Pele and Nguna islands are off-shore islands of Efate, Shefa Province, with the distance between their closest points about 100 metres. Pele with a population of 400 has a land area of 4.3 square kilometres, highest point of 198 metres and with four villages. Nguna is a bigger island with a population of 1,300 (2009 […]
Category: Our region
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 […]
Urban Flooding, a New Threat to the Capital of Solomon Islands
LEADERS of Solomon Islands, a tiny country in the pacific now realise the importance of preparedness to comprehend the impact of climate change and the changing weather pattern. In recent years, climate change has brought in new challenges for the local government and other stakeholders to mitigate. Preparedness was weak and slow though both local […]
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 […]
Best prawn harvest last year for Tagabe aquaculture centre
The Department of Fisheries’ aquaculture centre at Tagabe in Port Vila made one of its best harvests of fresh water prawns last year and earned nearly Vt200,000 from the four months stock. Aquaculture Officer, Andrew William, said their first harvest at the trial centre was in 2011, but last year was one of the best […]
Culturing of tilapia and fresh water prawns to address impact of climate change
The Department of Fisheries through its culture of tilapia and fresh water prawns is reaching out to more farmers in the country to make use of the program for both food security and income generating purposes. Andrew William, Aquaculture Officer of the department of Fisheries says the main reason for the culture of tilapia and […]
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 […]
Vanuatu develops drought-resistant crops in response to climate change
Sweet potato is a stable food for over 70 percent of the Vanuatu population, most from rural areas – where they depend on traditional agriculture to provide for their dietary needs and income. According to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, root crops such as yam, taro, manioc, sweet potato are fundamental to the diet […]
Rebuilding a strong and resilient Vanuatu
Rebuilding lives was a challenge for the cyclone-prone country where people rely on their coast and land for livelihoods. Crops and fish stock may takes years to recover.