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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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 little analysis on the impacts that these programs have and the relationships between the individuals and the environment. For Tuvalu especially, little social

1 Angie Knox. “Sinking Feeling in Tuvalu.” BBC News. 28 August 2002.

2 Andrew Marantz. “The Wages of Cyclone Pam.” The New Yorker. 18 March 2015.

11 science research has been conducted on the many ways that climate change and leadership interact.

This research investigates the actual environmental issues as perceived by Tuvaluans, and who they feel is responsible to take action. To most accurately depict this perspective, this thesis is supplemented with primary data that was collected in Tuvalu through personal interviews and surveys. In this Honors Research Thesis, I seek to provide the reader with a detailed history and explanation of Tuvalu, climate change, and Deep Systems Leadership.

Following this mosaic of Tuvalu, four main themes are discussed that consistently occurred in the personal interviews: coastal erosion, water scarcity, waste management, and climate change awareness. This perspective is shaped by interviews from local chiefs, citizens of

Funafuti, and government officials, such as the Prime Minister and officials within the

Departments of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, and the Environment. Next, the statistical data from 124 surveys is analyzed to answer two main questions. First, what are the specific environmental issues in Tuvalu, and secondly who is responsible for those.

Finally, the data is applied to Rian Satterwhite’s theory of Deep Systems Leadership which is an environmental leadership theory that investigates the many relationships between individuals, their systems, and the environment. This application to a small island nation like

Tuvalu provides insights into the strengths and criticisms of the theory as environmental leadership becomes more prominent.

Statement of Purpose

The aim of this Honors Research Thesis is to investigate the leadership surrounding climate change and leadership on the island nation of Tuvalu. Using personal interviews and 12 survey data, I examine the Tuvaluan understanding of climate change and its environmental impacts. Secondly, I investigate where the Tuvaluans assign blame for those environmental problems. Finally, to more accurately explain these perceptions, I apply the Deep Systems

Leadership model by Rian Satterwhite. Through this environmental leadership model two things are investigated: the theoretical explanations of why these perceptions exist and secondly what are the strength of the relationships between the Tuvaluans, their systems, and the environment..

Tuvalu

Tuvalu is a small island nation spread over nine coral atolls in the South Pacific, eight of which are inhabited. The land mass totals approximately 26sq kilometers, about the size of

Washington D.C.3 The population of 10,782 is dispersed between Funafuti, Vaitupu, Nukufetau,

Nanumea, Nui, Nukulaelae, Nanumaya, and Niutao (Niulakita is uninhabited).4 Tuvaluan is the native language of the islands, but English is taught in schools and used for most governmental affairs. Education is paid for by the National Government, and is required up to age fifteen.5 The majority of Tuvalu’s population resides in Funafuti which hosts the government offices, the

National Church of Tuvalu, the University of the South Pacific extension center, and the

Maritime Training School. The population in this small capital was 4,492 people in 2011.6 As the capital, this island is the most urbanized of the nine.

3 Denise Coleman. "Country Overview." Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 1. Accessed via Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost on October 6, 2014.

4 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Tuvalu." CIA - The World Factbook -- Fiji. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 Aug. 2013.

5 The Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v., 4619

6 The Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v., 4617, 4619 13

Figure 1.1 Map of Tuvalu7

People identify strongly with their home islands (fenua) and if they move to Funafuti from their natal island, they do not identify themselves to others as Tuvaluan, but as ‘from

Nukufetau’ or ‘from Niu’. This sense of allegiance to a specific Tuvaluan island causes both competition and tensions within positions of power in Tuvalu, especially in the national government in Funafuti. An individual’s identity may be partially determined by the class formation and distinction which occurred as the nation developed; however, traditional chiefly status is more salient in society and merits more respect than wealth from employment.8

Generally, Tuvalu is desrcribed as an egalitarian society, meaning that people deserve equal rights and opportunities; nevertheless, there are many assumptions of gender roles. As a patriarchal society, no woman is allowed to be a matai, and most members of the government are men. This is traditional of the South Pacific region, as many islands have chiefly leadership

7 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Tuvalu." CIA - The World Factbook -- Fiji. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 Aug. 2013.

8 Ibid.

14 structures. Religious beliefs also contribute to the structure of society, where religious leaders, like pastors, have great prestige but little political power. Most citizens, approximately 98%, classify themselves as Protestant, and religious practices are built into their daily lives.9 On

Sunday mornings, many people attend services at the National Church, or within small familiar gatherings. It is also common to pray before meals and at the end of the day. The Tuvalu Church, in Funafuti, recognizes the Christian ‘Te Atua Ieova’, as a monotheistic deity, and Jesus, ‘Iesu,

Te Aliki’. These teachings were influenced by the London Missionary Society during European

Colonization in the mid-19th century.10 Thus religion has played a large role in Tuvaluan society for quite some time.

Historical Background: Tuvalu

The settlement stories of Tuvalu range from mythical folklore to simple migration patterns, but historically speaking the original settlers migrated from Samoa, Tonga, and the

Cook and Gilbert Islands during the 14th century.11 Europeans arrived during the 16th century, causing the spread of foreign diseases, but converting most of the country to Protestantism by the

19th century, the current denomination of the national church: the Congregationalist Church of

Tuvalu.12 The slave trade also contributed to a steep decline in population, especially after 1863 when four Peruvian vessels claiming to be teaching Christianity conducted “Kidnapping for God

9 The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, “Oceania”, s.v. 356-357; The Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v., 4613

10 The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, “Oceania”, s.v. 357

11 Denise Coleman. “History.” Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 8. Accessed via EBSCO Host October 6, 2014.

12 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Tuvalu." CIA - The World Factbook -- Fiji. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.; Denise, Coleman. “History.” Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 7. Accessed via EBSCO Host October 6, 2014.

15 in Tuvalu,” impersonating teachers and kidnapping two-thirds of Nukulaelae’s population.13

Four hundred forty-five Tuvaluans were estimated to be captured: 250 from Nukulaelae, 171 from Funafuti (the capital), 21 from Nanumea, and 3 from Nukufetau.14 This marked the most devastating part of the 19th century, which led to increased European influence to try and maintain the islands.

For most of the 19th century, the nine atolls, the Ellice Islands, were largely impacted by

European influences. In 1877, the United Kingdom established the Western Pacific High

Commission, which placed a multitude of South Pacific islands under their jurisdiction, including Tuvalu. They renamed many British Western Pacific Territories, and colonized the

Ellice Islands and Gilbert Islands, which were later divided into parts of Kiribati and Tuvalu.15 In

1892, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were combined following more imperialism from Europe.

They designated the entirety of the islands as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC). This was problematic as the two groups of islands originally had separate cultures and histories in addition to their actual physical separation. Regardless, Britain connected them administratively.

Some cultural values were similar, in that they were both patriarchal in nature and had similar island life customs; however, the traditions between the Gilbert Islands (Micronesian) and the

Ellice Islands (Polynesian) are very different to this day.16

13 Doug Munro. “The Peruvian slavers in Tuvalu, 1863: how many did they kidnap?” Journal de la Société des Océanistes 90, (1990-1): 44; Denise Coleman. “History.” Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 7. Accessed via EBSCO Host October 6, 2014.

14 Doug Munro. “The Peruvian slavers in Tuvalu, 1863: how many did they kidnap?” Journal de la Société des Océanistes 90, (1990-1): 44.

15The Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v., 4613

16 Ibid. 16

Ellice Islanders are mostly from Tonga and Samoa, where leadership is based off of status because the chiefs, aliki, are hereditary leaders with respected authority.17 Gilbertese people are mostly from islands in Micronesia and the leadership structure is less hierarchal because they have a system ruled by different councils of elders, the unimane, and they have the power to mediate over land and any resources available to the community.18 These two political structures differed so much that Britain had to create their own council to mediate between the two societies. Additionally, the cultures had little contact because of their separation by the ocean and any compromise would favor the formation of a common identity as Britain wished.

For decades, advisory and legislative bodies prepared GEIC for self-government, and at one point established administration in Funafuti.19 In 1974 the final Legislative Council was replaced by the House of Assembly, which had twenty-eight elected members, only eight of which were Ellice Islanders. This perpetuated the long-standing anxiety of Ellice Islanders that as Polynesians in the colony they were the minority, dominated by the Micronesian Gilbert

Islanders.20 Ethnic tensions between the two island groups continued mounting and in 1974 the

Ellice Islanders requested a “separate British dependency status as Tuvalu.”21 The Gilbert Islands were then renamed Kiribati, and on October 1, 1978 the islands were entirely independent from the British. The importance of Tuvalu’s independence is celebrated every year with traditional dances, fatele, and other communal celebrations.

17 David W. McIntyre. “The Partition of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands,” Island Studies Journal 7, no. 1 (2012): pg 138

18 Ibid.

19 The Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v. 4613

20 Ibid.

21 The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, “Oceania”, s.v.

17

Prior to independence however, Britain was not the only large power to influence the islands. After the United States joined the allied forces in World War II, the islands became of strategic importance to fight Japan. During World War II, the Gilbert and Ellice Colony (GEIC) came under American influence beginning on October 2, 1942 after the Japanese lost the battle of Midway and the U.S. arrived with eleven warships at Funafuti.22 There were several thousand troops stationed on the islands between three airbases on Funafuti, Nanumea, and Nukufetau, but the first offensive blow from Tuvalu was on April 20, 1943 when twenty-two B-24 bombers took off from Funafuti to bomb Nauru.23 In addition, an American airstrip was created through the center of Funafuti.24

The most monumental events of World War II, in the eyes of Tuvaluans, were the bomb raids from Japan on the capital. The National Church in Funafuti was bombed, killing seven

Americans and one Tuvaluan on April 23, 1943.25 The most religious Tuvaluans thought that the church was sacred and protected from any attacks, so it was incredible that more people were not seeking refuge from the Japanese on that day. Nanumea also experienced destruction from the war because of their proximity to Kiribati, another strategic South Pacific island country. The

John Williams ship was bombed at dock, along with their fenua’s branch of the church. Contrary to the bomb raids in Funafuti, fortunately no one was harmed.

American influence had further negative consequences for Tuvalu, specifically on

Funafuti, Nanumea, and Nukufetau. To supplement the airstrip, the Construction Battalion built a

22 Simati Faaniu et al. Tuvalu: A History. (Tuvalu: Institute of Pacific Studies and Extension Services, University of the South Pacific and the Ministry of Social Services, Government of Tuvalu, 1983), 140-142

23“History.” Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 7-8. Accessed via EBSCO Host October 6, 2014; Ibid., 142.

24 Simati Faaniu et al. Tuvalu: A History. (Tuvalu: Institute of Pacific Studies and Extension Services, University of the South Pacific and the Ministry of Social Services, Government of Tuvalu, 1983), 142

25 Ibid. 18 sea-plane ramp, “Seabees”, a control tower, a radio station, and the colonel’s headquarters

(bunker) on Funafuti.26 These creations consumed land that was used to grow traditional crops, pulaka and taro. Both were staple foods.27 Nanumea experienced worse environmental degradation in 1943 when Americans cut down over 22,000 of the 54,000 coconut trees on the island because their airstrip consumed one-sixth of the land.28 The destruction had a lasting impact but the airstrip in Nanumea is no longer used.

Wreckage along with unexploded bombs and shells were left on the islands after the military departed as well, and children would play with the explosive powder before New

Zealand authorities became aware of the problem and removed the wreckage.29 Additionally, at the islet of Motulalo of Nukufetau, an airfield and deep-water wharf were created.30 This wharf was unique because a lot of the lagoons become shallow very quickly, and large United States naval ships needed access to land for repairs. This wharf gave them access for their larger vessels.

Over all, the United States had a very large presence on a country with little land during World

War II. However, by the end of WWII nearly all 6,000 American troops and their equipment had left.31 In 1979, after Tuvalu’s independence, the United States created a treaty of Friendship to relinquish four of the southernmost islands originally under their possession.

Post-war development was generally in favor of the country gaining full independence from Britain, but these programs were not enough to compensate for the damages done from

26 Ibid., 142.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid., 143.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.,145. 19

World War II. Over twenty years later the country was still requesting reparations from Great

Britain. After their full independence and development had begun, in 1991 Tuvalu endorsed a compensation claim regarding the terrible state of the economy due to colonization of the islands which was exacerbated by the resource depletion due to the airbases from WWII.32 This claim was directed towards the United Kingdom who gave the U.S. permission to construct the wharfs and airstrips on the islands. Specifically, they allowed them to create the airstrip in Funafuti, which would remain available for their own use as their single international airport.

Prior to independence, the islands were politically self-sufficient until the traditional ritual hierarchy between Funafuti, Vaitupu, Nukufetau and Nukulaelae grouped the islands’ politics.33 Now, the parliamentary democracy of Tuvalu is unique in that it was centralized after independence in 1978, but after 1996 it began to lead with assistance from the town council of

Funafuti, and seven other island councils.34 This enabled traditional matai to still influence political decisions in a more formal way. In August 1977 the first elections were held for the twelve seats in the House of Assembly, and in the year following the independence Constitution was finalized. This marked a complicated five month period of self-governance without the full rights of independence, while Britain considered if Tuvalu was finally ready for self rule.35 On

October 1, 1978 they received full independence from Britain and elected Toaripi Lauti as the first Prime Minister of Tuvalu. This formal election process initiated the transition to turn the

32 “History” Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 7-8. Accessed via EBSCO Host October 6, 2014., 8

33 The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, “Oceania”, s.v. 356

34 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Tuvalu." CIA - The World Factbook -- Fiji. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 Aug. 2013. ; Coleman, Denise. "Political Conditions." Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013):8-16. Accessed via Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost on October 6, 2014. pg 9

35 The Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v., 4613 20

House of Assembly into an official fully functioning Parliament. Elections for these formal positions are based upon each island’s town politics’ structure.

Local politics are organized by klan chiefs (aliki) who defer to one or two head chiefs, traditionally designated as kings, but colonial suppression diminished their political influence.36

After the creation of the Parliament and Ministries of the National Government after independence, the local leaders were not given direct formalized power; however, they are represented by a Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development in Parliament.37 There is a balance between these local customary laws and the English common law from colonization, influencing the three branches of government, the executive, legislative, and especially the judiciary.38 Although there are still the eight island courts, they have limited jurisdiction in comparison to the High Court that was established, which a British chief justice visits twice a year.39 The other branches of government are less impacted, but overall the government is uniquely structured.

This is also because political parties do not exist, which some people would argue creates less friction in the government; however, there are many elections because the head of state, the

Prime Minister, is more quickly removed from office due to votes of no-confidence in their parliament: the Fale I Fono.40 In 1995, 1999, 200441, and 201042 votes of no-confidence

36 The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, “Oceania”, s.v.356

37 Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism Temate Melitiana, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 03, 2014

38 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Tuvalu." CIA - The World Factbook -- Fiji. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 Aug. 2013.

39Denise Coleman. "Government Structure." Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 45-49. Accessed via Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost on October 6, 2014. pg 45

40 The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, “Oceania”, s.v., 356; Denise Coleman. "Government Structure." Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 47. Accessed via Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost on October 6, 2014. 21 eliminated four Prime Ministers followed by new elections, typically within a year. This often separates political ideals between the opposition and the current Prime Minister but does not solidify parties with specific ideals. It seems the government of Tuvalu is perpetually in a state of fluctuation because of these votes of no-confidence.

Tuvalu has developed quite a bit since its colonization in the 19th century, and the people’s political involvement and religious perceptions have evolved as well. This foundational understanding of the country and its people is incomplete however, until we have delved into the environmental problems facing the nation.

Climate Change

Climate change is an alteration of area or worldwide long-term weather patterns, as in the case of the predicted excessive warming of the atmosphere from the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other green house gases, as explained by multitudes of scientific data.43 The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, created by the UN Environment Programme, indicated in their most recent Fifth Assessment report that global surface air temperatures over land and oceans has increased over the last 100 years.44 Therefore some extreme weather, although defined by its own variable phenomenon, is not climate change and one very hot summer, monsoon or drought, does not designate long term weather patterns, also known as

41 Denise Coleman. "Political Conditions." Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 11. Accessed via Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost on October 6, 2014.

42Denise Coleman. "Government Structure." Tuvalu Country Review (July 2013): 47. Accessed via Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost on October 6, 2014.

43 Bruce C. Wyman and Harold L. Stevenson. Dictionary of Environmental Science. Third ed. Vol. 1. New York: Facts on File, 2007, pg 85, 183.

44 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Fifth Assessment Report (AR5): Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. (Stockholm, 2013), 121 22 climate change.45 According to Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects by Jonathan

Cowie, global warming is contributed to natural cycles and anthropogenic (human) influences which in combination “threaten Earth in its current interglacial period”.46 Below we will discuss both contributions.

There is conclusive evidence gathered from millions of global data points indicating that the temperature of the oceans has increased.47 Data includes continuous satellite monitoring from

2,000 meteorological stations and previous U.S. data from the growth of coral and tree rings.48

According to the Encyclopedia of Crisis Management a dramatic increase occurred from “the mid-1950s to the present: .9 degrees Fahrenheit consistent through to 9,000 feet below sea level”.49 According to recent research by the IPCC, supported by other climate change publications such as Climate Change Science and Policy, and Climate Change: Biological and

Human Aspects, this temperature increase is caused by the greenhouse effect50, thermal expansion, and the melt water from ice caps and glaciers.51 The first cause, the greenhouse effect, has been scientifically discussed since its explanation by Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier in

45 Jonathan Cowie. Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects.(New York, Cambridge University Press), pg 2.

46 Encyclopedia of Crisis Management, s.v. “Global Warming”, Accessed October 7, 2014.

47Michael D Mastrandrea and Stephen H Schneider. “Climate Change Science Overview” in Climate Change Science and Policy, ed. Armin Rosencranz, Kristin Kuntz-Duriseti. (Washington D.C.: Island Press, 2010), 13.

48 Pollution A to Z,”Global Warming.”, s.v. 224

49 Encyclopedia of Crisis Management, s.v. “Warming Oceans & Rising Seas”, Accessed October 7, 2014.

50 Jonathan Cowie. Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects.(New York, Cambridge University Press), pg 3; Pollution A to Z,”Global Warming.”, s.v. 224

51 Pollution A to Z, “Greenhouse Gases.”. s.v. 242. Pollution A to Z,”Global Warming.”, s.v. 227

23

1824.52 In comparison to a planet without an atmosphere, the Earth’s atmosphere warms the air by 43°C more, known as 43-K warming because it reflects only a portion of the thermal radiation from the sun, and the remainder is trapped in the earth’s atmosphere.53 The gases involved in this process are CO(2) (Carbon Dioxide) CH(4) (methane) CFC-11 & CFC-12 (chlorofluorocarbons),

N(2)0 (nitrous oxide) and O(3): tropospheric ozone.54 Some of these greenhouse gases are naturally occurring, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide; however the other gases created by anthropogenic inputs are from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

Regional Concern about the Environment

Because of the small size of many of the islands in the South Pacific, they are disproportionately affected by climate change. Currently, the impacts of climate change are visible through changes in “infrastructure, water supply, coastal and forest ecosystems, fisheries, agriculture, and human health.”55 This disproportionately reflects the fact that the islands have only contributed to approximately .03% of international green house gas emissions.56 Regional organizations have been created in order to increase communication and awareness of these problems because they are so prominent.

Regionally, small South Pacific countries are incredibly concerned about the impacts climate change is having on their communities, and what the future may hold if the international

52 Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier. (1824) Remarques générales sur la températura du globe terrestre et des espaces planétaires. Mémoires de l’Académie Royal des Sciences, 7, 569-604.

53 Jonathan Cowie. Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects.(New York, Cambridge University Press), pg 3.

54Ibid., 6; Pollution A to Z, “Greenhouse Gases.”. s.v. 242.

55 The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, “Oceania”, s.v. 356

56 “Climate Change Overview” Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. 27 October 2014.

24 community does not take action. Organizations like the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional

Environment Programme (SPREP) include programs specifically aimed at climate change in addition to their many other environmental programs. Their Climate Change Strategic Priority hopes that by 2015 all the members of SPREP, 26 members including the U.S. and Tuvalu, will be able to more efficiently and accurately respond to climate change “through enhancing ecosystem resilience, implementation of practical adaptation measures, and policy improvement.”57 The United Nations Environmental Programme has even declared 2014 “The

International Year of the SIDS” (Small Island Developing States) in order to promote raising awareness of the immediate impacts climate change and increased GHGs have on these countries.58

The Environment of Tuvalu

In 1989, a United Nations report on the greenhouse effect listed Tuvalu as one of the island groups that would completely disappear beneath the sea in the 21st century, and since has begun intense conversation on the effects of climate change on the country. The following year the UN World Climate Conference commenced where Prime Minister Paeniu appealed for immediate action by developed countries to decrease GHG emissions because of the environmental changes they were experiencing: increased salinity in groundwater, 10-fold increase in cyclone frequency, and a considerable decrease in annual rainfall.59 The subsequent

57 “PEIN Country Profile and Virtual Environment Library: Tuvalu”. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. 4 April 2015.

58 “Climate Change Overview” Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. 27 October 2014.

59 Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v., 4615

25

Prime Ministers have also been critical of countries that have not committed to international environmental agreements. Two distinctly resonate in the minds of Tuvaluans: Australia, who after the 1994 tidal waves refused to decrease their emissions, and the United States who refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol in 2001. Tuvalu and five other members of the Pacific Islands Forum requested to meet with President George W. Bush to encourage his ratification of Kyoto.60 But, because President Bush denied the request to meet, the response to these pleas was mostly symbolic and little political action was taken.

Currently Tuvalu is experiencing numerous environmental problems caused by global warming and human influences, both of which are exacerbated by the structure of the island. As a low-lying series of coral atolls, no point on the islands is higher than 4.6 meters above sea level.61 This was detrimental in 1994,62 the first time that Tuvalu experienced king tidal waves, although each year the regular lunar cycle of tides brings sea water sloshing above the coral atolls.63 Sea bubbles up out of the coral forming puddles that can cover pieces of the tarmac even if it is not presently raining. In 2005, these conditions were worsened when unusually Westerly winds from a tropical convergence zone blew against the lagoon side of the capital causing severe erosion.64

These compounding environmental issues were exposed to the international community in October of 2011 during prolonged droughts that forced the nation to declare a state of

60 Ibid.

61 British Broadcasting Corporation. “Tuvalu: Country Profile.” BBC News, November 18, 2014. Accessed January 19, 2015.

62 Europa World Yearbook, 52nd Ed, “Tuvalu” s.v., 4615

63 Gary Braasch and Bill McKibben. "Tomorrow's Climate Today." In Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming Is Changing the World, 113-143. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.

64 Ibid., 116. 26 emergency. Drinking water supplies were almost completely exhausted, and the main island,

Funafuti, was limited to two buckets of water a day from the government.65 Meteorological stations suggested that this was partially due to the increased intensity of the La Nina weather phenomena, ceasing rainfall until December.66 After declaring the state of emergency, New

Zealand airlifted supplies of water and two new desalination plants to decrease Tuvalu’s reliance on rain water.

This drought was potentially worsened because of the U.S. creation of the airstrip in

Funafuti in World War II that pierced and polluted the fresh water lens beneath the coral atoll.

As discussed earlier, the United States had a large influence on the islands during WW II.

Although Britain gave the U.S. permission to create the airstrip on their colony, it was U.S. soldiers who dug the borrowing pits. Because of the low lying nature of the land in order to support the landing strip, the U.S. dug out borrowing pits on the capital island of Funafuti.67 This construction had many consequences by increasing the salinity of the ground water and creating borrowing pits of salt water, there was less land for housing.

Both human and climate change impacts on the environment will be discussed more thoroughly in Chapter 2, through the analysis of the qualitative data. Interviews with many

Tuvaluan government officials and local leaders portray a more detailed picture of the environmental crisis at hand.

65 Guardian News. “Pacific Nation Declares State of Emergency over Water Shorage.” October 3, 2011. Accessed April 8, 2015.

66 Pickup, Oliver. “Pacific Island Tuvalu Calls State of Emergency with Just Two Days of Drinking Water Left.” Daily Mail. October 4, 2011. Accessed April , 2015.

27

Environmental Leadership

Increasing global environmental problems range from deforestation, drought, pollution, dependency on carbon-emitting fossil fuels, and ultimately climate change. These problems have been deemed ‘wicked’ meaning they are complex urban policy challenges that confound planners who seek out straightforward solutions.68 This framework includes many of the complicating factors surrounding the resolution of environmental problems, because there is a lack of time to craft a solution while institutional authorities make procedural decisions without follow through.69 This has resulted in the field of environmental leadership, defined as “the ability to influence individuals and mobilize organizations to realize a vision of long term ecological sustainability.”70 Many theories have evolved out of this concept, but few encompass all of the relationships between the environment, the leader, the followers, and the organisms within the environment.

A model that encompasses all of these components is Rian Satterwhite’s environmental leadership model, Deep Systems Leadership. It combines multiple components to create a structure to analyze the different types of relationships between individuals and the environment.

There are four facets to Satterwhite’s theory: cultural biology, systems leadership, deep ecologies, and systemic leadership. The first aspect, cultural biology, is the study of autopoesis and the importance of the essential relationship between the environment and the organisms that interact with it. Secondly, Satterwhite argues that we must include systems theory, that “everything is in

68 Deborah Rigling Gallagher. "Why Environmental Leadership?" Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook. Edited by Deborah Rigling Gallagher. Vol. 1.Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2012. pg 3.

69 Ibid.

70 Carolyn Egri and Susan Herman. “Leadership in the North American Environmental Sector: Values, leadership styles, and contexts of environmental leaders and their organizations. Academy of Management Journal, no. 43, 4. (2000). 572.

28 constant and dynamic relation to every other thing” to appreciate connections of different biological systems.71 This leadership is concerned with the operations, factors, and processes that influence the association of organisms and their surroundings. 72 The third function of

Satterwhite’s model is Deep Ecology, truly understanding one’s own identity and place in the larger natural community.

Further detailed, this individual perspective on environmental problems emphasizes the interrelatedness of the Earth and its current biota, the types of animal and plant life in an area during a specific time period. 73 This recognition incites an individual need for political, social and economic changes to improve the state of the environment.74 Concerns with self-realization and personal interconnectedness, are the precursors to his final facet: a call to action. Systemic leadership is the disregard of formal authority and hierarchy to make future decisions that are sustainable. He places this at the base of his model to unite the other facets. This type of leadership is the final step because it is a call to action to live out these parts of the theory and to help other social systems, specifically Tuvalu, to adapt to the model.

71 Rian Satterwhite. "Deep Systems Leadership: A Model for the 21st Century." Leadership for Environmental Sustainability. By Benjamin W. Redekop. (New York: Routledge, 2010.) 236

72 Bruce C. Wyman and Harold L. Stevenson. Dictionary of Environmental Science. Third ed. Vol. 1. New York: Facts on File, 2007, pg 414.

73 Ibid., 55.

74 Ibid., 114. 29

Cultural Biology

Systems Theory Deep Ecologies

Deep Systems Leadership

Systemic Leadership

Figure 1.2 DSL Model

This model allows for an in depth application of an environmentally conscious and active leadership perspective. As the environment depletes and the oceans warm, it is important to more critically analyze different leadership structures like Satterwhite’s Deep Systems Leadership. It provides ties to the unique biota of the environment as well as their relation to each other, and a medium for individuals to include them in leadership decisions. In Chapter 4 I will provide a more detailed analysis on this model and its application to some quantitative data from my survey results.

Conclusion

This chapter has served to provide a summary of some of the literature on Tuvalu because it is not widely discussed, and also to give background information for climate change and environmental leadership. It is imperative to understand Tuvalu’s unique situation as small island nation state facing climate change because this understanding is foundationally important.

In the following chapter we will delve into the specific environmental problems and the leaders who are currently working to mitigate the impacts of climate change. 30

CHAPTER TWO

Introduction

This second chapter analyzes the additional information supplied from the interviews I conducted on the islands of Tuvalu. It was imperative to ask questions in person of Tuvalu’s leaders to appropriately describe the Tuvaluan perspective. This generated discussions around a plethora of environmental issues including food security, increased salinity of the soil, lack of a reliable shipping system, beach nourishment, coastal erosion, rising sea levels, drought, urban drift, waste management, littering, issues growing traditional foods, and flooding. In order to narrow this discussion, we will be focusing on four overarching themes impacting Tuvalu’s leadership that were most consistent amongst my interviews: coastal erosion, water scarcity, waste management, and climate change awareness programs. Because Tuvalu has a multitude of climate change related environmental issues some of the topics will not be fully addressed in this chapter, but should not be entirely discounted. In Chapter 3 we will use quantitative survey to data to answer what citizens’ feel are other important environmental issues, and who is responsible for them.

For the purposes of this research study, the data was collected using face-to-face, semi- structured in-depth interviews. All interviews were collected on the island of Funafuti in Tuvalu and varied in length depending on the quality of data and English speaking abilities of the interviewee. The majority of interviews lasted between 25 and 45 minutes. After transcribing more than fifteen significant interviews, the qualitative data was sorted through thematic analysis to narrow the scope. The interview material was supplemented by a reflexivity journal that was maintained to record observations of people, the surrounding environment, and additional themes that I perceived might be important during my writing. The limitations of this data collection 31 included infrequent and unreliable transportation between islands, and inconsistent access to internet. The findings will be discussed in this chapter using a combination of quotations from the interviews and personal recordings from the reflexivity journal.

Main Findings

Due to Tuvalu’s unique low-lying nature and 2011 drought, discussions on climate change and environmental issues have become commonplace. Amongst community members, government officials, and regional authorities, programming for climate change awareness and mitigation has greatly increased. Although there are many environmental issues facing the country, this chapter will review the programs that were most prominent in the later half of 2014.

Because of the variety of issues, the chapter will describe the existing programs through a general summary of the overarching environmental themes which were consistent in the interviews. These begin by describing the central government environmental plans, followed by describing the series of mitigation programs that are combating three main environmental issues: coastal erosion, water scarcity, and waste management. In addition, many awareness raising workshops have been introduced because of the importance of educating Tuvalu on the issues to help them understand the other mitigation efforts. These climate change awareness programs were subdivided into their own category.

As discussed in Chapter 1, Tuvalu is largely affected by climate change because no point on the island is any higher than 4.6 meters above sea level; and the entirety of the nine islands only equal approximately twenty-six square kilometers.75 This has garnered some regional and international attention because the country is already impacted in many ways. Stories are sensationalized to such a degree that Tuvalu is depicted as a disappearing island, much like the

75 British Broadcasting Corporation. “Tuvalu: Country Profile.” BBC News, November 18, 2014. 32 mysticism surrounding Atlantis. The current Prime Minister, Enele Sopoaga, whose role in the

Tuvaluan government includes a variety of political responsibilities as the Head of State, stands as a figurehead for the international theatre and attends international climate change conferences.

His personal mission is “to save the islands of Tuvalu, because . . . you cannot save the world if you do not save the islands first.”76 Upon his installment in August of 2013, he created a

National Advisory Council on Climate Change (NACCC) to advise the cabinet on all projects and programs concerning climate change.77 At the meetings of the NACCC, usually twice a month, the energy experts, leaders in Finance, the Public Works Department, the Meteorological

Society, the scientists in the Agriculture and Fisheries Departments, and additional cross-cutting agencies all engage in discussion to formulate a central response concerning the impacts of climate change.78 This concept of centralizing national climate change policies has become more appealing regionally as well, because of the unexpected cross-cutting policy implications of global warming.

After the devastating drought of June 2011, Tuvalu’s government revisited some of their existing programs. The government realized that instead of multiple national intertwining policies, a comprehensive solution would be more successful. This meant dismantling previous policies and combining their missions and strategies for more effective coordination. The previous programs that were being combined included: Te Kaniva, Tuvalu’s national climate change policy from 2011, and Te Kaeega II: the National Strategy for Sustainable Development to make Tuvalu environmentally sustainable, written in 2005. In combination, these became the

76 Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July, 07, 2014.

77 Ibid.

78 Ibid. 33

National Strategic Action Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (NSAP).79

To assist the nation in compiling this national plan, multiple regional organizations provided guidance and funding including: the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP

PROE), the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), Australian Aid, the Secretariat of the Pacific

Community (SPC), the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC), and the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP).80 The purpose of the document was to implement Te Kaniva and to supplement and operationalize the Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Framework for

Action, which was endorsed in 2005 by Pacific leaders.

The framework operates around seven main goals which are summarized and comprised from the previous frameworks. These goals include: strengthening adaption for climate change, increasing understanding on climate change data, enhancing government arrangements, developing infrastructure to withstand climate change and other disaster risks, ensuring energy security and a low carbon future, planning for effective disaster preparedness, guaranteeing security, and maintaining national sovereignty.81 Sumeo Silu, the current Disaster Coordinator for the National Tuvaluan government provided me with primary documents distributed by his office, which coordinates and “prepares all of the government, and Tuvalu for before, during, and after disaster[s].”82 Mr. Silu discussed that compiling this framework and implementing it requires coordination between the Disaster Management Office, the Environment Office, the

Public Works Department, the Meteorological Service, the Health Department, and the Tuvaluan

79 Tuvalu’s National Strategic Action Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. April 14, 2013. Accessed April 8, 2015. 7-8.

80 Ibid., 3.

81 Ibid., 9.

82 Disaster Coordinator Sumeo Silu, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 30, 2014. 34 ship registry that organizes transportation between islands.83 Implementation of the framework began in 2012; nevertheless, he stated that currently his office’s focus in 2015 is to integrate and manage the comprehensive plan.

Both the creation of the NACCC, and the National Strategic Action Plan for Climate

Change and Disaster Risk Management (NSAP), caused other national climate change programs to go through critical reviews by the cabinet. The National Adaptation Program of Action

(NAPA) is a country-wide climate change focused program that was introduced in 2007, adopted in 2009, and covers the first three of seven total environmental priorities set by the cabinet.84

These are overseen by Project Coordinator Solofa Uota. Mr. Uota’s team focuses on agriculture, coastal erosion, and water access. Upon the completion of NAPA 1, the second round of programming, NAPA 2, will incorporate the final four priorities. NAPA 1 was temporarily frozen in order for the NACCC and cabinet to thoroughly review the current state of the program.85 Mr. Uota claimed that the temporary hold occurred after receiving an “additional one million dollars to upscale and intensify assistance” from Australian AID, and he was wondering if NACCC had an alternative agenda which supported the freeze.86 In contrast, Prime Minister

Enele Sopoaga had descriptive examples of two instances where NAPA failed to meet their project goals. First, ships were required to send building materials to the outer islands so Mr.

Uota contracted non-governmental boats; however, they were unreliable and the program was forced to backtrack. Money was being wasted to charter these boats which could not deliver the

83 Ibid.

84 NAPA 1 Project Coordinator Solofa Uota, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July, 10, 2014.

85 Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July, 07, 2014.

86 NAPA 1 Project Coordinator Solofa Uota, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July, 10, 2014.

35 cargo to the outer islands that they needed.87 Secondly, once separate boats were chartered, on the way to the Southern islands one boat “sank with almost two-hundred bags of cement [that] were supposed to go for sea walls and food security constructions.”88 This concerned the Prime

Minister and his cabinet because if their donors were to discover these issues they would be displeased with this type of management and may not provide further funding.89 Mr. Uota understood his concern and anticipated that this review of NAPA would last a couple of months, and because the Department of Environment was required to provide cabinet with a “proper and updated review” the process was stalled.90 Aside from NAPA 1 however, there are many additional climate change programs on the islands.

Supplemental programming has been provided from Non-Governmental Organizations, regional environmental authorities, and state allies. Russia, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and

US AID have current programs running. Below we will discuss the main environmental issues that are being mitigated by these many programs.

Coastal Erosion

Multiple methods have been tried to slow down the erosion of Funafuti’s coastline, including the creation of sea walls out of an array of materials including cement bricks and cages, planting mangroves, and even breeding sand. National leaders including a Funafuti chief, the

Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism, and the Director of the

Environment expressed concerns about coastal erosion. Because of the narrow structure of the

87 Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 07, 2014.

88 Ibid.

89 Ibid.

90 NAPA 1 Project Coordinator Solofa Uota, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 10, 2014.: Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 07, 2014. 36 island, if the beaches continue to erode even less land will protect homes from incoming sea water. Therefore, national programs like NAPA make coastal erosion a priority. International funds are also distributed to coastal erosion programs, and there are currently two bilateral programs to address the concerns in a short term and long term time frame.

Iosefa Elisala, a matai chief of the Tausoa Lima Fale Kaupule, or Funafuti Island Council, remembers a multitude of unsuccessful and abandoned coastal erosion projects. Elected from his family because of his age and wisdom, he has great knowledge of the community and is only one of fifty-one chiefs on Funafuti. As a chief and respected elder, he has spent a lot of time answering foreigners’ questions about climate change and responding to his own community’s concerns. He said that before when a community member had come to him concerned that beach erosion was taking place in new islets, and he would bring the item of concern to the council and then they would discuss it.91 He stated that first the government “tried to build seawalls around the coast because the erosion was very noticeable. We asked the government to build it and they put the [concrete blocks] on the beach . . . it did not help though.”92 When I asked him what year the project was conducted, he laughed a little and said “the government has introduced so many programs for seawalls. In the beginning we had cages filled up with stones, and they said the stones would grow, but in fact they didn’t.”93 Remnants of these programs are still visible on the coast line, and the cages filled with rounded stones have been left uncovered on the beaches.

Temate Militiana, the current Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism is overseeing the management and administration of multiple ministries including: the

Department of Environment, Department of Trade, Tourism, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

91 Iosefa Elisala, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 26, 2014

92 Ibid.

93 Ibid. 37

His role is to give advice directly” to the Prime Minister in terms of all the areas that those

Ministries are covering.”94 Although there are technical experts in the specific divisions within the Ministries, such as bio-diversity within the Department of Energy, he still provides administrative advice before the different departments begin their projects. He advocated that previous coastal erosion programs were abandoned because they did not execute an environmental impact assessment, which they need because of regulations by donors and as to not disturb the existing physical structure of the island.95 That is part of the reason some of these previous projects have been replaced by Japanese investments that were prefaced with more accurate EIAs and consultations with the Tuvaluan government.

Currently, two separate beach programs are being introduced by the Japanese government.

The first project, Forum Sands, was mentioned by multiple leaders including chief Isoefa Elisala, the Director of the Environment, and the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The purpose is to reclaim the beaches within a long-term time frame. It takes years to breed the sand for the project, which will be needed to nourish the beach adjacent from Funafuti.96 Mr. Melitiana expressed concerns about the length of this project, especially because “people were questioning

[if] breeding sand . . . for beach nourishment is a good concept, [because] it is a pilot study and the structure they are building is not permanent.”97 As the Permanent Secretary for Foreign

Affairs, international organizations use Mr. Melitiana as their contact person in Tuvalu, so he has had the opportunity to build his “knowledge on all the projects and activities that [their] donors

94 Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism Temate Melitiana, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 03, 2014

95 Ibid.

96 Director of the Environment, Mataio Tekienene, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 25, 2014. 97 Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism Temate Melitiana, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 03, 2014 38 and donor partners are doing” and to ensure that they “align with our priorities and needs.”98

This has given him the opportunity to meet with technical experts from Japan who came to seek his views on beach nourishment. . .because for most their projects [he] is the focal point. . . and if he agrees on their views, then [he] puts a paper together for cabinet consideration.”99 Aside from the National Government projects, further coastal protection programs have been done by a

Japanese NGO that plants mangroves along the coasts of some of the outer islands. The Director of the Environment, Mataio Tekienene, also discussed that Japanese engineers have entered into the assessment phase for an additional project, Protection Against Coastal Erosion (PACE), but they have not moved further along in the process.100 As director, he has the technical expertise to over see energy, biodiversity, and conservation projects in addition to the large amount of climate change conferences that he is requested to attend.

Although there is a general concern about the long-term nature of some of these projects, coastal erosion has affected many of Tuvalu’s islands, and the citizens and government officials in Funafuti are acutely aware that this is a problem, but they are unsure if these new mitigation programs will be entirely successful.

Water Scarcity

Fresh water in Tuvalu is a difficult resource to maintain because most of it is gathered from the rain, but Tuvalu goes through spells of droughts because of the worsening trade wind conditions from El Nino and La Nina.101 There are varying reasons behind Tuvalu’s lack of fresh

98 Ibid.

99 Ibid.

100 Director of the Environment, Mataio Tekienene, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 25, 2014. 101 The Pacific Adventures of the Climate Crab. DVD. Australian Government, 2014. 39 water, the first reason dates back possibly to before World War II. During multiple of my interviews, it was suggested that because of the general formation of coral atolls, that there may have been a fresh water lens right below the coral of the island. Because fresh water has a lower density than the surrounding salt water, it would have floated between the coral of Tuvalu and the sea.102 It is hypothesized that this water may have been brackish, or a mix of fresh and salt water, but the scientific evidence to support any theory is lacking. Mr. Iosefa Elisala, one of the

Funafuti kaupule chiefs, claimed that problems of urban drift, the migration of thousands of people to Funafuti after declaring independence in 1978, that “there was good water underground but now it is salty and contaminated.”103 However, this perspective could be shaped by old tensions between the different Tuvaluan islands, especially concerning outer islanders coming to

Funafuti, which may have fabricated discussions on the pollution of the lens. Regardless whether either of these theories is true or not, the water beneath the coral has salinity levels too high to consume, and when Tuvalu began to experience lengthened droughts in 1999, 2010, and 2011, drinking water was extremely scarce causing the government to begin rationing it.104 Since then, many programs have been introduced from the government and international partners to combat water scarcity issues, including the very first United States Assistance for International

Development (USAID) project in Funafuti.

The National Disaster Coordinator, Mr. Silu, assisted me in the explanation of the current programs that work together to monitor and regulate water access. The National Disaster

Management Office (NDMO), Public Works Department (PWD), and Tuvalu’s Meteorological

102 Director of the Environment, Mataio Tekienene, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 25, 2014. 103 Iosefa Elisala, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 26, 2014

104 Disaster Coordinator Sumeo Silu, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 30, 2014.

40

Service (MET), work jointly in these times to plan months ahead in case of dry spells. MET alerts NDMO and PWD in two to three months if they predict a drought, PWD holds the

Japanese Desalination plant and maintains any reserves of water which can be purchased, and

NDMO declares the state of emergency. In this case, as in 2011, PWD reached a certain threshold that required NDMO to step in and refuse any purchases of water. Following this, the

PWD and NDMO limited residents to only fifty liters per person a day, but they made special considerations for people with disabilities and infants105. Because the government is responsible for rationing at this point, they allow those families to have additional gallons of water.106 This situation worsened greatly before international help was available, and each household was limited to approximately four 60-liter buckets a day.107 After declaring a state of emergency international assistance from Japan, Russia, UNICEF, Australia, and the Red Cross provided desalination plants which greatly increased the islands threshold for producing fresh water.108

Now, residents can go to PWD and purchase 1000 liters of water to refill their catchment for approximately $13.50 during the rainy season.109

The second adaptation to decrease water scarcity was the installment of catchments, or reserve tanks, and guttering to the households in Funafuti. Australia and the European Union have provided many of the tanks, and they even distributed individual bottles of water during drought periods.110 The most recent program was established by the United States Assistance for

105 Ibid.

106 Ibid.

107 Ibid.

108 Climate Change and Disaster Management Officer at the Red Cross, Tusi Finikaso, interviewed by the author, July 02, 2014.

109 Mauwai, personal communication with the author, July 6, 2014. 110 Timaio Auega, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 03, 2014. 41

International Development (USAID) this year as a part of their regional program, the Coastal

Community Adaptation Project (C-CAP).111 Other countries such as Samoa, Papua New Guinea,

Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu are also in the program, but are meeting different capacity needs based on their community reports. Tuvalu’s USAID coordinator, Timaio Auega, has begun organizing communication between the head office at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji and their office in Tuvalu. They now have had meetings “with two Funafuti communities. . .and the first,

Kavatoetoe, has been identified as having problems during droughts. . . because they need to improve their catchments for collecting water. . . and to improve the guttering and roofing”.112

This is the first project the United States has done in Tuvalu, but they plan to request additional resources to improve the water catchments of Alapi town hall.

Because Tuvalu has no natural source of fresh water aside from rain, these installments and water rationing programs are very important to prepare for any case of any national disasters.

International involvement, including the donation of desalination plants and catchments from many countries, UNICEF, Australia, and the Red Cross, greatly helped and the new US AID program is providing more water to community halls.

Waste Management

An environmental problem in Tuvalu that is entirely anthropogenic, is the littering of rubbish coupled with a poor waste management infrastructure to rid of solid wastes in a sanitary and environmentally friendly way. Public awareness of the issue has largely increased since twenty years ago when there was no dumpsite located at the end of the island, however, now

111 Ibid.

112 Ibid.

42 there is a dumpsite at the end of the island and national programs to organize solid wastes. The larger programs that this section will investigate are the creation of the Sold Waste Management

Association of Tuvalu, which is supplemented by the United Nations Development Programme to assist with sorting of rubbish.

Local leaders, such as Iosefa Elisala, a matai chief of the Tausoa Lima Fale Kaupule, are concerned because waste has been dumped into many of the eleven borrowing pits which were dug during World War II to provide soil for the creation of the airfield.113 Permanent Secretary

Temate Militiana met with the European Union Commissioner for Development and New

Zealand’s Foreign Minister to discuss filling the of the borrowing pits with funding from the

European Development Fund.114 The government is concerned that when these pits are filled with sand the community will no longer be able to discard their rubbish into the muddy water of the pits, which will cause the dumpsite at the end of the island to quickly overflow. The dumpsite is relatively new, so it was an adjustment for community members to have their trash picked up by SWAT and relocated to the end of the islands, because they were accustomed to throwing trash into the borrow pits. Therefore, Funafuti chiefs are concerned where the waste will go when the pits are all filled up.115 Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga admits that although waste management is a large issue, he has seen quite an improvement and that now “you see the segregating of waste: organic into organic, and glasses into glasses (sic)”.116

113 Iosefa Elisala, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 26, 2014.

114 Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism Temate Melitiana, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 03, 2014

115 Iosefa Elisala, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 26, 2014.

116 Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July, 07, 2014.

43

With the assistance from the European Union and Australia they have created separate containers in order to categorize the trash. Recently, the Department of Home Affairs created a service, the Solid Waste Authority of Tuvalu or SWAT, that picks up re-usable bags of trash at the households.117 However, upon my observations of the island, littering was still common, and separating trash into their respective containers was not done very often, or thoroughly. The items most often seen in the SWAT bags were dead palm leaves or branches that had been swept off the ground that morning. From a managerial standpoint, the Prime Minister stated that they needed to “improve institutional arrangements . . . to be clear on the operational and functional mandates of agencies. . . like the Home Affairs department that works with solid waste.”118

Furthermore, the government is looking towards creating a supplemental dumpsite near by the center of the capital, instead of at the very end of the island, in order to sort the rubbish.

Although waste management and pollution are not impacts from climate change, they largely contribute to the health of the environment of Tuvalu. Many programs are trying to educate the populace on waste management and the process of separating actual rubbish from compostable materials. One of these programs was from TANGO, in a combination effort with the United Nation Development Program, which has placed signage to distinguish between the separate waste containers. Generally however, the island has seen large strides of improvement in waste management since developing SWAT and the dumpsite.

117 Ibid.

118 Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July, 07, 2014.

44

Climate Change Awareness Programs

To supplement these mitigation efforts, multiple organizations have begun awareness programs to assist in the education of their population on climate change and anthropogenic environmental issues. Regional projects from the Red Cross and the United Nations have worked to increase awareness on environmental issues, which have been supplemented by national awareness projects through Tuvalu’s Red Cross, TANGO, the National Disaster Coordinator

Sumeo Silu, and the National Adaptation Program for Action (NAPA) team. These projects range from general films on changing weather patterns, to intermingling climate change knowledge into schools curriculums.

Regionally, programs have been created to distinguish between climate change and regular weather patterns, such as El Nino and La Nina. The Red Cross created an animated video for children in the South Pacific to be shown in primary and secondary schools. This primary source was introduced to me by the Climate Change and Disaster Management Officer at the

Tuvalu Red Cross, Tusi Finikaso. The “Climate Crab” is around five minutes of an animated film which explains that the change in trade winds and cloud coverage can cause flooding on some islands, and droughts in others.119 It also explains that these weather changes are not caused by climate change, although, the increased sea levels and temperatures have caused the weather patterns to become more severe.120 Other programs are much more involved with the schools curriculum. Mr. Finikaso admitted that his branch of the Red Cross would like to conduct more programs within the schools on the outer islands, however, due to restricted funding . . . [they] are doing what they can in Funafuti, by reaching to the primary school

119 The Pacific Adventures of the Climate Crab. DVD. Australian Government, 2014.

120 Ibid.

45 students.”121 He said that they do the best they can, time permitting, because of the infrequent shipping schedules. Before they depart Funafuti they must also reach out to the Red Cross branches and the island councils. As a small organization the Red Cross cannot charter boats to do their activities on the outer islands, like the government can with NAPA 1 because they have the international funding. In contrast, if using Tuvalu’s shipping system, one of their five employees would have to leave the office and work on the outer islands for a minimum of a month.

Nationally, Tuvalu’s awareness programs are largely centered on educating their children on climate change. TANGO, Tuvalu’s Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, has a major program running, Child Centered Climate Change Adaptation (CCCCA) which goes to the schools to build up their classroom resources on climate change. In August of 2013, they traveled to Vaiatupu, and then they traveled to the outer islands. The Red Cross Climate Change and Disaster Management officer explained that they would like to enact a program like this to educate the youth, but that they have plans to extend basic climate change knowledge to students in the primary schools, especially kindergarten.122 He was also concerned however because he does “not want to duplicate what other organizations are doing.”123 Prime Minister Enele

Sopoaga admitted that they currently had “a number of programs from bilateral friends, as well as the UN, [that] have been introduced into schools where the curriculum is improved. It is upgraded to factor in the climate change concerns: science, social impacts and all that.”124 He

121 Climate Change and Disaster Management Officer at the Red Cross, Tusi Finikaso, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 02, 2014.

122 Ibid.

123 Ibid.

124 Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July, 07, 2014.

46 hopes to continue supporting these programs, but he added that government’s role in provided education for awareness ultimately comes through their various scholarship opportunities for youth to travel and obtain an international perspective.125

Mr. Silu, the National Disaster Coordinator for Tuvalu, also discussed his office’s role within the awareness programs for the youth. Although their projects do include aspects of climate change, much like the integration of the National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP). He said that they “have a lot of materials that [they] make for tsunamis, droughts, cyclones, and water related disasters” which are distributed through workshops and trainings. 126 In addition to their national work, regionally the Pacific Disaster Network is working to create materials that can be used regionally to educate people about the climate related risk that can cause disasters.

Although NAPA 1 at the time was at a standstill, their program had been working on different climate change awareness activities as well. Mr. Uota, the NAPA 1 Project Coordinator, discussed some of their past work which included acting as an agency of the government that increases awareness of climate change by educating people on the risk and impacts of the environmental changes.127 This was done by streamlining information about food and water security into the schools’ curriculums, and working with the Fisheries Department to advocate for the conservation area in Funafuti to preserve the numbers of fish for future generations to consume.128 The curriculum programs normally occurred by showing slides on a projector and engaging in group discussions about the topics covered, followed by the team answering any

125 Ibid.

126 Disaster Coordinator Sumeo Silu, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 30, 2014.

127 NAPA 1 Project Coordinator Solofa Uota, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 10, 2014. 128 Ibid.

47 questions that the groups may need further explanation on.129 NAPA has a specific Project

Monitoring unit that makes a summary report, which consults all of the individual reports from the islands, and it is then sent to the stakeholders, the donors.

Information provided from two different National Disaster Management officers, the

Prime Minister, Tuvalu’s main NGO, and the countries main environmental project coordinator suggest that there are large climate change awareness programs at work in Tuvalu. Although they face obstacles such as infrequent shipping schedules and restricted budgets, the programs will continue after some review by the cabinet.

Conclusion

Although there are many more conversations to be had regarding the environmental programming in Tuvalu, these interviews with government officials and local leaders provided insight into the central themes of the projects during 2014. Coastal erosion of the beaches, lack of fresh water, waste management, and general climate change awareness programs were consistent themes between local and governmental projects, which is evidenced by the prominent interviews where they were mentioned. These environmental themes have been universally expressed from local chiefs of the Kaupule council, to employees of non-governmental organizations, the Director of the Environment, through the Permanent Secretary of Foreign

Affairs and to Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. These themes and additional environmental problems will be discussed at length in Chapter 3. Here, one-hundred twenty four people have the opportunity to answer what environmental problems they think the island is facing, and which parties they believe are responsible for the issues. To set up the foundation for these

129 Ibid.

48 themes, this chapter explains some of the existing parties that are working to better Tuvalu and understand the risks of climate change and the immediate impacts on their islands. 49

CHAPTER THREE

Introduction

The purpose of Chapter 3 is to further investigate the environmental issues that were generally discussed in Chapter 2 in light of the surrounding context that was described in

Chapter 1. In order to most accurately portray the Tuvaluan perspective, I collected data from numerous sources in Tuvalu. The primary research for this chapter was collected from 124 surveys conducted with thee citizens of Tuvalu in the capital city, Funafuti. The survey included data based on a Likert scale, multiple choice questions, and write-in answers. The information from these sections boiled down to two main questions:

1. What are the environmental problems that Tuvalu is facing?

2. Who is responsible for those environmental problems?

The two-page survey was crafted around these concepts, and the following analysis of the data will work to answer them. First, the analysis will describe the environmental problems that

Tuvalu is encountering, especially in relation to those discussed in the previous chapter: coastal erosion, water scarcity, waste management, and climate change awareness. Secondly, the results will answer who the survey participants believe is responsible for these problems: individuals, local, national, or international governments.

Prior to conducting this research, it was necessary to hypothesize some possible relationships in order to construct the survey. Based off of the climate change literature on

Tuvalu, which was discussed in Chapter 1, I anticipated that a large portion of my sample population would be impacted by certain environmental issues. Thus, I included these in the survey answer choices. These responses included access to fresh water, rising sea levels, soil erosion, deforestation, and an “other” option. Additionally, I hypothesized that there were 50 varying degrees of responsibility for the possible environmental issues. These were separated into different questions about individual, local, national, regional, and international levels of responsibilities. To further categorize this data, in the multiple-choice section of the survey the respondents were allowed to distinguish between which countries they felt were responsible on an international level. Based on the United States’ historical involvement in World War II, and the regional organizations of which Tuvalu is a part, I listed the following countries as options:

Australia, New Zealand, the U.S.A., Pacific Islands, Asia, None, and an “other” option.130

Further details on the specific questions will be discussed below, and can be found in the survey in Appendix A.

Methodology

Because of the twenty-day window I had to collect the data, and the culturally new and unique environment, I used a convenience sampling method. Much of the data was obtained at large gatherings of citizens, especially at the maneapa, the main community hall for meetings and celebrations. These personal interactions allowed for a wider variety of ages because even the elderly chiefs were in attendance. The remainder of the surveys were collected at people’s homes, local shops, and the government building. Depending on the respondent, I would either collect the survey that day, or come back and pick them up the following day. Approximately

150 surveys were distributed, but only 124 were usable.

The surveys were written in English and Tuvaluan, but were organized identically. The survey begins with eleven questions on a Likert scale of one to five, one being strongly agree and five being strongly disagree. The respondents were asked to indicate how much they agreed or

130 Simati Faaniu et al. Tuvalu: A History. (Tuvalu: Institute of Pacific Studies and Extension Services, University of the South Pacific and the Ministry of Social Services, Government of Tuvalu, 1983), 142. 51 disagreed with the following statements, or the participants could choose “I don’t know.” These questions ranged from general concerns about climate change to the varying degrees of responsibility to care for the environmental issues, from an individual level to an international level. This can be seen below in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Survey Section One

Survey Questions: Please write one mark () to indicate whether you Strongly Strongly I Don't agree or disagree with each statement. Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree Know Climate change has impacted the community I live in. Climate change has impacted other communities in the South Pacific region. I am concerned about rising sea levels. As an individual person I have an impact on the environment. My local community leaders are concerned about the environment. Environmental concerns are a top priority in my country. Pacific Island Leaders are concerned about climate change. My national government is responsible for enforcing policy about the environment. Other countries are concerned about environmental problems in the South Pacific. People need to relocate from my home country because of rising sea levels. Pacific Island Leaders are concerned about Tuvalu.

In the second section, respondents were asked to circle all of the responses that apply to them; and there was an optional “other” space where they could write in a detailed response. These questions asked about environmental problems and the parties or countries that may be 52 responsible for them, which can be seen below in table 3.2. The survey then provided questions regarding the possibility that Tuvalu will be uninhabitable due to sea level rise. The third section included two written responses asking what the environmental problems were and who was responsible for them, but because of the intricacy of the data for this section it was excluded in order to narrow the scope of the analysis. The survey concludes with a demographic section about age, gender, and the respondent’s country of origin.

Table 3.2 Survey Section Two

Survey Questions: Please circle all responses that apply.

I.Which of these environmental problems impact your life?

1. lack of fresh water 2. rising sea levels 3. soil erosion 4. deforestation 5. other______

II. Who should be taking action because of global climate change?

1. developed countries 2. developing countries 3. Non-profit organizations 4. local leaders 5. everyone 6. Other______

III. Who should be helping Tuvaluans face their environmental problems?

1. developed countries 2. developing countries 3. Non-profit organizations 4. local leaders 5. everyone 6. Other______

IV. If you believe countries should be helping Tuvalu, which ones?

1. Australia 2. New Zealand 3. USA 4. Pacific Islands 5. Asia 6. None 7. Other______

V. When is it anticipated that Tuvalu will be uninhabitable?

1. Now to 10 years 2. 10 to 35 years 3. 35 to 60 years 4. 60 to 85 years 5. 85 or more years 6. Never

53

The data collected from these surveys was mostly coded in Tuvalu because of issues transporting the physical documents due to weight and international air travel restrictions.

However, all the Tuvaluan surveys were translated in Funafuti by a bi-lingual assistant. Using

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) the data was imported and analyzed using descriptive statistics and frequency tables. Because of the great amount of data that was collected; however, some of the findings have been left out of this analysis to be used in future projects.

Main Statistical Findings

This section will describe the findings of the surveys by dividing the data into two types: the environmental problems and the responsible parties. As climate change has been a topic of grave concern for Tuvalu, especially with the possibility that rising sea levels may cause the islanders to relocate, it is very important to have a statistical description of their perspectives.

While Tuvalu is mentioned in current events and global meetings about climate change, or when cyclones hit the South Pacific, rarely is research done that specifically asks the people of Tuvalu for their opinions on the matter. This section shows that Tuvaluans are very concerned about climate change, and do feel that international parties are responsible, especially developed countries. Furthermore, people do feel that rising sea levels will cause them to relocate within 85 years.

The demographics of the respondents were well distributed, with 17.2% of the respondents between ages 18-24, 17.2% between ages 25-34, 17.2% between ages 55-64, and the largest portion, 38.5%, falling between ages 35-44. Sixty-two respondents were male, 55 female, and three respondents choose not to list their gender. Generally speaking, Tuvaluans felt very 54 strongly about climate change impacting both their country and the surrounding islands. In the

Likert section of the survey, when responding to the statement “Climate change has impacted the community I live in” the mean response was 1.42, right between strongly agree and agree. There was only a small difference in the responses to the statement “Climate change has impacted other communities in the South Pacific region” with a mean value of 1.47

Next, participants’ concerns about climate change were narrowed into specific environmental problems in the multiple-choice response section. These responses can be reviewed in Figure 3 found below. When asked “Which of these environmental problems impact your life?” the respondents were encouraged to mark all of the answers that applied. Thus. this section received 245 answers. Some of the most prominent responses included the following: 79 respondents, at 32.3%, listed fresh water; 72 respondents, at 29.4%, listed sea level rise; and 61 respondents, at 24.9% listed soil erosion. Deforestation and the “other” section received the last

13.5%.

Figure 3.3 Environmental Problems 55

As I mentioned earlier, in creating the survey I anticipated that the respondents would list sea level rise as an environmental issue in Tuvalu. Many news stories have sensationalized the island as an “Atlantis”, which suggests first that the island is sinking, and second that the people will need to relocate. To further gauge the severity of this concern, in the Likert scale section of the survey I requested that respondents agree or disagree with the statement “I am concerned about rising sea levels” which was met with a mean response of 1.57, in-between strongly agree and agree. Furthermore, in response to “People need to relocate from my home country because of rising sea levels” the mean answer was 2.33, between agree and neutral. This data was further explained in the multiple-choice section which asked “When is it anticipated that Tuvalu will be uninhabitable?” Respondents were allowed to give only one answer within a range: 1.) now to 10 years, 2.) 10 to 35 years, 3.) 35 to 60 years, 4.) 60 to 85 years, 5.) 85 or more years, 6.) never.

The mean response was 4.38, meaning that the individuals surveyed anticipated that Tuvalu would be uninhabitable within 60 to 85 years.

Following the establishment of the environmental problems on the island, the respondents answered questions about which parties were responsible for those problems. However, as this was asked in multiple sections of the survey, we will be narrowing the scope of this research.

This section of the chapter will discuss the multiple choice section that addresses the specific levels of responsibility for environmental problems on a national scale.

When asked “Who should be helping Tuvaluan’s face their environmental problems?” respondents were allowed to choose the following: developed countries, developing countries, non-profit organizations, local leaders, everyone, or other. The majority or respondents, at 42.7% answered developed countries, 28.7% answered everyone and 12% answered developing 56 countries. Additionally, only 11.6% of respondents answered local leaders, and the last 4.9% answered non-profit organizations or other.

Developed Everyone

Countries

Figure 3.4 Who Should be Helping Tuvalu Face Environmental Problems

This concept was narrowed in a follow-up question, which can be seen in figure 3.5, that asked

“If you believe specific countries should be helping Tuvalu, which ones?” Respondents answered 27.9% USA, 22.7% Australia, 19.4% New Zealand, and 9.3% Asia.

57

Australia

U.S.A New Zealand

Figure 3.5 National Assistance

This section had the most responses in the ‘other’ category that included many answers could be categorized as all industrialized countries. A supplemental write-in section asked a similar question, but because this data requires an additional form of analysis it was excluded.

In conclusion, the 124 respondents provided me with distinct data, displaying their strong concerns about climate change, especially water scarcity and rising sea levels. They felt that the parties responsible for these problems in Tuvalu were especially developed countries.

58

Discussion

The purpose of this section is to elaborate on the theoretical explanations behind some of the survey data. First we will review the significant findings by providing background which was collected in many of my personal interviews. This will include a comparison to the previous chapter’s environmental themes and a review of some of the political explanations of why

Tuvaluans largely answered that developed countries are responsible to help them, especially the

USA.

First, let us further analyze the background behind the data on the environmental issues.

In Chapter 2 we discovered that there were four main, consistent environmental themes amongst the interviews: coastal erosion, water scarcity, waste management, and climate change awareness.

In my preparatory research to create the survey, I prepared for water scarcity and sea level rise, which were both represented in the survey. Additionally, because my sample of Tuvaluans

‘strongly agreed’ that climate change has impacted their community, so it is logical that following this recognition they would implement programs to make other people aware of these issues. The only topic that the survey does not represent is waste management and the pollution on the island. I argue that this is an anthropogenic, or human-caused, environmental issue that was largely separate from the climate change literature that I read before visiting the country. It seems paradoxical that an island which is largely concerned about climate change, which was even reflected in the data, should create an additional environmental problem as their country is developing. This would be very interesting for a future researcher to further investigate.

The data that was discovered in the interviews conducted for this research was also reflected in the survey respondents, especially when it comes to climate change. Their main concerns were fresh water, rising sea level, and soil erosion, respectively. Although the specific 59 diction is different, coastal erosion was a main concern in the interviews, and is reflected in the respondents choosing soil erosion as an issue. This data also hints at the issue of relocation due to sea level rise, because a large portion of my respondents were concerned about it. Also, I anticipated hesitancy over the questions about relocation after learning in my interviews that the

National Climate Change Disaster Management Office and the Prime Minister refused to create a national migration plan in case of sea level rise, nevertheless, respondents answered that within

85 years Tuvalu would become uninhabitable. This concerned me as an observer because there appeared to be a disconnect between the citizens and the policy makers when it came to possible relocation. Additionally, Chief Iosefa Elisala mentioned that Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji had all offered land in the event that Tuvaluans needed to migrate.131 Although these countries do not have specific plans for relocation, New Zealand has give Tuvalu a quota of 75 people to become NZ citizens through their Pacific Access Countries program.132 These small steps towards migration, and the citizens’ belief that relocation will occur within the next 85 years, indicates that perhaps there should be a more serious governmental policy in case relocation is necessary.

Furthermore, I believe there are many reasons why the respondents allocated responsibilities to different parties, but ultimately focused on developed countries. First of all, the island has historically had issues with countries like the USA and Australia for not signing onto the Kyoto Protocol. An underlying concept which arose in my interviews was that countries that underwent industrialization have burned the most fossil fuels and thus have contributed the most to global climate change warming. Additionally, the country has political influence within

131 Iosefa Elisala, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 26, 2014

132 Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism Temate Melitiana, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 03, 2014 60 regional organizations like Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Pacific Islands Forum

(PIF), but SIDS are not given much credibility in the international arena.

Most industrialized countries that have had interactions with Tuvalu have been in forms of aid or assistance and not for political or trade benefits. Alliances are not well established, and thus the response in the survey that Tuvaluans feel these developed countries are “responsible” may be because of past or current aid programs. Australia, New Zealand, the European Union,

Japan, Russia, and the USA have all provided assistance in terms of access to water. Specific examples can be reviewed in Chapter 2. This points to the fact that Tuvalu expects aid to continue, or that these countries have self-assigned responsibilities because of previous assistance.

Specifically, 69 of my respondents listed the USA as the country that should be helping

Tuvalu to combat these environmental problems. I argue that this is based off of the general negative perception that came from the USA’s creation of the airfield on the island during WWII.

When I asked about the environmental programs in my interviews, I discovered that New

Zealand is introducing a program to fill the borrowing pits that have been increasing the salinity of the water on the island, which intrudes the soil and harms agriculture. People feel that the

United States is responsible for filling these pits and that there were no reparations for their destruction during World War II. Additionally, the USA is a large emitter of carbon, has not signed the Kyoto Protocol, and has little political interactions with Tuvalu aside from the US

AID project that began this year.

There were some limitations to conducting this portion of the research, which are important to note for any possible future work. In my preparations to create the survey, I did not anticipate that waste management would be an issue because it is an environmental problem that 61 is not typically associated with climate change, and Tuvalu is a large proponent in the international realm for environmental sustainability. Thus this issue was not included in the survey results; however, because it is an anthropogenic cause and not climate change it is something I would not have realized until actually collecting the primary data. I would suggest that a future researcher investigate the dichotomy of pollution and sustainability that Tuvalu is currently encountering.

Reflecting upon my design of the survey, there were some limitations that I hope future researchers will consider. In the demographic section, I should have allowed participants to answer which island of Tuvalu they came from: Funafuti, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Nanumea, Nui,

Nukulaelae, Nanumaya, and Niutao (Niulakita is uninhabited).133 This seems like a minute detail to a foreigner; however it is important to Tuvaluans because each island’s history has created their own customs, language differences, and even tensions within the government. Islanders take pride in their own island, and thus each island wears a different color during national gatherings to denote the particular island’s inhabitants. Additionally, each island has their own community hall because of these cultural differences, and you must be invited to attend the halls that are different than the individual’s family’s origin. This creates a strong sense of internal community within Funafuti and the other islands; however, it also creates an “us versus them” mentality between the inhabitants of the other islands. When uncommon issues arise in Funafuti, the islanders will subconsciously apply the blame to islanders which have moved from the outer islands and may not fully understand their customs. Sometimes this is not the reality of the situation, but it creates tensions amongst community members which is reflected in the community’s decisions.

133 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Tuvalu." CIA - The World Factbook -- Fiji. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 Aug. 2013. 62

Conclusion

In summary, the Tuvaluan people strongly agree that climate change is a large issue affecting the South Pacific. They agreed that climate change has strongly impacted the communities that they live in, with a mean response of 1.42, between strongly agree and agree.

They are concerned about sea level rise, with a mean response of 1.57, especially in the case that their country may become uninhabitable within the next 85 years. Although the data shows that the islanders are concerned about relocation, there is not a specific national governmental plan in place to migrate. In addition to the four environmental themes that were discussed in Chapter 2, their top three environmental concerns are fresh water with 32.2% of responses, sea level rise with 29.4% of responses, and soil erosion with 24.9% of responses. Additionally, 42.7% of people surveyed felt that developed countries are responsible for helping them with these specific environmental issues, which I argue is because of the greater amounts of carbon emitted from industrialized countries. Specifically, 27.9% of respondents felt that the United States is most responsible to be assisting them, which is historically supported because of the airfield construction, which created the borrowing pits during World War II. 63

CHAPTER FOUR

Introduction

This chapter will serve as a more thorough explanation and application of Deep Systems

Leadership (DSL), which was reviewed in Chapter 1. This environmental leadership theory delves into the relationships between three different components: individuals, the systems of which they are a part, and the surrounding environment. The author of the theory, Rian

Satterwhite, draws a connection between a cellular, biological level, to a relatable, human, leadership level. After describing DSL in more detail using an interview with Mr. Satterwhite and supplemental literature, his theory will be applied to the strength of these relationships within the Tuvaluan community.

This analysis will use the quantitative survey data which was excluded from Chapter 3, and will serve to analyze the different levels of relationships between Tuvaluans and the environment. The data was collected from the same survey featured within the previous chapter, but the questions were specialized to specifically apply to the different relationships within the

DSL model. These questions were presented with statements upon a Likert scale. Based on my understanding of the Tuvaluan community, there were two systems which I placed within the statement: the country’s government system, and the regional system which is comprised of

Pacific Island Leaders.

Because of the international concerns about rising sea levels in Tuvalu, I hypothesized that individuals would have a very personal relationship with the environment. Additionally, regardless of the strength of these relationships, their analysis would be important for two reasons. First, to help further the research and possible criticism of DSL as other environmental 64 leadership theories are developed; and secondly, to explain Tuvalu’s unique environmental situation so that the readers may have a clear example of the impacts of climate change.

Deep Systems Leadership

Deep Systems Leadership is an environmental leadership theory created by Rian

Satterwhite which focuses on recognizing our interconnectedness with the environment.134 This concept is created from biological concepts such as cultural biology, and it is mutually reinforcing philosophical component, deep ecology. The DSL model continues into systems theory, a daily call to actively consider the different environments we, as individuals, are a part of.

Cultural Biology

Systems Theory Deep Ecology

Deep Systems

Leadership Systemic Leadership

Figure 4.1 The DSL Model

Beginning at the micro level, humans are made of cells which gives us a biological grounding. At a cellular level, we are autopoetic, meaning we are capable of reproducing and living on our own.135 Cultural biology includes autopoesis, structural coupling, the structural

134 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

135 Ibid.

65 congruence between two systems such as the autopoetic being and the environment, and conversations of conservation.136 This requires individuals to acknowledge their biological impact on the environment, and to work with others to conserve that relationship. Thus because we are beings made up of cells that act in this manner, we are only semi-autonomous: we respond to our environment “in ways that are consistent and structurally determined, and consistent with out biological makeup.”137 As humans, we are not separate from biological realities, and this relationship between our cells and the environment in which they exist, is relative to the way we should treat the environment.

Deep Ecology mutually enforces cultural biology, and is the philosophical component of the relationship between the individual and the environment. Deep Ecology can be interpreted many different ways and historically this has resulted in different interpretations depending on the cultural background of the author. George Sessions and Bill Devall, American authors, wrote a chapter on Deep Ecology in 1984 whose values are now used as the platform for The

Foundation of Deep Ecology. Most notably, their first value states:

The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in

themselves (synonyms: inherent worth, intrinsic value, inherent value). These values are

independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes, which

theoretically support the biological grounding of our biological ties.138

136 Rian Satterwhite. "Deep Systems Leadership: A Model for the 21st Century." In Leadership for Environmental Sustainability. By Benjamin W. Redekop. (New York: Routledge, 2010.) 230-41.

137 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

138Bill Devall and George Sessions. “Deep Ecology.” In Technology and Values: EssentialReadings. By Craig Hanks. (West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2010), 456.

66

This is followed by seven more values which elaborate on the richness and value in the diversity of life forms, that rely on the flourishing of non-human life to survive.139 The final value of deep ecology suggests that those who subscribe to the concepts of deep ecology have an obligation to partake in the attempt to implement this concept.

There are two common interpretations of the updated American version of deep ecology, self-realization and identification. In both it is essential that humans do not have dominance over nature.140 In self-realization, an individual recognizes their ecological self, their specific personal and individual relationship with the environment; it is based on reflection of the self. In the second interpretation, identification, this understanding is developed into a more broad recognition of the interconnectedness of an individual person and their existence within the rest of the world.141 This can also be considered identification-as-belonging, or being personally intertwined with nature. Thus, on the leadership model deep ecology is concerned with the way individuals interact with the environment and the way that the environment interacts with other systems.

The third component, systems theory, accepts the complexity and interconnectedness of the different systems in which we live. It attempts to get at the fact that we are embedded within and composed of a multitude of systems, biological or social, that exist and change on a daily basis.142 This comes from the study of complexity theory, which suggests that whether it is an ecosystem, economy, production line, or non-profit organization, each system is interactive and

139 “The Deep Ecology Platform.” The Deep Ecology Foundation. 8 April 2015.

140 Satterwhite, Rian. "Deep Systems Leadership: A Model for the 21st Century." In Leadership for Environmental Sustainability. By Benjamin W. Redekop. (New York: Routledge, 2010.) 237.

141 Ibid.

142 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

67 adaptive, and this needs to be reflected within the leadership of the system.143 Further, this means that the agents of the system, for example the individuals within the system, are interacting and creating interdependencies within each other.144

The fields of physics, quantum mechanics, neurophysiology, and biology have all contributed to the concepts that different biological systems have relationships between them, aside from the single relationship between the individual and the environment.145 Although these fields have very different purposes, when they are boiled down they have similar, generalizable characteristics: “a shift from the individual parts to the whole . . . [and] . . . viewing life as a network of relationships.”146 Satterwhite uses his own experience to explain this broad definition in a very relatable situation:

We are surrounded by individual processes and networks that we contribute to, but we

just don’t know about them. For example, understanding what happens here in the U.S.

when your trash gets picked up. Who is involved? Who are the companies? What are the

public policies in your state, county, or city? What are the economics involved? . . . What

are the invisible strings that we pull, or pull us, that we are not aware of at all?

Admittedly, it is overwhelming to consider every aspect of each system; however, Satterwhite is arguing that the trouble occurs when the reality of the systems is ignored.147

143Mary Uhl-Bien, Russ Marion and Bill McKelvey, “Complexity Leadership Theory: Shifting lessons from the industrial age to the knowledge era.” Leadership Quarterly 18 no. 4 (August 2007): 298.

144 Ibid., 300

145 Satterwhite, Rian. "Deep Systems Leadership: A Model for the 21st Century." In Leadership for Environmental Sustainability. By Benjamin W. Redekop. (New York: Routledge, 2010.) 236.

146 Ibid.

147 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

68

That is why the final component, systemic leadership, is a call to action for individuals to actively consider applying these concepts in their lives. This understanding of interconnectedness and eliminating our position above nature should be applied to leadership within organizations and social systems as well.148 Specifically, Deep Systems Leadership begins with this realization of interdependence as an individual, which can then be applied to the multiple overlapping systems that touch us. Furthermore, our biological makeup ties us to the environment which we are damaging, and will thus be in a different state for future generations who also need to be aware of their impacts on the environment and the systems in which they are involved.

Satterwhite admits that there are faults within the details of Deep Systems Leadership, and these occur mostly within the education of individuals between their different systems. He claims that one of our greatest deficiencies in education is that we do not focus enough teaching on explaining an individual’s place and contribution to the systems in which they are involved.

This creates a disconnect between an individual’s behavior and the reality that they occupy.149

Additionally, this is exacerbated in the United States because of our belief that we are technically adept when it comes to measuring and monitoring changes in the climate, but as individuals we are not scientifically literate. Satterwhite , for example, noted that in some of his classes at the

University of Oregon he must explain the differences between weather, day to day changes, and climate, long term trends of change.150 Combining longer time scales, scientific terminology, and the lack of concern for an individual’s place in different systems all accumulate into educational gaps between Americans and their systems.

148 Satterwhite, Rian. "Deep Systems Leadership: A Model for the 21st Century." In Leadership for Environmental Sustainability. By Benjamin W. Redekop. (New York: Routledge, 2010.) 239.

149 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

150 Ibid.

69

The reason that I find this specific theory so interesting is because climate change provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on all of these relationships between the individual, the environment, and the many systems in which we interact. Climate change is one of the few great systemic challenges that we have faced internationally that allows us to become educated on each of these facets. Because as individuals we were not specifically concerned with our biological makeup and the way we were structurally coupled with the environment, as a whole we continue polluting the environment unaware of its direct impacts. Secondly, the philosophical connection provided by the understanding of deep ecology is also not fully understood because without the factual background of cultural biology the theoretical argument to care for the environment is not as relatable.

Finally, in the DSL model leaders are given a platform to realize the interconnectedness of themselves and their impact on the environment when it comes to climate change.

Environmental issues, like pollution and the burning of fossil fuels, help to create a visual of the infinite number of systems that the environment touches. Climate change is commonly referred to as a collective action problem because regardless of the system, or in this case country, climate change inevitably affects everyone. Although the rising sea level and worsening climate conditions impact small island states (SIDS) more intensely, changing climate patterns worsen conditions within any hemisphere. Warming ocean temperatures and rising sea levels may not be immediately visible, but their existence is definite. This contributes to Tuvalu’s experience with climate change, and their individual, national, and regional relationships with the environment.

These will be further investigated in the following sections using specific quantitative data from the survey discussed in the previous chapter.

70

Statistical Application

This section will analyze the Tuvaluan relationships between the three components of

Deep Systems Leadership: individuals, systems, and the environment. This will be detailed through an analysis of survey data, followed by a discussion using information from my personal interviews. This data was collected from the same surveys analyzed in the previous chapter, specifically using a Likert scale of one to five, one meaning “Strongly agree” and five meaning

“strongly disagree”. Respondents were asked to respond to the way that they felt about different statements regarding their relationship with the environment.

The first aspect of the DSL model uses two mutually enforcing concepts, cultural biology and deep ecology, to elaborate on the relationship between the individual and the environment.

Because of the length of the survey, I did not ask respondents about their specific biological relationship to the environment because they are structurally coupled to it, as that specific scientific terminology may have been confusing, especially in translation. The respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the statement “As an individual I have an impact on the environment,” which can be seen in the example section of the survey in table 4.2 below. The majority of respondents, 66.7%, answered a 1 or 2 which, between strongly agree and agree. The mean response was 2.04.

Table 4.2 DSL Survey Questions

Survey Questions: Please write one mark () to indicate I whether you agree or disagree Strongly Strongly Don't with each statement. Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree Know As an individual person I have an impact on the environment. 71

My local community leaders are concerned about the environment. Environmental concerns are a top priority in my country. Pacific Island Leaders are concerned about climate change.

Additionally, I was interested in the respondents’ perceptions of other Tuvaluan individuals and their relationship with the environment. Because self-reflection is more difficult,

I anticipated that this response would be similar, but a little more critical. The majority of respondents, 85.5%, answered strongly agree or agree to the statements “My community leaders are concerned about the environment.” This created a mean response of 1.62. But aside from the individual relationships with the environment, the following statements involved the relationships between the systems they are a part of and the environment which can be seen above in Table 4.2.

The third main component of DSL, systems theory, is interested in the individual’s relationships and involvement within the different biological and social layers of systems.151 In order to limit the length of the survey, I was not able to create statements about multiple systems within Tuvalu. Instead, I wanted to focus on how the individuals felt within the constructs of the whole country as a system, and secondly how a system was related to the environment, specifically how Pacific Island Leaders felt about the environment in terms of climate change.

Respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the statement “Environmental concerns are a top priority in my country” and the mean response was 1.37, in between strongly agree and agree. This suggests that the relationship between individuals within Tuvalu and the environment

151 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015. 72 are very strong within the country as a system. Furthermore, when given the statement “Pacific

Island Leaders are concerned about climate change” the majority of respondents, 90.4% answered strongly agree or agree. The mean response was 1.40, which reflected the strength of the regional system of the small developing island states and their relationship with the environment.

Discussion

In this section the relationships between the individual, systems, and the environment that were reflected in the statistical data are further analyzed by my personal observations and interviews in Tuvalu. In general, the data shows that the respondents perceive a stronger relationship between the regional system they are a part of, Pacific Island Leaders, and the environment than their individual relationship with the environment.

There was a .64 difference between the mean responses of the individual’s relationship with the environment, 2.04, and the Pacific Island Leaders’ relationship with the environment,

1.40. I think that this can help us explain why Tuvaluan citizens are actively concerned about climate change which was shown in Chapter 3; however, one of the main environmental problems in their country specifically is waste management, an anthropogenic issue. This suggests to me that when it comes to the individual citizens’ relationships with the environment there is an educational piece missing.

Satterwhite explained that the educational gap occurs because we are involved in so many systems; it is challenging to connect with the realities of every single system that surrounds us. Trying to educate ourselves on systems that may even seem invisible to us can be 73 incredibly overwhelming.152 For Tuvaluans, the systems dealing with waste management may seem less obvious. Waste management is a large concern for the citizens as a whole which we discussed in Chapter 2, but there seems to be minimal individual responsibility to stop littering which may explain the weakened individual relationship with the environment.

For example, the Solid Waste Agency of Tuvalu (SWAT) is the main system which takes part in waste management; they take the trash from the citizens’ homes and place it at the dump site at the end of the island. This system is very much out of the way because homes are not built by the dump site and it is at the far end of the island. Additionally, because there is so much programming for climate change issues, through USAID, Japan’s Forum Sands project,

AUSAID and the EU donating water, educating themselves on a waste management system that is not an individual priority is unlikely.

Regardless, most citizens responded on the survey that they agreed that they personally had an impact on the environment, it is possible that this is because of the educational materials when it comes specifically to climate change. Bodies like the Tuvalu Red Cross are attempting to educate children on climate change through interactive programs and videos like the “Climate

Crab”, the Tuvaluan Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (TANGO) and the

National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA 1) also have awareness pieces of their programs, which are adapting schools curriculums to include climate change.153 Although this highlights issues of climate change, it leaves little room to educate the population on other environmental issues.

152 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

153 NAPA 1 Project Coordinator Solofa Uota, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, July 10, 2014

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The multitude of governmental and international climate change awareness programming, which was discussed in Chapter 2, may help explain why the respondents felt that the social system of Pacific Island Leaders have a stronger relationship with the environment. Tuvalu’s

Red Cross, TANGO, the National Disaster Coordinator, Sumeo Silu, and the National

Adaptation Program for Action (NAPA) team all have current climate change awareness programs and are anticipating the development of new programs. Additionally, there are many regional organizations that assisted Tuvalu with the recreation of the National Strategic Action

Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (NSAP), which was supported by the

South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP PROE), the Global Environmental

Fund (GEF), Australian Aid, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Pacific

Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC), and the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP).154 With this large amount of regional support, it is no shock that the respondents felt that their regional leaders have a stronger relationship with the environment than they have as individuals.

Although the DSL model does help generally to explain some of the relationships between Tuvaluans and the environment, I think this model is more appropriate for an industrialized country like the United States. For example, Tuvaluans have some disconnects between their different systems that work to mitigate the effects of climate change, but this lack of education that Satterwhite mentions it is not easily solved by means of education when a country is still wavering between a Least Developed Country status (LDC) and is experiencing coastal erosion that can impact their homes. Although Satterwhite suggests that to deal with disconnects between systems we have to “pull back the curtain through scientific literacy. . . to

154 Disaster Coordinator Sumeo Silu, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 30, 2014.

75 effectively encourage and foster the ability to think and operate on longer time scales than we are accustomed to”; this might be much more difficult on a developing island.155 Making long term decisions about the environment is frustrating to Tuvaluans because their coast line and homes are already impacted by rising sea levels, so programs with long term goals like the Japanese

Forum Sands project are very much disliked.156 They are more interested in short term solutions, like USAID and the EU building more water catchments for their homes. This is because the impacts of climate change are very obvious, while they associate the causes of climate change with large industrialized countries who have polluted for a very long time, and it is much more difficult to change the minds of industrialized nations to stop burning fossil fuels. So while the island’s program can be adapted to work on a longer time scale, this change will be ineffective unless other industrialized countries also work to mitigate climate change.

Additionally, education is much different in a developing island country like Tuvalu, than in the USA where this model was originally applied. From my observations in Tuvalu, one of the focuses in education is to get students to speak English and to be able to work a job that provides income for their family. Although the country is small and there is only one primary school per island, and one tertiary institution, it is difficult to travel between islands which make it difficult to disseminate information between the schools. This is another disconnect between systems that can make the process difficult. Thus, to include a larger focus on scientific literacy would not be as easily implemented. As we discussed earlier, there are some programs which have been working to include climate change education into the classroom, which have been successful in

Funafuti but much more complicated for the outer islands.

155 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

156 Iosefa Elisala, interviewed by the author, Funafuti, Tuvalu, June 26, 2014

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Conclusion

The Deep Systems Leadership model provides an interesting lens to view the relationships between Tuvaluans, their systems, and the environment. By gaining a more thorough understanding of cultural biology, its mutually enforcing philosophical component deep ecology, and systems theory we have biological and theoretical frameworks to gauge the different strengths of these relationship in Tuvaluan society. After describing this theory with some literature and input from Satterwhite, the model was applied to Tuvalu using quantitative survey data in order to focus specifically on the DSL model. The respondents agreed of disagreed with statements upon a Likert scale, and various different relationships were questioned. The relationships in question were between individuals, local community leaders, the nation, and Pacific Island leaders; all of which had strong relationships with their systems and the environment.

The relationship between the individual and the environment, a mean response of 2.04 was the weakest relationship with respondents agreeing that they impacted the environment.

With a mean response of 1.62, local leaders had a stronger relationship with the environment, but not as strong as the perceived relationship between Pacific Island leaders and the environment, at

1.40. Because of the immediate threat of climate change, the Tuvaluan relationships with the environment are generally strong and they feel that they can impact their environment and that their leaders do care for their environment. The strength specifically with regionally leaders working with the environment can be seen through the multitude of organizations that provide aid and support to Tuvalu’s climate change programs.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Introduction

This Honors Research Thesis has investigated Tuvalu, how it has been impacted by climate change, and who the Tuvaluan people feel is responsible for these environmental issues.

This was further analyzed by applying Deep Systems Leadership to the relationships amongst the individuals in Tuvalu, their systems, and the environment. First, this chapter will review the major conclusions of this research. Secondly, it will suggest the implications for Rian

Satterwhite’s theory of Deep Systems Leadership including the strengths and criticisms of the theory. Finally, after concluding this chapter I will suggest potential future areas for research.

Review of Major Conclusions

This thesis has served multiple purposes, beginning by providing a general background on Tuvalu, climate change, and environmental leadership to introduce the reader to a little known part of the world. This foundational understanding was important to establish before analyzing the specific environmental problems facing the island. There were two major conclusions that were established in chapters two and three.

In Chapter 2 the personal interviews in Tuvalu developed into four main environmental themes: coastal erosion, water scarcity, waste management, and climate change awareness. All four of these issues arose in my interviews consistently, especially because the current programming on the island is designed to mitigate climate change and educate the population.

This was important to recognize not only as a primary piece of qualitative data, but also to understand which parties were responsible for different programs. The National Climate Change and Disaster Management Office reformatted the national sustainability and disaster plans into 78 one comprehensive plan with the help of multiple regional actors such as the South Pacific

Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), and the

United Nations Development Fund (UNDP).157 The new National Strategic Action Plan for

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (NSAP) combines previous plans because of the importance of recognizing climate change as a real threat.

Secondly, Chapter 3 provided the reader with an opportunity to analyze statistical data on the environmental issues of Tuvalu and the countries that Tuvaluan’s perceive are responsible for those issues. Drawing from the data collected from 124 surveys, we established that climate change has impacted the communities in Tuvalu, and Tuvaluans believe that they will need to relocate within 85 years. This may be due to the environmental problems such as coastal erosion, water scarcity, and waste management, in addition to rising sea levels, soil erosion, and deforestation. Furthermore, the respondents especially felt that developed countries were responsible to help them combat or mitigate these issues. The top three countries that Tuvaluans felt should be assisting them were the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. I argue in my discussion in Chapter 3 that this is largely because of the greenhouse gases that industrialized countries have emitted. Furthermore, the USA dug borrowing pits to create the airfield in World

War II which largely contributes to some of the water related issues in Tuvalu.

Implications for Deep Systems Leadership

A supplemental purpose of this Honors Research Thesis was to create a more thorough understanding of Deep Systems Leadership by interviewing the author and applying his concepts to the environment and the Tuvaluan people.

157 Tuvalu’s National Strategic Action Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. April 14, 2013. Accessed April 8, 2015.

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One of the strengths of the DSL model was that it created different relationships for me to test in my survey. By using Satterwhite’s transition from individuals’ biological and cellular ties to the environment all the way through to the way the social systems influence the environment allows the researcher to see specific relationships and their strength or weakness. This helped me to create survey questions to analyze each relationship, and it allowed me to separate out some of the systems of which the Tuvaluans may be a part of, including their country and regional organizations.

Furthermore, the DSL model provides a biological understanding to environmental leadership that reaches towards Satterwhite’s concept of increasing scientific literacy.158

Although I mention in the previous chapter that I do not quite believe this is the right fix for developing nations like Tuvalu, it is important for academics to also try to educate themselves on the differences between weather and climate, and how we are structurally coupled to the environment. This creates a more descriptive explanation of how each individual’s decisions impact the environment, thus each decision is important.

Specifically, in my research this design was important because it gave me a more quantitative way to the strength of each relationship. First, between the individual Tuvaluan and the environment, second between local community leaders and the environment, third between the national government (system) and the environment, and finally between Pacific Island

Leaders and the environment. Utilizing multiple survey questions based upon a Likert scale allowed me to compare the individual’s and the systems’ relationships with the environment.

This revealed that regional leaders have a strong relationship with the environment, most likely

158 Rian Satterwhite, interviewed by the author about his theory Deep Systems Leadership, Feb. 25, 2015.

80 due to their commitment to climate change, but individuals alone do not feel that they have a large impact on the environment and therefore the relationship was not as strong.

This allowed me to compare the individuals’ responses upon a Likert scale which suggested that regionally leaders are very committed to climate change but individuals feel like they alone have a large impact on the environment.

The DSL model does give a researcher a thorough outlet to descriptively analyze the relationships between the individual, their systems, and the environment; however it does not give a clear depiction of the call to action that is required in the final stage of the model: systemic leadership. The suggested daily active consideration of the systems we take part in, and the further explanation of those systems to future generations is not quite clear. Although it is requiring action, the specific process is not discussed. This makes it difficult for a person in a leadership position to complete this call to action successfully.

Although Satterwhite does suggest that it is in the individual’s best interest to educate others on the systems in which they are involved, or for an individual to research their own systems, this does not provide the leader with a way to educate other individuals. For Tuvalu, this is why leaders have created so many climate change awareness programs. There were multiple discussions on the future implementation of programs into the schools’ curriculum in order to educate the younger generation, but different parties are concerned about overlap.

Leaders in organizations such as the Red Cross are concerned they are duplicating the same education programs and that it may be covered by a different organization, such as NAPA.

Ultimately, I think there needs to be communication between systems or education on climate change will not be successful. 81

Satterwhite does recognize this criticism and understands that there are many disconnections between systems, and that this lack of information can also make the relationships between individuals and the environment weaker. Scientific literacy would only increase education on some of the systems, but others such as SWAT, Tuvalu’s waste management system, need an entirely different type of education that may be best served by increased communication between systems.

Potential Areas for Further Research

Although this research did provide vast amounts of information on Tuvalu, their environmental problems, the parties that are responsible, and its application to the DSL model, there are still two areas that would benefit from future research.

First, I think it would be interesting to create a prescriptive, situational version of the

DSL model. I do not think the current call to action for leaders is universally applicable. If a researcher could find an empirical way to test the strength of the relationships between each of the three components (individuals, their systems, and the environment) and then prescribe a certain type of systemic leadership, the theory would be much stronger. Additionally, it is important that the relationships between different systems be researched depending on the leadership situation in order to provide more context. Within my personal research, this was a relationship that I was unable to empirically test, and it would provide researchers with a contingency style environmental leadership model.

Secondly, it is important that research on Tuvalu’s leadership continue because of the concern that their country may be uninhabitable within 85 years. Establishing a leadership model that could assist the country in implementing their climate change programs would greatly 82 benefit their leadership. Although the nation is small, they have a multitude of unsuccessful climate change mitigation programs because climate change is a top priority. By creating a visual map of the regional organizations, national governmental influences and the many local power holders this could increase communication between the many systems in Tuvalu.

Conclusion

This Honors Research Thesis is to serve as an educational resource on Tuvalu and the many ways climate change uniquely impacts the island. Through personal interviews and survey data, the many environmental issues of the island were addressed and additionally the responsible parties were identified. This accumulation of information was also applied to

Satterwhite’s Deep Systems Leadership model, which discovered the strength of the peoples’ connections with the environment, and the regional concern of climate change. May this research serve as inspiration for future research to further investigate Tuvalu’s leadership. 83

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APPENDIX A

Survey Questions: Please write one mark () to indicate I whether you agree or disagree with each statement. Mark Strongly Strongly Don't 1 for Strongly Agree to 5 for Strongly Disagree. Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree Know Climate change has impacted the community I live in. Climate change has impacted other communities in the South Pacific region. I am concerned about rising sea levels. As an individual person I have an impact on the environment. My local community leaders are concerned about the environment. Environmental concerns are a top priority in my country. Pacific Island Leaders are concerned about climate change. My national government is responsible for enforcing policy about the environment. Other countries are concerned about environmental problems in the South Pacific. People need to relocate from my home country because of rising sea levels. Pacific Island Leaders are concerned about Tuvalu.

Survey Questions: Please circle all responses that apply.

I.Which of these environmental problems impact your life?

1. lack of fresh water 2. rising sea levels 3. soil erosion 4. deforestation 5. 88

other______

Please flip page over to finish the survey. Thank you! II. Who should be taking action because of global climate change?

1. developed countries 2. developing countries 3. Non-profit organizations 4. local leaders 5. everyone 6. Other______

III. Who should be helping Tuvaluans face their environmental problems?

1. developed countries 2. developing countries 3. Non-profit organizations 4. local leaders 5. everyone 6. Other______

IV. If you believe countries should be helping Tuvalu, which ones?

1. Australia 2. New Zealand 3. USA 4. Pacific Islands 5. Asia 6. None 7. Other______

V. When is it anticipated that Tuvalu will be uninhabitable?

1. Now to 10 years 2. 10 to 35 years 3. 35 to 60 years 4. 60 to 85 years 5. 85 or more years 6. Never

Survey Questions: Please write in your own response.

What are the environmental problems that Tuvalu is facing?

Who is responsible for these problems in Tuvalu?

89

Demographic Information: Please write one mark () in the box that describes you best.

45 18 - 35 - - My age is: 24 25 - 34 44 54 55 - 64 65 +

I am: Male Female

Solomon I am from: Fiji Tuvalu Islands Vanuatu Australia Other

I have been to Tuvalu. Yes No

I know someone from Tuvalu Yes No

90

APPENDIX B

General Outline of Interview Questions Structure for Leadership What is your role in ___ organization? What are other organizations, or people that you work with? Who do you speak for?

Relationship w/ Environment What is your personal impact on the environment? How do you think that Tuvaluans impact the environment? What of these problems are caused by people? “ “ by climate change? Responsibility Which people are responsible for the changes? On an international level what action should be taken? “ “ on a local level?

#1: 24 June 2014 Iosefa Elisala Maneapa- sitting on floor A: What is your role in the community? I: Elder, 51, have to be from one of the 51 clans, your own clan elects you & then you’re on the council. Only Funafuti has the Tausoa Lima Fale Kaupule, and the other islands have their own councils, but I am unsure of the process.

I: The government asks the council for advice; they come with laws before their passing and give them to us to see what we can do to improve it.

[Interview stopped because after lunch they were having the council meeting and once the chief spoke I had to leave the circle. I was sitting slightly behind the inner ring during the interview; however, I had to leave the circle during the meeting]

26 June 2014 Iosefa Elisala continued Iosefa’s Home – two floors, had daughter and her young son and baby, we talked outside on porch. He sat on couch, I sat on chair. A: Can I put it on that table? [Motorcycles running] A: The last thing we talked about was the council, how often do you meet? I: The council normally meets once a month, but they can have a special meeting. A: How do you decide what to talk about? I: Well the council is responsible for teaching, enforcing, and applying, practicing the, our, tradition. Mhm, so anything that uh, causing to those things then we talk & decide. 91

A: What are some of those things? Because I am not familiar- I: Like the anniversary that we had. And we meet and decide what celebrations will we take and who will be invited, what do we have to contribute. Actually whatever we decided is voluntary, everyone contributes. [Motorycycles and then car going past] A: Does the community ever come to you with problems or questions? I: Yes, t community comes to us with their questions or problems in our meetings. A: Do they ever come with questions about the climate change programs like NAPA? I: Yes, and well actually, they are complaining that people are cutting trees somewhere in one of the islets, they report to us that beach erosion is taking place somewhere there, or someone sick fire on the uh . . [He says something in Tuvaluan to family, small child runs in] A: Talofa! [Giggles] I: Yes, uh, we have the reservation area, but report that some people are fishing there. [More motorcycle noises] They report that some people illegally building of houses on somewhere.

A: So what do you do after you talk about it at the council? I: We make the decision, and we have the what they call,uh the kaupule, the secretary arm of the council, we pass on to them and they will act on it. [motorcycles running and child playing] A: And, um, is there someone on the kaupule arm of the council that I could talk to? I: Pacifica, for the kaupule he is the chief kaupule. [Child yelling] A: And how do you spell kaupule? I: K-A-U-P-U-L-E A: Is he the same as the chief at the maneapa? I: No, we call the one in the maneapa head chief. A: Are their chiefs for other arms of the council? I: No, no the only chief is in the maneapa. A: So there is the head chief, and the kaupule chief? I: Each clan has a chief, 51 clans. I am the chief for my family. They elect them from each family, so whatever is agreed on at the kaupule I tell my family. A: Sorry, I was confused about that part. I: It is a British fashion. This one is uh, the original one, that we practiced from the original government. But the government is recognizing that.

A: I had asked before that there were ways that the government would come to you, how else do you work with them? I: The government gives us an act before parliament, and we can say no, no we don’t like this one. but we have voices, we have members of the island community in the parliament too and they normally support whatever the council wants A: How often are there elections? Elections every 4 years for the government and the kaupule council. [Motorcycles running] A: How is the head chief elected? I: Head chief, elected for 1 year. Members of the council propose a name, and all 51 chiefs vote, need a simple majority. Whoever gets that. A chief can stand again for the next year if he wants because they don’t receive anything, but there is no salary so 1 year is usually enough.

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A: For his position, does the chief have extra responsibilities? I: Yes, the head chiefs from the other island meet every two years. And uh we are, the council is responsible for classifying the problems, like drinking on the island, so many people from different islands they live here. So we decide what to do with them and then we pass on to the kaupule to tell them.

A: One of the things you mentioned on your survey was urban drift - I: So many people from the outer islands come to Funafuti for education but the other schools are well qualified teachers and it is not crowded, but here,ohh.

A: How long ago did people start moving to Funafuti? I: Since Independence in 1978 more people moved here. Are the majority from a single island? There are more people of Nukulaelae that live here than in Nukulaelae. [switched pages] There populations are not like Funafuti, they are causing us problems. Some people build houses and then want sand and stone, they contribute to climate change and the sea water rising. Because more houses they build more sand and. . . they take the sand from the coast. [Child playing and yelling] A: I realized by the post at the maneapa there are large concrete blocks on the beach- I: They tried to build seawalls around the coast because the erosion was very noticeable in that area, we asked the government and they build us blocks and put them there on the beach, but actually it didn’t help though. A: Do you know what year they did that? I: No, I do not know. In fact, the government they have introduced so many programs for seawall. In the beginning we had cages and we fill them up with stones and they said the stones would grow but in face they didn’t grow. Those blocks, so we still looking for a project that will stop the uh beach erosion.

I: We had one project, the Japanese had brought in, a beach nourishment program, that didn’t start up because they had another problem. One of them is, where do they get the sand from? Cuz if they get sand and stone from other islets then they also affected. We lose an islet, I think Pukasavilvili, it washed away.

A: Are you talking about the Forum Sands project, to grow sand? What do you think about that? I: Well they are beginning in Nukufetau, and Nukulaelae, we will wait and see, they are still planning. A: What do you think of the TANGO projects? I: What is that project? A: Tango is an organization across the airfield, they have some pollution and waste management projects. I: Oh the TANGO. Waste management? A: Yeah one of them is. They have two projects right now the 4 C’s, CCCC, for children, child centered climate change adaptation, and the other is a waste management one. I: I think USP is also doing that. They are doing something with the children and climate change. A: What do you think about that approach? 93

I: The children I agree, they have to know. I: Waste management is a big problem, people produce waste. At the moment they put it in the borrowing pits. I don’t know where they will put it after they fill up, that is a big problem.

A: There is a dump site on the end of the island? I: The dump site is new, but the borrow pits, Americans used World War 2 soil and sand for the air strip. He Americans should come and fill those borrow pits. Yes we have very good plants there but they are useless because of the borrow pits.

A: Have their been programs to fill the borrow pits? They are coming up with a program with New Zealand to fill the borrow pits. Donor doesn’t want the land owners to use the land after they’re filled up, they want to give it to the community and we, the community, don’t agree with that. Actually it was good lands, but the Americans come and dig the soil but New Zealand doesn’t want the land owners to have the land. They want to give it to the community, but the land owners want to get something. [Motorcycles] A: So is the project at a stop? I: Has not started yet. I: The current land owners, council members, and New Zealand government have meetings.

A: Did the NZ government also give a desalination plant? Yes, during the drought in 2010 or 2011 NZ did. A: Which countries normally help out when there is a drought? I: Australia and New Zealand, Russia helped us. A: And there are some of the new projects with Japan? I: Yes but beach nourishment is not for the drought. A: What did Russia do? Russia gave us a desalination plant and gave us food and gave us machinery in the hospital. They sent their own technical people to teach hospitals how to use the machines. They gave us boats.

A: What do you think needs to be done with the rubbish or littering? I: That is a good question. I: Actually we have now we have the public awareness because they have to sort out there rubbish. The leaves can be used for manure, it is separated. Because now they just fill it up with anything. [Child clapping and playing] I: The dump sites is the borrowing pit, and there is the one at the end of the island, which is too close to houses, but that is the only place that the borrow pit is far from residents. A: Do you know how many borrow pits there are? I: About 11 borrowing pits. And they are close. TCS, and the ROC there is a borrow pit there too. Yeah but some ponds are natural, but they have salt water (bubbles up). We have problems with urban drift, before good water was underground but now it is salty and contaminated.

A: When did this happen? I: The 80s when people came to the capital. When the septic tanks were installed, the water goes in them and in the ground and then out into the sea. So we have got many new sea weeds now, many new types of seaweeds. They said to be from the septic tank water. 94

A: I was in the water and someone said there is a machine from WW2? I: Yes, machines from WW2 are still there. It is a problem for us too because sometimes the fish get caught between the seaweed and it can be smelly. So that when the council comes in, we uh pulls everybody together to volunteer and clean up the seaweeds at low tide. Then it is dumped at the dump site. Some experts say to use the seaweeds for manure for fertilizer, and it works. I’m growing potatoes down there, but they have to mix with uh, manure. Other people are using seaweed for manure, yea we ask the government and they sent agencies to check. And they say oh yeah the seaweed is good for manure!

A: What do you think is the best way to educate people about climate change? I: We sometimes, there are programs on the radio. Sometimes they have scripture and poems, workshops. I think that everybody here knows about this. And uh I think we are contributing also to the problem. People say developed countries are not helping us, but we also built new buildings. [I went into coughing fit and he had a woman bring me a glass of cold water. I had only had cold water at Oyfase’s house so I assume they were better off than some families] I: Would you like a cup of tea? [Iosefa yells something in Tuvaluan] A: Maybe just water, cold or warm it is fine. I: You have been talking too much! Haha A: Yeah hopefully you don’t get a cough too for talking too much! [Laughs]

A: Do you go to the big church? I: Yes A: Is there a branch of the church that works with the government on climate change. I: There is a committee. [Motorcycles] I: Even pastors preach about the problem, at the big national church. There is a branch of the church that works with the climate change committee; it’s a committee of the church. So the voice of the church is also heard.

I: Members of the CWM, council world mission, they send a representative to be their and they also voice there. I think they have the United Nations also through the big church. A: How can other people in the world learn about it? I: Through the church and the government doing it. Radio program, workshops to the outer islands. [Oyfase! Something in Tuvaluan.Oyfase knows everyone!] A: Yeah, she came with me. A: How will other countries learn about climate change impact on Tuvalu? I: We heard about the Kyoto, uh Kyoto protocol. Yes uh, the Governments and churches whenever they attend the meetings they come back and talk on the radio.

A: Does the community have meetings? I: They only with the committee members. Yeah I can remember one woman came and took photos and had someone hold a sign that said something like “oh please save our island for our generations to come”. It was very good.

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A: When do people say that Tuvalu will be uninhabitable? I: In the beginning they began to talk about the water rising and said between 50-60 years time, but I don’t believe that. Australia, New Zealand and even Fiji say they will help us migrate to their countries. But I don’t want that. A: Do you think that the climate change programs will help? I: Yes. I think that the climate change programs will help. Some talk about developed countries forcing us [to migrate]. A: Are they asking you to leave? I: They are telling us that when the times come, leave your island, but nobody will. They can migrate to find jobs. Like to NZ, Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand but not for climate change. A: Is there a big Tuvaluan community in another country? I: In New Zealand. Oh, the last population said over 2000 in those 3 countries, especially New Zealand. I got a sister here, but she came back here for celebration. Yeah you know where you sit with all those ladies there from New Zealand. Yeah I have been following Alofa around, Oyfase and Polau just got here today. Alofa is going back to Australia. My age group doesn’t want to leave, no we stay.

A: I think that is all I have to ask you. Thank you so much!

#2: 25 June 2014 Mataio Tekiwene Director of Environment

A: What is your role in the government? M: Programs and projects on climate change: NAPA, National Action Program of Action (?) Seven priorities to implement, we are on the first project. They include coastal erosion, water, food security, we’re about to complete the fourth component in August, the other three will be by June next year. NAPA 2, the cabinet is questioning, we need their approval.

M: The other three components coastal fisheries, airline, waste management. M: The Kaupule island councils use capacity building, awareness, adaptation findings and other climate change related activities. Afterwards, NAPA 3 will focus on health.

M: We have bilateral programs with Japan. Two of them. The first, is a forum sand project which is producing sand, located by the fisheries department (Old building that is being rebuilt somewhere else currently). It is to reclaim the beaches, and it has very long term goals. It takes years and years. The second, PACE, Protection Against Coastal Erosion. It is simplified so local people can understand it. The 1st phase, assessment, is about to be implemented. Engineers are teaching about it. M: The beach nourishment is to rebuild the beach adjacent to Funafuti. It will join with NAPA 1, but we are waiting for Japan. The Japanese government is working with the department (The Environment Department) and the island council (kaupule). They talk to the councils before consultations. The Permanent Secretary will make some changes in the near future.

A: What are some other programs? 96

M: Mitigation programs, such as energy. Biodiversity, and a few programs based on conversation. It is in-line with traditional knowledge, it encourages communication through the council to manage their own areas. There are questions of funding, but there are local programs.

M: We also have desalination plants. From Japan we have one, from when we first declared drought in the past years, and lately we have the same from New Zealand and Australia. They provided bottles of water too. But I don’t know how much. The Public Works Department across the airfield may know. Or Solofa who is the Project Coordinator for NAPA. He is in the warehouse past the church.

#3: 02 July 2014 Kilifi O’Brien Assistant Secretary of Home Affairs K: I did my Masters on the Community’s Perception of Impacts of Environmental . . .it’s in the Pacific Journal Collection under my name. A: What is your role in the government? K: My main responsibility is HR, managing staff, oversight on projects, and those from the UNDP, the UN Habitat. I do proposal writing, reviewing documents and cabinet briefings, I advise and am close with the Prime Minister’s Secretary & I do any work they tell us to do that is not within the original responsibilities.

A: What was the UNDP project? K: The Tuvaluan government funded projects on each island (infrastructure development, kitchen projects for family units) and some churches. Nanumea, using a Japanese grass roots organization [probably the one Tilou works for] to make a water system. A CCA project, most of the government did the infrastructure projects. UNDP & ADB capacity building on local governments etc. They were building the water system close to the primary school so they can drain into the catchmans to have extra water supplies. We’re closer to the equator so we especially have droughts.

K: The issue in Tuvau is that rain is highly valuable, so we build more water catchman, and the population increasing so now we need to repair the water systems. So Japan is helping this project. The water system is of cement and also has tanks. It is not specific to CCA, but contributes because want to increase resilience and then teach how to manage resources. The rural development department carries out work with the local councils for capacity building.

K: My masters thesis was based on a vegetation change, and I used qual/quan interviews and focus group discussions which were tallied. Used GIS to map out the highly deforested areas.

A: What were the causes? K: Funafuti is most affected by climate change through drought, invasive species, human actions worsen the situation because they contribute to it. We educate people, taking sand from the beach contributes to erosion, Focus on what people think, the GIS map was just to visualize the changes in plants and vegetation.

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K: The knowledge level of the focus group was mixed. Some were very knowledgeable and some were still very religious. Climate change wont affect them because God promised Noah no more flooding, Christians especially the older generation around 50-55, and the younger generation are more open to changes, they aren’t educated but they are more concerned about their children’s’ futures. They need a Plan B incase for their kids and grand children. Everyone young and old accept climate changes like water now covers the older land. But there are different perspectives on climate change.

#4: 02 July 2014 Tusi Finikaso Climate Change & Disaster Management Officer at Tuvalu Red Cross

A: What is your role as the CCDMO? T: Mainly here with the Tuvalu Red Cross we are more concerned about raising awareness and uh , mainly with our outer island branches and the communities here on Funafuti, at this stage. We have plans to further expand later. But this stage we are mainly concerned with raising awareness.

A: What are some things you are doing to raise awareness? T: Unfortunately because we are restricted by funding, especially with the outer islands, we are doing what we can here. We are reaching to the primary school students here and we have plans to extend basic climate change knowledge to the kindergarten students. {Soko?} has been traveling to the outer islands and doing some awareness with his work, maybe with the youth he has been working with in the outer islands.

A: Do they come into class or give them a book? T: We go to the classes and give them basic information. A: And, uhm, how often do you go? T: Well time permitting because there is only like a few of us and there is a lot of things we want to achieve. When we are working on a certain project then we have to put the others aside and stuff. We do the best we can time permitting, there are 5 of us in the office. Each of us has our own areas. I wish there was more [Laughs] But a lot of our work over laps each other, so… A: What are the three areas? T: Soko mainly works with the branches and communities. I work with climate change and disaster, and Maura works with health. A lot of our work overlaps ahy?

A: What do you do with Disaster management? T: Here like, with the Red Cross, what we are doing right now is we are trying to uh, build storage shelters at each of the different islands. And we have our own stocks that we try to give out when people need them, so each island has their own stocks. So the Red Cross on the outer islands can distribute at times of disaster. A: What happened during the 2011 drought? T: I wasn’t working at the time, but what I do know is that there was an appeal made and what the Tuvalu Red Cross did, was distribute a lot of water to around the country and Funafuti mainly. And they also got a desalination unit that converts sea water to fresh water and they operated it for a month on Nukulaelae but I wasn’t here at the moment. 98

A: Is the desalination plant still at Nukulaelae? T: No it is back here but something is wrong with it. It will be fixed, we have plans for people to come and look at it later on in the year. A: Will it go back to Nukulaelae? T: No, we want it to stay here so we can send it wherever we can. A: How do you ship it? T: It is quite heavy but it is portable. It is big but. A: Where did they get funding? T: What normally happens in times like this, like our partners from around the region help and in this instance we requested help from New Zealand. Societies around the region have a really good network, and a good support system.

A: So what kind of other things are you doing besides the primary schools? T: We do have plans, but as I was saying since there are so few of us and there is only so much we can do. We have a lot of plans; we have that in the future. There’s another thing like, we don’t want to duplicate what other organizations are doing. And some other organizations are already doing climate change; we have that in the future to do a more hands on practical approach. In this stage with what we have, uh we are kind of restricted to awareness activities only. I wish we had funding like other organizations actually.

A: Um, did you have any experience with NAPA 1 as someone living in Funafuti? That is the Department of Environment’s climate change project. T: Since I started they have already invited us once, no twice rather, to be part of their food security issues. A: What did you guys say? T: Well that one, Sopo talked to them about it. [Motorcycles go by] T: There’s another problem that we have here, is infrequent shipping schedules. It crazy like, they’ll do something, they’ll send out a shipping schedule and then they’ll keep on changing everything. If you are stuck on one of the islands, you will probably be stuck there for about a month. So, it is very hard to plan. That is one of the major challenges that we face there. The big projects they can charter a boat to do their activites on the outer islands for on, two days, but smaller organizations like us we do not have that kind of funding so we depend on the government shipping. A: When you go through the outer islands, what is the process you do before you go? T: Because we have branches on each of the outer islands, so normally what we do is contact the branch there to let them know whether they can support whatever activity that we are going to do and let them know when we will be arriving. On each island they have their own council, their kaupule, so you also contact their kaupule to let them know we will be coming to the island as well. And we make sure the funding and everything is good. A: Do you ever work with the ministry of home affairs when you are going? I have only had one trip to the outer islands and the ministry of home affairs didn’t know about it. That’s another place that I got a lot of information out of them before.

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A: The other thing I was wondering if there was a way for me to get an electronic copy of some of the things you have done in the primary schools. Some places also have pamphlets, things like that. T: Yeah I can do that, I can email you. A: I also have a flash drive, if that is easier. T: I will have to get everything together first. A: I can give you an email then. [Handed business card with email and awareness materials written on the back]. A: The phone number doesn’t work because it is for America but that is my email. That stuff helps me a lot to help me to see what people are learning especially because I cannot travel to the outer islands because I leave on Tuesday. T: This was publishing from the Red Cross societies in the region, adventures of the Climate Crab. It is a short animation film that is about five minutes.

#5: 03 July 2014 Temate Melitiana Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism [email protected] [email protected]

A: The first thing I was wondering is what is your role as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs? T: Well under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I am overseeing the management and administration of the ministry which consists of the, of the, foreign affairs, trade, tourism, environment and labour. So it is a big following, ahy? Yeah. My role is to give advice to the (Prime) Minister in terms of all of those areas that the Ministry is covering. In terms of trade, environment and even climate change, but of course we have technical expertise in those areas. We have heads, uh, of those departments like the head of the environment and his staff, and they are very capable. And of course at times I seek views from them, and their technical knowledge on these issues that are important for policy formations.

A: So do they seek your advice for things like NAPA 1? T: Well I came here in February so I am new to the post but I used to be the Permanenet Secretary of Finance for two years but then I came to this portfolio, But really my area of specialization is foreign affairs, but since the Ministry also covers environment, I am starting to build up my knowledge on the environment and climate change and other areas as well like trade and tourism, and labour. Those are the areas that I am covering now. A: That is a lot to take on. T: It is a bit lighter than my role in Finance because I had treasury statistics, business, it is more, mhm. A: So do you advise the Prime Minister on what other countries to interact with? T: We just have established what is called a National Advisory Climate Change Council, unfortunately I am not part of that, they want it to be independent from-but we have some officials from my ministry who have technical expertise who are members of this, uh, council. And that council has been established to, to, discuss on climate change issues and environmental issues, and then to provide advice to cabinet. And then they will, after cabinet decides on these 100 issues or recommendations on what they call the NACCC, for short, then cabinet will give us instructions to implement or to look at those issues. At the moment I am, I was that, I am still new to the climate change but of course we know what climate change is here in Tuvalu and all its impact here to our land roots and our, existence ahy, in terms of land and our coast and our food securities as well, in our country. And then migration, people are starting to migrate due to the fear of sea level rise. A: Do you believe that people are leaving because of the fear of sea level rise or are the leaving for other reasons? Well it is mixed you know but, predominantly now they are leaving because they want to seek better, or greener pastures ya know better employment but I think some of them too are leaving because of climate change but most people are leaving because of economic opportunities. Employment, communication, for health reasons. Like for me, if I have to migrate my reasons would be for economic terms.

A: The other questions I have are less about climate change and a little bit more about leadership. One of things I am trying to understand is like the structure of the government and who advises whom, and who interacts with other countries. With your position, what is your involvement with any international organizations? T: I have a lot of involvement with international organizations. Like they take the Perm Sect of FA as their focal point so I am building my knowledge on all the projects and activities that our donors and donor partners are doing to ensure that those activities are not dictated on us, but align with our priorities and needs. T: So in terns of that, we need to consult our people when there is a willing donor to assist us in any project that the country has identified to address the impacts of climate change. We usually have a team of our workers here, like the NAPA project, we have those staff who are being trained to go to the outer islands to get the views of the people on their perception or their needs to address the impacts of climate change. I think we are doing well in terms of the NAPA, and people are frankly telling us of what they wanted for us to seek donor funding and assistance so we can help them and provide them and facilitate what they need. Of course also in terms of leadership and how things are arranged we need to go through cabinet because the final say always have to come through cabinet. T: Of course we also play an important role in shaping the views of our leaders through the cabinet papers that we draft. The cabinet papers are drafted by the Permanent Secretaries and their staff as well but the Permanent Secretaries revise the paper so it is in accordance with the objectives of the Ministry, or the department, or in line with our national development strategies. And then, so that paper is kind of an advice, because it gives recommendations for cabinet to take on board and to consider. And in most cases they accept our recommendations so that means we are putting our advice there, and the cabinet is using that advice because it is based on consultations and all that, especially on climate change and environmental projects, aehy.

T: If there is a national project, a big one, because we have laws and regulations in place, for like EIA, Environmental Impact Assessment, sometimes it becomes a headache for those people who would like to do a boat harbor or ramp like that. So that bigger project may have an impact on the structure of the island. Because we have seen that, we have caused disturbance in the flow of currents, and we see some parts of the island have been reduced the sands have moved from one place to another, causing a disturbance on the normal structure of the island. So our 101 environmental staff are very much vigilant and very much on top of their work whenever there is a project We want to mainstream the EIA, impacts of climate change, in most of the projects. That is our intention. A: Are the cabinet papers that are released public documents? T: No, cabinet papers are just for cabinet and are classified. But the decisions can be made public. Once the decision is passed by the cabinet it will come to the Permanent Secretary and then the Permanent Secretary will pass the decisions for implementation to the technical arms of the ministry and then from there people can see that it is a decision of cabinet. And of course the decisions too are based on fiscal policies, defining the budget. So we can hardly do any project outside of the budget unless it is something that a donor brings in that is intercepted by the cabinet, government to be implemented then there are no issues about that. As for me, I am confined really to what has been approved in the budget.

A: What interactions have you had with Australia, New Zealand, and Japan giving aid to Tuvalu? And do they come to your first? T: Yes, yes, well it really depends. If it is for climate change they will come and have a consultation with us and come and talk with me. Recently, we also have technical people from Japan who come to seek my views on beach nourishment and all that. Most of their projects too I am their focal point so we have a lot of email exchanges and we share views and experiences together. And if I agree on their views, then I put the paper together for cabinet consideration. And a lot of things that we sign together, like funding, they are responsible for administering the funds for climate change. A: What is your perspective on the Forum Sands project that Japan is doing for beach nourishment? T: It is a good project but I believe what the Tuvaluan people would like to see is more of a concrete and something that has a great impact. The Forum Sand Project is more of a study, and uh we would like to see things that really help us straight away and ya know, maybe putting up a sea wall but of course we need a proper EIA for that, Or planting mangroves to protect our coastlines. But for the Forum Sand a lot of people were questioning this project because breeding sand takes a long time to see any impacts. For the beach nourishment, it is a good concept it is also a pilot study and the structure they were building is not permanent. We would like to see something where we will spend money and it will stay there. But of course it is the prerogative of the Japanese government because it is their funding. But we would like to try to convince them of our views and our needs; this is something that we want that is permanent and not just building a beach that in 5 years time will be washed away.

A: What are some of the projects coming in from other countries? T: We also have assistance from Australia for NAPA plus 1, we also have assistance, wait you mean specifically on the environment and climate change? Or you mean infrastructure or what areas? Because we receive a lot of assistance in terms of scholarship, maybe not smaller things but during drought we receive assistance even from Russia. We receive a lot of assistance from countries which we have established diplomatic ties with. Like for Cuba. Australia and New Zealand are our traditional partners in terms of development assistance because they provide us with assistance in many areas. They have priority areas where we try to align our needs to those areas: education, governance, economic growth and stability, and even health. We receive a lot of assistance not only from Japan. Japan is more on infrastructure needs. They have built a lot of 102 big infrastructures here in Tuvalu like the wharf, the electricity, the TEC, Tuvalu Electricity Corporation, they helped a lot putting in the building and the machineries there. And also our hospital. And also one of our biggest donors is the European Union. They also help us in terms of our efforts to achieve our vision for Tuvalu to be renewable by 2020. I think they, soon they, things are coming in to start a very big project on that. We are also assisted by New Zealand in terms of renewable energy. Just the beginning of this year the EU Commissioner for Development and the NZ Foreign Minister, they were here to discuss on a project that they have in mind to help Tuvalu. It was to meet our development needs in terms of renewable energy and also in helping filling up the borrow pits that are here because of course Tuvalu has limited land. These borrow pits, as you know; they were dug by the Americans during World War II to provide for the runway. They have been there since that time. A: For clarification, was it the EU or New Zealand that was helping to fill the borrow pits? T: New Zealand. New Zealand. The EU is focusing on renewable energy.

A: Could you explain a little bit more what programs the EU is helping with? T: They are thinking more on solar energy. They are helping us in terms of waste they have been doing that for quite awhile. In EDF 10, and now EDF 11 they are helping us with our waste management effort here in Tuvalu. A: What is the EDF 10 and 11? T: European Development Fund. They have cycles. It was the 10 cycle. A: S0 during each of those cycles they helped? T: Yeah just like we have the facility called the Global Environmental Fund is finishing, GEF 5 and now we have GEF 6 coming. T: I think one of the issues here, is that in terms of climate change funding, there are heaps of them, a lot of countries, committing funds to help address the impact of climate change in terms of even mitigation. But to assess those fundings is an issue for Tuvalu. It is difficult to asses the funds because of our capacity to absorb and use those funds. So there is something in mind that we are still developing, we are trying to get experts to think or to, we are thinking of a set up like a Trust Fund so that we can be able to sync and put in those climate change funds that we receive from donors and put them in one basket. So that then we can implement those activities at our own pace. At times we will not be able to. T: {For example} Because they give us five years to implement and to use the money for certain activities, but most of the time we cannot use that money during the period that they allow us to use so we have to give back they money, aehy. Just like with the NAPA plus 1, Australia is supporting us in. I think it is about 1 million dollars. And they need us to finish that money before August this year. So we have to spend the one million dollars while we are having a lot problems like shipping not getting cargos at the right time and other problems like that so it is hard to spend the funding in that limited time. A: When did they distribute that 1 million for NAPA? T: I am not really sure when they gave it, perhaps before I came. The timeline, well the due date is in August this year. But in terms of aid you can go to the Ministry of Finance because they have a lot of data on how much the country is receiving. T: And of course each country like Japan we understand how to approach them in turns of infrastructure it is Japan, and environment, in terms of renewable energy it is the EU, education is Australia and New Zealand. So all of the developing countries that we have diplomatic ties with they provide quite a lot of assistance to Tuvalu and we know how to tap them because we 103 know the area that they would like to assist Tuvalu in. For example if we approach Australia for infrastructure it will be quite hard for them to accept it because it is not the area they want to cover. But for Australia, they have indirect assistance for other organizations like the PRIF, the Pacific Regional Infrastructure Foundation, the headquarters is in Sydney.Yeah. A: So what countries has Tuvalu developed diplomatic ties with? T: A lot really, most of the countries that are members of the United Nations. I think countries of the UN now is almost 200, for permanent member states, and we have, even some of the countries that are not yet recognized by UN as member countries we have established relations with, like Taiwan. Most of the countries are not recognizing Taiwan as a state, because of mainland China. But Tuvalu, we have diplomatic ties with them and we recognize them as a sovereign state. So what countries have supported Tuvalu internationally at conventions? Especially on climate change? Usually the countries that support Tuvalu are the countries that have similarities with Tuvalu mostly in the Pacific region, the small islands in the Caribbean, small island developing states, of course land locked countries have different needs and different views and priorities compared to countries like us we have our sea and the ocean as our surrounding. And we the Pacific have more of the same views in terms of those conventions, aehy? I think most of the things shared by countries in the world [Phone ringing, Temate answers in Tuvaluan] Yeah, um the conventions that we- Of course if you look at what our leaders are always advocating in the international forum, it is normally about climate change and security. Security to us also means climate change, not only about terrorism and that, it is our basic survival, the survival of our islands. And countries that support us, I mean all the countries in the world, the members of the UN, they support security of the world and peace. So is there any specific convention that you are talking about?

A: I was wondering if you could give me an example. T: We look at protocols like you know Kyoto, and all the climate change conventions and all that, and we could see different perceptions from countries and also respect their sovereignty and their interest. Like I read an article recently about Australia’s Prime Minister not believing in climate change, he said that is it so crap, I mean this is our neighbor, and I also read a comment by Obama supporting climate change. I think a lot of countries and leaders too are starting to accept that climate change is real, given the scientific evidence provided by scientists and all that. But as I say ya know, most of the countries that are part of Tuvalu share the same challenges with Tuvalu. Small island states, very low lying. I believe also, the US has low lying areas also, like California and Florida. And they have the Dutch or the Netherlands. But of course they are also a threat when people start cutting energy consumption and all that because it affects the economies.

A: One of the things some people talk about is Tuvalu eventually becoming uninhabitable. [Temate takes deep breath] Hypothetically if that were to happen, what do you think would happen internationally? What countries would offer to help out? T: Um, if that case comes in I think that the international community will come and assist us. Countries that will most likely come in, are Australia and New Zealand. At the moment they don’t want to, but New Zealand is a Pacific access category, they kind of maybe some mentioning there of trying to help our people move so that they can be able to start their living there, before the real thing happens. If of course there is a situation where Tuvalu is being 104 submerged, but even me, maybe not in my time but my children’s time, now I think more of economic opportunities when I go over seas. But I have built in the mind of my children it may not be safe to stay here if the climate change trend continues like this, it may be better if they start moving too. So I think as time goes on then people will see that climate change is a priority in their thoughts of moving to bigger countries, but I think Australia and New Zealand will help if something like that happens.

A: Are there any plans with New Zealand in case that does happen? T: At the moment there is no government plan for migration because we believe we are still fighting our fight for leaders and the world to cut down, and slow down the impacts of climate change. And we still have time here to live here and take care of our land and culture and stay her in Tuvalu rather than move all of the people at once. Even in our foreign policy that is not what we encourage. We believe that some islands are already preparing for that and are looking and encouraging their people to migrate. But at the moment we believe that there is still life here in Tuvalu and we can be able to stay here and keep on fighting in the international community and the global forum for the world to consider the impacts of climate change, and to decrease this kind of trend that we believe and scientists have proved to be harming our global environment.

A: Do you think that Tuvalu has made that impression in the global community to get people to decrease their emissions? T: I think we are quite vocal, in the UN General Assembly, and even in Copenhagen, a lot climate change conventions and conferences our leaders and Prime Minsiters whenever they have a chance to talk they try to raise those issues with other leaders of the world to know that in Tuvalu climate change is a real threat and we are very much concerned about survival here not only for us but for our future generations to continue to stay here on the land that was given to us to stay. We made a big impact but other countries they have their own interests as well, I think people are starting to be, environmentally, they are starting to consider climate change to be an issue. A lot of funding, in terms of GEF funding, a lot of climate change related funding is pouring into the region and to other agencies like bank institutes, ADP, they have been able to get funds where they administer ad give to small countries to implement project activities that address the impacts of climate change.

A: Have you ever been to one of the conventions to speak? T: I only went to the GEF and SPREP meeting. We have SPREP, the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (OR Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Programme), it has been one of our champions in helping countries get the proper advice and technical expertise to promote issues of climate change, so that the world will see clearly about the problems of the Pacific in terms of climate change. We also have organizations that are coming in like the SPC, also helping SPREP in all the efforts of the region. As I said we are one in the Pacific in terms of climate change. And the University of the South Pacific is offering courses on those areas and I believe Australia is also funding scholarships for post-graduate and doctor’s degrees on climate change related subjects. But in terms of being at those conventions, I believe my predecessor and all the other people who are here have been engaged a lot in those meetings. In fact our Department of the Environment is very, very busy. Most of the time he is not here! He is overseas all the time. He couldn’t handle all the trips and the reporting and all that because it is 105 too much. A lot of meetings, he is required to be there regionally and internationally. So at times I lend it to my staff in Foreign Affairs to develop the understanding. Currently my chief of protocol is in Tokyo and then after that going to Korea for some meetings on climate change. Because I believe there is so much funding that a lot of people are trying to stage meetings like that, even smaller organizations, but for myself I attend the big meetings. Like the regional ones, the SPREP meetings, and the Global Environment Fund, My predecessor went to Copenhagen and even the recent meetings and conferences on climate change. A: One of the things I was wondering is if you had any pamphlets or documents from those types of conventions? Or any documents from Australia and New Zealand? Anything in volving climate change really. It is hard for me to get it in America. T: Yes I can look. Have you seen Mateio, the director? He should have some. But I can share if you give me your email, I can send you electronic copies. [I wrote down my email on the back of a business card.] A: The phone number doesn’t work here because it is my phone number for America but here is my email. A: Thank you so much. T: Thank you! [Chattering as recorder is stopped.]

Notes after recorder was turned off T: SPREP works with us on labor mobility, having circular seasonal workers. The Tuvalu Maritime College is the only university here, if we had more commercial schools then that would help people’s qualifications here to be accepted into New Zealand and Australia or Kiribati. We are trying to develop a Tuvalu Trade Policy which will focus on agriculture, tourism and fishing but I think they should also include labor mobility. We are in the drafting stage now. Sometimes we don’t agree with the consultations that come because they have pre-conceived notions on what areas of Tuvalu they think could benefit from trading. This one man came and said to focus on Tourism because he helped Vanuatu, but they’re different from Tuvalu. Now we are engaging in a public forum because they are very knowledgeable about working regionally. Those people help us (in comparison to international assistance). We learn abroad at these meetings and then we come home and share the information with our leaders. It is important for us to learn from other countries. At big conference we want the Prime Minister to talk because people recognize him, so what he says really counts. We give him and the cabinet sound advice, but the final decisions are up to him.

#6: 03 July 2014 Timaio Auega USAID * gave USAID printed materials

A: Do you technically work under the Energy or Environmental Department? T: Energy and I work with USAID, I am working with community adaptation: the Coastal Community Adaptation Project, the C-CAP. A: When did that project start? 106

T: It started this year for Tuvalu. Tuvalu was just joining this project this year, 2014. A: Are other countries- T: Yeah, other countries, I think uh Samoa, PNG, Tonga, Fiji, and Vanuatu started last year. And this year was Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru, and uh Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. There are nine countries now in the Pacific joining this program. A: Could you explain the project a little bit more to me? T: The project is about the uh, climate change. Where we become directly to meet with communities in our countries to identify what kind of programs have been effected to the communities being caused by the climate change. So what we do, is we meet with the communities and then after we do that we identify the infrastructures and then we look for a way in which the project can improve a situation in the communities. A: So right now- T: So right now in the case of Tuvalu we have had meetings with two communities, Kavatoetoe and the Funafuti communities. So after carrying out the meeting with these two communities, the Kavatoetoe has been indentified as a problem to them is the droughts. It is a main problem for them so they need to improve their catchmans for collecting water. So with our project, we have to submit that request to our head office to provide funding for improving their catchmans on these communities’ houses. We have to improve the gutterings and the roofings, so that the community can improve their collection of water during rainy times. It is the same to the Funafuti community, where they also suggest constructing a community water system to one of the island meeting halls: Alapi. (Penelope’s community hall) Where this hall has no water system so we just having a small water tank, 2000 litres, 2000 gallons I think, a plastic tank which is too small for this big building so they need to have a bigger water system to collect the water from this building. So that is what they need from us to provide for them, this water system. A drought is a main concern of the people of Tuvalu. A: Yeah- T: Yes it is the only source of water that we have, we rely on the rain water. A: Are there any other projects going on? T: This has just started May of this year, last month we carried out a meeting with the two communities so the request has just been sent to our head office. So now maybe August our office will have the sites checked and then after that they will make a report and design the project and send it to the US government seeking for funds for construction for these two communities. A: Where is the head office located? T: USP lower campus, C-CAP A: And do the other islands also report to that office? T: Yes all the islands report there. So today I am working on the monthly report which gets sent today to the head office. It is just about the meetings that have been done with these two communities. And then I will be going to the outer islands to do the same thing. I don’t know whether they will have the same kind of project or if they will have the same project or if they will decide on a different project like coastal protection. Coastal erosion is one of the problems that the outer islands experience. And flooding. But the people on Funafuti they are more concerned with water. That is why they are suggesting for water system and improved catchmans. A: How many years is C-CAP going to- 107

T: C-CAP is five years and this is the second year. So yeah. Four more years. And it can be extended, but it depends on after we complete this project and then we will see if the US government wants to extend it. A: Is there a consultant or TE that comes from the USA? T: Yes. Yes. So after we do the meetings with the communities I will send what they are suggesting and then the chair will come. During the consultation time, we have TEs from the office who come to help myself and to carry out the meetings with the communities. So last month they went, the head of our office in Suva, and one from the DAI, from the USA, Development Alternative something. If you go to the office in Suva you can, um, Joey is from that office. And he is right from the DAI. And Nicholas Good is from our head office in Suva. They were helping me during the meeting with these two. When they resume the request from these two communities, they are gonna send the will come and look for the project that these two communities are suggesting. After they finalize the report, they sign the project and send the subcommittee to the US government seeking for funds.

A: Is this the first US AID project that has been here? T: Yes, uh yes this is the first US project. A: And did the Tuvalu government ask US AID to come or-? T: -I think that it is something that the Tuvalu government and the USA negotiated. Because before we started, our office has already communicated with the Department of Environment and they were suggesting these two communities and two outer islands. So when I was appointed as country mobilizer, the sites were already selected by the ministry and our head office in Suva. T: I think it is something that was an opportunity for the government. I work for USP too but they do not have office space there. And the Department of Environment they are preparing to renovate their office for projects, by the church building. They will put my office there. A: That’s good. A: Do you have any documents that are public documents that summarize what C-CAP does? T: yes, I think I have . . . [shuffling around, opens desk drawer] A: I can move! Haha [ I move my chair over, he rummages through desk and opens folder] A: Mhm. Thank you!

#7: 07 July 2014 Enele Sopoaga Prime Minister of Tuvalu

A: First thing I was wondering, what is you role as the Prime Minister and what kind of things do you deal with concerning climate change? E: Um, I think of course getting the message out as clearly as possible to my people, the government and the people of Tuvalu. And also to the world but the message I think, when I look at this issue, has to do mainly with the survival and the long term, sustainable security of the islands of Tuvalu. And that is the basis of the message, but we have to tell that message to tell the story. To make it very, very clear to the people of Tuvalu and also the people of the world. And when we say about the people of the world of course we appreciate those who know already the threat of climate change and sea level rise, to the lives of our people. But in a sense of trying to save the islands of Tuvalu it is also important to tell that story very, very clearly to the people 108 who can make a difference. People who can do actions that have positive effects or results to address the causes of climate change. And I think that it is fair based on the information of signs to say that especially those who are industrialized countries. Those who are there need to hear the story of the threats to the lives of the people and therefore we need to build that appreciation. I think that with greater appreciation we can talk to them and we can build a popular opinion of the public to influence policy decisions of their legislators and their governments when it comes to doing real actions to address the causes of climate change, global warming. If we don’t have the public opinion then it will be extremely difficult. You can shout. You can go to conferences. You can make a lot of noises. Do a lot of demonstrations. But it really boils down to the opinion of the people of the public to influence the policies of government. So it’s a matter, as a Prime Minister, of telling that story as clearly as possible.

E: Basically I want the world to save the islands of Tuvalu, because I believe by saving the islands of Tuvalu, you are actually saving the world. I think time has gone, in a way which we argue and debate and point fingers on the causes of climate change. We must now seriously move towards finding ways to save the islands. Save the world. My famous premise is save Tuvalu, save the world. Save the islands, save the world. It is not just coming out of thin air, you cannot save the world if you cannot save the islands first. A: Yeah because they are going first. E: They are at the forefront. But from Tuvalu’s perspective, I do not entertain the thought of relocation as a policy basis for our efforts. So because eventually if the reports of climate scientists for example, like the IPCC fifth assessment report, were to be true, then of course we will take place somewhere, maybe that is an option down the track. But it’s artificial to use that as the basis of policies and our response to climate change. So I do not entertain that as an option for Tuvalu, and yes we would be forced and when we come to that stage, when we come to that bridge, we will climb it, we will cross the bridge. But, that stage will be a difference in our era. No longer climate change, maybe we will be moving to a totally different region. But in the hope that we don’t get to that I certainly believe my own conviction that we can save the islands if we are serious. Therefore, I still have my hopes that the good will of the world, the international community, to have a proper agreement by next year, 2015, in Paris. COP 21. Therefore we and we should have a legally binding by then. Only then can we have hope. Real hopes of dealing with the causes of global warming and therefore there are catastrophic consequences.

A: What things do you think other countries should be doing to help save the islands- E: -Well these things have been said and documented many times and one of the things is that we need to put pricing on carbon. We must tax carbon use and therefore it will help to also give incentives for global energy resources, to make them more environmentally friendly. I mean that’s only a way to look at the more sustainable energy sources and you know what we mean by that? As long as the subsidy for fossil fuels continues, it is going to be difficult to crack that one. We appreciate what the US states are doing, some states are more advanced than what the United Nations community is doing. You know, San Francisco, you know communities in California are doing a lot about this, on renewable energy but certainly that is one way, we have to deal with carbon, we have to put a price cap on carbon and unfortunately some of our own friends in the Pacific they started on this but politics overcame their good will and then they changed from carbon taxing to something even different. Anyway, I also believe that we should move beyond our national sovereignty, our boundaries, and treat climate change as a holistic human response 109 to climate change. We are being killed; everyone is being killed by climate change. We are being affected by that. And some communities are being swallowed by it. And the whole world cannot go on and allow this weapon of mass destruction to destroy us all. We must unify ourselves on the basis of humanity to address this together and rise above our political and commercial, or economic interests. Based on humanity, everybody, without any discrimination or national boundary discrimination. You are from the United States. We are small islands. We must work together and rise above our own national identities and think holistically. We are human beings and ya know it doesn’t matter whether you are white or black or whatever. If there were other beings besides human beings they would probably be laughing at us. Ya know, say these guys are crazy they are killing themselves by emitting carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, indiscriminately into the atmosphere. How sad it is to really think about it on the basis of humanity. These other species must be laughing at us, these human beings. And then every year going to the United Nations and arguing, arguing until we run out of air, debating about our climate, when really to safe the human race. It’s crazy. The more I think about it the more I feel very sad about it. Anyway.

A: No it’s okay. I appreciate you sharing all of these thoughts with me. What do you think, is there another way that other people should be sharing that message? E: Well, we need to again, increase appreciation of people and I think for small island countries it is important to take that messaged to as wide a global community as possible. But of course there are practical difficulties in doing that. First, is the capacity of people from the smaller islands, it’s the participation of course. We need resources to be able to participate and to engage actively in flag raising, in awareness raising programs around the communities. I am thinking that taking the message to countries in the US, Japan, Australia, is not a harmful exercise to be done maybe as early as next year to visit churches, communities. When I was ambassador in the United States, in the UN, I, one of my exercises was to do public talks at the universities in the East Coast and talk to the university students and to come to the communities, the church leaders. I am thinking that’s a very good worth while exercise to visit. Especially some part of the industrialized states, in the United States which haven’t started renewable energy programs yet. You know, give talks at universities and so on. So, in the lead up to the conference in Paris, now, that sort of things I think is very important.

A: When is the meeting in Paris? E: In November, I think. A: What is the current plan to get ready for the meeting? E: Well, again, I set up as soon as we came to government last year in August, I set up what we call the National Advisory Council on Climate Change. The NACCC. And that is probably made up of the key people in the government who are advisors to various ministries. They come together in this National Advisory Council to provide advice directly to the government, to the cabinet of ministers, and based on that advisory the cabinet gives the directive to land ministries on climate change issues. So it is not interfering with operational mandates of the land ministries. When it comes to climate change they receive policy directives from the cabinet based largely on the advice of this body. And you’ll have energy experts sitting there, environment, finance, the Public Works Department, all those cross cutting agencies. The MET, the scientists are there. And then agriculture and fisheries and this body acts as a cross-cutting advisory to the 110 government formulating a response to the impacts of climate change. So this body is going to play a key-role on the way forward. A: And that meets every other month? E: Yes! They meet once or two times a month, they are meeting tomorrow. This is chaired by the chief secretary of government, but of course they meet on my time I sit in on the meetings. And they report directly to the cabinet.

A: Were they the ones who made the decision to freeze NAPA 1? E: Yes! A: Can you share with me a little bit about that? E: Yes! Uhm, NAPA 1 of course the objective is based on the NACCC review, of the implementation of NAPA 1 projects, cabinet decided to hold on, to suspend the activities but, requiring the ministry of environment to bring a review report. An update report so that the cabinet could review. But the idea, was that the NACCC, the body, to review the actual activities of NAPA, but not to completely stop the projects. So, there were some concerns on the way these adaptation activities were allocated to the island, it was almost like a shopping list, a wishy-wash list from island communities. We want this, we want this we want this. Of course their views are important but you also have a national important to these activities whether they address climate change or they are a wish of people. I want this, I want this, I want that. Just for the sake of using money. And that’s a result you are dealing with some islands who are having coastal protection, sea walls, and some islands are having food security activities. But other islands don’t have food security response activity. Why? Because, and we are told by the government that the other island communities never asked for that. Oh, but we have to have some type of national adaptation view say okay they need this. It is not a matter of what the want. Even for coastal protection, some islands they say okay we don’t need to raise sea walls, food security is important-but all, everything, is a result of the impacts of sea level rise. Everything is important. We have the same priorities. Uh, of course the funds are limited but they are all important, but you know we need to implement this based on a holistic approach, not on an island based approach. Nanumea, Nanumaga, this is what they ask for. Niutao, and so on and so forth. It has to be national. Aggregate everything into a nation- like coastal protections how much are we talking about, and what formulations are we talking about? This is the length of all, so that these things can be measurable, after five years, thirty years. Okay, have we achieved the whole length of sea walls that we had wanted protected under Napa? No, why? It is easy to monitor, and when we go to GEF the reports are meaningful. Those guys had no idea what Nanumea sea walls, they don’t care. They care about aggregated reports. This is what you ask for, for NAPA, and after five years you’ve done two-thirds of, some twenty kilometers of sea walls are yet to be built. For food security, this is the level you asked and you have completed this, this is still left to be built. But NAPA, up to the wishy-washy shopping lists, it is not developmental. The message I keep on telling NAPA, this is not developmental this is to respond to a particular problem caused by global warming. It is not a thing from donors, the donors are not coming in to confuse us with this, we are suffering from the impacts of this and under the convention they have an obligation to help us. Those people are suffering. So for many, many other reasons as well, mainstreaming the funding and all that, you know this NAPA is operating under a different government. So we had to stop and do a review, and the ships that they hired to take these materials, to come away (call my wife?) from Fiji. . . we chase it away. Pontoon, pontoon? No working boats. No pontoon. 111

They didn’t have working boats for NAPA our money, that is supposed to be used on adaptation activities was being used to charter these boats and they didn’t ever work to transport the cargo to the islands! They brought a pontoon to one of the islands, and it sank with almost two-hundred bags of cement. It was supposed to go for sea walls or food security constructions and it all went down into the sea. You know we have to do something about these types of problems, we cannot allow them to continue. Pouring this money that is supposed to be helping us to adapt to climate change. If the management and implementation of these activities is done this way, with people laughing and walking away, continuing to receive their salaries from NAPA, it is irresponsible. Very irresponsible. Mismanagement! I think that it can end up being corrupt if we are closing our eyes to these things when we are supposed to be saving Tuvalu and the islands from the impacts climate change. When we are allowing these boats, funny boats, ya know, to get cement and have it poured back into the sea. That is why I had to stop it. A: Yes, I think that makes a lot of sense. E: No donor would allow this type of management. They probably think we are crazy. A: Is it Australia that helped donate money to NAPA? E: Yes! This is the NAPA 1 Plus, I don’t think Australia would be happy with this type of management. And for a responsible government, okay the arrangement was signed by the previous government, but we cannot come and sit like dead ducks. Just watching with our very eyes these things to continue, no. But it is not really stopping, we are reviewing it to see if new arrangements can be done, and to give policy directives to the ministry’s concern, then it can continue.

A: How long do you expect the review process to be? E: Soon. I think we are meeting today and tomorrow, the NACCC. And it will be providing- but the ministry has to submit a proper updated report to the cabinet and then it goes this body. This body will review it, and give policy advice to cabinet. Then cabinet makes the decision. I think that once cabinet is making . . . In fact the work was stopped before too, to transport building materials to the Southern islands. We used our own ships and they left on Sunday with all that cargo. Maybe next they will go to Nukulaelae, and then come here and make another trip.

A: One of the other things that I was wondering for my research, part of it is based on different leadership strategies for Tuvalu. What are some of the things that the Tauso Lima council, and the island council should be doing to promote climate change- E: I totally agree. I appreciate the role that the local governments, the council, the kaupule, what they are doing. We will continue to strengthen our government relationship with local governments on each of the islands. We paid a visit to all of the islands in February and that was very useful to get their views. And we have a matrix of long projects, and the proposals from that. We have got to work with them on the basis of those matrix and what the representatives to parliament are submitting. Of course we realize how important consultations with the local governments are. I think it is only fair to recognize what they are doing on each of the islands for maintenance of order, law, and management of services, the delivery of services to people on the outer islands. The national government is sitting here, but on every day-to-day management of order and development on those islands, it comes under the oversight of these people. That’s why they are extremely important. We also need to work much closely with more NGO groups, the youth, churches. Did you hear that, the church here plays a very significant role in the development of Tuvalu? 112

A: Yes, yes I have. E: It doesn’t help I think if you don’t work closely with them. It is only fair. Of course there are barriers where the national government plays its own role. But for social development, it makes sense to work closely with the churches. On the local maintenance of affairs, it is a service to the people. The kaupule and the councils are important partners to the government. And we are going to increase that. Yeah. A: What kind of role do they have in making decisions about climate change adaptation? E: Now they are increasingly being brought into the process. And it is a very, very important role. The people even, the land owners, the women are seeing with their own eyes, that the effects of global warming and sea level rise is getting more serious. Twenty years ago there was quite a lack of appreciation maybe. The issues were still being discussed, raised, introduced. But now of course, I must say there has been increased awareness and people are more conscious that they have to deal with these things every day. It is not something that is yet to come, it is already happening to them. And they are getting more serious about what they should be doing and therefore we are becoming very converted. The government will continue the awareness programs and also we will be doing our best to help people adapt to the effects of climate change. Yes, they are in fact very important stakeholders. A: One of the other things I was wondering about is the awareness programs. Kind of, how do they work and how do you bridge the different education gaps between some of the islands? E: That is important and the education department is working in collaboration with fisheries and agriculture to improve the syllabus, the curriculum. It is taken on board. A number of programs from bilateral friends, as well as the UN, have been introduced into schools where the curriculum is improved. It is upgraded to factor in the climate change concerns. Science, social impacts and all that, I think it is important to continue these things. On the other side, the government is helping to support educational activities. Because ya know, we strongly believe in the importance of education to prepare the people to decide for their own. And therefore we have introduced, when we came in as a government, a student loans scheme. What we call the skies scholarships, to allow Tuvaluans to take out loans to pay for their studies. And the idea is to build a capacity to be able to cope better with climate change. Those are the initiatives in the area of education now. We also have committed to paying for all the salaries of teachers in the country, even teachers in private schools like the church schools on Funafuti: the Seventh Day Adventist teachers. And that is a commitment to recognize that education is really key to all of these things including adaptation to climate change. Now I am sure there are other things that we should be doing but we are getting there. A: Yeah definitely. That is amazing. One of the other things I was wondering about was the pollution on the island- E: -waste, solid waste issue is quite a concern. And we are working in partnerships with the European Union, Australia, and this is, yes we recognize that. There are attempts to look at how we can manage this waste by improving institutional arrangements by designating mandates, proper mandates, to be clear on the operational and functional mandates of agencies. The local kaupule council, the Home Affairs department of solid waste, SWAT they call it. I think it is improving. And then you seeing the segregating the waste: organic into organic, and glasses into glasses. It is good to see these things taking off, but we still need the occasional programs to help influence the mindset of people. When I came back from New York some years back, I was very sad to see people just throwing their soda cans everywhere. Now, you hardly see that. I think you see that in the youth that are drunk, but otherwise people are getting more conscious of looking 113 after their environment, and more conscious of rubbish and dealing with that properly. So yes we want to strengthen our solid waste department and working together with the health [department] as well. A: Does the government have any concerns about the dumpsite at the end of the island? E: Well we are dealing with that. Yes. What you see now is a lot of improvement. Before it was just dumping, but we are sorting now under the SWAT and managing the dump. We have plans to have another dump site nearby but this is mainly to facilitate the sorting out of rubbish. Not to be used as a rubbish dump. It is simply to sort out waste. A: What time is it? I don’t want to go past your meeting? E: I think it is the end of our interview.

#8: 30 June 2014 Sumeo Silu Disaster Coordinator National Disaster Management Office *[email protected]

A: The first thing I wanted to ask you is what is your role as the Disaster Coordinator? S: Uh, I coordinate all government efforts in case of disasters. We prepare all of the government and Tuvalu, before, during and after disaster. A: What kind of preparedness are you doing now? S: We have been formulating our National Disaster Management Act. I put down legislations. So these national arrangements so government agencies and departments can align themselves in times of disasters. And their roles and responsibilities are stipulated there. Now we try to improve our {talent} on the island because we need to improve their capacity. A: What kind of things are you getting prepared for in terms of climate change? S: Lots of things. Uh, now water monitoring. There are water programs around. You know, my office, the National Disaster Management Office, and at the mean time the focus is to integrate Disaster Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation into one framework. So those climate change projects, the water projects, the building of resilient communities for awareness programs. On how to manage themselves in times of disasters, or to make and build the coastal protection through non structural means, like planting more trees on the coast, and putting down mangroves. There are a lot of pilot projects going up by NGOs and some government agencies and this office is much involved in those projects. A: That’s good. I am friends with one girl who is working at a Japanese NGO and they are replanting mangroves on the outer islands. S: Yes! A: So what are some of the things you do for awareness raising? S: We do, we mix with the use of water in terms of drought, conservation of water, and in times of cyclone we try to integrate the school curriculums. We have a lot of materials that we make for tsunami, drought, cyclone, water related disasters. A: Is this done through workshops? S: Yes workshops, and trainings. We even reach out for schools in terms of doing their fire response plan. We are much involved with the government stakeholders like the police and the fire department. A lot of projects! [Laughing] 114

A: Do you know if there is anyway for me to get information, like printed resources, on the workshops, or the awareness programs? S: I will have to look around for the reports and if I have a match to copy I will forward it to you, yeah. A: I would appreciate that a lot, You can not find this kind of material on the internet. I have a card. [shuffling] The phone number doesn’t work because it is my American cell phone but that is my email. [Typing and shuffling in background] A: The same stuff, the documents that are public, those also help me because they have already compiled the causes and effects of climate change and how to get prepared for it. S: Have you accessed this web page, Pacific Disaster Net? A: No I have not. S: That’s one of the good web pages since we are all Pacific countries. Including Tuvalu, all the reports and the documents, they will post a portal. A: That is cool because especially for Tuvalu it is hard to find the resources that I need. A: Are there any departments that you are coordinating with on these projects? S: The MET office, in terms of our early warning systems. And the Environment office. Our Public Works Department, our water project is with them. And uh, our Health Department. Marine in case we have a search and rescue or make a disaster in the sea. A: Could you talk a little more about getting prepared for conserving water, that you are doing with the Public Works Department? S: First of all we work with our MET and they let us know the climate protection if Tuvalu is facing dry spells in the next two or three months. This type of information we really need, so we connected with Public Works, the government agency that looks after our water, and then soon we start to reach that threshold, because they order something for all the government community water storage, even private household storage. And from there we start a regular program to conserve more water. And then we have to talk on the safe drinking water, like boil the water, clean your taps. We even go to the degree of we ask people to wash their cutters. But the Public Works they have their own projects. They put those first flush mechanisms, where the first flush comes before the pipes go to the water tanks, and they have this device, they call it the first flush device where they collected water so all the dirty water, the clean water will go to the water tanks. They have their own ways ya know. We have a lot of projects. And then we start the monitoring as well. You know we experience the recent drought in 2011? And we declared a state of emergency? A: Oh yeah I know! I actually did a speech on that in America. S: Oh that’s good! S: Is that when you received the desalination plant? S: Well of course we have experienced some droughts in the past. We were blessed with some assistance from Japan. That was in 1999, 2000. And we still have those desalination plants, but after the second drought we need more and fortunately the government came in and with their international support and we received desal from Japan, Britain, UNICEF. And that supports the production of our water. A: And that 2011 drought is the worst you have had in awhile? S: Not that really, because in 1999 we didn’t have that capacity at all. We didn’t have the desal plant. But you know that the population is getting bigger and bigger in Funafuti? 115

Yeah, we experienced that the drought is so hot. The 2011 drought was so hard because it hit some of the southern islands harder. Uh Nukulaelae, and the impact of those along with the agricultural impact, a secondary impact. And the vegetation were badly heated by this drought. A: Is there a disaster preparedness plan in case there is another drought? S: Yes we have that arrangement and we are providing a drought response. The government has some delay in responding to the past drought, so we will gear up ourselves for the next disasters. A: Is it the disaster management office that decides, when there is a drought, the amount of water that people get? Or is that Public Works? S: No. It is the National Disaster Management, but the Public Works Department they have their own mechanism as well. They develop a plan if the water catchments, and government storage, if that water is at a certain level, that way the Public Works will ration the water. For example 500 L or gallon per household, or those who come to buy water. They will limit the amount of water until a certain threshold where the NDMO steps in and we freeze all the water, and we pull all the water available on the island and instead of allowing the public to buy we ration to a certain point. We ration each household with this amount of liters for them. A: When it is rationed like that do people still have to buy it? S: No, no the Public Works they have their own response to drought. They have a certain threshold and if it comes to a certain level then we step in and stop buying the water for the government and then we ration for each household. That is where we declare state of emergency. [Loud coughing]. S: It is 50 liters per day per person, that is our threshold. Sometimes when we work up how much water is left on the island, that’s uh, the formula and then we find out we may only have one or two days of water left on the island. So we stop all of this and we buy enough water and then we ration for everyone to have water. And we consider those people with disabilities, because they may require more water. And babies. We allow those families to have additional liters or gallons of water. A: When you rationed it in 2011 for the drought, how much was given to each house? S: Before the international supporters arrived the Tuvalu government rationed four buckets of 6 liters. We fetch water in buckets and uh roughly about 60 liters?-you know those buckets we use, they are used for biscuits? A: Oh yeah, the breakfast crackers! S: Yeah. The crackers, we use those buckets, for each household. Four in the morning and four in the afternoon. And when the international donors are using the army and then they brought with them the desalination plant so the production of water increased and improved. Then we increased the rations of water, 6 and then 8 buckets. Nearly double. A: How many liters in the bucket? S: I am not sure, but I know there are 6 kilos in that bucket when it is filled with breakfast crackers. [Laughs] A: Who helps to distribute the water when it is being rationed? S: The Public Works Department. We have now our arrangement, we have a certain committee, the National Disaster Committee, and they advise cabinet and cabinet will address the advice to the Prime Minister and Governor General that we need to declare a state of emergency. That is how we resorted with the act. So if there is a disaster we have a mandate to pull our resources together and to distribute them to the public. A: That’s really good. Is there a preparedness plan in case people need to leave the country? S: What do you mean? [Laughing] 116

A: Some people, not everybody, say that the people of Tuvalu will have to leave in so many years due to climate change. And some people say that people will never have to leave. S: No, the government does not throw in the towel. They do not want to cause people to leave the country. It is up to the people to decide themselves. And in the international arena, the UNFCCC- you ever been to one of those meetings? A: No. S: Uh, what our mandate is, to negotiate with polluters and to cut their emissions down and by means of providing funds to do all these adaptation projects in Tuvalu. But through our bilateral talks and the RSE through New Zealand, the Regional Seasonal- ohhhh what’s this thing. How workers in Tuvalu, and all pacific countries can come to work in their agricultural and horticulture sector. And we encourage these types of schemes and sometimes our people are fortunate enough to apply for their work permit or their Permanent Residency in these countries. We didn’t have the mandate for our people, our government for first to move, it is up to the people themselves to decide. The government, I think that they more or less agree for us to look for opportunities like the type of scheme offered by New Zealand and Australia. We have our recent program as well that absolves around 60 people annually to New Zealand and they reside there but you have to apply, and for your application you are screened and then they have this system of electronic balloting where they pick out randomly. And when you are fortunate enough to be selected then you have to find a job offer. And that is a quota, about 68. And the government wants people to use this scheme if they wish to, but for out negotiations with the international community we do not really come out like that we want to pardon our country. There is no country like Tuvalu somewhere. You know? We don’t want to be climate change refugees. We just ask them to cut down their emissions, at the global level that was agreed in the IPCC report. A: Yeah the IPCC came to USP. S: Yes that is in May or June. This launched this IPCC report, the reason that we have been hit to attack at the, to target the polluters. Have you been through this IPCC report? A: No they had presented some of it, the beginning parts and the different country profiles and then they let different lecturers from USP talk. But I do not have an actual copy of the report it is huge. S: And there are lots of funds to be accessed for climate change funds, and we have this global facility for environment, the GEF, funding where we can access projects for climate change adaptation. A lot of funds are available as a result of these UNFCCC negotiation meetings. A: How often are those meetings? S: Yearly. And uh, before this big meeting there are some small meetings of different topics and then it comes up to the heads of the state, the government to endorse them. If you follow these negotiations, Tuvalu is one of the leading voices in climate change issues. A: Yes, someone else was telling me that Tuvalu is always the one raising their voice at the Pacific meetings. S: Yes. Now the Japanese are one of the very active. In his time as a CO7, the Prime Minister has been in New York our ambassador has been chairing the AOSIS, Alliance of Small Island States, we also have the SIDS, the G77. A: I will have to research them more. Do you think those meetings are helpful for Tuvalu? S: We voice our concern. You know, but we can’t do much because polluters they have their own way. They have broken promises like the Kyoto Protocol and all this. But the thing we have 117 to voice our concern now and then out from this we are able to access these types of funding or mitigation. A: For the UNFCCC, are they the only ones giving funds for mitigation? S: No, when there is a UNFCC meeting the polluters are there and pay. SO they set up fund, there are a lot of ways that the polluters work out for the way of mitigation to justify for their pollution. [Laughing.] The carbon dioxide emissions and then there is a council to look after this fund. They have this carbon trade as well. The emitters, if one of the countries was told that they need to preserve a certain percent of their carbons, like they conserve a heavy forest place and then they never touch it and they trade the emitted carbon versus how much they use. So they trade the emissions for the cost, so one country pays the other country. So they decide at this meeting that this country protect this area so they don’t cut the trees down for logging or deforestation. That is how they trade carbon emissions. You know the oil countries, they produce oil, and they are very smart. A: I am learning more about the USA and climate change being in Tuvalu than being in the USA haha. S: Yes because you are part of the country that you know sometimes they just, the negotiators are very smart as well. A: Someone was telling me they think it would be more successful if the islands got together and stood up against the emitters, do you think there is something internationally where Pacific islands are doing that? S: No, I submitted the AOSIS. It is one way that they put together the small islands states because they have the same problems. And they take this to the international, to the UNFCCC, And they want to make their statement clear and heard by these, and then they try to lock in the outcomes of the UNFCCC meetings. So they can be more considered for the next thing. Do you know that there is a SIDS meeting in August or September in Samoa. This is a very big meeting; it is to get ready for the next UNFCCC meeting. Because of this world sustainable framework, international framework, the MGG-you know the MGG? This is the Millennium Global Goals and they have the sustainable, Barbados plan of action, all these international instruments will come to an end in 2015. And that’s why these countries, the small island states and other groups of islands are trying to put up a new framework. That is how small island states come up and collectively put up their ideas for the new framework. And then when there are international meetings, they will put up their stand, their collective stand together. S: The small island states will meet in Samoa in August, and that includes those from the Caribbean, and it is a big meeting. A: When after that is the new framework decided? How does that work? S: I guess the new world sustainable framework will be, the meeting, I am not really sure where it is about. I am guessing next year. In 2015, like when there is the disaster framework. We have this one, the Pacific framework for Climate Change. [Shows me book from his desk] And the next focus is for these two frameworks to integrate together: the regional framework for disaster management and climate change. Before now we had two separate documents, the regional climate change framework and the disaster framework. Then the focus now is to put them together. A: That makes sense. S: Yeah the DRR and Climate Change into one program. So we have the platform meeting in June, early this month, and we were talking about the next framework, post 2015. And from our platform from the region we put this together and then we put to the UN Conference on Disaster 118

Reduction which will be held in Japan next year in March. And then the leaders will endorse this new framework and before the post-framework is finished the Pacific had already started up their new framework which will be the one document. So it will be up before June. The meeting in Samoa is for sustainable development which includes all government officials. And for the next I am not sure because that will also end in 2015 so the small island states will form it but they need to the new framework. So the sustainable document will be separate. Am I confusing you or no? A: No, no! It is really interesting. This is helping me a ton. S: You can have that one. A: I can have that one? This is perfect. So the next one that they are planning to do, will it be for another ten years? S: Yes it is a ten year program. That’s when we will integrate climate change and DRR. The Pacific found that these two should be together: go hand-in-hand. A: Hold on, my pen died. I have another one. When did the idea first come up to put them together? S: It had been voiced because you know they’re organizing the SPREP, you know SPREP and SPC? Because those two they look after two different framework. SPC look after disaster while SPREP does the other climate change program. And one state that these two are crossing each other, cross-cutting you know, they found out that their national government approach these two should be working together. At one of the annual disaster meetings, or one of the environment meetings, they decide to put these documents together. And after 2015, it will be together. A: Does each country have a representative that goes? S: Where to? A: When they are going to create the two frameworks together. S: Yeah. That framework has already been compiled. And then we have the annual disaster managers meeting in early of this month, and the disaster managers they look into the framework and decide whatever loopholes need to be amended. And then there is another meeting of the director of environment, regional, in August. They will look into the framework as well, to see if they have some input. Before we had this framework endorsed by forum leaders. The leaders of each Pacific country, like the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, of Fiji. A: Like the Pacific Forum? S: Yes. The Pacific Forum Leaders we call it. This document will come up to them and be blessed, endorsed by them. A: Is there a chance they could not approve it? S: Not necessarily not approve, but if they have some comments it will go back to the forum and secretariat and they will work it out. But very hardly for any such framework to be not supported by the forum leaders. A: So there are a ton of things happening. I bet you are busy! Do you think Tuvalu has a good say in the international creation of these documents? S: Mhm. A: So how does Tuvalu get to voice their opinion once it gets created? For example, for the annual disaster managers meeting, is it you that attends? S: Yes. I went and the director of MET. And the director of environment was also invited but he was not able to attend this because of the NAPA project because the cabinet decided to fast track this now. Because it is going to phase out soon so that’s why he is taking- [loud talking in the background] 119

A: I think that is everything I have. You helped me learn so much. If I have any more questions can I come back?

#9: 10 July 2014 Solofa Uota NAPA 1 Project Coordinator *Copy of NAPA 1 outline on flash drive

S: The NAPA Project Profile has 7 priorities in total. NAPA 1 has 3 priorities: agriculture, coastal, and water. I don’t know much about NAPA 2, it is supposed to be totally different, and may address the other 4 priorities.(There are 7 in total). NAPA 2 was postponed by cabinet. NAPA 1 is expected to be done by the middle of next year, however, NAPA 1 has been frozen since last week by the cabinet. A: Do you now for what reason? S: There is a council within the government that reviews NAPA 1 & 2, and then briefs the cabinet, that may have their own agenda. The profile was created and then in 2007 there was the initiation of NAPA 1, and in 2009 it was endorsed. In March of 2010 they started implementation. Australian AID gave around 1 million in assistance to upscale and intensify assistance in order to broaden the base or coastal protection. For example, planting trees (like mangroves) to hold back soil and decrease the erosion. S: The National Advisory Council on Climate Change was created in January under the observation of the Prime Minister and is chaired by the Chief Secretary with member seats of all departments and the director of the NGOs and CBOs, but no permanent secretaries. S: NAPA 1 & 2 were frozen at the same time. For NAPA 1: In May and June we did a tour of the islands which was completed last week, Nukulaelae and the other southern islands are on hold. A: What is your role while they are on hold? S: I am here in the office to answer any questions through phone or email, nothing more. A: When does the NACCC reconvene? S: I do not know. I hope sooner. But it could be two to three months.

A: What did you do on the tour of the outer islands? S: We delivered materials for adaptation activities all islands, for putting up structures to plant crops and bring materials to build water systems. The rest of the project was awareness raising and we took one wood chipper to be used for composting. A: What were the awareness raising activities? S: We advocated for the risks and impacts of climate change because it is a combined effort, an agency of the government advocates for climate change, which should be streamlined into the schools’ curriculum, water and food security. There is also fisheries advocation for climate change and the conservation area in Funafuti to preserve and multiple the numbers of fish for the future. A: How are you awareness raising? S: We show slides from a projector and then have a group discussion and then we report back. We answer any questions that the people or groups or sectors to further elaborate. We report back to the plenary. Then the Project Monitoring unit makes a summary report. The staff that is consulting all of the individual reports from our stakeholders haven’t made the reports yet. A: Notes How T help/harm CC risks? 120

S: We deliver the advantages or positives and if they are resilient to threats from Climate Change to make them ready so that they can go through the impacts. A: What are these impacts? S: There is salt intrusion to the pulaka crops, the coast has eroded. We want the isldn community to understand so that is why we have the advocacy programs. So they learn what NAPA delivers. A: Who do you think people blame for these problems? S: People blame the industrialized countries because they have too many carbon emissions polluting the environment and breaking through the ozone. The island is getting hotter, the water is warmers, droughts are more frequent. A: How do people respond to the awareness raising programs? S: People come with open arms, but not even 40-50% of the community show up for workshops and they are fed up with the advocation programs. Being T, repeatedly delivering the same thing. So people are uninterested, but if something happens then it will be a wake up call for them. The recent drought showed how climate change is real and that NAPA and other climate change programs are doing well. It is human nature. Children are more responsive, but the programs are directed to go by teachers and to reach the whole school. They had quizzes on the other island, and kids were beginning to understand climate change and their impacts.

S: Well for NAPA 1 we have focal areas and Australia AID assisted but it was originally from the Global Environmental Facility, a United Nations body, which helps countries world wide with climate change, gave heaps of money. They donated around 3 million Australian dollars for NAPA 1, and then Australia have 1 million dollars to upscale. The nine islands, 3 are focused on food security, 3 are on water security and the other 3 for coastal protection. A: What do you think the impacts are of religion on these programs? S: We need to retain culture and values, but follow the protocols and not try to change values. We have to adhere to local traditional values and protocols in my own opinion.

#10: 27 June 2014 Kapuafe Lifuka Acting Director of Energy

K: We used to meet every month. The next meeting will be July 8th. How is the agenda set? Any project that is linked to climate change has to be tabled and we have heaps of projects, so we wants to make sure the project, if it is not going to do well that we look at the problem and what is delaying it, and what barriers there are and how to move forward. Then we suggest it to cabinet, so they can push it through. Any climate change workshops overseas, they have to be aware of what decisions are made and how we will benefit from the overseas meeting. We have to be aware.

K: Some programs that the energy department started this year are the bio-gas project which we have now but the project will start next year. Between the Department of Energy, myself, and GIZ the German regional bank who is funding it. We have over 400,000 euros to work on it. We also have a solar program where we put up solar stream lights and LED lights which are more friendly.

A: Do you have any programs working with the USA? 121

K: Actually Tim here is working on a USA project that started last month. The project workshop is on how to identify climate change in peoples’ own lives in the community. Up in the states they don’t care about us, they would let us die [Kapuafe laughs]. Here we have minimal use of petrol. We use pigs for cooking to stop importing LPGs. We use all of our resources so they are a benefit to us. A: Can you explain the pig usage? K: The effluent from the pig is used as fertilizer and so is sea grass. Because we are victims of climate change, all projects are friendly to the environment.

#11: 25 February 2015 Rian Satterwhite Author of Deep Systems Leadership *Skype Interview

General Notes for Interview Thank you. Intro about me and Tuvalu.

A: Have you heard about Tuvalu at all? R: I know of their activity in the UN Climate talks. I am jealous of your experience there. It sounds very interesting.

A: (Gave general summary of Tuvalu history and the introduction of my HRT) A: Thank you for doing this interview with me. With your consent, although this interview is not recorded, I will be taking notes. Is it okay if I use the notes for my fourth chapter? R: Yes of course.

A: I have read your Deep Systems Leadership chapter in Redekop’s book many times, and I do not have the same biology background that you do. Could you please walk through your own explanations of some of the components? I tend to confuse cultural biology and deep ecology when I am describing them.

R: Deep ecology is really, I think I know what I wanna say just can’t find the right words. I may stumble my way through. DE. Parallel separate paths, eco-philosophy and a way of seeing and interacting with the world that arises out of this increased connection to the natural world and coming from and still being a part of it.

R: Cultural biology is a parallel process that is more based, less in how the individual interacts with their surroundings, and more how this perspective has biological basis: biological grounding. And so this starts really at talking about the cellular level and autopoesis and structural coupling. And these semi autonomous beings can only respond to their environment in ways that are consistent and structurally determined, consistent with the biological makeup. That is what I am attempting to do. And it is useful to leadership level, but he, Maharana, did a lot of the groundwork. It is the biological basis to the human realm, we aren’t separate from this biological reality. In essence, I would say, deep ecology is almost a spiritual philosophical approach to interacting with the world, which can be linked to biological reality through. Mutually reinforcing. 122

R: I’ve never phrased it this simply, I’ve never phrased it this way, mutually reinforcing. It is the human level implications of those discoveries (of cultural biology), from more of a philosophical mentality: kinship or connection from the natural world. They land us at the same spot but have different histories. You’re right about cramming a lot in, I wrote the equivalent of 4-5 chapters which got paired down, which was a tremendous learning experience for me. Cramming every possible reference in it.

A: Anything that wasn’t in that chapter that you feel is important for me to know?

R: Yes, at the time of writing, 2009 for that chapter, that was a fair summary of my own learning and understanding of cultural biology, but I have since been consumed with learning about it because it is still novel to me, although I am using it for theory. But there is a particular text, that came out last year, that has just been foundational in my own understanding related to cultural biology, and how to effectively transition from biology, and to make the logical steps that can extrapolate those lessons into human interactions.

R: It is the Systems View of Life by Capra & Luisi. 2013-2014 maybe, the main emphasis is that we are undergoing a major intellectual knowledge, paradigm shift that is ultimately going to impact the way we see the world. They detail this, all of these changes in understanding from complexity theory, chaos sciences, physics, and they scale it effectively and logically through systems theory and international trade. I would recommend looking at that one.

A: Is there anything you feel that may have been excluded from cultural biology or deep ecology that you would like for me to know?

I don’t think so. The deep ecology component that interested me, is that there is a really interesting history. A lot of people take issues with it, but they take issue with the Americanized version by (book: Deep Ecology by George Sessions) and he had a colleague Deval who really did a lot of the pioneering work in the US, which was popularized in 70s, which is common in the US. I found a lot of different and consistent meaning with what I was searching for.

R: Systems theory: Well I guess most importantly that I am attempting to get at with the model is an awareness that like it or not we are embedded within and composed of and part of a multitude of systems on a daily basis whether that is biological or social. That is one of our great deficiencies in education right now, we don’t do enough to help individuals see their place and contribution to these multiple layers of systems that make us, us. For me, what the model is calling for at the most basic level that this is the reality that we already occupy. Where the trouble comes is when then reality is ignored, as it has been for so long and it is so easy to do in daily life. There is a disconnect between the system and our behavior that end up harming those same systems. The disconnect is awareness but transitions to behavior.

A: What is the best way to increase awareness of systems? R: That’s the million dollar question. That’s a great question. So I guess, rather than, speaking hypothetically I’ll speak from an embodied perspective, my own experience to waking up to some of these systems. I am sure I am blind to many of them still. We are surrounding by 123 individual processes ad networks that we contribute to but we just don’t know about, understanding what happens here in the US when your trash gets picked up. Who is involved? Who are the companies? what are the public policies in your state county or city? What are the economics involved? Does it get packaged to be recycled, typically in China? What are the invisible strings that we pull, or pull us, that we are not aware of at all. I think education can pull back that curtain and help us all to connect with the reality that surrounds us but that is often invisible. It is a challenging perspective to take, but it can also be incredibly overwhelming. That’s what I found when I teach classes around sustainability and leadership. I’ll say “This is gonna be really depressing for the first third of the semester, but stay with me and we will get to a really hopeful place.” That is absolutely necessary because when you are first exposed to how our individual choices impact others and systems that we didn’t even know existed, its heavy burden, emotional and mental, and there can be the danger of paralysis. There are no good choices to make. How do you transition from that overwhelming awareness to one where you are constantly learning, making better and better choices of those that are available to you and recognizing that you cannot escape from having those impacts, but you can minimize them in essence. Speaking personally, I’ve got two young kids. I’ve got a mental and heart challenge. What does raising kids in 21st century with this increasing awareness and impact on broader systems, what does that look like? We are making daily choices and recognizing that we are having a significant impact. Despite attempting to make the best choices we can, all of it is constant consideration as I am raising a young family. I take comfort in thinking of the difference that I would have been making.

R: One of the central messages of leadership development is that this is messy, it is hard. There are rarely perfect answers; short of that how do we get comfortable with the imperfect answers that are better than others. There is no silver bullet for these wicked problems. Big, systemic challenges that spill over boundaries. We all need to collectively face those.

A: How do you share that when you ‘pull back the curtain’? R: One of the major components of that is scientific literary. We consider ourselves technically adept, but we are not scientifically literate. And by that I mean that one of the first things I start off with in classes, is the differences between weather and climate. Weather, day to day changes, climate you can start talking about for long term trends. That’s just one of the things we are not good at, thinking in these longer time scales. We aren’t socialized for it, our daily lived experiences do not reinforce the need for that. Scientific literacy, understanding or adopting, what is, how do we effectively encourage and foster the ability to think and operate on longer time scales than we are accustomed to. Because every single snow storm you start hearing reporters talk about ‘ so much for CC!’ and I like the term, climate change, climate weirding is one that I heard about explaining the impact not that everything gets warming but the warming has weird and bizarre affects. I do not know if we would be getting this East coast pounding of snow if the climate were colder, slightly warmer air carries more moisture. Greater capacity to dump snow.

A: What about pulling back the curtain, to initiate change politically?

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R: I’ve been actively studying and committed personally to this area for a little over 10 years, and it has been interesting to reflect on my optimism level. I am actually getting more optimistic, even as depressing as some of the, looking back we were being warned about this in 50s 60s and then the 80s, and Al Gore getting a Noble Peace prize, what change do we have to show for that effort? But yet, I am increasingly confident in a weird way that we just cannot ignore this much longer. When it was talked about 80s, 90s, early 2000s there was a period of time it was hypothetical, grounded in sound research and theory but it was theoretical in the impacts, but that is changing. The drought that California is experiencing right now is un heard of, even locally, here one of the news story is that the snow pack in the Cascade mountains between Oregon and Washington is at 12% of normal. Those dramatic shifts have great impacts on daily lives, so it will have a dramatic industry and agricultural impact this summer. These impacts cannot be explained away in other methods. When they add on top of another it forces conversation to change. In some strange way, I derive optimism from that.

R: I seem to remember some news stories from maybe as far back as 8 or 10 years ago, but I think it was Tuvalu that was actually seeking a guaranteed asylum for its citizens from Australia or New Zealand anticipating that a day would come when evacuation was necessary. Where do those people go? They were in various serious talks, saying if this comes to pass where can our people go. I was living there from 2005-2008. Masters while in Australia, although there for work, and my primary advisor was this amazing guy, a Fijian, we had some amazing conversations around leadership. I couldn’t recommend that kind of an experience more highly. I greatly suggest finishing a degree abroad.

Can I contact you if I have any further questions? Yes of course, thank you.