By Kaliopate Tavola
The volcanic eruptions of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in January and resulting tsunami have come and gone. In their wake, many learnings can be gleaned as talking points for expedient national and regional reflections on the modus operandi for a range of issues. These include post-disaster humanitarianism, relief and rehabilitation, mobilisation of diasporic resources, persistent short and long-term risks, and even revisiting the science of volcanology. Moreover, a critical learning that has substantial trans-generational appeal is that which would throw light on our collective resilience – traditional and cultural, that has accrued and still accruing overtime – over generations. And judicious application of the same will put us in good stead when threatened by future disasters, including even our existential threat of climate change.
Regional governments, including some of the Pacific Rim countries and beyond, were quick to respond with humanitarian assistance. This is admirable. Humanitarianism is alive and well in the region. That, however, did not stop the cynics from commenting. There were those who, for example, saw unsavoury motives in the acts of bilateral or geopolitical humanitarianism. Whatever they were, the Tongan people appreciated the compassion writ large in these philanthropic consignments. I suppose that is what counts in calamitous situations, such as that which confronted our Tongan neighbours. The calamity and its various challenges will continue to test the resolve of the Tongans for some time yet.
The Tongan diaspora was not going to be left out in this humanitarian zest. We read about individual efforts responding readily to calls of help from family members. Community groups, of various interests reacted energetically to make a difference in the lives of those affected.
The eruptions were strong and powerful. But they had been bubbling since late December 2021 – shaking the seas near Tonga with a series of outbursts. Things kicked into a higher gear in January with powerful blasts on January 13 and 14, and an even bigger one on January 15 that sent ash and dust 25 miles into the Pacific sky. This undersea volcano, according to www.space.com released up to 18 megatons of energy that was about 1,200 times more powerful than the atomic bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima in 1944.
Nature publication reported on the scientific values of these eruptions that are currently exciting the curiosity of the scientists – vulcanologists specifically. “Researchers are finding it hard to explain why the volcano sent a cloud to such heights yet emitted less ash than would be expected for an eruption of such magnitude. And the shock waves that rippled through the atmosphere and oceans are unlike anything seen in the modern scientific era,” it reported.
These eruptions are an excellent reminder of the danger that we face in the Pacific, the home of the Ring of Fire and many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. This horseshoe-shaped belt about 40,000km long and up to 500km wide is the direct result of plate tectonics: specifically the movement, collision and destruction of lithospheric plates under and around the Pacific Ocean.
The Ring of Fire contains approximately 850-1000 volcanoes that have been active during the last 11,700 years. This is about two-thirds of the world’s total. Certainly, the four largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in the last 11,700 years occurred in the Ring of Fire. According to Dr Patrick Nunn, Pacific Islanders have been experiencing these eruptions for 3,000 years.
Such a length of occupation in our blue ocean continent, while encountering these devastating life-threatening dangers, should have built up our resilience overtime and over generations. One would expect that such aspects of our life would be reflected in our traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. We, individually or collectively, have indeed reflected on these matters in the context of climate change long before the formulation of the Boe Declaration, which recognises the existentiality of climate change in the region and in our lives. Such reflections are crucial now, and in the future, given the fact that the frequency of natural disasters and the devastation they inflict in our region is increasing.
Some of us have started to reactivate and recollect this traditional knowledge and cultural expressions through enlightened storytelling and documentation of the same. Others have taken the next step to develop and ratify relevant agreements. Members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, for example, have their Framework Treaty on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Culture, 2011.
At the regional level, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) has its own Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF). PIF’s website informs us that through PRF, ‘we do not have to waste time’ since the Facility is available to assist anyone in need; that we all know that we need to be self-reliant in confronting natural disasters; and that PRF provides full-grant financing without debt. Through the PRF, the Pacific is a leader of resilient of development solutions; it will build the resilience, preparedness and adaptive capacity of poor communities before disasters strike; it will bring the resilience and knowledge of all our countries and territories to address this challenge directly.
The New Zealand Government also promises to be active in resilience. Its Pacific Reset, launched a few years ago, has been galvanised under a new banner: NZ’s Pacific Engagement: Partnership for Resilience. This has come in the wake of an institutional initiative between the University of the South Pacific and the University of Canterbury to jointly research resilience in the context of climate change.
Help is also available at the wider regional level. The newly launched ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy of the USA, 2022’ has its own section dealing with these issues. It states: ‘The United States will work with partners to establish a multilateral strategic grouping that supports Pacific Island countries as they build their capacity and resilience as secure, independent actors. Together, we will build climate resilience through the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility; coordinate to meet the Pacific’s infrastructure gaps, especially on information and communications technology; facilitate transportation; and cooperate to improve maritime security to safeguard fisheries, build maritime-domain awareness, and improve training and advising. We will also prioritise finalisation of the Compact of Free Association agreements with the Freely Associated States.’
Pacific Small Island Developing States’ ancestors lived through 3,000 years of volcanic eruptions and associated devastation in their blue oceanic continent. They suffered, learned and have thus built their resilience in order to recover quickly. They acquired toughness through their own efforts.
Present generations have benefitted as a result. We may have taken too much for granted and have thus lost a few gems of traditional wisdom and cultural expressions along the way. But take heart. Help is nigh. Full retrieval of our lost traditional erudition in resilience has to be the current generation’s aspiration. Increasing volcanic activities demand this. Resources are there for the taking.
The author is a former Fijian Ambassador and Foreign Minister and runs his own consultancy company in Suva, Fiji.
