Tuo Climate Change Study Report
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TUO CLIMATE CHANGE STUDY REPORT Lawrence Nodua © June 2010 _____________________________________________________________________________ Acknowledgement: UNESCO France Office for financial support, Ben Angoa (Research Assistant), John Selwyn Nokali (Paramount chief of TUO Community, leaders, those who interviewed and the entire TUO community Populace who in one way or the other contributed to the success of this research. Contents. 1. Introduction 2. Research Methodology 3. Environments 4. Fishing 5. Harvesting & Food Security 6. Weather Pattern 7. Fresh Water 8. Sea level & Coastal Erosion 9. Stories 10. Summary 11. Map of Solomon Islands 12. Map of Temotu Province 13. Recommendation 1. Introduction Tuo is the name of the village located in the remote Islands of Reef Islands in the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands. The community has a population of more than 1000 people most of whom a subsistence farmers and fishermen. Women also play a big role in the community as food gatherers and gardeners. To date the community is loosing half of the Islands as a result of the climate change that continue to affect our small islands in the pacific region. The community’s livelihood depends very much on sea resources whilst the limited mass of land it has supplements other income generating and other entrepreneurship activities. Tuo is one of the villages located in the Fenualoa ward of Reef Islands in the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands. Temotu Province is made up of 3 main Islands, namely Santa Cruz (Nendo), Vanikoro and Utupua, and a number of smaller Islands, which include the Reef Islands, Duff Islands (Taumako), Tinakula (active volcano), Tikopia, Anuta and Fataka. The Reef Islands includes the main Islands of Lomlom, Fenualoa and its adjacent Islands and the outlying atolls of Matema, Nukapu, Nupani, Pileni and Nifiloli. These group of Islands are widely scattered some 350 km east of the main Solomon Islands chain and located approximately between latitudes 9 degrees 45 Celsius – 12 degrees 30 Celsius and longitude 165degress While there are unique differences between the islands in terms of their topography, most are of volcanic origin and have steep and rugged topography. The major exception is the Reef Islands with its outer Islands, which is a group of low coral terraces, sand cays and reefs, and the raised reef terraces of western Santa Cruz. The majority of the population of Temotu is concerned in Nende and Pele constituencies. In the Reef Islands and its outlying atolls, the population is more or less equally distributed in all parts of the Islands because of their small size. Internal migration and resettlement within the province has increased within the last two decades. The migration shift is from the smaller Islands of Reef Islands and its outlying atolls, Duff Islands, Tikopia and to a lesser extent Anuta, to the larger islands of Santa Cruz, Utupua and Vanikoro. The relatively high population density of the smaller Islands, especially Reef Islands, and the consequent pressure this has on land and other resources is one major factor for the internal migration and resettlement within the province. The high population concentrate along the different parts of Santa Cruz stated above is a direct consequence of this resettlement, especially by Reef Islands and atolls there is very little vegetation left. On the Reef Islands’ main Island of Lomlom the vegetation has been completely cleared. The Reef Islands has a land area of 29km2 of which 27 is arable for a population of 5,484 people. The population density is 189.1 people/ km2. In the Reef Islands land is subject to intensive use due to this high population growth. The increase in population has seriously shortened the fallow period for cropping. This high population density on these Islands has implications on the use of land and other resources. Already, there is a shortage of land and forest resources on these Islands, and compounding this problem is the climate change issue of sea level rise and related global warming factors. In Tuo, over the years since the recent decades there was an over turn of sea degradation that quickly loosing off part of the sea front that our community habitants used to play and kept their dug out canoes. Because of the mass effects, the community is embarking on some mitigation measures as to minimise the rapid effects of the high sea rise level with in the community. Because of the rapid and continuous effects of what is known to the community as high sea rise, the community leaders on a number of occasions seek authorities as to further assess and respond accordingly to the needs by means of finding alternatives to supplement their livelihood and even worried about their future. Fortunately, Tuo community is supported by UNESCO to discover the interaction between livelihoods strategies and weather pattern in Tuo. 2. Research Methodology A research has been conducted to find out the sectors that are being threatened as the result of the climate change issue at Tuo. The process involved in the research includes asking direct questions, general discussions, focus group discussions, interviews with old people and filed trips. The purpose of the research was to gather information through participatory approach. Such information includes the community’s problems associated with climate change issues. Another objective of the research is to share the findings and problems to responsible authorities to take note off; that remote communities like Tuo is facing a severe problems associated with climate change therefore, they should consider putting it down as one of the top priority in their agendas. Most of the discussions centred on these questions below. 3. Environment What is the role of the environment in your daily life? With regards to Traditions and culture, living with nature, Legends/customs/beliefs/religion. The role of environment in the daily lives with regards to traditions and culture is that; traditionally resources in the land and sea are managed properly in terms of harvesting, clearing of gardens, cutting down of big trees, fishing or harvesting of sea resources. Culture is very strong where people respect leaders and abide to the principles of oneness. Our fore fathers have stories which linked to legends of the past. For example late Gabriel Paikai catches a very big shark using traditional way of fishing. Religion is very strong and people‘s way of life in managing their timing as to church activities is very active and visible. 4. FISHING Have you noticed any changes in [the health of] your coral? What are they? How often do these changes occur? How is it affecting you? How do you deal with it? Have you noticed any significant changes in water temperature? Have you noticed any changes in currents? Have you noticed change in the types and prevalence of certain fish? At present there are changes in terms of the flow of current and the temperature at sea at times there is abnormality especially when the water is hot. Normally, hot water is experienced during when the tide is coming back after a low tide. To date it has been changed, the temperature is unpredictable and confusing to the fishermen. Current too is confusing, they said previously during high tide, current moves into the lagoon and during low tide, currents move out into the open sea. But now, the current is moving one way – to the lagoon. Corals started to die out and increasing of sea grasses in the shoreline. Low tide also contributes to the dying of the corals as the community think it exposes to the sun. Sea cucumbers are no longer seen in the reefs. Giant Clam shells are not longer seen as well, over harvest of inshore marine resources and over harvest of off-shore fish stocks by foreign fishing boats. The changes started to be experience in the early 90s. They said so far they have to spend the whole day fishing just to realise at the end of the day coming back with one or two fish. Certain types of fish they normally catch in the 80s are not long seen. 5. HARVESTING/FOOD SECURITY Have you noticed any changes in your harvesting patterns? When did you first notice? What are the crops that are being affected or changed? How much later or earlier are the harvests? Have any crops stopped growing completely? What are you doing about it now? What percentage of food do you extract from the environment rather than buying it from a store? How often do you have the feeling that you don’t have enough food to feed your family? Has there been enough rainfall lately for your crops? Is the rainy season coming earlier or later than it ought to? There is a drastic change in the normal harvesting season by the people in TUO so as the people of Reef Islands in general. In the early days till 90s the harvesting of bread fruit normally occurred around November and will last for three months. During the period all bread fruit trees will bear fruits. There are varieties of species; some will be ready for harvest quickly while others will be the last one to be harvested. To date the harvesting season has not forth coming. This is not only for the bread fruit but also for other fruit trees and root crops. For example in the latter half of 2004 there was an unusual prolonged dry weather, which extended into early 2005. AT that time the Reef Islanders’ staple food of breadfruit chips (nambo) was running low and the seasonal crops of pana and yams had not matured. Kumara was out of season and other fruit tress failed their season, because of the prolonged adverse weather conditions.