Honors Research Thesis Final Paper Structure
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1 LEADERSHIP AND CLIMATE CHANGE: A CASE STUDY OF TUVALU Alina Kielbasa This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Research Honors Program in the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business Marietta College Marietta, Ohio April 8, 2015 2 Copyright © 2015 by Alina Kielbasa All Rights Reserved 3 This Research Honors Thesis has been approved for the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business and the Honors Investigative Studies Committee by ________________________________________ ____________ Faculty Thesis Advisor Date ________________________________________ ____________ Thesis Committee Member Date ________________________________________ ____________ Thesis Committee Member Date 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my Tuvaluan family: Penelope my motorbike driver, Alofa my fearless Auntie, and Oyfase, my translator, tour guide, and most importantly, sister. Fakafetai lasi to the many Tuvaluan government leaders who provided me with extra documentation and insight into the country’s mitigation of climate change. Thank you to everyone at Marietta College who assisted in my research process: Dr. Moshin, Dr. Perry, Dr. Brown, Dr. Parsons and an incredible vinaka vaka levu, thank you very much, to Dr. McManus, for his guidance, patience, and enthusiasm for the completion of my Honors Research Thesis. Additionally, thank you to my family for their unconditional love and support to pursue my affinity for Tuvaluan culture. 5 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 4 ILLUSTRATIONS . .7 ABSTRACT . 8 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION . 9 Introduction . .9 Statement of Purpose . 10 Tuvalu . .11 Historical Background: Tuvalu . .13 Climate Change . .20 Regional Concern about the Environment. .22 The Environment of Tuvalu . 23 Environmental Leadership . 26 Conclusion . 28 CHAPTER 2: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH . 29 Introduction . .29 Main Findings . .30 Coastal Erosion. 34 Water Scarcity. 37 Waste Management. .40 Climate Change Awareness Programs. 43 Conclusion . 46 6 CHAPTER 3: QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH . .48 Introduction . 48 Methodology . .49 Main Statistical Findings . 52 Discussion . 57 Conclusion . 61 CHAPTER 4: APPLICATION TO DEEP SYSTEMS LEADERSHIP. 62 Introduction . .62 Deep Systems Leadership . 63 Statistical Application . 69 Discussion . .71 Conclusion . 75 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION . 76 Introduction . 76 Review of Major Conclusions . 76 Implication for Deep Systems Leadership . 77 Potential Areas for Future Research . .80 Conclusion . 81 ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1.1 Map of Tuvalu. 12 1.2 DSL Model . 28 3.3 Environmental Problems . 53 7 3.4 Who Should be Helping Tuvalu Face Their Environmental Problems . 55 3.5 National Assistance . .56 4.1 DSL Model . 63 Tables 3.1 Survey Section One. .50 3.2 Survey Section Two. 51 4.2 DSL Survey Questions . 69-70 8 ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1.1 Map of Tuvalu. 12 1.2 DSL Model . 28 3.3 Environmental Problems . 53 3.4 Who Should be Helping Tuvalu Face Their Environmental Problems . 55 3.5 National Assistance . .56 4.1 DSL Model . 63 Tables 3.1 Survey Section One. .50 3.2 Survey Section Two. 51 4.2 DSL Survey Questions . 69-70 9 ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to discover and analyze the Tuvaluan perspective on climate change and leadership. There were two main research questions that went into the creation of the survey distributed in Tuvalu: (1) What do the Tuvaluan people perceive are the environmental problems of Tuvalu, (2) Who do the Tuvaluan people perceive are responsible for those problems. The data was collected in Funafuti, Tuvalu through interviews and 124 surveys. Four main themes emerged from the interviews: coastal erosion, water scarcity, waste management, and climate change awareness. Finally, Rian Satterwhite’s theory Deep Systems Leadership was used to describe the Tuvaluan’s relationships between the individual, their systems, and the environment. 10 CHAPTER ONE Introduction Tuvalu, a small South Pacific Island, has been used in the media as a ploy to suggest that climate change is causing the 26sq-kilometer islands to sink like the legendary city of Atlantis.1 Although the island has been altered structurally because of climate change, it is not sinking. The island has faced many droughts and most recently terrible flooding and winds from Cyclone Pam.2 These worsened weather patterns are due to climate change, an issue that seems distant to most industrialized countries but is impacting Tuvalu today. This unique situation impacts Tuvalu’s leadership because mitigating climate change is a major priority. Because of the size of their country they rely on larger industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, or their environmental problems will be even greater. The immediate threat of rising sea levels influences the way that Tuvalu’s government creates national policies, the way they interact with regional organizations, and how their communities make decisions. However, current research has not investigated this type of environmental leadership in a small island developing state like Tuvalu. Additionally, little primary research has been conducted on the island to personally interview and survey Tuvaluan citizens to question how climate change has impacted their lives and the leadership within the country. Many regional organizations and countries like Australia and New Zealand have contributed aid and assistance to help the nation combat environmental issues, but there has been.