Page 39 - IB June July 2024

Analysis Analysis

Policing Initiative to be based in Brisbane, as a response Partners for the Blue Pacific (PBP) in June 2022, an aid
to Chinese policing programs in the region. But there are coordination mechanism for key donors created without
questions as to how the estimated AUD$400 million will formal consultation with the Forum Secretariat. Regional
mesh with existing regional initiatives such as the Pacific commentators argued the US initiative has undercut Pacific
Island Chiefs of Police (PICP). Such parallel initiatives raise institutions and co-opted the language of the “Blue Pacific”,
fundamental questions about local ownership, duplication and without the substance.
transparency over monitoring, evaluation and effectiveness. To supplement diplomatic missions in island countries,
major powers have also appointed roving special envoys to
Indo-Pacific trumps Blue Pacific intervene on the regional stage. Even Australia, which has
For island states, it’s a never-ending struggle to firstly embassies, high commissions or consulates in every Pacific
define and then defend regional priorities, when key partners home country and territory has appointed a Special Envoy for
are more focused on the Indo-Pacific than the Blue Pacific the Pacific and Regional Affairs. As Islands Business reported
(just ask the US Freely Associated States about the delay of last year, Ewen McDonald left his post as head of DFAT’s Office
the US Congress to appropriate funds for the newly revised of the Pacific in Canberra, relocating to Suva to serve as the
Compacts). inaugural Special Envoy (which makes it much easier to walk
Given these constraints, many regional statesmen and down the road and lobby Forum staff).
women have found new mechanisms to speak truth to power, For all these challenges, the Forum is the focal point for
such as the Pacific Elders Voice. Last year, former Secretary diplomacy by Pacific Small Island Developing States, who
General Dame Meg Taylor argued that “at the regional level, have played a fundamental role on the global stage around
rather than seeking to surpass China’s improved position by nuclear disarmament, global climate negotiations and oceans
also delivering on our development agenda, the response policy. Given the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
from the United States and its allies has been to subsume our makes up around 20% of the UN membership, it’s fitting that
narrative under their own geostrategic framework of strategic UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will attend August’s
denial.” summit in Tonga. As the youth say, “We’re not drowning,
This was highlighted by Washington’s creation of the we’re fighting”.
Opinion

CULTURE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN VANUATU

Continued from page 36 practices such as sharing information and lessons and securing
“second homes” for the provision of back-up shelters and food
founded, where possible, on the existing cultural and kinship gardens, are as much traditional environmental knowledge
links between islands and communities. To be sustainable as they are risk reduction strategies. Mainstreaming this
and pragmatic, state interventions must be sensitive to the understanding across Pacific Island countries’ systems will
sociocultural dynamics of communities and not undermine contribute to a more contextualised, culturally resilient, and
social cohesion or cultural priorities and protocols during less disruptive way of enhancing climate resilience while
community relocation. addressing the challenges of displacement and mobility. The
The enduring presence of customary institutions in authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Richard
facilitating community resilience cannot be overemphasised. Shing to this article.
The international policy framework for displacement Disclosure: The Wokbaot Wetem Kalja project was funded
recognises the importance of risk-informed decision-making by the International Organization for Migration Development
that draws on traditional knowledge, through the Sendai Fund.
Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction. So too does the This article appeared first on Devpolicy Blog (devpolicy.
Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific which org), from the Development Policy Centre at The Australian
recognises the importance of “incorporating traditional coping National University.
mechanisms and local knowledge [to] enhance individual and Anna Naupa is currently a ni-Vanuatu PhD candidate at the
community resilience”. At the national level in Vanuatu, the School of Culture, History and Language at the Australian
2018 Displacement Policy encourages mapping of traditional National University.
environmental knowledge as it relates to disasters, to inform Vanessa Organo is a Climate Change, Disasters and Human
Government planning for future displacement scenarios. Mobility Specialist at the International Organization for
What is evident from the research described here is that Migration in Vanuatu.
it is essential to work with customary systems and respect Elisse Huffer is Adjunct Associate Professor, Oceania Centre
cultural knowledge and priorities in Vanuatu, reaffirming a for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, University of the South
key principle of the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Pacific.
Mobility endorsed by the region’s leaders at the Pacific
Islands Forum held in Cook Islands last November. Pragmatic

Islands Business,June/Juy 2024 39