Project Survival Pacific: Voices of the Pacific

Written by Deon and Jessica

On Monday as we walked into the main hall of the Bella Center we passed yet another person handing out sheets of paper. At the conference, you learn to keep your hands down or in your pockets to avoid being given countless documents you'll never look at again. Yet this particular woman mentioned something that sparked both the attention of both us and we took the paper. It was an announcement calling us to a side event in which eleven young people from Pacific nations were speaking. Being interested in the voices coming from both youth and vulnerable nations, we attended the event at 2 pm.

It began with an announcer who gave basic facts about Pacific nations. There are 8.6 million people living in the Pacific, and over 1000 languages are spoken there. Many Pacific nations are very close to sea level. The highest point in the Maldives is 4 meters above sea level, and on Kiribati it is just 3 meters.

One or two representatives from each of 9 countries spoke about specific issues their nation was facing. Almost all of the representatives talked about facing saltwater intrusion and therefore a freshwater shortage. This can be directly linked to a rising sea level, which comes from melting glaciers, a result of an increasing global temperature. Freshwater shortages lead to food security problems in many of these nations, and they can no longer profit from agriculture. Many of the nations also are hit with increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and storms, which also contributes to their inability to produce enough food.

During this session there were also many unique surprises. A few of the speakers performed a traditional dance, which was very neat to watch. We were also served coconut ice, which is a typical (very delicious) treat in many of the island nations. Towards the end, two of the speakers performed fabulous poems they had written. One particularly poignant line by the young woman from the Caribbean islands read, "that money you make, it's killing our children."

One of the issues that Deon has been focusing her research on at the conference is equality, so this session was especially meaningful to her. Jessica has been focusing some of her research on the Alliance of Small Island States, so it was a natural interest for her as well. These small Pacific nations are begging the developed countries to help them. They are emitting very little carbon themselves, yet they are being affected most strongly. The constant theme that everyone spoke about was his or her right to survive. They want their land, culture, people, and identity to survive. The young woman from the Maldives pleaded, "We are usually very happy people. Don't take our happiness away."

One country to look at is Papua New Guinea, which holds 5% of the world’s biodiversity. 75% of the country is covered in forests. 80% of the people rely on the forest for their livelihood; a local called it ‘the people’s supermarket’. Without this rich land and biodiversity, many of the people would suffer. In Papua New Guinea, the first of what may be many “climate change refugees” have already begun experiencing displacement issues. These refugees are people that have been forced to relocate because their village or home is no longer inhabitable. Forced migration, relocation and displacement are all problems the Pacific nations are faced with due to sever unpredictable weather, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and unreliable growing seasons.

Tuvalu, another small island, has become increasingly more noticeable at the conference. The country’s negotiators have said that “it is an irony of the modern world that we are waiting for some senators in the U.S Congress to conclude their discussion before we can proceed”. Tuvalu and other small island nations are willing to do anything they can in order to reach a binding agreement at COP15 that will require all nations to cut their CO2 emissions and support technology transfer in developing nations. Reaching such a contract at this point is the one thing that all the small island nations are hoping for. This truly is the last thing the world can do to help suffering in the Pacific island.