Development and Change : Issue Papers : Pacific Islands Conference
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PIC FILE copy Pacific Islands Conference Rarotonga, Cook Islands August 1985 Development and Change Issue Papers Pacific Islands Development Program (X) East-West Center • 1777 East-West Road • Burns Hall, Room 4122 • Honolulu, Hawaii 96848 PACIFIC ISLANDS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) at the East-West Center helps meet the special development needs of the Pacific islands region through coopera• tive research, education, and training. PI DP also serves as the Secretariat for the Pacific Islands Conference, a heads of government organization involving leaders from throughout the Pacific region, and for the Pacific Islands Conference Stand• ing Committee, which was established to ensure follow-up on development problems discussed at the 1980 Conference. PIDP's research, education, and training activities are developed as a direct response to requests from the Standing Committee. PIDP's projects are planned in close cooperation with the Committee to ensure that the focus and the organi• zation of each project address the needs identified by the heads of government on the Committee, a process which is unique within the East-West Center and in other research and educational organizations serving the Pacific. A major objective of the program has been to provide quality in-depth analytical studies on specific priority issues as identified by the Pacific island leaders and people. The aim is to provide leaders with detailed information and alternative strategies on policy issues. Each island country will make its own decision based on national goals and objectives. Since 1980, PI DP has been given the task of research in eight project areas: energy, disaster preparedness, aquaculture, govern• ment and administrative systems, nuclear waste disposal, business ventures development and management, roles of multinational corporations, and regional cooperation. EAST-WEST CENTER The East-West Center is a public, nonprofit educational institution with an inter• national board of governors. Some 2,000 research fellows, graduate students, and professionals in business and government each year work with the Center's inter• national staff in cooperative study, training, and research. They examine major issues related to population, resources and development, the environment, culture, and communication in Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center was established in 1960 by the United States Congress, which provides principal funding. Support also comes from more than 20 Asian and Pacific governments, as well as private agencies and corporations. Development and Change Issue Papers Pacific Islands Conference Rarotonga, Cook Islands August 1985 2*S Pacific Islands Development Program East-West Center • 1777 East-West Road • Honolulu, Hawaii 96848 I CONTENTS Pages Foreword v I, The Pacific Islands in the 21st Century A. Government Policy and the Destiny of Pacific Islands by I.Q. Lasaga I-A.l-20 B. Planning for Pacific Societies of the 21st Century by Rodiey V. (Die I-B.l-8 C. The Pacific Islands: 21st Century and Beyond by James A. Da tor I-C.l-18 II, Urban and Rural Life A* Older Pressure: Population Growth and Urbanization in the Pacific by John Connell II-A.1-14 B. The - Impact and Planning of Large Resourae Development Projects by Sam Pintz and Jim Rizer II-B.1-22 III, Health and Nutrition A. Pacific Islands' Health and Nutrition: Trends and Areas for Action by R.R. Thaman III-A.1-28 B. Health in the Pacific Islands by Richard T&ylor III-B.1-24 IV, Our Young Peoplei The Future of the Pacific A. Youth in the Pacific: An Available, Untapped Resource by Samuel a Vanini IV-A. 1-10 B. The Problems Facing Pacific Islands Youth Today (Essays by Pacific Young People) 1. Youth: A Tine of Conflict in the Pacific by Nutan Shalini Maharaj IV-B. 1-6 2. The Effects of Urban Drift on Pacific Youth by Gilbert Veisamasama IV-B.7-10 3. fedfic Youth: Victims of (hanging Society by Lucy Savu IV-B. 11-14 V, The Role of the Private Sector in Development A. lhe Private Sector's Role in Pacific Island Baonanies by W. Dennis Rose V-A.l-18 iii Pacific Islands Development Program iv Pacific Islands Development Program FOREWORD The papers contained in this volume have been prepared as background materials for the second meeting of the Pacific Islands Conference, to be held in August 1985 in the Cook Islands. The Standing Committee of the Itacif ic Islands Conference decided at its February 1984 meeting that the theme of the second meeting of the Conference should be "Development and Change." The Standing Committee, with the help of a pre-conferenoe planning meeting held in May 1984, identified five issue areas to be discussed at the 1985 Conference: • The Pacific Islands in the 21st Century • Urban and Rural Life • Health and Nutrition • Our Young People: The Future of the Pacific • The Role of the Private Sector in Development The Standing Committee directed the Pacific Islands Development Program, as Secretariat of the Conference, to commission background papers for each of these issue areas. The purpose of the papers is to provide overviews of major policy questions associated with each of the issue areas. The issues will be discussed by panels of leaders and representatives from governments participating in the Conference. The Pacific Islands Development Program commissioned the writings of individuals in government, regional organizations, and academic institutions. While the authors of the papers are authorities in their respective issue areas, their papers represent their own views and are not intended to be definitive. Rather, it is hoped that the papers will be of sane assistance to the Conference panel members as they prepare to participate in the Conference discussions. On behalf of the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Conference, I would like to thank the individuals, organizations, and institutions who prepared these papers. And I hope that the Conference participants find the papers useful. Filipe N. Bole Director Pacific Islands Development Program v Pacific Islands Development Program vi E&cific Islands Development Program The Pacific Islands in the 21st Century GOTERNM2NT POLICY AND SHE DESTINY OF PACIFIC ISLANDS ty I.Q. Lasaqa June 1985 Pacific Islands Development Program, East-West Center 'Honolulu, Hawaii 1-A.i Pacific Islands Development Program I.Q. LASAQA is secretary to the cabinet. Prime Minister's Department, Suva, Fiji. The Pacific Islands Development Program is publishing this report as background material for the 2nd Pacific Islands Conference, August 1985 in the Oook Islands, and for general use ty Pacific island governments. Ho ensure maximum dissemination of the material contained in the report, it is not copyrighted and island governments are encouraged to copy the report or portions of it at will. PIDP requests, however, that organizations, institutions, and individuals acknowledge the source of any material used f ran this report. I-A.ii Pacific Islands Development Program CONTENTS Page Introduction I-A.l Major Features of Pacific Societies I-A.2 Emerging Trends in Pacific Island Life I-A. 4 What Are the Options? I-A.7 Articulation of Government Policies I-A. 11 The Control of Destiny • I-A.15 Conclusion I-A. 17 Notes I-A.18 1-A.iii Pacific Islands Developnent Program I-A.iv Pacific Islands Development Program GCVHSDHn POLICY AH) THE DBSHHY OF PACIFIC ISLANDS by I.Q. Lasaqa INTRODUCTION There are a number of aompLex issues relating to the kinds of Pacific island societies that will exist in the twenty^ first century. What kinds of societies are desired or desirable for the Pacific islands of the future? What would be the main features of those societies? What forces or trends are evi• dent in Pacific societies now that may influence the shape of things to come? This essay is an attempt at prognostication, and thus is an exercise fraught with uncertainties because of the diverse characteristics of the Pacific islands and the my raid of foraes—many of them externally induced—that impinge on their people. In discussing these issues, the broad characteristics of Pacific islands nations that ha/e a bearing on the nature of their societies must be taken into account. This is important because these characteristics would inevitably influence the nature of policies conductive to the attainment of the goals of society, including their articulation, timing, and mode of implementation. There is no doubt the people of the Pacific islands wish to control their own destinies, but what does this mean? Is it possible given the present circumstances? Can Pacific islanders really control their own destinies, or is that control a matter of degree, possible only in relative terms? In any assessment of the future of a society, no matter how small or insignificant it might be, the discussion cannot be confined to purely social considerations. A society operates within a broad framework of factors, which, for convenience and ease of understanding, are categorized as economic, social, physical, and political. These factors influence one another, are in turn modified as a result of their interaction, and ha/e a bearing on the functioning of the whole society. Tb begin, an outline of the major features of the island region can provide a basis fran which to examine the salient features of island life and the forces and trends operating in those societies that are likely to persist into the aoming century. The insular Pacific comprises a region of small islands with limited physical resources, separated by vast oceanic distances and including a variety of island types and cultures. It is a region of rising population, both indigenous and immigrant in origin. Oh is is largely as a result of improved health care, which has led to an increase in life expectancy.