Environmental Case Studies

Not Always a Pretty Face: Urban Growth versus the Environment in the Pacific lslands

L Airborne pollulion in Noumeo.

The Global Situation AREA SERV€O BY THE SPREP + -50 ++ b to urDao ^6 FPUrorron The negative impact of human activ- +++ - 6;' ity on a global scale is sorely evident, especially in densely populated urban areas. Despite their relatively small populations, the Pacific island countries have not escaped this trend. -'r--1. WALLTS SAMOA r \ i , er . r *" ho' FRENCH POLYNESIA\ It is in the fast-growing v!ruuaru\+ ^^.:r.pmort#fig'. ++ '\ major towns t'if-.::.1#.^ ei,Fd, ' .*, 9i;* ' +lirli.ros"^^, .o",r, and cities in the region that the envi- ! ",,usoor .,.,.-, I eo' ronment has suffered the most se- | ,,,,,. vere damage, because ofthe concen- sourH PACtFtc ocE,anr ---a____-r- tration of damaging factors, and the A IJ ST RA LIA primarily coastal siting of urban ar- C l&Nr.6t €q!ilor NEW ZEALANO eas (l )-(2)-(3).

The total Pacific island countries' Urbanisation impacts on all factors drier than their rural surroundings, population seems modest compared which, in any given place, govern the and that this is often due to the to elsewhere in the globe (6.6 mil- well-being and characteristics of liv- proliferation of impermeable sur- lion, including Hawaii, in 1985). How- ing things. Soils and relief are faces, Vegetation in towns becomes ever, some countries have high changed. Natural slope erosion can poorer, first in quantity and then in urbanisation rates (Nauru, Guam, be temporarily increased l0 or 50 quality. Then the only survivors are Hawaii, Northern Marianas are over times by construction -related activi- undemanding, fast-growing plants 80%; French Polynesia, New ties. Sedimentation caused by run- that tolerate urban conditions. The Caledonia, Palau and the Marshalls off can have severe consequences cyclone hazard requires tall trees to are 5 0 to 60%). At the other extreme, on the function of wetlands down be cut down to avoid the risk of Papua New Cuinea's urban popula- stream. Undisturbed wetlands nor- damage if they are blown over. tion is under I 5% of its total, and mally regulate lhe drainage of the Solomon lslands is barely l0%. heaviest rains and act as a natural However greenery is not just attrac- treatment plant for waste water. lf tive: it also has many benefits. lt More often than not, the capital is the tlrey are filled in, coastalwater pollu- reduces noise and heat. lt acts as a country's only significant town, and iion can be aggravated [:y the direct wind- break and reduces evapora- self-stifling effects accentuate diffi- outflow of effluent. tion, improving the tjalance between culties in development planning, and heat and humidity. The main advan- the resulting environmental degra- The accumulation of many industrial tage of having trees in an urban dation. Mostof thesetowns could and organic waste in town soils has environment, however, is to create see their population double been investigated many times. different micro-climates for evapo- by the end of this decade. transpiration which, especially in It has been known since the I 8th tropical climates, are sources of com- Published by the century that towns are hotter and fort for town inhabitants. South Pocitic Regionol

Environment Progromme (SPREP) OO The first "environmental revolution" last century paved the way for an unprecedented expansion of the larg- est cities in the industrialised coun- (l:tlje.l'iilil LJfi ore tries. This was made possible by orrd lc'.):,'rr mastering four factors which are criti- tLlcl.-i.f ritll.iT l cal rn maintaining an adequate environment for harmonious growth. housing, water supply, waste water disposal and solid waste disposal. Poor control over these in the towns of developing countries does not stop them growing, but leads to environmental danrage, which jeopar- dizes these cities' very future.

In Micronesia and Polynesia, the larger islands of Fiji and some small islarrds of Melanesia high urban populations along the coasts can cause a range of attacks on the environment. Population growth, and internal mi- nearby mari ne environment on wl-r ich The population of Tarawa, for ex- gration, has quickly worsened this these towns depend, in varying de- ample, is mostly concentrated on damage on the atolls, some of which g rees. this atoll's urbanised southern motus, have very high population densities gathering one third of the popula- rn a fragile natural environment. The forecasted effects of global cli- tion of Kiribati. This population has mate change on coastal zones are an increased more than tenfold in the Similarly, in the main high islands other challenge with the already past thirty years, from under 2,000 the development of historic capitals pressing threat of rapid urbanisation, in I 950 to over 21 ,000 in I 985, In around the major port has encour- especially on atolls. some localities, the population den- aged trade and industry. There is sity is almost 8,000 inhabitants per often similar development around The challenge of change, as shown sq. km (4). the international airport, if the to- by the urgency of saving environ- pography allows it. ments jeopardized by urban spread Thethree motus of DUD(Dalap, Uliga, in Pacific islands, can only be met by Darrit) forming Majuro, in the Marshall Finally, in most Pacific islands, urban education and a voluntary coalition lslands, contain almost half the development has disturbed the between the community and the country's population, with a density policy -makers. The former is the key nearing 20,000 people per sq.km. 2. Urbonisotion in norlheosl Guom. to a collective awakening and to controlling population growth. The In the same country, on Ebeye, more latter are needed to give public inter- than 9,000 islanders have in recent est precedence over individual greed years been living in a 30 ha urban and selfishness, and to restore com- area in even worse overcrowding, munity spirit and resources on which since the people of Kwajalein were the survival of previous island popu- relocated here when the huge lations depended. Kwajalein lagoon began its use for U.5. military purposes. The Atoll Situation In the early 70s, the circumstances The limited resources of the atolls of the Micronesian atolls, with settle- and their fragile natural environment ments destined to become towns, make these islands incompatible with was far from encouraging. Water urban spread. Today, many Pacific supply was non-existent and people atolls, especially in Micronesia, show relied solely on collecting rainwater. high urbanisation rates. These ur- There was no waste water treatment ban centres are constantly increas- plants or sanitation system anywhere ing in pressure on land resources in the country. The most common (especially groundwater) and inshore arrangement was latrines on stilts lagoon resources. As with other over the lagoon (5). There was no islands, these towns offer attractive organised household waste collec- facilities, and paying jobs. This tion service, even though waste pro- favours rapid growth, by adding mi- duction greatly increased. gratory movements to already strong natural population growth. cf 2 r, Hurried action in response to a dete- riorating natural environment which 4. Domoge lo ih': had become hazardous for humans shore ln lvlojuro was not totally satisfactory. For example, a cholera epidenric on Tarawa caused about a hundred deaths. This led to the construction of a drainage system channelling untreated waste water into the ocean (between I 976 and 1983), coupled with shared latrines, using a saltwater gravity-feed system. There is still serious faecal pollution in the lagoon. Population increases and the continuing use of the lagoon for subsistence fishing 5. The lhreot of drove up morbidity and mortality, in unsuitoble sonilolion on Torowo. children particularly, from intestinal infections. This was worsened when a permanent road link was built between Bonrikiand Betio motus, which now hinders water circulation between ocean and lagoon in this sec- tion of the atoll. s,:F."" dlri There are also problems with sup- . plies of drinking water. The sweet 6. Aloll fresh woler: o water lenses of the motus sustaining scorce ond urban development in South Tarawa vulneroble resource are now polluted and too brackish to (Torowo) drink. From I 982, the supply had to be supplemented by water pumped from the atoll's northern motus. which needed chlorination. Since today's needs are only barely cov- ered, plans are emerging to go back to water storage in tanks at every house. This option, which prevailed in all atolls before partially giving way pumped to a supply, also ap- Water supply reflects the same reali- The atoll's inhabitants protested, fol- pears to be the best preparation for ties. The lens is polluted. Now that lowing destruction caused by a tropi- the gradual changes needed con- to it is unusable, it must be replaced by cal cyclone in 1988, and a relaxation serve groundwater resources if sea water from the airport runway in the military regulations governing levels global rise due to climate catchment, by pumped supply from life on the atoll. This led to the change (6). distant, non-urbanised motus, and creation of a management body re- by desalinating seawater. sponsible for restructuring the ur- Lastly, solid waste management is ban zone. Ebeye is to be linked to 6 another unresolved issue. This waste Ebeye is a similar, if not worse ex- other motus by a causeway, which builds up along the coastlines and ample, but one which concerted ac- will double the land area available. worsens the pollution of the lagoon. tion is now relieving. After the popu- Landfill will add 4ha to the usable lation of Kwajalein was settled there area of the main motu, reducing over- The situation is worse in Majuro, in the early 60s and quickly grew, crowding. A new waste water sys- Marshall lslands. Beaches con- are the situation gradually dlteriorated. tenr is also planned, under EPA contaminated by faeces and indiscrilni- In the early 80s, the urban area was trol, with effluent to be pumped out nate waste disposal, should be closed supplied with water by barge from to sea. And the water supply prob- for swimming and inshore lagoon Kwajalein 3 times a week, Electricity lem should be solved in 1990 with fishing should be banned, says rhe supply was virtually non-existent. the commissioning of a new power local Envi ronment Protection Agency The waste water disposal system station coupled to a sea water desali- (EPA). In an environment where avid was unserviceable and waste water nation plant producing 160,000 gal- consumerism multiplies durable flowed away freely, totally polluting lons per day, or just less than 80 waste of allkinds, the waste disposal the lagoon. There was no solid waste litres per person per day. problem is still not solved. The town management system and refuse built and water's edge, on the lagoon side up around houses, impressing ob- particular, in are starting to look like servers as the general overcrowding (7). a refuse dump in such a small land area. r. 3 .. 7. Refuse builds up on on ololl shore: Mojuro

8. Urbonisqfion direclly lhreofens logoons: corol quorrying on Morujo.

The High lsland Situation

The more diversified environment of Settlement of sloping land has con- between port and ocean. lt traps the high islands, offering more re- tributed to land-based pollution of both these elements and the solid sources than the atolls, suffers the the lagoon. Roads have been built to load in runoff (3). same multiple depredations of an reach the most accessible parts of essentially coastal urbanisation. the upland plateaux, where terraces Lastly, faecal pollution rules out swim- Here, the towns are larger. They are cut into weathered soils are subject ming from mostof the beacheswithin dominated by the capital, in propor- to heavy and sustained rainfall. In- Papeete urban area, because of the tions expressed by the "primacy in- adequate precautions have often lack of a coherent, integrated waste dex" which is the relationship be- been taken, and the watercourses water collection and treatment sys- tween the population of the capital carry down large volumes of mud tem, and because effluent is still and the urban population as a whole. into the lagoon. This causes higher often disposed of straight into the This falls below 60% only in Papua turbidity and sedimentation and suf- lagoon. In the outskirts of Papeete, New Guinea, Hawaii and Fiji. focates the coral to death. there is also highly polluting waste from semi-industrial livestock enter- Papeete urban area contains almost Runoff was also increased by land prises operating in the valleys. The 80%of the population of the island of clearance. Half of the town's 32 sq preponderance of single-home sys- Tahiti, along 40km of a coastline so .km is accounted for by these ter- tems may hinder the implementa- steep that on ly a strip an average one raced slopes, from which a substan- tion of the sanitation master plan. kilometre wide has so far been settled. tial solid load was carried downhill This scheme includes projects for when they were carved out. Only four major purification plants to treat The rapid growth of the urban strip proper compacting and rapid turfing urban effluent before disposing of it. has rapidly increased land-based, bio- of these platforms could slow the logicaland chemical pollution in the adverse effects of excess runoff, Papeete is also faced with the prob- last thirty years. which has greatly increased because lem of managing its solid waste. This of the proliferation of impermeable is produced at a rate similar to Half of Papeete's coastline is artifi- artificial surfaces such as roads. The industrialised countries (over 2kg cial, much of it reclaimed land, to the lower-lying parts of central Papeete per person per day, or 75000 MT per detriment of the adjacent lagoon are now regularly flooded during year). Six official dump sites in the biotopes. Quarrying for coral mate- heavy rain (10). valleys and dozens of unlawfuldumps rials and disturbance of the seabed contribute to the physical, chemical have been instrumental in increas- Runoff is no doubt a major source of and visual degradation of the envi- ing turbidity, which the coastal cur- chemical and biological pollution reg- ronment (l l). The lack of sorting rents encourage. This has killed off istered in the port of Papeete, and to and the frequent fires spread evil- the neighbouring macropode colo- a lesser degree in the surrounding smelling and toxic fumes over the nies, especially between Arue and lagoons. As in Suva and Pago Pago town. These have led to the con- Punaauia. Here at least 1.6 million harbours, oils, hydrocarbons and destruction of an incineration plant tonnes of fill materials were extracted tergents contaminate the upper layer producing methane, currently being from the lagoons up to I987, when of water in the port area to a degree trialled. lt is doubtful whether this this practice was then outlawed. that the marine life cannot tolerate. costly plant, which is almostworking Heavy metals (mercury, copper, lead to capacity, will satisfactorily solve Today, the urban area boasts a hun- and zinc) are present in the seabed the refuse disposal problem. dred hectares of disturbed lagoon sediment in concentrations up to I 2 floorfrom which marine life has com- times higher than normal. The With the privilege of abundant re- pletely disappeared (8). dyking-in restricts water circulation sources of sweet surface water, Papeete has grown without a central 1962 and 1983, 17.5 haof reef were The high cost of waste water treat- household water supply and treat- destroyed. 100,000 MT of coral ment plants is a factor in their ab- ment system. Users use I 000 l. each materials are consumed annually by sence or inadequacy. As nutrients per day, ten times that available on Lami cement works. ln a reverse build up in coastal waters where many low islands. This water is process, coastal land reclamation effluent is dumped, there is a prolif- piped from manyopen, above-ground schemes commenced in the 1930s eration of toxlc algae and increase in catchments that have uneven de- have damaged the lagoon and man- water turbidity, which affects coral grees of protection and control, and grove environments. Some man- growth. Eutrophisation and solid is often untreated and not potable. grove swamps have become recep- deposits combine to kill off the tacles for effluent and solid waste. seagrass beds. A links exists be- The expansion of the urban area of There are also concerns with chemi- tween greater turbidity, higher nu- Suva, whose population (180,000) cal and biological pollution of coastal trient content and the proliferation has grown fivefold since 1950, has waters in the Suva port area and of the ciguatera-bearing dinoflagel- been accompanied by environmen- Laucala Bay; near the Walu Bay and lates which cause several thousand tal damage similar to that in Papeete, Vatuwaqa industrial areas; areas cases of fish poisoning annually in apart from solid waste disposal in close to the Kinoya and Raiwaqa the Pacific islands. the lagoon (12). waste water treatment plants; and near the Lami dump which lies on Effluent dumping is directly respon- The coral biotopes have also come landfill. 191 -(l 3)- sible for diseases (cholera, hepati- under a wide variety of attacks from tis), whose spread is favoured by the quarrying and reclamation works. Indeed, in many Pacific island towns, dietary habits of island -dwellers, Several million metrictons have been as in some large cities in Pacific Rim which they do not give up when they extracted since the I 960s. Between countries, the same picture recurs. move to town. Industrialwaste from fish canneries can also contribute to the biologicalpollution of the marine environment close tothe towns where 10. An urbon oreo unoble lo cope with increosed runoff: they operate. This is the case with Popeele. Pago Pago, for example, and to a lesser degree at Levuka (FUi) and Tulagi (Solomon lslands).

Many Pacific island towns are, in fact, facing insurmountable planning problems. This is because there are no proper regulations and no strict land use rules laying down occupa- tion densities, as determined by the activity.

The examples of 6uam and Hawaii, and that of the city of Honolulu, show, however, that deterioration can still be remedied.

Guam

The island of Guam, with 541 sq.km and 130,000 inhabitants, has had rapid urbanisation in recent years, especially in the northern half of the island which is made up of the el- evated coral limestone of an ancient reef. While agriculture now accounts for only 0.4% of the active population, urbanisation is gradually creep- I l. Piles of solid woste thol connot be recycled ing out over the mountainous south- locolly: Popeele. ern part of the island, which is volca- nic in origin. The spectacular growth in tourism and the shift of the population from the centre of the island towards the northern part over the last 30 years, left no option but to rapidly adopt a strict sanitation and .. 5.. water quality control policy. This governs a water supply pumped mainly from the lens underlying the 12. Slope colonisolion is dongerous for limestone in most built- up areas. lowJying suburbs: Here, local population density often Popeete. exceeds 1300 per sq .km in neighbourhoods of the capital, Agana, which in I 980 had an average density of 200 per sq .km (2).

At the end of the 'l 980s, more than 99 % of houses were connected to a piped water supply and a common sewage system. 70j6 of drinking waterwas supplied by over I 00 wells, inspected by the Guam EPA, the local branch of the federal US body. The tradewinds, Cuam's relief and its 13. Induslriol pollulion small size spare it the unpleasant- olong lhe shore in Suvo. ness of airborne pollution, despite the existence of economic sectors producing toxicwaste (the most dan- gerous of which is regularly sent to the American continent), the highest car ownership rate in the world and heavy civilian and military traffic.

The 1979 development plan recommended strict zoning addressing the restricted ability of the island's resources to cater for certain activities in the urban, rural and agricultural groundwater plan The management.|985, neighbourhood to neighbourhood. zones and in conservation areas. The which came into effect in is The Waikiki area, where most of the plan also recommended priority at- thought to be the major source of hotels are concentrated, has a den- tention for the coastal areas where improvement. The plan includes sity greater than 32,000 people per population density was too high. quality control and monitoring of sq. km. With over 6 million visitors above-ground activities liable to lrar ., annual[y, (183,000 in 1958), ar any Cuam has a serious solid waste dis- an impact on Guam's resources. one time, there are as many tourists posal problem. Average daily pro- in Honolulu as there are residents in duction is over 2kg per person, or A range of improvements were also Noumea or Papeete. more than I 50,000 MT annually for designed, such as constructing per- the whole island. With a population colation trenches and tanks, and re- The population of Honotulu County, of almost I70,000 by 2000, Guam storing plant cover in catchment ar- over half of whom live in the city could be generating over 200,000MT eas. These ensure that the ground- itself, grew by I 49 %from '1930 to of solid waste each year. water reserves enjoy the best pos- 1960, 29% during the following de- sible conditions for replenishment, cade and a further 44 % between I At the time of writing, 5 to 10,000 and counter the adverse effects of 970 and I 980. abandoned vehicle bodies were dor- urbanisation on water quality. ted around the island. lt is not pos- The urban areas of the State of Ha- sible for Guam, as with other Pacific Hawaii waii grew from 47Q to 666 sq .km. island countries, to recycle many com- between I 964 and I 988. The car ponents of solid waste. lt does not The State of Hawaii boasts the larg- ownership rate (l car for I .5 people) also have the right industrial infra- est urban area in the Pacific islands. has doubled in the past thirty years. structure nor enough waste materi- It has over a million inhabitants, with als to cover the cost of transport to over 800,000 living in Honolulu City The urban environment of Hawaii, possible user countries. and County on Oahu, and 400,000 in especially in Honolulu in particular the city proper. has significantly improved over the Despite these worrying signs, the last two decades. The rapid popula- actions taken to counter the effects The total urban population of Hono- tion growth and the diversification of rapid urbanisation of Guam over lulu is nearly 600,000 people. The of activities dictated the introduc- the past 2 0 years has greatly helped average population density exceeds tion of very complete and strict regu- limit pollution and environmental 1,725 people per sq .km, but the lations between the 60s and the 80s, damage. density varies greatly from along with zoning.

OO conrparing an entirely urbanised to a grassy area.

One of the nrost notable results of increased runoff is to increase the risk of flooding in low -lying areas by the stronger flow through drainage pipes, which must be sized accord- ingly. This risk is relevanr for a large part of central Honolutu atthe mouth of the Manoa River.

Since I 977, the City and County of Honolulu have gradually introduced regulations for draining runoff in the urban area, and for land clearing and levelling on construction sites to limit erosion risks (14). Strict provisions apply to any building site of I ,300 sq meters or larger to prevent erosion.

Lastly, the urban district of Honolulu has had to deal with a constantly growing solid waste problem, which has increased because of the high standard of living and tourism activity on a limited land area.

t4. As ihe lov;n cloims the sloping lonc, risks ore mutiiplied: Iohiti. In the mid-70s, solid waste manage- Plonning rules ore lhe onswer. ment began with an integrated set of regulations, due to the extension of ln 1974, Chapter 344 of the Starutes The use of treated effluent for irriga- Federal and special legislation to the of the State of Hawaii laid down an tion began in 1967 and came into State of Hawaii, in the same way as policy .|970s. environment which was gradu- general use in the late for other environ mental matters. The ally 'l implemented from 975 onwards numberof dumps has been consider- by the Environmental Quality Com- Because ofurban expansion in Hono- ably reduced. Keehi collection and nrission, and subsequently by the lulu and Pearl Harbour, and increases sorting station was completed in Environmental Council. in demand due to industrialand tour- 1977. From there, waste is trans- ism activities, it became necessary to ported either to an incinerator at ln I 988, a new department, the Envi- pipe in water from outlying districts Waipahu, or to controlled dumps on ronmental Management Division, was and to introduce a variety of economy the leeward shores. given responsibility for survei llance, measures from 1977. conservation and management, par- In the middle of the last decade. the ticularly in the urban context, and Despite improvements in water qual- shortage of suitable land on Oahu also for public education and com- ity monitoring and sanitation, the for refuse dumps remained a major munication. lts activities are coordi- City of Honolulu itself also caused problem, due to the large volume of nated with the u5 Federal EPA. surface water and neighbouring waste produced. coastal water pollution with the The 1 974 Safe Drinking Act, which growth of sealed surfaces and conse- Eetween I 980 and 1987 ,annual solid laid down new potability standards quent increase in runoff. waste production on the island of for drinking water, was designed Oahu increased by almost 40,000 particularly to ensure that ground- This type of pollution is directly linked tons. By 1990, it reached 750,000 water is not contaminated by refuse to the increase in roads and roofs in tons, most of which came from Ho- dumps. the urban area. These can represent nolulu urban district. Processing, almost 60% of the surface area of an sorting, recycling and general incin- In I 988, the drive for safe water for individual home, and almost I 00% in eration of waste was then consid- certain uses and resource protection a totally urbanised area (E.T. ered. A $ I 90 million waste manage- led to the adoption of a new classifi- Murabayashi and Yu Si Fork, 1979). ment project is scheduled for fund- cation for inland and marine waters The infiltration rate into the soil, ing by Honolulu City Council, using in the State of Hawaii. The applica- which depends on the frequency, a public loan. tion of quality standards and the intensity and duration of rain, can be efforts to adjust use to existing re- reduced by more than 90%. On the Despite the provisions of the Oahu sources have also led to waste water other hand, maximum runoff after Ceneral Development Plan (February recycling for irrigating plantations. heavy rain can drop by 80% when 1977), suggesting a population limit .. 7 r, of I million inhabitants on the island by 2000, the urban growth of Hono- lulu is likely to jeopardize the environmental balance. Hawaii, how- t ,Tantalus Q013) ever, is in an enviable situation for a ea Pacific island country: the local gov- q ernment wishes to achieve harmonious coexistence between the city and a naturalenvironment, to keep it ,,/ as unspoilt as possible. So to protect \l )$ the image of Eden offered to tourists, " 2 :Uan().r the state has adopted a wide range of "'S"\.hJ-' infrastructure and regulations at an "t + '-i/ -.{.(r early stage (l 5). i- q\,9' |tio. In the 1970s, this policy was instrumental in preventing a situation which most Pacific island country HONOLULU capitals are experiencing today.

Conclusion Waikiki To guarantee absolute protection, any project must be limited by its lsland of Oahu possible impact on the environment, rJ |h,h and cannot be carried out unless I I rl,br6 q& | rN us mutual concessions are made by con- thid,n k ---_r Resi.lentbl n.r*, servationists and developers. lt must I ! combine official commitment and l--1| tnn'Demity Apartmerr Agrkultunl public awareness. r I t\4edium Density ApartnErn E Publt and Quasi-Public Control of population growth is an- I tlBh Derrsity Apatttnent I Far*s and. Recreation other factor in success. This same Comrercial Ftrservation degree of commitment is required to I E 15. Zoning: one ospecf of question unsuitable con sumer goods I lndustrial r Militan' urbon plonning - above all, the motorcar. regulolions: Honolulu.

In the Pacific islands, economic inter- Dupon, J-F. l99l . Challenges and ests ahd the requirements of goals of coastal areas planning in Other leaflets are available in this series. urbanisation must be reconciled with the Pacific lsland Countries. 1 7th Copies can be obtained by writing to: The Director the quality of life, not only of town Congress of the Pacific Sciences. Ho- sPREP n dwellers but of island communities nolulu. l9 p. Po Box 24o l-&l in general. There must be a con- APIA. weslern samoa. =3 scious and deliberate inclusion c,' South Pacific Commission Cataloguing -in -publication data environmental concerns in the gen- This leaflet was prepared by J-F, Dupon eral aims of sustainable development. and C. Morhange, ORSTOM, New Dupon, J-F. Caledonia. Face: Urban rrl Not Always a Pretty Published with financial assistance from References Crowth versus the Environment in the United Nations Environment (Envronmental Pacific lslands case Programme (UNEP). studies: South Pacific Study;6) Printed by Commercial Printers Ltd, Aerial photographs:2 - Cuam (Perry - l. Towns and environment South Pa- APIA. Western Samoa. I 993. 1989), 9 - Suva (RAAF 1986), 3,14- cific 2. Towns and Environment - Atolls -Tarawa - Papaete (Polyn€sie A€rocarto -1 99 I ). (Kiribati) Majuro (Marshalls) - Ebeye (Marshalls) J Towns and [nvi- ronment - Papeete (French Foi/rresra)- Thrs document's contents, conclusions Other photographs: I ,6 (J-F. Dupon), Suva (FiJr) 4 Towns and Inviionnrirrt- and recornmendatrclns do not necessarilv (E - 4, 5, 7, 8 (C. Morhange), l3 Cuam 5 Towns and [nvironmenr Ho- reflect the views oI UNEP or SPlitP. The Waddell), I 0, I l, 1 2(Douche,Tahiti) nolulu Series. designalions empioyed and the presr:n!a' tion of the materral do not imply the 333 85099 AACR2 expression of any opinion whatsoever on Brodie, J.E. et al. 1 988. State of the rsBN 982-20r-0s/-6 the part of UNIP or SPRIP concerning the Marine Environment in the South legal status of any state, territory, city or Pacific Region. UNEP Regional Seas Copyrighr @ area or of its authorities, or concerning Sourh Pacific Regional Envlronment Programme Reports and Studies No. I 27. UNEP, the delimitation of its frontiers or oound- ane s. SPREP Topic Review No. 40, Thc soulh Pacrfrc Regronal Envr.onmenl Programme 1990. aulhonses thc reproductron of rh's matc.ial. wholc or tn 59 p. part, In any form provrded approprate a(knowledgement is glven Oilginal T€xt Frcnch rt 8..