Small Oceanic Islands Research Papers (original) (raw)
The pdf. offered here is an open source ebook in which we (Damon and Mondragón) present a summary version of a paper containing two exemplary case studies about indigenous adaptability to environmental change in Island Melanesia (see... more
The pdf. offered here is an open source ebook in which we (Damon and Mondragón) present a summary version of a paper containing two exemplary case studies about indigenous adaptability to environmental change in Island Melanesia (see pages 59-60 and after in this volume). Our data are to be published as separate, extended chapters in an upcoming collective volume, also edited by UNESCO, to be published by Cambridge University Press. Both in the very summary version offered within the .pdf for download here, and in our forthcoming chapters, we (Mondragon and Damon) draw on extensive experience of local environmental knowledge and short- and long-term fluctuations in two small Pacific Islands’ societies, namely the island of Muyuw, on the northern side of the Kula ring (maritime Papua New Guinea), and the Torres Islands, in the north of Vanuatu. We offer a critical assessment of the contemporary state of human-environmental relations in these communities, with special attention to sea level rise and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), in view of these being signature issues within climate change discussions in Pacific Islands. We place these topics within the framework of primary food production systems and local forms of guardianship and exploitation of forest and marine resources. Throughout, our focus is on these communities’ reactions to observed climatic and geological fluctuations over the past two decades: in the first case, in relation to the human modification of forest resources in Muyuw, while the second case focuses on the shoreline dynamics provoked by sudden and extreme sea level fluctuations as a consequence of seismic activity in Vanuatu. We argue that the observed effects of these processes offer valuable data regarding the specifics of human adaptation to climate change in small islands’ contexts. One of our key arguments is that mid and long term environmental fluctuations have long been a part of Melanesian engagements with the physical world, and have consequently given rise to coping strategies that are inherent to traditional knowledge practices. We also seek to emphasize that the geomorphology of the Melanesian islands –which tend to be small land masses that are often graced with multifarious soil types and forest and marine resources– already possesses degrees of ecological adaptability which appear to be absent from other idiosyncratic Pacific Islands’ contexts, most notably those of the low-lying atolls proper to Micronesia and Polynesia, which are often taken as exemplary of all small islands around the world. It follows that assessments of climate adaptation across much of the Western Pacific, and indeed large parts of Island Southeast Asia, must be approached and understood in ways that are sensitive to the local differences between these environments and those of insular societies in the Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Te Uru is delighted to announce a double feature in our Autumn programme with Project Banaba, a solo exhibition by Katerina Teaiwa, accompanied by the presentation of Te Kaneati, an exhibition that honours Aotearoa’s Banaban diaspora,... more
Te Uru is delighted to announce a double feature in our Autumn programme with Project Banaba, a solo exhibition by Katerina Teaiwa, accompanied by the presentation of Te Kaneati, an exhibition that honours Aotearoa’s Banaban diaspora, opening Saturday 5 March 2022.
Whether in Homer or Plato, Shakespeare or Huxley, throughout history, thinking about islands has shaped how we think about human nature and our place in the world. However, to date archipelagos have received far less attention. This is... more
Whether in Homer or Plato, Shakespeare or Huxley, throughout history, thinking about islands has shaped how we think about human nature and our place in the world. However, to date archipelagos have received far less attention. This is problematic because we live, increasingly, in a world of island-island movements and not static forms. Not only in the more obvious cases of the Caribbean, Hawaii or the Philippines but, as Stratford et al say, many 'continental forms' like Canada and Australia are in fact archipelagos composed of thousands of island movements. To this list we can add more manufactured archipelagos: wind turbine arrays, industrial oil and military constellations. The key question therefore arises: what does it mean to think with the archipelago? This paper argues firstly that archipelagic thinking denaturalizes the conceptual basis of space and place, and therefore engages 'the spatial turn' presently sweeping the social sciences and humanities. Secondly, such thinking highlights the trope of what I call 'metamorphosis', of the adaptation and transformation of material, cultural and political practices through island movements. In both cases, I argue that thinking with the archipelago requires an important shift in how we frame analysis and engagement.
Fernando de Noronha is one of few archipelagos of Brazil. These islands harbor five species of land birds: two introduced species (House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, and Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis), one widespread dove (Eared Dove,... more
Fernando de Noronha is one of few archipelagos of Brazil. These islands harbor five species of land birds: two introduced species (House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, and Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis), one widespread dove (Eared Dove, Zenaida auriculata) and two endemic passerines. The two endemic species, Noronha Vireo (Vireo graci‐ lirostris) and Noronha Elaenia (Elaenia ridleyana), have been classified as 'Near Threatened' and 'Vulnerable', respec‐ tively. Here, we quantified the abundance of land birds and correlated it to habitat features to assess potential habitat preferences. We carried out 120 five‐minute point counts in October 2009, and correlated bird abundance with per‐ centages of woodland, bushes, low herbs, bare ground, and man‐made habitats in each sample. The abundance of Noronha Vireo and Noronha Elaenia was positively correlated with woodland and bushes cover. The Eared Dove was associated to sites with bare ground, the House Sparrow with man‐made habitats, and the Cattle Egret with low vege‐ tation sites. Abundances of Noronha Vireo and Noronha Elaenia were significantly higher in sites with natural vegeta‐ tion than in human‐influenced areas. The association between these species and areas with high native vegetation cover highlights their potential vulnerability to human disturbance.