Islands Business October 2022 edition
October
‘Til death do us part: Village holds out against the waves
As the sun sets over Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island, a gong sounds, calling the people to evening prayers. Waves crash on the shoreline, inching ever closer to the village and threatening their very
A Holy Vow: Churches attempt a lost cause
On the black sand a child ran, face turned upwards as he chased a butterfly. Oblivious to the encroachment of rising sea levels and the gradual erosion of his village, he ran back and forth - lost in this moment. Fifty
A cog in Fiji’s history: Site links ancient kingdoms
One account of the origins of Vunisavisavi begins with a young chief setting out from the pre-European kingdom of Verata which was, at the time, a dominant political force. With his retainers, the chief left his home on
Whispers
PNG’s big bills Papua New Guinea government offices have been able to move back into their premises after temporarily being locked out over non-payment of rent, but the matter had to go to court for that to happen.
America’s Catch-Up Summit
Spooked by China’s influence in the Pacific Islands, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted an unprecedented summit at the White House for leaders from the Pacific Islands Forum on 28-29 September. It was the culmination of
Blandness Debilitates Regionalism
It has been a bugbear for me for some time. However, over the years, I have learned that I was not the only one being stressed by this. Others, many in fact, have been equally perturbed by this tendency for the Pacific
Avoiding a WASHout
There has been a significant decline in donor funding for water, sanitation and hygiene projects in the Pacific, as the region continues to lag behind the Sustainable Development Goals on access to water. A recent study
WOTA: A Japanese Solution to Water Shortages?
A Tokyo-based start-up working on small-scale water recycling systems hopes they may help solve water shortages in small island communities. WOTA’s technology is a response to what it describes as a ‘looming
EV Chargers may spawn e-revolution on Fiji roads
The company behind Fiji's first electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is optimistic that its transformative clean energy project will also spill over to Fiji's maritime transportation, with plans to produce
Decarbonising transport: hydrogen fuel is next
While electric vehicles are only just entering Pacific Island markets, Tokyo is working towards an ambitious plan that would see a decarbonised society with net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Increasing the number of