Our Solutions: What Are They and They Matter
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.
The Bigger Picture
By Earl Makhanbetov
The South Pacific is a region that will hold much significance in the coming decades. Australia and New Zealand stand as beacons of Pacific security and possess a considerable amount of geopolitical power. However, it has been the renewed interests of China and Russia that seek to disrupt such history. A “look North ” policy has been underway, as smaller Island-Nations are unable to acquire their interests through Australia or New Zealand, they look to Northern proprietors for the desired backing. Fiji has already adopted such measures, having welcomed Russian military instructors, accepted Russian armaments, and acquired enormous funding projects from China. The Fiji bid to favor Northern allies is a pretty serious security threat to Australia and New Zealand, and it is a matter of time till other Nations follow suit. This can and should be addressed through renewed lenses that Australia and New Zealand must adopt. Steps must be taken to strengthen Island identity and recognition: the biggest factor to this could lay in loosening immigration standards and or investing in stateside Island infrastructure.
Wesley-Smith, Terence, and Graeme Smith. “Introduction: The Return of Great Power Competition.” The China Alternative: Changing Regional Order in the Pacific Islands, edited by GRAEME SMITH and TERENCE WESLEY-SMITH, 1st ed., ANU Press, 2021, pp. 1–40, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1h45mkn.4. Accessed 8 May 2022.
Solomon Islands
By Earl Makhanbetov
The Solomon Islands experienced a turbulent period that revolved around the question of immigration and land rights. The 1998 Solomon Island conflict saw a massive anti-immigration response to Malaitan immigrants coming to the Guadalcanal mainland and was part of a broader campaign of securitization. The Guadalcanal Liberation Army was formed and was later rebranded as the Isatabu Freedom Fighters (IFM) that systematized anti-Malaitan violence with the intention of discouraging immigration. As a response, the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was formed, with the intention of retaliation after some 20,000 Malaitans were forced to flee. The anti-Malaitan response was so severe due to their cheap outsourced labor: this put pressure on locals and created tensions within communities. This was further compounded by land rights issues, as Guadalcanal land is assigned through the matrilineal line and Malatian land rights are assigned patrilineally. Guale men would sell land that they had no claim to Malaitan immigrants and this, in turn, produced an enormous culture clash that led to such a right-wing response.
Firth, Stewart. “Instability in the Pacific Islands: A Status Report.” Lowy Institute, June 2018, https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/instability-pacific-islands-status-report.
Bougainville
By Earl Makhanbetov
The autonomous region of Bougainville is a former constituent of Papua New Guinea (PNG), however, geographically belongs to the Solomon Islands. The Bougainville conflict has claimed the lives of up to 15,000 people and lasted from 1988 to 1998. Tens of thousands of people were left displaced and a scar was forever engraved in the history of the region. The dispute revolved around the Panguna Copper Mine: which served as PNG’s economic backbone. As a response to the environmental pollution that the mine was causing, local grassroots organizations and demonstrators demanded the Panguna Copper Mine be closed. Australian-backed Papua New Guinea Defense Forces (PNGDF) were dispatched to quell the protests; a direct response oversaw the formation of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA). The BRA fiercely opposed PNGDF forces and the ensuing 10 years of jungle warfare consumed critical infrastructure and eventually the objective turned into political ramifications of independence and statehood. The key highlights of the conflict revolve around transnational companies and their disregard for collective interests, more so, Australia supplied and trained PNGDF forces and stands as a major geopolitical player in the region that has the ability to sway major political decisions.
Böge, Volker. “Conflict Potential and Violent Conflicts in the South Pacific.” Www.wiso.uni-Hamburg, Jan. 2001, https://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/fachbereich-sowi/professuren/jakobeit/forschung/akuf/archiv/arbeitspapiere/southpacificconflicts.pdf.
REGAN, ANTHONY J. “Bougainville: Origins of the Conflict, and Debating the Future of Large-Scale Mining.” Large-Scale Mines and Local-Level Politics: Between New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea, edited by COLIN FILER and PIERRE-YVES LE MEUR, vol. 12, ANU Press, 2017, pp. 353–414, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1x76gfk.19.Accessed 23 Apr. 2022.
Viewpoints From The Pacific: A Story To Understand South Pacific Culture In The Context Of The Climate Crisis
By: Gursimran Padda
An example of a traditional South Pacific fishing scene in the Mariana Islands
Climate change is ravaging the world, however a region that is uniquely affected by the issue are the small islands and atolls of the South Pacific. Preemptively, we would like to begin with a traditional story from Guam, one of the many island nations of the South Pacific. Art, poetry, stories and similar forms of media are all ways that you can understand the perspective of other sides within a conflict, and they act as ways to educate others and spread awareness. This story in particular is about how Guam got its shape.
It is said that in the past the ancestors of the modern CHamoru, the indigenous people of Guam, were giants that had magical powers. One day, a fisherman in Pago Bay on the east coast of the island felt the bay was noticeably larger than usual. A fisherman on the west coast of the island in Hagåtña Bay had later noticed the exact same thing. Soon after these initial events a fisherman in Pago Bay saw a monstrous fish taking bites out of the island. The men of the island had met together, planning that they would embark into the sea and hunt for the fish in both the bays. Despite their best efforts, the men were unsuccessful in catching the fish.
The young women of the island meanwhile discussed this while doing their daily tasks at the Hagåtña Springs. At the springs they would wash their hair with lemon scented water, from lemons they freshly squeezed themselves, leaving the peels in the spring. One day one of the young women spotted the fish taking bites out of Pago Bay again, but this time she saw lemon peels near the fish, she realized that the fish was based in the springs that they wash their hair. From here, the young women of the island devised a plan to catch the fish by cutting their hair and weaving it into a net. They began to sing, and with their powers the net began to expand larger. The singing, accompanied by the lemon scent of their hair in the net attracted the fish, the women had successfully caught the fish and saved the island!
The story highlights the deep connection between the CHamoru and the island that they inhabit, the same can be said about the peoples of the South Pacific more generally. The islands are integral to their spirituality, culture, and way of life. This folktale is now sadly becoming reality, as the islands of the South Pacific are now threatened, though instead of it being by a mythical fish, it is by climate change. Through analyzing the sociocultural and socioeconomic issues that climate change as a threat multiplier brings, two primary conflicts arise that must be faced in order to fight against climate change in the South Pacific: Bridging the gap between climate scientists and traditional knowledge, and tackling the imminent idea of climate change refugees.