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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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Coastal region and small island papers 9
3
Workshop Presentations
and Discussions
continued
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Promotion
of indigenous wise practices: medicinal knowledge and freshwater fish, Moripi
Cultural Area, Gulf Province; and food security, Trobri and Islands, Milne Bay
Province, Papua New Guinea
UNESCO Chair in ‘Wise and locally relevant approaches towards the management
of coastal regions and small islands, University of Papua New Guinea’ – Linus digim’Rina
Major
highlights
This
pilot project centres around two main spheres of activity, firstly focusing on
the traditional knowledge regarding a particular freshwater fish, and secondly,
the planting of food trees to provide for future food security. It is necessary
to clearly define how the local people are benefiting from this and other pilot
projects. The chair at the University of Papua New Guinea is still at the
conceptual stage. The concept of university chairs often invokes the idea of
prestige, lengthy duration and substantial funding. (See pilot project summary
in Annex 6.11, and university chair summary in Annex
6.12.)
Discussion
UNESCO Chair financial support: This usually totals US$ 10–15,000 per year,
to be used as seed money in supporting student involvement in pilot project
activities, equipment, publications etc., over a limited time.
Documentation of indigenous knowledge:
This is not easy; agreement has to be obtained with the traditional knowledge
owners, and even then it is difficult to get a complete and accurate picture.
The
UNITWIN network – Dirk Troost
Major
highlights
This
is a proposed network of six universities in Asia and the Pacific, which is
being set up to facilitate collaborative research, training and activities
leading to the development of wise coastal practices for sustainable human
development. (See agreement in Annex 6.13.)
Discussion
Nature of the agreement: Discussion focused on whether the network had
been formally established yet and whether the agreement should contain an
implementation schedule.
Involvement of other institutions: Ways to involve other institutions that are not universities were discussed. Furthermore NGOs and other organizations need to know about this network so as to lobby their universities to actively participate. Also some of the smaller islands do not have a university so they get left out of such networks. In these cases, virtual distance learning may provide some opportunities.
There
was no formal presentation on the CSI pilot project ‘A place for indigenous
people in protected areas, Surin Islands, Andaman Sea, Thailand’. However, the
project summary and list of related WiCoP forum articles is included in
Annex 6.14.
Mauritius
perspective on wise coastal practices – Mitrasen Bhikajee
Major
highlights
Mauritius
has industrialized very quickly in the last two decades. Scarcity of coastal
land has given rise to unplanned developments in environmentally sensitive
areas. Because of the size of the island, all land-based activities impact
directly on the coast. The major problems identified in the coastal zone are
beach erosion, poor water quality in the lagoon, loss of biological diversity in
the marine/coastal areas, drop in fish catches and inadequate development
planning in the coastal zone. The concept of community-based management is not
widespread largely due to the small size of the island and the existing
nation-wide interaction. Significant gaps in existing activities are a lack of
expertise in coastal erosion and sediment transport fields and the absence of a
holistic approach to coastal zone management. (See country summary in Annex
6.15.)
Seychelles perspective on wise coastal practices – Rolph Payet
Major
highlights
While
the Seychelles is implementing its environmental management plan, the key
threats to the environment are coastal urbanization, coastal tourism,
over-exploitation of coastal resources, coastal erosion, marine pollution, sea
level rise and climate change. The country has a ‘cap’ on the number of
visitors which has recently been raised to 200,000 per annum; it also has a
policy to prohibit heavy industry and only allow light industry. (See country
summary in Annex 6.16.)
There
was no presentation on the ‘Maldives perspective on wise coastal practices’.
However, the country summary is included in Annex 6.17.
|
Field
trip to Saanapu-Sataoa
Major
highlights
A
visit was made to Sataoa village on the south coast of Upolu. The Saanapu-Sataoa
Conservation Area is the site of the CSI pilot
project; this area is also one of
17 project sites under the UNDP-GEF/SPREP South Pacific Biodiversity
Conservation Project. The CSI pilot project is a few months old, while the
SPREP project is three years old. Prior to the establishment of the
SPREP project, the
villagers used to cut the mangroves and use poison and chemicals for fishing.
Now if anyone is caught using these harmful practices, they may be banned from
the village for life or may have to pay a fine, e.g. five pigs. A tourism centre
is under construction as part of the project. There is a trail from the village
to the mangrove lagoon where canoe paddle tours through the mangroves are
conducted.
On
arrival at the village, a Kava Ceremony with the village chiefs was conducted.
Following this, participants were taken on a canoe paddle tour through the
mangroves, during which they had the chance to discuss matters of interest with
their guides.
The
participants then returned to have lunch with the village chiefs and to discuss
the environmental projects and ways in which they benefited the village
community.
After
the visit to Sataoa, participants visited the Sinalei Reef Resort, one of
Samoa’s largest coastal tourism establishments, before returning to Apia.
Discussion
Sharing of ecotourism revenue: Funds from ecotourism enterprises, e.g. canoe
trips through the mangroves, are divided: 50% (WST 10 – Western Samoa Tala) go
to the boat owner, 25% to the boat operator (WST 5) and 25% to a community fund
(WST 5).
Conservation Area Coordinating Committee (CACC):
This committee has four members; one person concentrates on conservation, one on
tourism, and two focus on interaction with the other villagers, one of whom is a
woman who interacts with the other women in the village in handicraft production
and sale.
Role of the mayor: The mayor, who is elected, liaises with the
village council of chiefs and the national government.
Village perception of tourist visitors:
The village council members were happy with having tourists come into their
village, although when women came in, they tried to make sure that village women
took care of them.
Project promises: Four projects have been started by various donors and
organizations in the villages of Sataoa and Saanapu. Some of the villagers are
disillusioned in that some of the projects have not followed through on their
promises to provide materials/goods for the village.
Selection of Saanapu - Sataoa villages as a CSI pilot project site:
The reasons why this area was selected for the CSI pilot project include the
existence of other projects in the area; the pristine nature of the mangroves
and the minimal human impact; and the co-operation of the village councils.
Educational component of the pilot project:
The mangroves in this area are being used as a model for the development of
educational activities, which will then be applicable to other mangrove areas in
Samoa. (A draft of the mangrove activities booklet for school children was
provided to the participants.) Some of the activities provide the opportunity
for students to interview and collect information from the villagers. This has a
spin-off effect, such that villagers are informed of the importance of
mangroves. A resource book on Samoa’s mangroves, as well as field study guides
for inclusion in the national curriculum will also be prepared. A series of
one-day training workshops for teachers will be held early in 2001, prior to the
integration of mangrove field studies into the national curriculum.
Linkage with UNESCO Associated Schools Project
(ASP):
The Saanapu Primary School within the pilot project site is designated as an ASP
school; 80% of the schools in Samoa are ASP schools and one major theme they
focus on is ‘environment’.
Traditional management component of the pilot project:
80 interviews discussing indigenous knowledge and using a list of standard
questions have been conducted with the villagers by three researchers, one from
the National University of Samoa, one from the Curriculum Development Unit of
the Education Department, and one from the Environment Section of the Department
of Land, Survey and Environment. These were recorded, tabulated and are being
analysed. The interview work was very time-consuming, since on many occasions it
was necessary to hold long meeting sessions with the village councils, such as
is required by protocol in customary Samoan society.
Continual interaction with the village elders:
Every time work is carried out in the field, meetings are held with the village
elders. While this is time-consuming and involves the exchange of some kind of
token (money), it provides the opportunity to further the education of the
village elders themselves. However, this extra financial cost needs to be
included in the project funding.
The CSI platform in the context of the UNESCO mandate and summary of the CSI approach with particular reference to small-island issues – Dirk Troost
Brief
introduction of the CSI small-island pilot projects and university chairs, and
the potential activities in the Indian Ocean – CSI workshop participants
Major
highlights
Mr
Troost’s presentation highlighted similar points to those raised in his talk
on ‘Wise coastal practices for sustainable human development in small island
states : needs and approaches’. Other CSI workshop participants briefly
summarized their activities.
Discussion
Documentation of wise practices: The WiCoP forum is a good source of documentation and discussion on example wise practices as well as unwise practices; the forum contributions are also available in paper copies. The CSI website is another source of information, since it contains items from many different sources ranging from publications to newspaper articles.
Coastal
infrastructure management strategy project – Tracey Haszard and
Teresa
Ngau Chun
Major
highlights
After
two cyclones hit Samoa in 1990 and 1991, major rehabilitation programmes were
undertaken, and this particular World Bank-funded project was designed to reduce
potential damage from similar events. The project started in April 2000 and has
developed coastal hazard maps for strategic planning purposes. Consultations
have been held in order to develop a national coastal infrastructure management
strategy, involving government actions, local level actions and pilot projects.
It is hoped to integrate this project with other initiatives.
Discussion
Capacity-building focus: This is being conducted at the national level
in the first instance; communities will be involved later in the project. The
project also hopes to co-operate with other community-based projects, e.g. the
Australian AID fisheries project.
Community structure in Samoa: This is strong and very well organized. The
consent of the village is necessary in order to implement any national law.
Projects should, wherever possible, use existing village social structures and
committees rather than implement new ones. Also key people in the village have
to be identified. This project is trying to develop a national strategy and then
assist the local communities in adopting this as their own.
Land ownership: 80% of the land in Samoa is customary land and it is
difficult and often impossible for government to dictate the use of this land.
Developers need to consider the customary landowners as serious stakeholders.
Document availability: Hazard maps developed under the project are a
key part of the knowledge dissemination process. Key documents are being
published in English and Samoan.
Community knowledge and outside experts:
The community has more knowledge of the local area than outside experts and
there is a need to access and document this local knowledge and use it in the
strategy. The strategy may result in designating a considerable area of the
coastal zone unsuitable for infrastructure development.
Samoa
Water Authority: water supply infrastructure – Sebastian Mariner
Major
highlights
This
European Union-funded project aims to reconstruct two river intakes, two new
treatment plants and some new pipes. The project document, which was prepared
some years ago, specifies that black beach sand of particular specifications
must be used. The extraction of this sand from within Samoa will have a
considerable impact on sand supplies and on the environment. It may spur the use
of alternatives, such as imported sand; however, this is many times more
expensive.
Discussion
Sources of sand: Practically all sand for construction in Samoa
currently comes from the beach. Alternatives do exist such as crushed rock,
dredged sand and imported sand; all are estimated to be significantly more
expensive than current sources. No feasibility study has been done regarding the
alternatives.
Time lags between feasibility studies and project start-up:
The feasibility study for the water project was done in the early 1990s, yet the
project did not come on stream until ten years later. Following the cyclones in
the early 1990s the sand situation has become more critical.
Coastal erosion: Much of the coastline is eroding and in some places
sand mining is a significant factor.
Control of sand mining: The Public Works Department issues permits for
sand mining without environmental impact assessments (EIA).
Profit by middlemen: Property owners, and sometimes villages, often
sell sand to contractors who then make a huge profit on resale to developers.
Integration between projects: Government agencies involved in aid-funded
projects need to develop better communication in order to integrate projects and
their activities.
Offshore sand: This may provide an alternative source for
construction material, but often dredging is expensive and may just transfer the
problem from the beach to the offshore zone. It may be possible to combine
activities, e.g. a proposed port-dredging project may also provide sand for
construction. There has been limited experience with the dredging and placement
of sand on beaches in Samoa, and the few projects executed after the cyclones in
1991 were not very successful.
Sand mining is a major issue in other islands:
In the Caribbean many attempts have been made to manage the sand mining problem
over the past 20 years, most of them unsuccessful. One island, Montserrat,
achieved success in managing the problem largely because several factors came
together: there had been two major hurricanes ten years apart; a new government
was elected which was willing to tackle the problem; there was widespread public
support as a result of education and awareness efforts; and alternative sand
supplies at a reasonable cost were available. (This example is documented in the
WiCoP forum, see
Annex 6.5).
Sand mining in the Seychelles: Two initiatives have been adopted here: mining
the coastal plains and then back filling with other material; and stockpiling
coral fill from deepening navigational channels. This has provided 10–15 years
supply, supplemented by the use of alternative materials, e.g. crushed glass for
road bedding.
Hard shoreline protection: Many Samoans have more interest in protecting
the land than conserving the beach, and thus favour hard structures such as
seawalls.
Expensive water: Large-scale water projects may result in water being
very expensive, e.g. in Papua New Guinea water is more expensive than
electricity. In Samoa, where people have traditionally used running water to
wash clothes (e.g. in rivers), the use of similar washing methods with piped
water may result in very high costs. In Samoa, wastage may be a more significant
issue than supply. Water consumption in Samoa is among the world’s highest at
400–600 litres/person/day. There is significant leakage from the present water
supply infrastructure. Consumption patterns and leakage are being addressed by
introducing water meters (initially in the urban Apia area), as well as through
public awareness campaigns and the above-mentioned water supply infrastructure
project, which will replace approximately 145 kilometres of old pipes. There is
concern over the monopoly of the water supply, which could lead to exploitation
of the poor.
Coastal
fisheries extension project – Jennifer Kallie and
Autolaua Taua
Major
highlights
Inshore
fisheries resources, which are very important to Samoan culture and lifestyle,
are declining due to population increases, destructive fishing practices, land
runoff and natural disasters. This community-based project, funded by the
Australian Agency for International Development, works with the individual
villages and assists them in drawing up a management plan, which they then adopt
and implement through their village rules. Community undertakings may include
actions like the development of fisheries reserves and a ban on dynamite
fishing. The project is resulting in a shift in community attitude, such that
villagers believe that increased catches adjacent to fisheries reserves are
related. (This project is well documented and discussed in the WiCoP
forum, see
Annex 6.18.)
Discussion
Evaluation: It is often difficult to determine if people are
telling the truth about the project. In this particular project, the officer
doing the six-monthly reviews is the same officer who visits the village
regularly to help with activities. Thus he has a fairly good idea of progress.
Community-based or community-oriented:
It was suggested that all the projects discussed in this workshop were not
community-oriented since they were initiated from outside. However, in the case
of this project, it was argued that the villagers suggested all the activities,
thus it was a truly community-based project.
Provision of boats: A third of the cost was met by the community,
and two thirds by the European Union (EU); however, the EU pulled out of this
agreement during the project, leaving the project coordinators in a somewhat
embarrassing situation.
World
Conservation Union (IUCN) Marine Protected Areas Project – Foua Toloa
Major
highlights
The
goal of this IUCN community-based project is to establish marine protected areas
at Aleipata and Safaatoa on the south coast of Upolu Island. The first phase of
this five-year project is focusing on a biodiversity survey, a management plan
and awareness activities. Major issues include how to meet community
expectations as well as maintain a profile in the communities, and ways to
ensure collaboration among stakeholders.
Discussion
Conflict within the village social structure:
The village committee for this project wanted to take the necessary decisions,
and this sometimes brought them into conflict with the village chiefs. Now
mechanisms are being established for the council of chiefs and the project
committee to work closer together.
Unwise practices: Many such practices have been documented within this
project, e.g. destructive fishing practices such as the breaking of coral.
Co-ordination of agencies: This is an area where considerable improvement
is needed, especially when there are several agencies working in one area,
e.g. the Saanapu-Sataoa Conservation Area, which has benefited from several
projects sponsored by the UNDP/South
Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the New Zealand Overseas
Development Agency (NZODA), UNESCO-CSI,
and now IUCN.
South
Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s (SPREP) coast al zone management
activities – Mary
Power, Natasha
Stacey, Joanna Axford
Major
highlights
This
regional organization involves 22 island countries and its role is to assist
national governments in environmental management. SPREP
focuses on institutional building at the government and community levels and
covers many areas ranging from biodiversity to waste management. The Pacific
region is still a long way from achieving integrated coastal management. Lessons
learnt include: the need to ensure full awareness of projects among all relevant
government departments; project flexibility, for priorities can change; and
the need to implement projects through national teams.
Discussion
Inter-project integration: This was again raised as an issue; all too
often, this is done by default rather than design.
Community involvement: SPREP involves local communities through local
and national NGOs.
Changing goals at the Saanapu-Sataoa project site:
This project was initiated as a biodiversity conservation project, not an
ecotourism project. The grant from UNDP-GEF
was approved for the conservation of globally significant biodiversity.
Confusion exists within the communities because the goals often appear to
have been turned around; ecotourism is often seen as the most significant
aspect of the project, especially from the community point of view. Problems
we re caused by the fact that the two villages did not communicate or get
along, and only certain families benefited from the project. As a result
of such difficulties, different strategies had to be devised for each of
the two project villages.
Performance indicators: ISO 14001 is an international standard which includes environmental targets and management systems, but it is not as comprehensive as ISO 9000. Other standards are being developed and used, such as Green Globe and Blue Flag. Participants generally felt the need to obtain further information about these international standards.
Samoa
Hotel Association – Samoan coastal tourism – Mats Loeskvist
Major
highlights
As
a result of the crisis in Fiji and the increased capacity of Polynesian
Airlines, there has been a higher demand for hotel rooms. However, the task
force that was created did not include any hoteliers in the first instance, and
focused on the need for new investment. Whereas in actual fact, with
refurbishment, existing rooms could meet the demand. Samoa’s selling point in
the tourism market is its culture and stable government. Additional work is
required on the standard of infrastructure, especially utilities.
Discussion
Leasing of customary land: Since this land can only be leased for
development and not purchased, and since approval of leases is a lengthy
process, this helps deter rash development.
Traditional building styles: ‘Fale’ are the traditional style huts with
open walls, crushed stone, sand or coral floors and thatch roofs, and can be
rebuilt easily after a hurricane. Building standards are being developed in
Samoa.
Wise
practice characteristics and their use in pilot project evaluation
The
list of wise practice characteristics (see Annex 4) was used as a basis for the
evaluation of two pilot projects: ‘Managing beach resources and planning for
coastline change, Caribbean islands’ and ‘Education for sustainable village
living, Saanapu and Sataoa villages, Upolu Island, Samoa’. The characteristics
proved to be a useful basis for the evaluation. Following the evaluation and
discussion of these two projects, suggestions were made to refine and add to the
characteristics. These suggestions have been noted in
Annex
4, and will be taken
into account when the final version of the ‘ Wise Coastal Practices for
Sustainable Human Development Forum – Work in Progress 2’ report is prepared
(English/French/Spanish).
Other
small-island pilot projects were also evaluated using the same characteristics;
the results were circulated, but there was insufficient time to discuss them
fully. These evaluations will be retained as a starting point for future, more
detailed project assessments.
The
next form of the UNESCO-CSI platform – Peter Espeut
Major
highlights
It
was suggested that the pilot projects be renamed ‘field experiments’ with
clearly defined hypotheses and pre- and post-experiment testing, leading to wise
(and unwise) practices which should then be published and fed into the WiCoP
forum. The UNESCO
Chairs could be transformed into/replaced with
UNESCO-CSI
focal points, e.g. a focal point for the Caribbean region, one for the Indian
Ocean etc. The WiCoP
forum should be wider and deeper, with interactive linkages
between the field experiments and the focal points. A final suggestion was to
hold ‘Wise practices training workshops’ to discuss the output from the
field experiments, focal points and WiCoP
forum, namely the wise practices.
These could lead to new activities on the ground, e.g. clusters of new field
experiments, and would require either a UNESCO
or non-UNESCO
trust fund for
financial sustainability. (See proposal in Annex 6.19.)
Discussion
Renaming the pilot projects: Several persons questioned the phrase ‘field
experiments’ as a replacement for ‘pilot projects’ and felt that this was
not a very helpful term for local stakeholders, and although it corresponded
well to natural science concepts, this was not necessarily the case for human
sciences. However, the need to test hypotheses was agreed.
Number of pilot projects: While there is always scope and need for new
pilot projects, it was suggested that there are already too many pilot projects
for CSI to effectively manage. It was noted that some larger and very diverse
islands have more than one pilot project, e.g. Papua New Guinea, which has two
pilot projects at three different sites. However, some pilot projects may come
to an end and make room for new ones. Any new pilot projects should be properly
designed with clearly defined goals, objectives and time frame.
Sustainability of CSI operations:
The long term continuity of the CSI
operations was questioned, as well as the
name ‘UNESCO
Chair’. The establishment of both chairs and pilot projects
requires a considerable amount of time.
UNESCO
Chairs: Since the establishment of chairs is so
time-consuming, it was suggested that to have one or two focal points in a
region might be more productive.
The UNITWIN network: This may be a more useful mechanism and less
time-consuming to establish, than university chairs.
The University of the Philippines UNESCO
Chair:
While the Chair certainly provides prestige to the chair holders, it is more
important to have flexibility and continuity through a clear research agenda.
Training is also an important component.
Other non-CSI
projects: Some ‘other’ projects are included on the
CSI website, and interaction with these provides a useful way of enhancing CSI
activities.
Integration with other major projects:
This should be a priority for all.
Implementation of wise practices:
This might be a more useful fourth CSI
component than the proposed ‘Wise
practice training workshops’, which is an intermediate step. However, the
training workshops with their intense exchanges and interaction we re considered
an important activity.
WiCoP forum: It was questioned whether the forum should be widened
any further in terms of content, although deepening and re focusing we re
possibly needed.
Importance of publications: Publications were mentioned by several persons
as end-products and ways to assess progress. This was in contrast to the July
2000 Bangkok meeting where caution was expressed about publications becoming the
main end-product with too little emphasis on action on-the-ground.
Concluding remarks
One
of the key issues that has emerged from the WiCoP
forum is the need to widen the
sphere of influence of small, locally-based, successful initiatives so as to
change attitudes and implement wise practices across a wide spectrum of society
and a more extensive geographical area. There are no easy answers to this
dilemma. However, a meeting such as this one, with its focus on interlinking
project and training activities, both within UNESCO
and with other
organizations, is one mechanism. The networking, both formal and informal, that
has commenced at this meeting, can only further the small islands’ programme
for action.
The
WiCoP forum is another way to extend the influence of a particular
activity/practice from the local to the global level. It is also a way to get
feedback on ideas, methods and key issues. Thus a proposal to focus the WiCoP
forum, so that it becomes an interactive tool for pilot projects and university
chair/twinning activities, will also assist small islands as they seek balances
between economic development and environmental conservation.
The
intersectoral and interdisciplinary nature of all
CSI’s activities is another
key factor in addressing the small-islands programme of action. Most of the
small-island pilot projects address several of the SIDS problem areas in need of
priority attention in an integrated manner, and it is only by such efforts,
involving different disciplines and societal sectors, that such complex issues
can be effectively addressed and appropriate solutions found.
References
Wise
Coastal Practices for Sustainable Human Development Forum; Work in Progress 2.
2001. English/French/Spanish
UNESCO-CSI,
2000. Wise coastal practices for sustainable human development. Results of an
intersectoral workshop, 30 November – 4 December 1998, and preliminary
findings of a follow-up virtual forum. CSI info 10,
UNESCO, Paris, viii + 126 pp.
UNESCO Sources, February 2001.
Coast to coast. Ian M. Dutton, pp.
10–11.
Going
online in the Indian Ocean.
Tourists to the rescue on Chumbe Island. Sibylle Riedmiller, p. 13.
English/French/Spanish
The
points man in the Philippines last frontier. Peter Coles, pp. 14–15.
