gursimran Padda
Throughout the analysis of both policy discussion and scientific knowledge/understanding, the perspectives of the peoples of the South Pacific are consistently ignored. Climate change brings with it problems outside the realm of immediate danger, and acts as a threat multiplier that exacerbates already present, and brings about new sociocultural and socioeconomic conflicts. In order to tackle these conflicts more effectively, the gap must be bridged between traditional knowledge and perspectives of the South Pacific, to those of our own within the West.
The two primary conflicts of other sections, the policy debate and disconnect between climate scientists and the people of the South Pacific, are issues that must be analyzed from a cultural standpoint to understand the needs of the communities in the region, and give them a voice in the discussions. Our proposed solutions to the conflicts discussed revolve around taking indigenous South Pacific communal needs and cultural sensitivities into consideration.