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Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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| Update Number 2 | July 1996 (UNESCO-APIA) |
About
this Update
Pacific
Water studies gain from new Small Islands project
Freshwater
emphasis to continue
Results
of practical use
More
support for transdisciplinary work
Pacific
water specialists to guide programme
Strong
Pacific interest in CSI
Experts
Meeting & Action Plan
Catchments
and communities
Atoll
groundwater recharge
Climate
change & island resources
Groundwater
pollution in villages
Follow
up of groundwater studies
WASP
under threat
People
& Plants surveys start
Assessing
traditional forest use
Shore
Ecology handbook
Could
an earthquake drown Suva?
Travel
- Travel - Travel
For
more information
About this Update
UNESCO Office Apia issues this update to inform National
Commissions for UNESCO in the Pacific about its science
activities. The update is also circulated to other people
interested in our work, and within UNESCO. It appears about three
times a year in email and news sheet forms. This issue covers the
period January-June 1996.
Pacific Water studies gain from new Small
Islands project
A new project will boost UNESCO action to understand key water
resource problems in the Pacific. Launched on 1 January 1996, the
project on "Environment and Development in Coastal Regions
and Small Islands (CSI) will assist Member States towards
integrated coastal planning and management. The transdisciplinary
CSI project will unite expertise from UNESCO's environmental and
social science programmes to pursue actions agreed by the UN
Earth Summit in Rio, and the UN Global Conference on the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
(Barbados 1994).
Freshwater emphasis to continue
Four CSI pilot projects are being developed in different
subregions. Pilot project 1 based in the Pacific Island countries
will focus on the management of freshwater resources for the
sustainable development of small islands. Pilot project 1 has its
roots in the three field studies of UNESCO's International
Hydrological Programme (IHP) on catchment deforestation,
groundwater recharge and groundwater pollution. These studies
were recommended by the UNESCO-UN-South Pacific Applied Geoscience
Commission SOPAC Workshop on Pacific Water Sector Planning
Research and training, Honiara, Solomon Islands, June 1994. They
are being implemented in close collaboration with SOPAC through
Mr. Ed Burke and his team from the Water & Sanitation
Programme.
Results of practical use
From the very beginning, the IHP field studies incorporated most of the key
CSI concepts. These included definition of the problem by practical resource
managers in the region, inclusion of various sociocultural and other interdisciplinary
aspects as an integral part of each study, and an emphasis on the practical
application of the results both to guide technical personnel, and to educate
the community.
More support for transdisciplinary work
Unlike regions where CSI-type projects did not already exist, in
the Pacific the approach has been to use CSI funding to reinforce
these studies, without a major change of direction. Indeed,
within the UNESCO structure, IHP has offered these studies as a
contribution towards the CSI endeavor. Some new activities are
being implemented to cover CSI goals not already addressed.
UNESCO's Medium-Term Strategy 1996-2OO1 states that "strong
disciplinary base is needed if a transdisciplinary approach is to
be effective." The social science elements of CSI pilot
project 1 were pioneered under IHP, but are now funded through
CSI. While the necessity of gaining community acceptance and
using community knowledge has already been proved, the pilot
project equally depends on the quality of the water science
performed and the enthusiasm of the network of water scientists
established under IHP. The balance between social and technical
aspects will be maintained. Both are essential.
Pacific water specialists to guide programme
The Pacific Member States have repeatedly expressed the wish to
be closely involved in the planning and implementation of
UNESCO's activities in this region. This has been a factor in the
successful development of the IHP field studies. UNESCO will
continue to listen to the Member States and relate science
activities to their perceived needs. The IHP Pacific Working
Group will continue. The two field studies on groundwater
resources arc already underway. A third on catchments and
communities is being redesigned on the advice of the IHP Pacific
Working Group which met in Suva in April. See later pages for
details on the three studies.
Strong Pacific interest in CSI
Trevor Sankey, the Science Adviser of the UNESCO office in Apia, has Introduced
the CSI project to many partners in the Pacific through presentations and visits.
In general, the project has aroused strong, positive interest in particular
detailed discussions have been held with relevant staff of three regional organizations:
the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), South Pacific Applied
Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), and the University of the South Pacific (USP).
There are good prospects for collaboration with all these organizations on different
aspects of CSI activities.
Helping integrated coastal management.
Other projects in CSI will look at coastline instability, coastal
biodiversity and coastal ecosystem productivity. As results
emerge from the Pacific and other regions, UNESCO will
progressively apply them to support integrated coastal area
management and sustainable community development in the Pacific.
Experts Meeting & Action Plan
A Pacific development specialist is expected to attend the CSI
Experts Meeting, UNESCO Paris, 25-28 November 1996, together with
the Science Adviser from UNESCO Office Apia. In preparation for
the meeting, a draft Pacific CSI action plan will be prepared,
setting UNESCO (CSI) activities within the context of Pacific
coastal area management initiatives. UNESCO National Commissions
will be contacted to assemble information for this, using a
survey format prepared in collaboration with SPREP.
Catchments and communities
Study one will develop low cost methods to compare human impacts
on different forested water catchments, and the effect of these
impacts on local communities, and the surrounding environment.
Following extensive preparatory work in 1995, the IHP Pacific
Working Group (Suva, Fiji, April 1996) proposed a major rethink
of this study due to several concerns:
Ideas under consideration
Comparison techniques
Two types are currently being looked at by group members:
Organizational support
Through its Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO has ensured that
funding is already in place for community awareness work on
possible sites in 1996 through the Solomon Islands Development
Trust, a community development NGO. If the site to be selected is
Marovo Lagoon, where WWF lead work at the community level, WWF
are ready to cooperate. A decision on a Solomon Islands site is
awaited. Once the technical possibilities are clearer, a fresh
assessment of available resources and possible funding for the
study will be made.
Atoll groundwater recharge
Study two examines how the amount of rainwater that enters the fresh groundwater
lens on an atoll island is affected by the vegetation present, and the actions
and attitudes of the local community. A literature survey has been completed
by the main consultant, Dr. lan White, Australian National University, Canberra.
The first phase of the study will be initiated on 9 August 1996 in Bonriki island,
Kiribati. An experienced team of resource people has agreed to participate,
including the same social science consultant as for study three, Dr. Leonie
Crennan. This will help link the two groundwater studies. Field work will commence
immediately following a SOPAC Workshop on Sanitation in Tarawa allowing sharing
and interaction with SOPAC resource persons. Over a two-week period, the team
of three resource persons will install equipment, train counterparts, conduct
social studies and commence measurements. The main consultant will return for
a second visit in October 1996. Equipment needed has been ordered by SOPAC using
UNESCO funds. Training aims have been defined, and SOPAC have invited overseas
trainees from the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Tuvalu,
to be funded by the Commonwealth Science Council and SOPAC multi-donor funding.
Local counterparts will come from several Kiribati government bodies.
Climate change & island resources
The IHP Pacific Working Group stressed that the field studies
should include study of the effects of climate, linked with other
regional climate work. Discussions have been held with USP and
SPREP on this aspect of the project. SPREP programmes are already
working to build usable climate data archives in the countries
concerned. UNESCO will concentrate on collecting community
knowledge.
Groundwater pollution in villages
Study three links household attitudes to the choice, siting and
use of their water and sanitation facilities to the extent and
characteristics of polluted groundwater in a Tongan village built
on coral sand. The first field period was from 29 April - 8 May
1996. Equipment was supplied under contract through SOPAC. A team
of three resource persons, hydrogeologist, social scientist and
SOPAC sanitation engineer conducted initial field work with three
local counterparts and two overseas trainees (Tuvalu &
Western Samoa). A third trainee (Niue) was unable to attend. The
science adviser attended the opening day. The equipment available
was successfully installed, and the counterparts are installing
some late items. Measurements were completed as planned, and in
most cases yielded clear results. First indications were that the
lateral movement of groundwater is very slow and hard to detect.
Nonetheless it appears that, as in similar situations elsewhere,
there is extensive contamination of private wells by sewage and
other pollutants in the study area. The social science studies
revealed a wealth of new and in some cases surprising information
on household knowledge and attitudes on the siting, construction
and use of private water supplies and sanitation facilities. The
hydrologists, despite extensive technical experience in serving
that particular community, found this information most
illuminating, and it is clearly of great importance for policy
determination. The training aspect of the study will be
reinforced by feedback of the overall results to all trainees.
Further short visits to Tonga by the main consultant, Mr. Lindsay
Furness, Douglas Partners, Brisbane, and the social scientist,
Dr. Leonie Crennan, University of Tasmania, will take place in
the period September-November. The local counterparts will
participate in field trips.
Follow up of groundwater studies
Literature surveys for the two groundwater studies will be published in late
1996 as a technical document in hydrology. Full accounts of each study including
technical, social and application aspects will be prepared and published as
Studies and Reports in Hydrology. Consultations will be held late in 1996 to
review the initial results of the two groundwater studies and decide on a follow-up.
Possibilities include:
WASP under threat
UNESCO's main collaborator in the field studies has been the
Water and Sanitation Programme (WASP) executed by SOPAC with UNDP
funding. Present funding stops at the end of 1996; after that the
future is uncertain. At its April meeting in Suva, UNESCO'S IHP
Pacific Working Group formally recommended that 'every effort be
made to secure funding for the Water and Sanitation Programme
beyond 1996". The Group pointed out that "these (IHP)
field studies benefit strongly from the continuation of support
by a regional organization such as the Water and Sanitation
Programme in SOPAC to achieve their stated educational,
scientific and socioeconomic goals."
People & Plants surveys start
Pacific people have always used the plants around them to survive. To keep this
culture alive, they must be able to find the plants they have traditionally
used. UNESCO is funding the Pacific People & Plants network to identify
culturally important plants which are now endangered. Then action to preserve
them can be taken. Led by USP Professor Randy Tbaman, two community workshops
in Fiji have been held, and another in Tonga is planned.
Assessing traditional forest use
A new report, commissioned under UNESCO's People & Plants
programme, provides "A blueprint for assessing the impact of
coastal deforestation on the traditional uses of rainforest
plants in Western Samoa'. Authors were Apia based environmental
forestry consultants James Atherton and Francois Martel. The
report starts with a brief overview of coastal plant communities,
the spread of deforestation and the main traditional uses of
forest plants. It then sets out a methodology for assessment of a
pair of villages with different forest resources but otherwise
similar characteristics. A random sample of households would be
surveyed using a questionnaire given in the report. Coupled to
this would be interviews with healers, house builders and other
key plant-users, and field assessment of village forest cover.
All this data would be analyzed together to provide an overall
assessment of the impact of deforestation.
Shore Ecology handbook
Editing work is continuing at UNESCO Office Apia to produce a new
edition of the handbook "The Shore Ecology of the Tropical
Pacific". Consultations with USP have provided valuable
guidance.
Could an earthquake drown Suva?
Scientists at the SOPAC Technical Secretariat are looking for answers to this
question, helped by a UNESCO grant. In 1953 the Suva earthquake damaged buildings
and produced a tsunami wave. Using modern instruments, the study team are searching
the sea floor around Suva for underwater "landslides" or slumps caused
by the earthquake. By measuring the shape and properties of the slumps, the
team work out how they happened, and if future slumps are likely to cause a
damaging tsunami wave. Combined with other research, the study will help scientists
understand the effect a large earthquake would have on present day Suva. The
information is being presented in a local workshop to researchers and government
officers responsible for reducing disaster risks.
Travel - Travel - Travel
Visits made by Science Adviser
15-16 April Port Vila, NatCom & science
17-19 April Honiara, Catchment study preparation
22-24 April SOPAC, Suva, IHP Pacific WG
25-26 April USP Suva, Science & geography
29-30 April Lifuka Is., Tonga, groundwater pollution study
Planned visits by Science Adviser
(Subject to confirmation)
23 August Pago Pago, Pacific Water Assoc.
2-8 October Rarotonga, SOPAC Annual Session
21-24 October Suva, Study follow-up & planning
12-14 November Nuku'alofa, Study follow-up
18-22 November Jakarta, Project prep. training
25-28 November Paris, CSI Experts meeting
For more information
For more information, please contact.
Trevor Sankey, Science Adviser
UNESCO Office Apia
P.O. Box 5766, Matautu uta P.O.
APIA, Western Samoa
Tel. No: +685 24276
Fax No: +685 22253
Email:
trevor.sankey@unesco.org
If you have any comments or queries on this Update, we would be
happy to hear from you. Views expressed in this Update are not
necessarily those of UNESCO. Material in this Update may be
reproduced freely provided acknowledgement is given.
