Building Social and Ecological Resilience to Climate Change in Roviana, Solomon Islands

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Building Social and Ecological Resilience to Climate Change in Roviana, Solomon Islands PACIFIC ADAPTATION STRATEGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM SOLOMON ISLANDS Building social and ecological resilience to climate change in Roviana, Solomon Islands Component 2 Final Report Activity Title: Building social and ecological resilience to climate change in Roviana, Solomon Islands Component 2 Final Report Activity date: December 23 2010-March 30 2012 Recipient: The University of Queensland Sub-contractors: WWF, The WorldFish Center Reference: Albert S, Grinham A, Bythell J, Olds A, Schwarz A, Abernethy K, Aranani K, Sirikolo M, Watoto C, Duke N, McKenzie J, Roelfsema C, Liggins L, Brokovich E, Pantos O, Oeta J, Gibbes B,. 2010. Building social and ecological resilience to climate change in Roviana, Solomon Islands. The University of Queensland, Brisbane. See specific chapters for chapter authors. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Roviana and Vonavona Lagoons comprise a diverse social-ecological system that has supported human populations for 15,000 years. The area has a highly dynamic history socially, environmentally and geologically with influences including; epicentre of tribal warfare, religious diversity, major battleground for World War II, high rainfall, tectonic uplift/subsidence and tsunamis. This dynamic social-ecological history has built an inherent resilience into the communities and ecosystems present. We anticipate this resilience will, to some extent, buffer Roviana and Vonavona to future climate change pressures. However, the integrated assessment conducted indicated a number of factors that are reducing this resilience and making the Roviana socio-ecological system more vulnerable to climate change. Marine- Lack of adequate management of passages and offshore reefs, lack of connectivity between seagrass, mangrove and reef in some marine protected area, limited genetic connectivity between Roviana and elsewhere in some fish species, high loads of sediments and nutrients from unsustainable logging in Roviana catchment. Coastal-Significant human disturbance of mangroves, tectonic subsidence causing mangrove die-back, lack of awareness of importance of mangroves for coastal protection, some communities will have village area halved from 50cm sea level rise. Gardens-Traditional knowledge surrounding gardens and bushfoods not being passed on, increase in pests and diseases of food crops, lack of skills to improve soil fertility, increasing reliance on processed foods, fertile garden land being used for commercial agroforestry. Social- Erosion of traditional value systems, high levels of youth unemployment, erosion of customary governance. Whilst some of these factors are externally driven, many can be addressed at the local level through community based adaptation. Through a consultative participatory process with Roviana people we have identified several local actions that will re-enforce existing community resilience. Marine ecosystems can be strengthened by improving management of mangrove ecosystems, increasing connectivity between seagrass, mangroves and reef habitats, enforcing existing catchment management regulations. Coastal ecosystems can be protected through limiting removal of mangroves adjacent to villages and coconut plantations. Gardening practices could be improved through better land use planning to limit agroforestry encroachment onto garden lands, training in soil fertility improvement methods, distribution of species/cultivars more resistant to climate extremes. Valuable traditional knowledge of garden practices and bushfoods should be documented for future generations. Roviana people have a strong history of adapting in the face of dramatic social-ecological changes, with a blend of new ideas presented in this report and the existing rich body of traditional ecological knowledge we anticipate the Roviana communities will sustain and flourish under the influences of global climate change in the coming centuries. i ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Approach .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Study Site ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2 The Approach ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Capacity building ............................................................................................................................................................ 3 Communication of Results .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Chapter 2 Climate change in Roviana ......................................................................................................................... 5 Key Messages ................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Climate change projections ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 Climate change .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Climate change in the Solomon Islands ..................................................................................................................... 9 Slow onset changes in climate ................................................................................................................................. 10 Sea surface temperature ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Sea-level rise ............................................................................................................................................................ 15 Examples of sudden, extreme events ...................................................................................................................... 17 The frequency of extreme temperatures (e.g. heatwaves) ..................................................................................... 21 Combined effects – coral reefs stress as an example .............................................................................................. 23 Roviana and Vonavona lagoons ............................................................................................................................... 24 Summary .................................................................................................................................................................. 25 Sea-level inundation assessment .................................................................................................................................. 26 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 26 Method comparison ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Mapping sea level rise inundation in Roviana ......................................................................................................... 30 Survey results ........................................................................................................................................................... 34 Training conducted .................................................................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 3 Marine habitat vulnerability ......................................................................................................................39 Key Messages ............................................................................................................................................................... 40 Habitat Mapping .......................................................................................................................................................... 41 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 41 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 41 Methods ................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Overview and Study Site .........................................................................................................................................
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