title: Adaptation to water scarcity in the context of climate change: A Case Study of the Nuku'alofa and Hihifo Districts, Tongatapu

authors: Fa'anunu, Jacqueline

subjects: Adaptation

abstract: For the most part, PICs and SIDS are constantly reminded of their vulnerability to climate change. Often, the increasing portrayal of island countries as vulnerable does not necessarily address what causes that vulnerability. The UNFCCC and IPCC have sought to adopt more adaptation measures alongside mitigation especially in vulnerability assessments. In the context of Tongatapu, adaptation in the water sector still holds significant political and economic challenges.  
This thesis explores the rural-urban adaptation experiences of residents in Nuku’alofa and Hihifo, Tongatapu, to water scarcity in the context of drought and climate change. It also seeks to investigate the role of vulnerability in the provision of aid, in reference to the PACC (Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change) water project in Hihifo. In utilising discourse analysis and analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus groups consisting of participants from Nuku’alofa and Hihifo, a range of themes emerged on the complexities of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Tonga. Hence, I sought to identify the ways that people can adapt to water scarcity in the context of drought and climate change. I draw from post structuralism, cultural geography and the vulnerability theory to uncover the discourses present in the climate change literature. It was also important to incorporate literature on sustainability and indigenous knowledge as they support better adaptation capacity in not only Tongatapu but also all of Tonga’s water sector. In particular, I examine vulnerability from a local point of view versus the views of those at the national level. In doing so, local knowledges can help shape decisions on policies regarding water and climate change.  
Government documents on climate change in Tonga has progressed from a vulnerability point of view to a resilience and adaptation frame of thinking. However, adaptation in the water sector is not solely a problem based on natural variability and climate change. A huge part of water problems is largely rooted on political and economic processes. This underpins the accessibility of people to water resources. This problem needs to be addressed, in order to increase the adaptive capacity of people in the rural-urban areas of Tongatapu.

text: Adaptation to water scarcity in the context of climate change: A Case Study of the Nuku'alofa and Hihifo Districts, Tongatapu For the most part, PICs and SIDS are constantly reminded of their vulnerability to climate change. Often, the increasing portrayal of island countries as vulnerable does not necessarily address what causes that vulnerability. The UNFCCC and IPCC have sought to adopt more adaptation measures alongside mitigation especially in vulnerability assessments. In the context of Tongatapu, adaptation in the water sector still holds significant political and economic challenges.  
This thesis explores the rural-urban adaptation experiences of residents in Nuku’alofa and Hihifo, Tongatapu, to water scarcity in the context of drought and climate change. It also seeks to investigate the role of vulnerability in the provision of aid, in reference to the PACC (Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change) water project in Hihifo. In utilising discourse analysis and analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus groups consisting of participants from Nuku’alofa and Hihifo, a range of themes emerged on the complexities of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Tonga. Hence, I sought to identify the ways that people can adapt to water scarcity in the context of drought and climate change. I draw from post structuralism, cultural geography and the vulnerability theory to uncover the discourses present in the climate change literature. It was also important to incorporate literature on sustainability and indigenous knowledge as they support better adaptation capacity in not only Tongatapu but also all of Tonga’s water sector. In particular, I examine vulnerability from a local point of view versus the views of those at the national level. In doing so, local knowledges can help shape decisions on policies regarding water and climate change.  
Government documents on climate change in Tonga has progressed from a vulnerability point of view to a resilience and adaptation frame of thinking. However, adaptation in the water sector is not solely a problem based on natural variability and climate change. A huge part of water problems is largely rooted on political and economic processes. This underpins the accessibility of people to water resources. This problem needs to be addressed, in order to increase the adaptive capacity of people in the rural-urban areas of Tongatapu.

year: 2017

title: Resolving environmental drivers of microbial community structure in Antarctic soils

authors: Smith, Julie L.

subjects: abiotic controls

abstract: Antarctic soils are extremely cold, dry, and oligotrophic, yet harbour surprisingly high bacterial diversity. The severity of environmental conditions has constrained the development of multi-trophic communities, and species richness and distribution is thought to be driven primarily by abiotic factors. Sites in northern and southern Victoria Land were sampled for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties in conjunction with the US and New Zealand Latitudinal Gradient Project. Bacterial community structure was determined using a high-resolution molecular fingerprinting method for 80 soil samples from Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett sites which are separated by five degrees of latitude and have distinct soil chemistry. Taylor Valley is part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, while Cape Hallett is the site of a penguin rookery and contains ornithogenic soils. The influence of soil moisture, pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen and organic carbon on community structure was revealed using Spearman rank correlation, Mantel test, and principal components analysis. High spatial variability was detected in bacterial communities and community structure was correlated with soil moisture and pH. Both unique and shared bacterial community members were detected at Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett despite the considerable distance between the sites.

text: Resolving environmental drivers of microbial community structure in Antarctic soils Antarctic soils are extremely cold, dry, and oligotrophic, yet harbour surprisingly high bacterial diversity. The severity of environmental conditions has constrained the development of multi-trophic communities, and species richness and distribution is thought to be driven primarily by abiotic factors. Sites in northern and southern Victoria Land were sampled for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties in conjunction with the US and New Zealand Latitudinal Gradient Project. Bacterial community structure was determined using a high-resolution molecular fingerprinting method for 80 soil samples from Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett sites which are separated by five degrees of latitude and have distinct soil chemistry. Taylor Valley is part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, while Cape Hallett is the site of a penguin rookery and contains ornithogenic soils. The influence of soil moisture, pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen and organic carbon on community structure was revealed using Spearman rank correlation, Mantel test, and principal components analysis. High spatial variability was detected in bacterial communities and community structure was correlated with soil moisture and pH. Both unique and shared bacterial community members were detected at Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett despite the considerable distance between the sites.

year: 2009

title: Kua Hiri Mai Te Rā - A journey of self identification for the descendants of Ngāti Rāhiri ki Taranaki

authors: Marsh, Melissa Sue-ann

subjects: Ngāti Rāhiri

abstract: Prior to the arrival of Pakehā to the shores of Aotearoa, Māori retained and transmitted their histories, genealogies and protocols orally through such mediums as song and chant. The intracacies of the information held was such that every aspect of the Māori culture had its assigned expert whose job was to both retain and pass on their area of expertise. The settlement of Pakehā saw a change in how information was stored and disseminated, with a number of ethnographers, surveyors and historians recording accounts given to them from various Māori sources in written form. The main motivation for this at the time was to secure the information and cultural practises of a people who were deemed to be a dying race.

The implication that Māori were close to extinction was in vain, as many resisted against the gradual assimilation of Aotearoa (New Zealand) by the new foreign immigrants. The subsequent annexation of Aotearoa under British colonial rule eventually led to war against Māori, as Māori attempted to protect and retain both their lands and their identity. The result of the war led to a great loss of Māori lands, lives, and most importantly – identity.

Within Taranaki the Ngāti Rāhiri Hapū fought many generations for the right to stand unified as a people. Although they can be regarded as a small coastal hapū entity, they are at the forefront of maintaining and asserting their rangatiratanga status within today’s society. At the centre of the proclamation of rights and entitlement within their ancestral lands, questions have been raised that, for a number of generations, had baffled the likes of Elsdon Best and S. Percy Smith, as many sought to find answers regarding the true origins of Ngāti Rāhiri.

The impetus in undertaking this research is to ascertain who this prominent ancestor Rāhiri is from both a Ngā Puhi and Taranaki perspective, and investigate how these combined histories assist in the assertion of self by the Ngāti Rāhiri ki Taranaki people. By undertaking a critical review and analysis of literature, court minute records, hapū documents, proverbs, histories and knowledge from tribal elders pertaining to Rāhiri, this researcher will endeavour to provide and present relevant information and evidence, in a cohesive format, to show the close ancestral ties and affiliations between the two peoples. Furthermore, it is hoped that the research findings presented within this body of work may provide a significant contribution to the descendants of the Ngāti Rāhiri ki Taranaki Hapū, as they continue to assert their mana and rangatiratanga through the knowledge and understanding of self, when posed with the question - Ko wai a Ngāti Rāhiri?

text: Kua Hiri Mai Te Rā - A journey of self identification for the descendants of Ngāti Rāhiri ki Taranaki Prior to the arrival of Pakehā to the shores of Aotearoa, Māori retained and transmitted their histories, genealogies and protocols orally through such mediums as song and chant. The intracacies of the information held was such that every aspect of the Māori culture had its assigned expert whose job was to both retain and pass on their area of expertise. The settlement of Pakehā saw a change in how information was stored and disseminated, with a number of ethnographers, surveyors and historians recording accounts given to them from various Māori sources in written form. The main motivation for this at the time was to secure the information and cultural practises of a people who were deemed to be a dying race.

The implication that Māori were close to extinction was in vain, as many resisted against the gradual assimilation of Aotearoa (New Zealand) by the new foreign immigrants. The subsequent annexation of Aotearoa under British colonial rule eventually led to war against Māori, as Māori attempted to protect and retain both their lands and their identity. The result of the war led to a great loss of Māori lands, lives, and most importantly – identity.

Within Taranaki the Ngāti Rāhiri Hapū fought many generations for the right to stand unified as a people. Although they can be regarded as a small coastal hapū entity, they are at the forefront of maintaining and asserting their rangatiratanga status within today’s society. At the centre of the proclamation of rights and entitlement within their ancestral lands, questions have been raised that, for a number of generations, had baffled the likes of Elsdon Best and S. Percy Smith, as many sought to find answers regarding the true origins of Ngāti Rāhiri.

The impetus in undertaking this research is to ascertain who this prominent ancestor Rāhiri is from both a Ngā Puhi and Taranaki perspective, and investigate how these combined histories assist in the assertion of self by the Ngāti Rāhiri ki Taranaki people. By undertaking a critical review and analysis of literature, court minute records, hapū documents, proverbs, histories and knowledge from tribal elders pertaining to Rāhiri, this researcher will endeavour to provide and present relevant information and evidence, in a cohesive format, to show the close ancestral ties and affiliations between the two peoples. Furthermore, it is hoped that the research findings presented within this body of work may provide a significant contribution to the descendants of the Ngāti Rāhiri ki Taranaki Hapū, as they continue to assert their mana and rangatiratanga through the knowledge and understanding of self, when posed with the question - Ko wai a Ngāti Rāhiri?

year: 2011