A DECADE after building adaptation measures to ensure the rising sea level did not claim its land, villagers of Daku Village in Tailevu are now facing a new challenge. Development committee chairman Olota Rokovunisei said the village of about 400 people had continued to experience first-hand the effects of climate change. “Our challenge now is […]
Category: Our region
Calls for studies into decreasing catches of palolo worms
Over the weekend, dozens of people spent hours at sea to catch a much sought after delicacy known as palolo worms or Samoan palolo worms. The palolo worms (Palola viridis) rise to the surface once a year in the last quarter of the moon in October and November and in the early hours of the […]
EU ready to help Pacific resilience
RESILIENCE agenda and resilience building features prominently in both the European Union humanitarian and development assistance in the country, says EU ambassador to Fiji and the Pacific Andrew Jacobs. Speaking at the Pacific Resilience Week in Suva, Mr Jacobs said the event was significant because it was set to take place a few weeks away […]
Fiji in world’s high risk group
FIJI, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu are among the top 15 highest risk countries in the world because of frequent floods, drought, tropical cyclones, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Speaking at the Global Health Emergency Workforce (GHEW) Country Preparedness workshop last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) technical officer Dr Wendy Snowdon said Pacific […]
Satellite technologies and the fight against illegal fishing in Easter Island
Easter Island is best known for its mysterious Moai statues, which dominate part of the hilly coastline and stare at the horizon like ancient watchmen of the once bountiful ocean. Just beyond the reach of their gaze lies a large stretch of open water, known as the high seas, that provides a vital spawning ground […]
Monitoring changes under the sea from the sky
When Hawaii experienced an unexpected coral bleaching event in the fall of 2014, reef managers went out to see the hardest hit reefs. A response team was sent to Kaneohe Bay, Oahu to survey the effects of thermal stress. Since Hawaiian reefs had only bleached once years before, little was known about how the relatively […]
Underwater Earth and the XL Catlin Seaview Survey
Making impactful, visual indicators of our changing climate isn’t an easy task. Climate change is a gradual process, so it’s difficult to visibly show people what’s happening. Our oceans are changing, but we don’t notice the centimeter waters have risen or the amount they’re acidifying. But coral bleaching and reef decline are capturable: There are […]
Agriculture show in Samoa showcases wide variety of produce
A variety of agricultural and fisheries produce is on display at the two-day Agriculture Show in Apia. The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Laauli Leuatea Polataivao says he is proud of the large variety of produce from around the country. He says as technology changes, farmers are being challenged to be able to understand the […]
Troubled waters ahead for Solomon Islands residents
There are troubled waters ahead for a Polynesia group of people within the Melanesian country of Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. With more than half a million residents, the Solomon Islands is comprised of mostly dark-skinned Melanesian people with a smaller population of fairer skinned Micronesian and Polynesians. As many of these minority populations […]
Landlocked islanders
The amount of water is incomprehensible. We’ve been flying for hours, and just when we’re about as far from a landmass as you can possibly get—a spot where the curving, wave-flecked Pacific Ocean stretches thousands of kilometers in every direction—an island slides into view. It’s no more than a snippet of sand and palm trees, […]