Environment

Improving Environmental Impact Assessments

By Shivika Mala The University of the South Pacific and Fiji’s local government units need to collaborate to see improvements in Fiji’s current Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), says local researcher. Speaking at the USP Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (Pace-SD), Joeli Varo of the government’s Sustainable Land Use Planning and Development Unit, said that the University can help identify the loopholes present in the current EIA and work together with the relevant departments to improve it. The Director of PaCE-SD…

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Mere Among Pacific’s Best

by Olivier Jutel For Mereoni Mili reporting on climate change is both an urgent professional responsibility and a personal matter. Mili is a proud winner of the COP23 climate journalism competition in which ten outstanding Pacific journalists have been rewarded with a trip to Bonn Germany in November to both report on proceedings and gain valuable experience from the German broadcaster DW. Of the group of ten Mereoni is the sole student journalist with others hailing from top Pacific media. The second…

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Destruction and construction – Tukuraki’s lonely story of survival

In January 2012, a small Fijian village on Viti Levu was almost wiped off the map by a deadly landslide. In the same year, the barely recovered village of Tukuraki was hit by Cyclone Evan. Four years later, Tukuraki was devastated once again by the wrath of Tropical Cyclone Winston, scattering the community far and wide across the northwest of the island. The inland village near Ba is now in the process of relocating to a new site. The Pacific Media Centre’s Kendall Hutt and Julie Cleaver travelled to the remote village to find out how the people are adapting. By Kendall Hutt and…

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Import Dependence in Nauru

By Kaelyn Dekarube (Pictured phosphate loading station) Growing up as a kid in my lovely island of Nauru, I remember grownups used to say everything was imported, of course, I didn’t know what that meant. I also remember the times when my father would tell us to preserve fresh water as the next shipment will not arrive at least in the next two month or so.  (Thinking back now, that sounded really far-fetched). Growing up in Nauru I realized that everything from the food that we eat to even fresh water was imported to Nauru. Nauru was like most other…

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Accuracy is key in climate change reporting, student journos told

CAPTION: PaCE-SD communications officer Sarika Chand talks about climate change at the WansolwaraToks forum. PHOTOGRAPHER: Vilimaina Naqelevuki. JOURNALISM students of the University of the South Pacific were reminded about the threat of climate change and the need to report the issue accurately and consistently. The comments were made by communications officer for PaCE-SD Sarika Chand at last week’s Wansolwara Toks on environment reporting. Chand said scientific research had established beyond any reasonable doubt that climate change is real. Chand, a USP Journalism alumni, stated that in general, Pacific Island journalists were more accepting of the facts regarding climate change, unlike their…

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Foreign Vessel Over-fishing in Fijian Waters

Overfishing is a global problem faced by many countries today that is having a serious repercussion by endangering the marine organisms in our oceans and affecting the livelihoods of many. Fiji is the hub of the Pacific and here overfishing is a big problem attributed mostly to foreign fishing vessels who fish along the country’s fishing borders. Owner of the Fiji Fish Limited Graham Southwick are among those heavily affected as result of overfishing along our economic zone waters in the hands of foreign fishing vessels. “Overfishing by foreign fishing vessels are happening along our borders impacting our catch. There are already about 900…

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Solomons’ Artificial Islands Under Threat

Henry Oritaimae Inhabitants of artificial islands in the Solomon Islands are migrating to settle in the bigger islands due to sea-level rise and inundation. University of the South Pacific (USP) Director of the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, Dr. David Gegeo, said there are some immediate reasons that may contribute to the sea-level rise which impacted the lives of the inhabitants. “The artificial islands are built on corals and when people heavily built on it because of rise in population, the corals die over the centuries forcing the islands to sink under water. So this may be…

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