DOCSLIB.ORG

Current and Future Climate of the Solomon Islands

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Current and Future Climate of the Solomon Islands Ontong Java Atoll Shortland Islands Choiseul South Pacific Ocean Vella Lavella Kolombangara Santa Isabel Ranongga New N Georgia e Sikaiana Atoll w G Rendova Vangunu eo rg ia Malaita Is Russell Islands lan ds HONIARA Guadalcanal Solomon Sea Ugi I. Makira Ndeni Utupua Rennell Vanikoro Is. Current and future climate of the Solomon Islands > Solomon Islands Meteorological Service > Australian Bureau of Meteorology > Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Current climate of the Solomon Islands Temperatures in the Solomon Islands are relatively constant throughout the occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean year with only very small changes from season to season. Across the Solomon and affects weather around the world. Islands temperatures are strongly tied to changes in the surrounding ocean There are two extreme phases of the temperature. The country has two distinct seasons – a wet season from El Niño-Southern Oscillation: El Niño November to April and a dry season from May to October (Figure 1). and La Niña. There is also a neutral phase. El Niño events bring warmer, Honiara has a very marked wet season thunderstorm activity. The South Pacific drier wet season conditions, while when on average almost 70% of the Convergence Zone extends across the La Niña events usually bring cooler, yearly total rain falls. In the dry season Pacific Ocean from the Solomon Islands wetter wet seasons. The impact is (May to October) on average about to the Cook Islands. The Intertropical stronger in Santa Cruz than in Honiara. 100 mm falls per month compared to Convergence Zone extends across upwards of 300 mm in wet season the Pacific just north of the equator months. Further to the east, Santa (Figure 2). The West Pacific Monsoon extreme Cruz receives more constant rainfall also influences rainfall in the Solomon weather events during the year, averaging between Islands. The monsoon is driven by Tropical cyclones result in 280 mm and 420 mm per month. large differences in temperature flooding and wind damage in between the land and the ocean, and Rainfall in the Solomon Islands is the Solomon Islands. There its arrival usually brings a switch from affected by the movement of the have been severe floods on very dry to very wet conditions. South Pacific Convergence Zone and Guadalcanal, Malaita, Makira the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The climate of the Solomon Islands and Santa Isabel in recent These bands of heavy rainfall are varies considerably from year to year years with a number of lives caused by air rising over warm water due to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. lost, and severe damage to where winds converge, resulting in This is a natural climate pattern that agriculture and infrastructure. Maximum temperature Average temperature Minimum temperature Sea surface temperature 35 35 35 500 Honiara, Solomon Islands, 159.97ºE, 9.42ºS 500 Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands, 165.80°E, 10.70°S 400 400 30 30 300 300 25 25 200 200 Temperature (ºC) Temperature (ºC) Monthly rainfall (mm) Monthly rainfall (mm) 20 20 100 100 0 0 15 15 Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan Apr Jul Oct Figure 1: Seasonal rainfall and temperature at Honiara and Santa Cruz. 2 N H o N 20 o Federated States of Micronesia Palau Marshall Islands o n e I n t e r t r o p i c a l C o n v e r g e n c e Z Kiribati 10 o W a Nauru 0 r m p Tra de W inds o o l S o Papua New Guinea u M o t h Tu valu n Solomon Islands S s o P o East Timor o n a c i f i c C o n v e Samoa r g Vanuatu Fiji e n Niue c e S 10 Z o o To nga Cook Islands n e S 20 H o 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 30 Kilometres o E E E E E E E W W W W o o o o o o o o o o o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 180 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 16 15 14 Figure 2: The average positions of the major climate features in November to April. The arrows show near surface winds, the blue shading represents the bands of rainfall convergence zones, the dashed oval shows the West Pacific Warm Pool and H represents typical positions of moving high pressure systems. 6 Tropical Tropical cyclones 11-yr moving average 5 cyclones 4 Tropical cyclones affect the Solomon Islands between 3 November and April. In the 2 41-year period between 1969 and 2010, 41 tropical cyclones 1 passed within 400 km of Number of tropical cyclones 0 Honiara, an average of one cyclone per season (Figure 3). 1969/701971/72 1973/74 1975/76 1977/78 1979/80 1981/82 1983/84 1985/86 1987/88 1989/90 1991/92 1993/94 1995/96 1997/98 1999/00 2001/02 2003/04 2005/06 2007/08 2009/10 The number of cyclones varies widely from year to year, with Figure 3: Number of tropical cyclones passing within 400 km of Honiara. none in some seasons but up Eleven-year moving average in purple. to five in others. Over the period 1969–2010, cyclones occured more frequently in El Niño years. 3 Changing climate of the Solomon Islands Temperatures No rainfall change Instruments mounted on satellites and tide gauges are used to measure sea have increased Data for Honiara since 1950 level. Satellite data indicate the sea level show no clear trends in annual or has risen near the Solomon Islands Annual maximum and minimum seasonal rainfall. Over this period, by about 8 mm per year since 1993. temperatures have increased in Honiara there has been substantial variation This is larger than the global average since 1951 (Figure 4). Maximum in rainfall from year to year. of 2.8–3.6 mm per year. This higher temperatures have increased at a rate of rate of rise may be partly related to 0.15°C per decade since 1951. These natural fluctuations that take place year temperature increases are consistent Sea level has risen to year or decade to decade caused with the global pattern of warming. As ocean water warms it expands by phenomena such as the El Niño- causing the sea level to rise. The Southern Oscillation. This variation in melting of glaciers and ice sheets sea level can be seen in Figure 7 which also contributes to sea-level rise. includes the tide gauge record since 28.5 El Niño La Niña 1974 and satellite data since 1993. 28 Ocean acidification 27.5 has been increasing 27 emperature (ºC) T About one quarter of the carbon dioxide 26.5 emitted from human activities each year is absorbed by the oceans. As the 26 Average extra carbon dioxide reacts with sea 25.5 water it causes the ocean to become slightly more acidic. This impacts 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 the growth of corals and organisms Year that construct their skeletons from Figure 4: Annual average temperature for Honiara. Light blue bars indicate carbonate minerals. These species are El Niño years, dark blue bars indicate La Niña years and the grey bars critical to the balance of tropical reef indicate neutral years. ecosystems. Data show that since the 18th century the level of ocean 4000 El Niño La Niña acidification has been slowly increasing 3500 in the Solomon Islands’ waters. 3000 2500 2000 Rainfall (mm) 1500 1000 500 0 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Year Figure 5: Annual rainfall for Honiara. Light blue bars indicate El Niño years, dark blue bars indicate La Niña years and the grey bars indicate neutral years. Coastal village of Lilisiana, Malaita Province. 4 Future climate of the Solomon Islands Climate impacts almost all aspects of life in the Solomon Islands. Understanding the possible future climate of the Solomon Islands is important so people and the government can plan for changes. How do scientists develop climate projections? Global climate models are the best tools or scenarios, in climate models. The for understanding future climate change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Climate models are mathematical Change (IPCC) developed a series of representations of the climate system plausible scenarios based on a set of that require very powerful computers. assumptions about future population They are based on the laws of physics changes, economic development and 2090 and include information about the technological advances. For example, 800 atmosphere, ocean, land and ice. the A1B (or medium) emissions scenario envisages global population peaking 2055 700 There are many different global climate 600 mid-century and declining thereafter, 2030 tion (ppm) models and they all represent the a r very rapid economic growth, and t climate slightly differently. Scientists 1990 500 n rapid introduction of new and more e from the Pacific Climate Change 400 c efficient technologies. Greenhouse on Science Program (PCCSP) have C 300 gas and aerosol emissions scenarios 2 evaluated 24 models from around O are used in climate modelling to the world and found that 18 best C provide projections that represent represent the climate of the western Figure 6: Carbon dioxide (CO ) a range of possible futures. 2 tropical Pacific region. These 18 models concentrations (parts per million, ppm) have been used to develop climate The climate projections for the associated with three IPCC emissions projections for the Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands are based on three scenarios: low emissions (B1 – blue), IPCC emissions scenarios: low (B1), medium emissions (A1B – green) and The future climate will be determined medium (A1B) and high (A2), for time high emissions (A2 – purple).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Food Security and Asset Creation in Solomon Islands: Gender and the Political Economy of Agricultural Production for Honiara Central Market
    PORTAL Journal of RESEARCH ARTICLE Multidisciplinary Food Security and Asset Creation in Solomon International Studies Islands: Gender and the Political Economy of Vol. 16, No. 1/2 2019 Agricultural Production for Honiara Central Market Nichole Georgeou1, Charles Hawksley2, James Monks3, Melina Ki’i4 © 2019 by the author(s). This 1 Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI), Western Sydney University is an Open Access article 2 University of Wollongong distributed under the terms 3 HADRI, Western Sydney University of the Creative Commons 4 HADRI, Western Sydney University Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/ Corresponding author: Associate Professor Nichole Georgeou, Humanitarian and Development by/4.0/), allowing third parties Research Initiative (HADRI), Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751, to copy and redistribute the Australia. Email: [email protected] material in any medium or format and to remix, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5130/portalv16i1/2.6542 transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even Article History: Received 04/04/2019; Revised 13/08/2019; Accepted 16/08/2019; Published commercially, provided the 13/11/2019 original work is properly cited and states its license. Citation: Georgeou, N., Abstract Hawksley, C., Monks, J. and Ki'i, M. 2019. Food This article presents data from a 2017 survey of vendors selling fresh produce at the Honiara Security and Asset Creation in Solomon Islands: Gender Central Market (HCM) over a twelve-week period from July–September. It aims to and the Political Economy understand the economic contribution of vendors, and in particular of producer-vendors, of Agricultural Production to their communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Shell Money and Trading Networks of the Langalanga, Malaita Province, Solomon Islands
    17th CONGRESS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION TAIPEI, SEPTEMBER 14, 2002 Session 9: 'Trade, Value and Valuables in the Indo-Pacific Realm' Trading ‘Money’: Shell Money and Trading Networks of the Langalanga, Malaita Province, Solomon Islands Pei-yi Guo Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan [email protected] Abstract This paper aims to reconstruct the regional trading networks related to the Langalanga production of ‘shell money’, a kind of local currency in many societies in Island Melanesia, and explore the social impacts of such trade. Shell money is made of strings of shell beads and has been used for a long time in Island Melanesia as a bride wealth, payment for compensation, and medium for trade. Though there were several production centers in the past, today, the major production center in the Solomon Islands is now in the Langalanga Lagoon, Malaita Province. The Langalanga people subsist mainly through root crop cultivation, as well as through fishing and wage labor. Their major cash income, however, depends on manufacturing shell money. Although the state currency is used in most transactions, shell money is still used for ritual purposes and as ornaments among some Solomon Islanders. The Langalanga used to trade their products of shell money with people in the Solomon Sea, including Malaita Island, Guadalcanal, Nggela, Ysabel, Makira, and (in the past) Bougainville. After describing how shell money is made and used, I will examine the possible orientation of the shell-money industry in Langalanga in oral history, including the legends of how shell money was introduced to the area, and how it was adopted and flourished.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethnography of Ontong Java and Tasman Islands with Remarks Re: the Marqueen and Abgarris Islands
    PACIFIC STUDIES Vol. 9, No. 3 July 1986 ETHNOGRAPHY OF ONTONG JAVA AND TASMAN ISLANDS WITH REMARKS RE: THE MARQUEEN AND ABGARRIS ISLANDS by R. Parkinson Translated by Rose S. Hartmann, M.D. Introduced and Annotated by Richard Feinberg Kent State University INTRODUCTION The Polynesian outliers for years have held a special place in Oceanic studies. They have figured prominently in discussions of Polynesian set- tlement from Thilenius (1902), Churchill (1911), and Rivers (1914) to Bayard (1976) and Kirch and Yen (1982). Scattered strategically through territory generally regarded as either Melanesian or Microne- sian, they illustrate to varying degrees a merging of elements from the three great Oceanic culture areas—thus potentially illuminating pro- cesses of cultural diffusion. And as small bits of land, remote from urban and administrative centers, they have only relatively recently experienced the sustained European contact that many decades earlier wreaked havoc with most islands of the “Polynesian Triangle.” The last of these characteristics has made the outliers particularly attractive to scholars interested in glimpsing Polynesian cultures and societies that have been but minimally influenced by Western ideas and Pacific Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3—July 1986 1 2 Pacific Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3—July 1986 accoutrements. For example, Tikopia and Anuta in the eastern Solo- mons are exceptional in having maintained their traditional social structures, including their hereditary chieftainships, almost entirely intact. And Papua New Guinea’s three Polynesian outliers—Nukuria, Nukumanu, and Takuu—may be the only Polynesian islands that still systematically prohibit Christian missionary activities while proudly maintaining important elements of their old religions.
    [Show full text]
  • Vol. XIV, No. 2, March, 1951 277 This Report, a Supplement to an Earlier One1, on the Bees of the Solomon Islands Has Been Occas
    Vol. XIV, No. 2, March, 1951 277 Additional Notes on the Bees of the Solomon Islands (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) By KARL V. KROMBEIN BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY AND PLANT QUARANTINE, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE This report, a supplement to an earlier one1, on the bees of the Solomon Islands has been occasioned by the study of material in the collections of the California Academy of Sciences [CAS] and Museum of Comparative Zoology [MCZ] kindly made available by E. S. Ross and J. C. Bequaert, respectively. The diligent collecting on several of these islands during the war by G. E. Bohart has resulted in the present re cording of several forms previously unknown from the group, some new and some adventive from other regions. The material at hand has been extensive enough to enable me to present keys, complete or nearly so, to the species of Megachile and Halictus, the two largest genera of bees in the Solomons. The bee fauna now known to be present in the Solomons is listed be low (an asterisk denotes an endemic or supposedly endemic species). The honey bee, Apis mellifera L., has not been taken in the Solomons, though it occurs on several of the other islands in the Pacific. COLLETIDAE *Palaeorhiza tetraxantha (Cockerell). Guadalcanal, Russell and Florida HALICTIDAE Halictus (Indohalictus) dampieri Cockerell. Florida and Guadalcanal Halictus (Indohalictus) zingowli Cheesman and Perkins. Santa Cruz Islands, Guadal canal and Bougainville ♦Halictus (Indohalictus) froggatti Cockerell. Guadalcanal Halictus (Homalictus) fijiensis Perkins and Cheesman. San Cristobal ^Halictus (Homalictus) viridiscitus Cockerell. Florida *Halictus (Homalictus) exterus Cockerell. Florida and Guadalcanal *Halictus (Homalictus) pseudexterus sp.
    [Show full text]
  • Land and Maritime Connectivity Project: Road Component Initial
    Land and Maritime Connectivity Project (RRP SOL 53421-001) Initial Environmental Examination Project No. 53421-001 Status: Draft Date: August 2020 Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project – Multitranche Financing Facility Road Component Prepared by Ministry of Infrastructure Development This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the ADB’s Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to any particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project Road Component – Initial Environmental Examination Table of Contents Abbreviations iv Executive Summary v 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background to the Project 1 1.2 Scope of the Environmental Assessment 5 2 Legal and Institutional Framework 6 2.1 Legal and Planning Framework 6 2.1.1 Country safeguard system 6 2.1.2 Other legislation supporting the CSS 7 2.1.3 Procedures for implementing the CSS 9 2.2 National Strategy and Plans 10 2.3 Safeguard Policy Statement 11 3 Description of the Subprojects 12 3.1 Location and Existing Conditions – SP-R1 12 3.1.1 Existing alignment 12 3.1.2 Identified issues and constraints 14 3.2 Location and Existing Conditions – SP-R5 15 3.2.1 Location
    [Show full text]
  • Internal Tides in the Solomon Sea in Contrasted ENSO Conditions
    Ocean Sci., 16, 615–635, 2020 https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-615-2020 © Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Internal tides in the Solomon Sea in contrasted ENSO conditions Michel Tchilibou1, Lionel Gourdeau1, Florent Lyard1, Rosemary Morrow1, Ariane Koch Larrouy1, Damien Allain1, and Bughsin Djath2 1Laboratoire d’Etude en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (LEGOS), Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France 2Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck-Straße 1, Geesthacht, Germany Correspondence: Michel Tchilibou ([email protected]), Lionel Gourdeau ([email protected]), Florent Lyard (fl[email protected]), Rosemary Morrow ([email protected]), Ariane Koch Larrouy ([email protected]), Damien Allain ([email protected]), and Bughsin Djath ([email protected]) Received: 1 August 2019 – Discussion started: 26 September 2019 Revised: 31 March 2020 – Accepted: 2 April 2020 – Published: 15 May 2020 Abstract. Intense equatorward western boundary currents the tidal effects over a longer time. However, when averaged transit the Solomon Sea, where active mesoscale structures over the Solomon Sea, the tidal effect on water mass transfor- exist with energetic internal tides. In this marginal sea, the mation is an order of magnitude less than that observed at the mixing induced by these features can play a role in the ob- entrance and exits of the Solomon Sea. These localized sites served water mass transformation. The objective of this paper appear crucial for diapycnal mixing, since most of the baro- is to document the M2 internal tides in the Solomon Sea and clinic tidal energy is generated and dissipated locally here, their impacts on the circulation and water masses, based on and the different currents entering/exiting the Solomon Sea two regional simulations with and without tides.
    [Show full text]
  • Malaita Province
    Environmental Assessment Document Project Number: 46014 June 2013 Solomon Islands: Provincial Renewable Energy Project Fiu River Hydropower Project – Malaita Province Initial Environmental Examination The Initial Environmental Examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB’s Board of Directors, Management or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank AMNH American Museum of Natural History BMP Building Material Permit CBSI Central Bank of Solomon Islands CDM Clean development mechanism CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species DSC Design and supervision consultant EA Executing agency ECD Environment and Conservation Division (of MECDM) EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EIS Environmental Impact Statement EHSG Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines (of World Bank Group) EMP Environmental Management Plan EPC Engineer Procure and Construct ESP Environmental Sector Policy FRI National Forest Resources Inventory GDP Gross Domestic Product GFP Grievance focal point GNI Gross National Income GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism HDPE High density polyethylene HDR Human Development Report HSP Health and Safety
    [Show full text]
  • Human-Crocodile Conflict in Solomon Islands
    Human-crocodile conflict in Solomon Islands In partnership with Human-crocodile conflict in Solomon Islands Authors Jan van der Ploeg, Francis Ratu, Judah Viravira, Matthew Brien, Christina Wood, Melvin Zama, Chelcia Gomese and Josef Hurutarau. Citation This publication should be cited as: Van der Ploeg J, Ratu F, Viravira J, Brien M, Wood C, Zama M, Gomese C and Hurutarau J. 2019. Human-crocodile conflict in Solomon Islands. Penang, Malaysia: WorldFish. Program Report: 2019-02. Photo credits Front cover, Eddie Meke; page 5, 11, 20, 21 and 24 Jan van der Ploeg/WorldFish; page 7 and 12, Christina Wood/ WorldFish; page 9, Solomon Star; page 10, Tessa Minter/Leiden University; page 22, Tingo Leve/WWF; page 23, Brian Taupiri/Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation. Acknowledgments This survey was made possible through the Asian Development Bank’s technical assistance on strengthening coastal and marine resources management in the Pacific (TA 7753). We are grateful for the support of Thomas Gloerfelt-Tarp, Hanna Uusimaa, Ferdinand Reclamado and Haezel Barber. The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) initiated the survey. We specifically would like to thank Agnetha Vave-Karamui, Trevor Maeda and Ezekiel Leghunau. We also acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), particularly Rosalie Masu, Anna Schwarz, Peter Rex Lausu’u, Stephen Mosese, and provincial fisheries officers Peter Bade (Makira), Thompson Miabule (Choiseul), Frazer Kavali (Isabel), Matthew Isihanua (Malaita), Simeon Baeto (Western Province), Talent Kaepaza and Malachi Tefetia (Central Province). The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force shared information on their crocodile destruction operations and participated in the workshops of the project.
    [Show full text]
  • The Solomon Islands Pacc Ontong Java Pilot Food Securityproject: a Benefit Cost Analysis
    THE SOLOMON ISLANDS PACC ONTONG JAVA PILOT FOOD SECURITYPROJECT: A BENEFIT COST ANALYSIS THE SOLOMON ISLANDS PACC ONTONG JAVA PILOT FOOD SECURITYPROJECT: A BENEFIT COST ANALYSIS Prepared by Andrew McGregor and Casper S Supa June 2012 i THE SOLOMON ISLANDS PACC ONTONG JAVA PILOT FOOD SECURITYPROJECT: A BENEFIT COST ANALYSIS Contents THE SOLOMON ISLANDS PACC ONTONG JAVA PILOT FOOD SECURITYPROJECT: A BENEFIT COST ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................. i Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iii List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vi The Problem ................................................................................................................................... 1 Climate change and food security on the Solomon Islands densely populated atolls .............. 1 The meaning of food security in the context of Solomon Islands atolls .................................... 1 The specific impact of climate on the local availability of food ................................................. 2 The changing food security situation on Ontong Java ..............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Sociological Factors in Reefs-Santa Cruz Language Vitality: a 40 Year Retrospective
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by RERO DOC Digital Library Sociological factors in Reefs-Santa Cruz language vitality: a 40 year retrospective BRENDA H. BOERGER, ÅSHILD NÆSS, ANDERS VAA, RACHEL EMERINE, and ANGELA HOOVER Abstract This article looks back over 40 years of language and culture change in the region of the Solomon Islands where the four Reefs-Santa Cruz (RSC) lan- guages are spoken. Taking the works of Davenport and Wurm as a starting point, we list specific linguistic changes we have identified and discuss the so- ciological factors which have both promoted and undermined the vitality of these languages. We then determine the level of vitality for each language through the recently proposed Extended Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale — EGIDS (Lewis and Simons 2010), and based on our results for the RSC languages, we provide a short evaluation of the usefulness of EGIDS for prioritizing language documentation efforts. Keywords: Solomon Islands; Solomon Islands Pijin; Reefs-Santa Cruz; Natügu; Nalögo; Nagu; Äiwoo; EGIDS; language documenta- tion; language vitality. 1. Introduction Forty years ago, two authors wrote extensively about the anthropological and linguistic situation in the RSC language communities. Davenport (1962, 1964, 1975, 2005) described the cultural and sociological properties of both the Santa Cruz and Reef Islands cultures, Figure 1, including a description of trade rela- tionships within the Santa Cruz archipelago. At the same time Wurm (1969, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1978) analyzed the linguistic characteristics of the RSC languages. In his later work, Wurm (1991, 1992a, 1992b, 2000, 2002, 2003) also discussed language vitality in the region.
    [Show full text]
  • Solomon Islands
    Climate Risk and Adaptation Country Profile April 2011 N Ontong Java Atol Choiseul Malloco Bay Santa Isabel Buala New Yiru Georgia Auki Malaita Harbour Honiara Guadalcanal Kirakira Elevation San Nendo meters above sea-level Cristobal Lata 7088 m Bellona Rennell Utupua Vanikolo -416 m Key to Map Symbols Capital City/Town 0 50 100 200 Kilometers Vulnerability, Risk Reduction, and Adaptation to CLIMATE Climate Change DISASTER RISK ADAPTATION REDUCTION SOLOMON ISLANDS Climate Change Team ENV t Solomon Climate Risk and Adaptation Country Profiles Islands COUNTRY OVERVIEW The Solomon Islands are an archipelago located in the Melanesian region of the Pacific, south-east of Papua New Guinea. The Archipelago consists of 992 small islands that cover approximately 27,000 square kilometers (km2), and a sea area of 1.35 million km2 dispersed between 7 and 12 degrees south of the equator and 156 and 170 degrees longitude. Considered the “Amazon of the Seas”, the country’s 30.00 expansive area covers a unique geographical environment of atolls, mountains, and salt-water 25.00 Thousands lagoons, and has one of the world’s richest marine diversity, including 75% of the known coral species, 20.00 more than 30% of the world’s coral reefs, 40% of the 15.00 coral reef species, and the largest mangrove forest in km2 the world1. Of the 523,170 inhabitants, most live in 10.00 rural areas (~80%)2, in contrast to the rest of East Asia and the Pacific (with rural populations of 60%). 5.00 Agriculture, forestry, and fishing are the mainstay of the economy, with agriculture contributing nearly 0.00 36% of GDP in 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • (V&A) Assessment for Ontong Java Atoll, Solomon Islands
    PACC TECHNICAL REPORT 4 JUNE 2014 Vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessment for Ontong Java Atoll, Solomon Islands SPREP LIBRARY/IRC CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessment for Ontong Java Atoll, Solomon Islands. Apia, Samoa : SPREP, 2014. p. cm. (PACC Technical Report No.4) ISSN 2312-8224 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme authorises the reproduction of this material, whole or in part, provided appropriate acknowledgement is given. SPREP, PO Box 240, Apia, Samoa T: +685 21929 F: +685 20231 E: [email protected] W: www.sprep.org This publication is also available electronically from SPREP’s website: www.sprep.org SPREP Vision: The Pacific environment, sustaining our livelihoods and natural heritage in harmony with our cultures. www.sprep.org PACC TECHNICAL REPORT 4 JUNE 2014 Vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessment for Ontong Java Atoll, Solomon Islands TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v ABBREVIATIONS vii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. BACKGROUND 3 2.1. Natural and human systems of Ontong Java Atoll 4 2.1.1. Vegetation 4 2.1.2. The marine ecosystem 4 2.1.3. People and land systems 5 2.2. Current climate and sea level 6 2.2.1. Temperature and rainfall 6 2.2.2. Extreme events 7 2.2.3. Sea level 8 2.3. Climate and sea level projections 9 2.3.1. Temperature and rainfall projections 9 2.3.2. Sea level projections 11 2.4. Climate change impacts 11 3. THE ASSESSMENT AND ITS OBJECTIVES 12 4. METHODOLOGY 12 4.1. Household survey 13 4.1.1.
    [Show full text]