E Toe Sasa'a Le Fafao; Return to Paradise

<p>Following the devastating tsunami of 2009 in Samoa many villages on the south coast of the main island Upolu were left in ruins, one such site is the heritage rich village of Sa’anapu. Five years on, the coastal front village is still in a state of ruin and the imminent risk of future tsunami have seen the relocation of families inland; away from the sea, the resourceful mangrove and their historically significant Fale Tele that once housed their ancestors. Many families who have rebuilt inland have inevitably abandoned their traditionally constructed homes on the beach front and opted for western influenced dwellings. This is due to high costs, traditional skill shortage and an underlying notion of the western influence that impedes small pacific island nations today. Although the increasing foreign aid being injected into the country for community development is a positive move to rebuilding villages they bring a western architectural typology. With this comes an alarming decline in the traditional Samoan craft of construction, spatial constructs and ultimately the desire of the youth to retain their built heritage. This design research argues that the rebuild process in devastated villages after a natural disaster presents a design opportunity to retain cultural practices in particular for a community in a heritage rich village. It also argues that culturally adapted and environmentally considerate design is vital in re-invigorating a displaced community but also encourages future sustainable development- culturally, economically and environmentally. The research tests a multi-disciplinary framework of environmental science and anthropology to inform the architecture of a hybrid master-guild carpentry and tattooing school. The scientific approach seeks to mitigate the risks and vulnerability of the site in relation to the natural environment whereas the anthropological approach has been the direct involvement of the Sa’anapu people through a sharing of knowledge, stories and aspirations for the future their village.</p>

E Toe Sasa'a Le Fafao; Return to Paradise

<p>Following the devastating tsunami of 2009 in Samoa many villages on the south coast of the main island Upolu were left in ruins, one such site is the heritage rich village of Sa’anapu. Five years on, the coastal front village is still in a state of ruin and the imminent risk of future tsunami have seen the relocation of families inland; away from the sea, the resourceful mangrove and their historically significant Fale Tele that once housed their ancestors. Many families who have rebuilt inland have inevitably abandoned their traditionally constructed homes on the beach front and opted for western influenced dwellings. This is due to high costs, traditional skill shortage and an underlying notion of the western influence that impedes small pacific island nations today. Although the increasing foreign aid being injected into the country for community development is a positive move to rebuilding villages they bring a western architectural typology. With this comes an alarming decline in the traditional Samoan craft of construction, spatial constructs and ultimately the desire of the youth to retain their built heritage. This design research argues that the rebuild process in devastated villages after a natural disaster presents a design opportunity to retain cultural practices in particular for a community in a heritage rich village. It also argues that culturally adapted and environmentally considerate design is vital in re-invigorating a displaced community but also encourages future sustainable development- culturally, economically and environmentally. The research tests a multi-disciplinary framework of environmental science and anthropology to inform the architecture of a hybrid master-guild carpentry and tattooing school. The scientific approach seeks to mitigate the risks and vulnerability of the site in relation to the natural environment whereas the anthropological approach has been the direct involvement of the Sa’anapu people through a sharing of knowledge, stories and aspirations for the future their village.</p>

Solar Photovoltaics in Pacific Island Nations: An Analysis of Rural Household Electrification Strategies in the RMI and Vanuatu

<p>Rural electrification of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) through renewable energy is necessary for poverty alleviation, energy security, improved health, and to mitigate the effects of climate change, with solar PV being the preferred technological solution. However, electrification projects in PICs have had a high rate of failure, which has led to the adoption of various electrification strategies. This research has analysed the essential criteria for creating effective and enduring electrification models for rural household-scale electrification in PICs. A case study on self-initiated solar PV home systems (SHSs) demonstrated rural end-users‘ ability and desire to maintain SHSs of their own accord, while at the same time liberating their community of reliance on kerosene. The results suggested that market solutions that pay sufficient attention to social dimensions of project design and implementation are more likely to be successful in meeting end-users needs and providing enduring results. Such approaches have fewer organizational layers, allow for end-user participation and education, and encourage self-initiative. The need for such social solutions is well documented in the development literature, yet many of the electrification programs in PICs did not allocate sufficient funds to understanding and incorporating these social aspects. This research concludes that a proper balance in the overarching program design between the technical and social focus of projects is required, as each are equally important for project effectiveness and durability.</p>

Solar Photovoltaics in Pacific Island Nations: An Analysis of Rural Household Electrification Strategies in the RMI and Vanuatu

<p>Rural electrification of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) through renewable energy is necessary for poverty alleviation, energy security, improved health, and to mitigate the effects of climate change, with solar PV being the preferred technological solution. However, electrification projects in PICs have had a high rate of failure, which has led to the adoption of various electrification strategies. This research has analysed the essential criteria for creating effective and enduring electrification models for rural household-scale electrification in PICs. A case study on self-initiated solar PV home systems (SHSs) demonstrated rural end-users‘ ability and desire to maintain SHSs of their own accord, while at the same time liberating their community of reliance on kerosene. The results suggested that market solutions that pay sufficient attention to social dimensions of project design and implementation are more likely to be successful in meeting end-users needs and providing enduring results. Such approaches have fewer organizational layers, allow for end-user participation and education, and encourage self-initiative. The need for such social solutions is well documented in the development literature, yet many of the electrification programs in PICs did not allocate sufficient funds to understanding and incorporating these social aspects. This research concludes that a proper balance in the overarching program design between the technical and social focus of projects is required, as each are equally important for project effectiveness and durability.</p>

Weaving Niche Production into Pacific Economies: The Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts of FIJI Water on Local Communities

<p>This research explores the pursuit of 'economies of niche' in the Pacific region and the local social, economic and environmental impacts it entails. In the 1980s, Pacific nations adopted the neoliberal ideology as a means to stimulate economic growth and rehabilitate their vulnerable economies. However, this has brought significant challenges. Among other things, Pacific nations face problems regarding the tyranny to distance markets, lack of economies of scale, and the scarcity of investment. Niche production has been recommended as a way to counteract such problems. By adopting the niche model, Pacific Island nations are encouraged to craft products based on the region‘s unique imagery as a means of achieving a distinctive market position based on geographically differentiated production. Although Pacific nations have been encouraged to pursue economies of niche, the influence and impact of this method, particularly at a local scale, remains critically unexplored. To address this, the case-study of Fiji and one of its most 'successful' globalised niche exporters FIJI Water – a multinational bottled water company – will be explored. This work critically explains and criticises the global success of FIJI Water at the macro-scale. Through village based case-studies of the social, environmental and environmental impacts of FIJI Water‘s export success an analysis of the local implications of niche production in the Pacific is also offered.</p>

Weaving Niche Production into Pacific Economies: The Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts of FIJI Water on Local Communities

<p>This research explores the pursuit of 'economies of niche' in the Pacific region and the local social, economic and environmental impacts it entails. In the 1980s, Pacific nations adopted the neoliberal ideology as a means to stimulate economic growth and rehabilitate their vulnerable economies. However, this has brought significant challenges. Among other things, Pacific nations face problems regarding the tyranny to distance markets, lack of economies of scale, and the scarcity of investment. Niche production has been recommended as a way to counteract such problems. By adopting the niche model, Pacific Island nations are encouraged to craft products based on the region‘s unique imagery as a means of achieving a distinctive market position based on geographically differentiated production. Although Pacific nations have been encouraged to pursue economies of niche, the influence and impact of this method, particularly at a local scale, remains critically unexplored. To address this, the case-study of Fiji and one of its most 'successful' globalised niche exporters FIJI Water – a multinational bottled water company – will be explored. This work critically explains and criticises the global success of FIJI Water at the macro-scale. Through village based case-studies of the social, environmental and environmental impacts of FIJI Water‘s export success an analysis of the local implications of niche production in the Pacific is also offered.</p>

Winner and Loser in Terms of the FTAs and the Trade War: Case Study of the Japanese Market

The US raised trade war issues under protecting national security against China in July 2018. Likewise, the trade war has spread out across other regions such as India, the EU, Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Turkey through an additional tariff on products such as steel and aluminum. Clearly, the uncertainty has shown an increase since this friction created a pessimistic environment for the future world economy and did hurt economic development. Therefore, it has had negative effects for welfare -especially those (low-income consumers) who prefer to buy cheap imported goods. Contrary to protectionism, Japan has signed new FTAs with the EU and the US. In that context, this paper quantitatively examines the Japanese new FTAs under the trade war. It employs the general equilibrium approaches to not only investigate the economic structure of each country trade flow but also address the FTAs and the impacts of the welfare and sectoral value chains of the trade war. Essentially, the paper scenarios depend on the official list of the FTAs and the trade war-related goods. As a result of the FTAs under the trade war, the new Japanese trade agreements have provided some opportunities for its market as well as targeted countries. For instance, the Japanese benefit from the EU-Japan FTA would be $4.11 billion U.S.D. and the EU would gain $768 million U.S.D. within the 15-year. Moreover, the US not only would get a huge advance but also could get back its export market share from Pacific island nations in Japan when Japan would eliminate the tariff on concerned sectors for the US goods. For example, the US and Japan would improve their welfare by $4.09 billion U.S.D. and $398 million U.S.D., respectively through the limited USA-Japan FTA. That is, the US market would comparatively earn much more than Japan. Lastly, those who participate in the FTAs would boost their GDP, welfare, and value-added (productivity). For example, not only would Japan provide some opportunities for its market and then enhance its welfare and GDP, but also the EU and the US would boost their macro variables. However, from the perspective of the other regions/countries, those regions/countries which are not in the trade deal could lose their export market share in Japan, the US, and the UE and would, therefore, have a negative impact on their GDP and welfare.

Development and Implementation of Pacific Wide Telehealth Services in Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology, as a sub-speciality in medicine, has been widely developed across the Pacific Nations during the last decade as a result of ‘hub’ training in Suva, Fiji. Professional isolation for trained pacific gastroenterologists has remained an issue due to the high cost of travel, limited in-country workforce, and recently COVID-19 border closures. Whereas Telehealth solutions have been used for decades across many Pacific Island Nations as a means to improve the clinical outcomes in Pacific Island patients, only recently has this technology been cleverly adopted in fostering education and skill development in Pacific gastroenterology. In this paper, we describe the evolution of these various methods and discuss their use and adaptation in various clinical situations. Herein we consider the future of telehealth programs and the potential for positive impact on Pacific Island healthcare.