Protocols and Partnerships for Engaging Pacific Island Communities in the Collection and Use of Traditional Climate Knowledge

2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (12) ◽  
pp. 2471-2489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Malsale ◽  
Noel Sanau ◽  
Tile I. Tofaeono ◽  
Zarn Kavisi ◽  
Albert Willy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
National Context ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Weather Extremes ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Generational Changes ◽  
Pacific Island Nations

AbstractTraditional knowledge (TK) on weather and climate is an important aspect of community life in the Pacific. Used for generations, this knowledge is derived from observing biological and meteorological variables and contributes to building community resilience to weather extremes. Most of this knowledge is passed on orally and is in danger of being lost due to generational changes, leading communities to seek to preserve the knowledge in other ways.This paper provides guidance on the successful collection and documentation of weather and climate TK in the Pacific by considering four key components: the legal and national context, in-country partnerships, the role of community, and national and community protocols. At the regional level legislation focuses on the protection of culture/TK and intellectual property, which are linked to national policies and laws. Within the national context consideration of the governance structure is critical, including obtaining approvals to conduct the studies. The next consideration is developing partnerships to establish and implement the projects, including working with appropriate ministries, media, donor organizations, and community groups. Community involvement in all aspects of the projects is critical, built on trust between partners and ensuring outputs are aligned with community needs. Following community protocols and procedures allows for effective sharing of TK. We document common protocols that were piloted and tested across four Pacific Island nations, illustrating similarities and differences between cultural groups, including recognizing cultural sensitivities and ensuring custodian rights are protected.

“We Are Our History”: Reviewing the History of Education in Hawaiʻi and Oceania

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 632-643
Author(s):  
Derek Taira
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Islands ◽  
History Of Education ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
Pacific Island Nations

There is a “world of difference,” anthropologist Epeli Hauʻofa argued, “between viewing the Pacific as ‘islands in a far sea’ and as ‘a sea of islands.’” The distinction between both perspectives, he explained, is exemplified in the two names used for the region: Pacific Islands and Oceania. The former represents a colonial vision produced by white “continental men” emphasizing the smallness and remoteness of “dry surfaces in a vast ocean far from centers of power.” This understanding has produced and sustained an “economistic and geographic deterministic view” emphasizing Pacific Island nations as “too small, too poor, and too isolated” to take care of themselves. The latter, in contrast, denotes a grand space inhabited by brave and resourceful people whose myths, legends, oral traditions, and cosmologies reveal how they did not conceive of themselves in such “microscopic proportions.” Rather, Oceanic peoples have for over two millennia viewed the sea as a “large world” where peoples, goods, and cultures moved and mingled unhindered by fixed national boundaries.

Recreational billfish catches and gamefishing facilities of Pacific Island nations in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

2003 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade Whitelaw
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Purse Seine ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Central Pacific Ocean ◽  
Tax Relief ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Island Nations ◽  
Subsistence Fishing ◽  
Pacific Community

Gamefishing is a developing industry for many of the Pacific Island nations, with a number of countries encouraging the industry with tax relief and tourism promotion. This paper was prepared to provide a preliminary appraisal of gamefish facilities and recreational billfish catches of Pacific Island countries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The level of development of gamefishing varies among Pacific Island nations, with fishers of some countries only carrying out subsistence fishing (including billfish), whereas others have a well-developed gamefishing infrastructure. The gamefish facilities of each country are described, including charter operations, number of private vessels and berthing facilities. Estimates of recreationally caught billfish are also provided for each Pacific Island nation. These estimates have been facilitated by the development of a gamefish catch and effort database by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Presently, an estimated 1050 metric tonnes of marlin are caught by gamefishing in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, which compares with an estimate of around 18 000 metric tonnes caught by commercial longline and purse seine vessels.

scholarly journals Educating for Sustainability in Remote Locations

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-53
Author(s):  
Chris Reading ◽  
Constance Khupe ◽  
Morag Redford ◽  
Dawn Wallin ◽  
Tena Versland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States Of America ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Remote Locations ◽  
The People ◽  
Pacific Island Nations ◽  
Environmental Events ◽  
Political Decisions

At a time when social, economic and political decisions, along with environmental events, challenge the viability of remote communities, educators need to better prepare young people in these communities to work towards sustainability. Remote locations can be defined by their inaccessibility rather than just distance from the nearest services, while the sustainability construct encapsulates a range of community needs: environmental, social, cultural and economic. This paper describes experiences that involve innovative approaches towards educating for sustainability in remote locations in six diverse countries: South Africa, Scotland, Canada, United States of America, Pacific Island Nations, and Australia. For each, the nature of what constitutes a “remote” location, as well as the detail and challenges of the innovation are presented. Readers should consider how they might more suitably educate the next generation to protect, showcase and learn from/with the local knowledges and capacities of the people and environments in remote locations.

scholarly journals Behind the rankings of Pacific nations in the 2011-12 World Press Freedom Index

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Pearson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Press Freedom ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Island Nations

Commentary: Australia and New Zealand both declined in the 2011-2012 Reporters Sans Frontières/Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index rankings but all other surveyed Pacific Island nations improved their standings. This article reports upon those outcomes and details the methodology used by the international press freedom agency in reaching its annual determinations. It explains that such rankings can never be statistically precise because too many variables are at play between countries and from one survey period to another. Nevertheless, they are indicative and importantly draw attention each year to the widely varying standards applied to media freedom throughout the Pacific region and the wider world.

scholarly journals Treaty-Making in the Pacific in the Nineteenth Century and the Treaty of Waitangi

2004 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Bennion
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
International Law ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Original Text ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Treaty Of Waitangi ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pacific Island Nations

This paper discusses the history of treaty-making between Pacific island nations and European powers during the nineteenth century in order to assess the validity of the Treaty of Waitangi at international law. The author also draws some brief comparisons with treaty-making in Africa. The particular focus of the paper is an assessment of how the colonial powers would have viewed a document such as the Treaty. The conclusion of the paper is that the signatories would have presumed that the Treaty would have serious effect, and would be binding in international law.Editor’s note: This paper was originally written in 1987 as part of the Administrative Law LLM course at Victoria University of Wellington. After it was recently cited with approval in Sir Kenneth Keith's article "Public Law in New Zealand" (2003) 1 New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law 3, it transpired that access to the paper was very limited. Despite its age, and the fact that much scholarship has been done in the intervening time, on the Treaty in particular, the material is still of considerable interest. Some changes have been made to the original text to cater for the passage of time.

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