Environment

Health, sanitation vital for community

Kukum Fishing Village chief Robert Satu shows the seafront, which is a lifeline for many families and communities along the coastal plains of Honiara. Picture: ROMEKA KUMARI By ROMEKA KUMARI, Wansolwara  COMMUNITIES along the coast of Honiara are tackling the impact of climate change one day at a time. For Kukum Fishing Village, situated along the Kukum Highway, east of Honiara in the Solomon Islands, the effect of climate change on their social system and health has become a concern. Village chief Robert Satu told Wansolwara that the issue of climate change had affected food sources, health and sanitation for coastal communities. He said many…

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Stumbling blocks at Kukum

Troubling waterfront at Kukum Fishing Village. Sea level rise and storm surges often leaves homes by the coast inundated with seawater. Picture: ROMEKA KUMARI By ROMEKA KUMARI, Wansolwara CLIMATE change has been a heavily debated global topic. For many people, climate change has become an ongoing battle for survival. Kukum Fishing villagers in Honiara believe that climate change is real and that their surrounding environment is living proof. A coastal plain situated along the Kukum Highway in Honiara, the village is one of four selected climate change hotspots in a 2014 climate change vulnerability assessment report on Honiara by the United Nations Development Programme…

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Support for nature-based solutions

By BEN BILUA, Wansolwara NATURE-BASED solution is Solomon Islands’ best mitigation and adaptation approach towards addressing the effects of climate change. The concept encourages rural communities to revive traditional means and methods such as planting of trees and building seawalls using rocks. Lord Howe Settlement located in the capital Honiara, is a lot safer from storm surges and sea level rise, thanks to a local businessman who built a nature-based seawall. However, Lord Howe Settlement resident Leoray Panra said sea level rise and flooding continued to threaten communities despite initiatives like the construction of a seawall. He said the Mataniko River was…

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Hope for a better tomorrow

Lord Howe Settlement youth Leoray Panra relays his experience dealing with climate change in Honiara. Picture: BEN BILUA/WANSOLWARA By BEN BILUA, Wansolwara LIVING in an informal settlement comes with sacrifice, patience and dreams of a better future. Day in and day out is always a challenge when it comes to basic services like water and sanitation as well as simple hygiene practices. External shock and stresses due to adaptation deficit in urban infrastructure, housing and service provision are also issues of concern. There are untold testimonies with a few happy endings while other testimonies exposed emotional hardships and depression among those living…

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Logging the life out of Lungga

Vatukola Village resident Anna Madi, left, does laundry in the Boneghe River in Guadalcanal as granddaughter Erica looks on. Vatukola is located in West Honiara, Solomon Islands. Picture: ROMEKA KUMARI By ROSALIE NONGEBATU, Wansolwara “There is a particular tree that grows by the Lungga River. We call it the lania tree. I have been by the riverside and I have seen the tree. I have seen our father, even our great grannies walk alongside the Lungga River and gaze at the tree. I have been told, countless times, that breaking even the smallest part of the tree and dropping it in the…

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First-hand encounters inspire USP journalism news team on climate change reporting assignment

The Barana Nature and Heritage Park is a milestone for community-based conservation in Solomon Islands. Activities include reforestation to reduce flood risks, replanting of stream or watershed areas to reduce soil erosion and sustainable land-use management practices. Picture: ROSALIE NONGEBATU/WANSOLWARA By GERALDINE PANAPASA Hearing first-hand the experiences of Solomon Islanders directly affected by climate change on a regular basis was an overwhelming experience for three final-year journalism students from The University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. The students, Rosalie Nongebatu, Ben Bilua and Romeka Kumari, were part of the environmental reporting team that travelled to the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara, last month. The trip was sponsored by the Internews/Earth Journalism…

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Law students push for urgent advisory opinion as climate fight gains momentum

Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC) members at USP’s Emalus campus in Vanuatu. Picture: SUPPLIED/PISFCC By JARED KOLI A group of law students from the region is calling on Pacific leaders to seek urgent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ)on the issue of human rights and climate change as the fight to reduce carbon emissions and global warming continues on a global scale. The Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC) group received strong support towards its climate justice initiative, garnering as many as 5000 signatures calling on Pacific leaders to consider their proposal to raise…

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Pacific experiencing the realities of climate change, says expert

Many low-lying Pacific Island countries are experiencing the threat of global warming and sea level rise. Picture: WANSOLWARA By JUNIOR OIOFA Climate change is real and many Pacific Island countries are experiencing this reality, says climate expert Dr Jale Samuwai. Dr Samuwai became the first graduate to be awarded a PhD in climate change at The University of the South Pacific this year. Speaking at the USP graduation ceremony in March this year, he said Pacific Island countries were at the front-line of the impact of climate change. “Many low-lying atolls in the Pacific region like Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu…

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USP journo students return from Solomons climate reporting project

Most coastal villages in Honiara depend heavily on the sea for survival. Picture: ROSALIE NONGEBATU/Wansolwara By MICHAEL ANDREW, Asia Pacific Report/Pacific Media Centre/Wansolwara A group of University of the South Pacific journalism students have returned from a week-long trip to the Solomon Islands covering communities at the forefront of climate change. Rosalie Nongebatu, Romeka Kumari and Ben Bilua, who are also part of Wansolwara team, were selected to be a part of the project “Adapting to and mitigating effects of climate change and island sea level rise,” funded through the Internews/Earth Journalism Network (EJN) Asia-Pacific and Bay of Bengal 2019 media grants.…

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USP students wary of climate impact

USP final-year journalism student Elizabeth Osifelo, who hails from the Solomon Islands, has seen the rise in sea level each time she travels home from Suva. Picture: PIFS   (Pacific Media Centre/Wansolwara) Climate change issues seem to loom larger than the impending election in the minds of The University of the South Pacific (USP) students. Pacific Media Centre's Sri Krishnamurthi speaks to students about this issue. COP23, which refers to the 23rd annual Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), and Fiji holding the presidency last year is the reason university students in Fiji…

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