Living on the Edge of Climate Change

The sinking island of Fanalei STANDING outside his home at Fouele settlement, Fredrick Maeaba gazes across the calm waters of Port Adam passage in the southern region of Malaita. His eyes were fixed on Fanalei Island, located some four kilometres across the waters. He was once a resident on that island. But six years ago […]

The Island Way of Addressing Climate Change

The people of Mbuke Island in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea are making progress through adaption and mitigation efforts to address climate change. The Mbuke islanders have silently suffered the long term effects of climate change, caused by global warming, for over five decades now. With a population of 420, the people have seen and […]

Farms under water

THERE is nothing Rama can do but watch as saltwater slowly creeps up his six and a half-acre sugarcane farm in Varavu, coastal Ba. The 68-year-old said the last time he harvested cane of any real value was three years ago. Every time the tide pulls in, Rama says, another few precious millimetres of what […]

Vetiver grass, a solution to erosion

Vetiver, a deeply rooted grass with tall stems and long thin leaves is considered very effective in controlling coastal erosion in Vanuatu. The Department of Agriculture (DoA), through the Vanuatu Coastal Adaptation Project (VCAP), is introducing vetiver grass to communities to prevent soil erosion from upper land polluting polluting marine lives. Many villages at the […]