title: Fight or flight? : resilience and vulnerability in rural Fiji

authors: Cagilaba, Vinau

subjects: Coastal zone management

abstract: Increasing awareness of the likely effects of climatic change, particularly on small Island states, has had several implications for these nations. The vulnerabilities of island communities are likely to increase if climatic change predictions eventuate. However, their vulnerability has not only risen out of the physical threat that is climate change. It has also arisen out of historical processes that have structured the lives of these communities and made them more or less vulnerable. Critical importance is given to the role of social processes in rendering these communities vulnerable and when the issue of climate change is added to the social element, the degree of vulnerability is likely to be even higher.
This thesis considers the experiences of two local communities in Fiji that adapted in two different ways to storm surge and coastal erosion. The village of Solodamu relocated almost its entire village while Rukua village constructed a seawall and undertook land reclamation works. The impacts that arose out of the two different measures that they embarked upon are studied here and their experiences are used as case studies.
The research found that the vulnerabilities of these communities changed over time and was more the result of social processes rather than climatic change and environmental variations. The process of development, while benefiting these communities in certain ways has also increased their vulnerability and reduced their ability to cope with natural hazards and market perturbations. The growing reality that is climate change is likely to add a further dimension of vulnerability to these island communities. However, not everything is as bleak as it seems. These communities have shown resilience in the face of upheaval and continue to adapt their circumstances to fit the situation that they find themselves in.

text: Fight or flight? : resilience and vulnerability in rural Fiji Increasing awareness of the likely effects of climatic change, particularly on small Island states, has had several implications for these nations. The vulnerabilities of island communities are likely to increase if climatic change predictions eventuate. However, their vulnerability has not only risen out of the physical threat that is climate change. It has also arisen out of historical processes that have structured the lives of these communities and made them more or less vulnerable. Critical importance is given to the role of social processes in rendering these communities vulnerable and when the issue of climate change is added to the social element, the degree of vulnerability is likely to be even higher.
This thesis considers the experiences of two local communities in Fiji that adapted in two different ways to storm surge and coastal erosion. The village of Solodamu relocated almost its entire village while Rukua village constructed a seawall and undertook land reclamation works. The impacts that arose out of the two different measures that they embarked upon are studied here and their experiences are used as case studies.
The research found that the vulnerabilities of these communities changed over time and was more the result of social processes rather than climatic change and environmental variations. The process of development, while benefiting these communities in certain ways has also increased their vulnerability and reduced their ability to cope with natural hazards and market perturbations. The growing reality that is climate change is likely to add a further dimension of vulnerability to these island communities. However, not everything is as bleak as it seems. These communities have shown resilience in the face of upheaval and continue to adapt their circumstances to fit the situation that they find themselves in.

year: 2005

title: International trade agreements and international migration

authors: Poot, Jacques

subjects: international trade

abstract: Despite large potential economic gains to the countries concerned, bilateral and multilateral negotiations regarding liberalization of migration have not had the high profile of trade negotiations and agreements. Migration and trade have been traditionally the prerogative of different ministries, yet there are many interdependencies between international trade, foreign investment and migration. The relevance of these interdependencies for trade negotiations has been remarkably ignored in the literature. In this paper we therefore focus on the two-way interaction between international migration and agreements designed to enhance cross-border trade or investment. Liberalization of international trade in services and the movement of people are likely to offer much more significant economic gains than liberalization of remaining barriers to goods trade. However, progress within multilateral frameworks is fraught with difficulty. Mode IV of GATS is restricted to temporary movement of service employees and has yielded little progress so far. Negotiations within more flexible unilateral and bilateral frameworks are likely to be more successful in liberalizing the movement of labour. We discuss several specific examples and conclude that trade negotiations are increasingly accommodating migration policies that favour temporary migration over permanent migration and that the migration regulatory framework is likely to be further linked to trade and investment over time.

text: International trade agreements and international migration Despite large potential economic gains to the countries concerned, bilateral and multilateral negotiations regarding liberalization of migration have not had the high profile of trade negotiations and agreements. Migration and trade have been traditionally the prerogative of different ministries, yet there are many interdependencies between international trade, foreign investment and migration. The relevance of these interdependencies for trade negotiations has been remarkably ignored in the literature. In this paper we therefore focus on the two-way interaction between international migration and agreements designed to enhance cross-border trade or investment. Liberalization of international trade in services and the movement of people are likely to offer much more significant economic gains than liberalization of remaining barriers to goods trade. However, progress within multilateral frameworks is fraught with difficulty. Mode IV of GATS is restricted to temporary movement of service employees and has yielded little progress so far. Negotiations within more flexible unilateral and bilateral frameworks are likely to be more successful in liberalizing the movement of labour. We discuss several specific examples and conclude that trade negotiations are increasingly accommodating migration policies that favour temporary migration over permanent migration and that the migration regulatory framework is likely to be further linked to trade and investment over time.

year: 2009-04

title: Is the web being used to speak our language?

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

subjects: WWW

abstract: This paper presents results from extensive surveys of the usage of Maori language on the World Wide Web(www, Web) conducted in 1998 and 2002. Issues both supportive and detrimental relating to the use and publication of indigenous languages in the WWW will be highlighted. Specifically: how is the WWW being used to articulate the Maori language?

text: Is the web being used to speak our language? This paper presents results from extensive surveys of the usage of Maori language on the World Wide Web(www, Web) conducted in 1998 and 2002. Issues both supportive and detrimental relating to the use and publication of indigenous languages in the WWW will be highlighted. Specifically: how is the WWW being used to articulate the Maori language?

year: 2004