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Disasters and Agriculture in the Pacific Islands

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Disasters and Agriculture in the Pacific Islands ISBN: 982-364-006-8 DISASTERS AND AGRICULTURE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS DISASTERS AND AGRICULTURE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS Prepared by Andrew M McGregor with Ian K L McGregor for the South Pacific Disaster Reduction Prograrrune (RAS/92/360) under consultancy arrangements with the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs, New York September 1999 Disasters and agriculture in the Pacific Islands by Andrew M McGregor and Ian K L McGregor Prepared for the South Pacific Disaster Reduction Programme (RAS/92/360) with assistance from the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs, New York Design and Layout by South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) Published by the UNDP through the UN Disaster Management Program - South Pacific Office (UNDMP-SPO) September 1999 ISBN 982-364-006-8 (ii) CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................(v) PREFACE ..............................................................................................................................................(vi) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. (vii) 1. DISASTERS AND PACIFIC ISLAND AGRICULTURE .................................................................. 1 The Pacific island region .....................................................................................................................1 The vulnerability of agriculture in the Pacific to natural disasters ...................................................... 2 The selection of case studies ............................................................................................................. 10 2. DISASTERS AND A~RICULTURE IN POLYNESIA: THE CASE STUDY OF SAMOA ........... 11 The geography and economy of Samoa: a brief sketch ..................................................................... 11 The agricultural environment ............................................................................................................ 13 Disasters in Samoa ............................................................................................................................ 16 Disaster mitigation in Samoa ............................................................................................................ 25 3. DISASTERS AND AGRICULTURE IN FIJI'S OUTER ISLANDS: THE CASE OF KADAVU ... 27 Agriculture and food production in Kadavu ............................................................................. ........27 The impact of natural disasters on Kadavu ............................................................................... ........ 32 Traditional disaster mitigation on Kadavu ...............................................................................…. .. 35 An assessment of the impact of the Fiji Government's cyclone relief programmes on Kadavu's agriculture ..................................................................................................................... 40 The cost of natural disasters to Kadavu's agriculture ........................................................................41 Gross margins for Kadavu's main crops (Annex to Chapter) ............................................................ 46 4. DISASTERS AND AGRICULTURE IN WESTERN MELANESIA: THE CASE OF VANUATU 47 The agriculture of western Melanesia ................................................................................................ 47 The Vanuatu environment ................................................................................................................. 49 Natural disasters in Vanuatu .............................................................................................................. 54 The cost of disasters to Vanuatu's agriculture and economy ............................................................. 58 Traditional disaster mitigation ...........................................................................................................61 Disaster relief and rehabilitation programmes and their impact on agriculture ................................. 64 Projects to enhance self-reliance and food security in the face of disasters ...................................... 66 5. DISASTERS AND AGRICULTURE ON ATOLLS: THE CASE OF TUVALU ............................ 67 Atolls in the Pacific island region ...................................................................................................... 67 The geography of Tuvalu: a summary ............................................................................................... 69 Traditional cyclone mitigation methods ............................................................................................ 76 6. THE VULNERABILITY OF PACIFIC ISLAND AGRICULTURE TO DISASTERS ................... 79 The vulnerability of island communities ........................................................................................... 79 The vulnerability of Pacific island crops and cropping systems ........................................................ 80 Development and vulnerability of the region to natural disasters .....................................................81 The cost of disasters to the agricultural sector and the economy ....................................................... 90 7. RECOMMENDATIONS ON COST-EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF DISASTERS ON THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC 99 Enhancing self reliance and food security in the face of disasters ..................................................... 99 Research requirements ..................................................................................................................... 104 Policies and measures to reduce risk and minimise the impact of disasters on agriculture ............. 106 Capital investment options .............................................................................................................. 107 Crop selection, timetables and distribution ......................................................................................109 Crop insurance .................................................................................................................................109 Improved quarantine surveillance and quarantine disaster response capability .............................. 110 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………………………….…………..113 (iii) List of Maps Map 1 The Region................................................................................................................................…....5 2 Samoa……………………………………………………………………………………..............12 3 Kadavu, Fiji Islands..................................................................................................................…...26 4 Vanuatu……………………………………………………………………..…………………….48 5 Tuvalu.....................................................................................................................................…....69 List of Tables Tables 1 A summary of Pacific island countries and territories …………………………………………..3 2 The vulnerability of Pacific island countries to natural disasters ……………………………….5 3 Household crop production by purpose of production ………………………………………....13 4 Single crop equivalent area of major crops …………………………………………………….15 5 Cyclone Val: damage cost estimates by sector, 1992 ………………………………………….19 6 Taro production recovery after Cyclone Val …………………………………………………...20 7 Official assessment of the financial cost of Cyclone Val to the primary industry sector…….….21 8 Samoa agricultural commodity exports: 1973- 96……………………………….……………...24 9 Real growth rates of Pacific island economies, 1995……………………………….…………..24 10 Kadavu land use and farm structure, 1991………………………………………….………..…28 11 Cropping patterns in Kadavu 1991 and 1978………………………………………………..….29 12 Kadavu Copra Production: 1972-96 ………………………………………………..…….…….30 13 Fruit tree numbers on Kadavu, 1991 ……………………………………………………….…..32 14 The vulnerability of Kadavu's crops to natural disasters: 1973- 97……………………………..36 15 The cost of cyclones to Kadavu agriculture: 1973- 97……………………………………….….42 16 Simulation of the kava losses from a major cyclone striking Kadavu ……………….…….…..43 17 Predicted kava losses from a major severe cyclone striking Kadavu ……………………….….44 18 A simulation of the taro losses from a major cyclone striking Kadavu ………………………..44 19 Projected short-fall in taro consumption after a major cyclone ……………………………..…45 20 Contribution of agricultural sector to Melanesian economies ……………………………….....47 21 Vegetation cover of Vanuatu…………………………………………………………………...50 22 Damage caused by Cyclone Uma ($US million)……………………………………………….59 23 Cyclones, copra, and economic performance: 1981- 1990……………………………………...61 24 Epi planting timetable to maximise food security ……………………………………………...62 25 Atoll states of the Pacific Islands ………………………………………………………………67 26 Atoll location and the incidence of cyclones: 1959- 1975………………………………………68 27 The coconut and its uses in Tuvalu……………………………………………………………..71 28 Reported food crop losses on Niulakita after Cyclone Keli, 1997 ……………………………..76 29 The susceptibility of Pacific island root crops to disasters……………………………………..82 30 The susceptibility of Pacific island tree crops to disasters……………………………………...84 31 The susceptibility of some other major Pacific island crops to disasters……………………….86 32 Official estimates of the cost of damage caused by Cyclone Uma (Vanuatu 1987), Val (Samoa 1991), and Kina
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