By Esala Vakamacawai and Charlie Rasu.

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There is consensus that as an environmental hazard, climate change poses a significant threat, even to developed countries like Australia and New Zealand. In the Pacific Islands, however, discussions have expanded beyond the immediate effects of climate change to focus on the broader impacts of the climate crisis. Still, despite its significant impact on the Pacific, it is alarming to note that 10% of people in Canterbury are not worried at all, and 36% are only a little concerned about climate change and its impact (Te Whatu Ora, 2023).

While people in developed countries like New Zealand still harbour mixed feelings about climate change, in the Pacific Islands, there is greater concern as communities face more frequent extreme weather conditions like category 5 cyclones, severe flooding, drought, climate-related village and school relocations, and rising sea levels. In this paper, we will use a case study of Galoa Island, in southern Fiji, to explore the impact of the climate crisis through stories and the lived experiences of the people living there. The case of Galoa, the island, and village of the same name, is a good example of how the climate crisis has expanded beyond the threats of weather and climate-related events to impact the health and well-being of the people directly. There was a time when the people of Galoa, a volcanic island 100km south of Fiji's capital Suva, and 2558km north of New Zealand, depended solely on the sea and land for their livelihood and sustenance. Now that the climate crisis has affected their ecosystem and healthy food supply, we are seeing an increase in the level of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCD).

A map showing the distance between Galoa Island in southern Fiji and New Zealand (2550 km).      

In June 2023, a Talanoa (open discussion) with the villagers of Galoa revealed that rising sea levels and prolonged droughts are adversely affecting the island's fresh drinking water supply. "I liu, keimami dau gunu mai na wai vure kei na wai ni uca. Nikua, e sa maca na sova ni wai keimami dau gunu mai kina, ka vuna na draki veisau." (Our source of drinking water is dry due to drought, and the rising sea level).

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly determined that access to clean and safe drinking water and water for sanitation were essential human rights. Today, the villagers on Galoa Island are deprived of those rights because of the climate crisis. The photo below shows the well that once provided fresh water for bathing and cooking during low tide. Due to rising sea levels, this freshwater source has been overtaken by seawater, forcing villagers to seek alternative sources of fresh drinking water. A new water supply was found across the sea at Wailevu, on Kadavu’s main island. Once approval from the village and elders was acquired, a major fundraising drive was launched to fund the project of taking water from a creek on Wailevu across to Galoa. It was an expensive exercise that involved the purchase of water pipes, lead weights, and other fittings. Divers had to be hired to lay the pipes under the sea. The project was a major financial burden.

The map on the right shows more than 2 km of pipe used to source drinking water from Wailevu to Galoa Island. Galoa's water problems are due to the climate crisis.

Galoa has a school called Galoa Village Primary. It is run by a committee and a headmaster, with five teachers and 30 pupils. In a Talanoa session, the school committee said the school should be relocated because rising sea levels were disrupting classes, especially during a King tide. “Ni dau so dugu na ua, e dau curu mai ki loma ni bai ni koronivuli kei na rumu ni vuli na waitui, ka dau vakaleqa na nodra kalasi na gone”. (During a King tide, the sea gets so high that it enters the school and classrooms and disrupts classes).  The United Nations, through its Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO, 1960), affirms that education, which empowers individuals through knowledge sharing to achieve peace, is a fundamental human right. However, as is illustrated by the situation at Galoa Village Primary, the climate crisis can significantly impact children’s right to education and their ability to gain and share knowledge. 

Pupils of Galoa Village Primary School during an assembly where I was invited to talk about the importance of education, health, and setting long-term goals. 

The evidence of rising sea levels caused by the climate crisis is easily visible along the shores of Galoa. The 50-year-old sea wall, originally built as a defence against the encroaching sea and soil erosion, can no longer protect school. The photos below show how salt water brought on by rising sea levels has devastated the coastal vegetation and the school compound. The school ground is now pockmarked with deep holes caused by the incursion of seawater, and they have become a habitat for land crabs and other crustaceans, posing a serious health and safety hazard for the students and village youths who play and train there.  

Also, the school once had nearby gardens which provided healthy food and vegetables for students and teachers. However, rising sea levels have rendered the soil unsuitable for planting, particularly along the island's coastal areas, hindering agricultural activities. Now, the teachers and villagers are forced to move the gardens to higher grounds further inland, limiting easy access to fresh food and vegetables. And how has this affected the pupils? The headmaster noticed that they had started taking noodles to school for lunch, and raised the issue at an assembly where he spoke to the pupils about healthy eating. If, like in the past, the gardens were nearby, the school could easily have prepared good, wholesome food that was a more healthful alternative to noodles.

Changing environmental conditions brought on by climate change is a serious challenge to people in the Pacific. On Galoa, it is affecting health and education, and impacting the island’s overall economic opportunities. The primary sources of income have traditionally been the sales of fish and kava, but both are struggling because of the climate crisis. Kava production has declined due to dry weather conditions. While some farmers who can afford it use sprinklers to water their plants, others have moved to the mainland where conditions are more favourable for cultivation. As a result, fishing has become the main source of income, but now, to find the bigger fish that once frequented the shorelines, fishermen are venturing further out into deeper waters. Night fishing has become common as cooler seawater at night brings bigger fish closer to shore, and some men even prefer to go spearfishing in the early hours of the morning. Despite these adversities, the community remains resilient, continually adapting and finding innovative ways to sustain themselves, fostering hope for the future.

The photo shows the sea level during a regular high tide. During a King tide, the sea overflows into the school compound and classrooms.

 

Village elder Sitiveni Qoroya is concerned by the lifestyle changes he’s seeing on the island and how those changes affect people’s health, with the increase in cases of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Qoroya lives a healthy lifestyle. He works in his garden daily by planting and managing root crops like cassava, activities that embody the World Health Organisation’s guidelines for good health. The WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of high-intensity physical activity each week.

Being overweight and obese increases the risk of Type 2 Diabetes by 52.2%, followed by an unhealthy diet at 25.7%, environmental risk at 19.6%, tobacco smoking at 12.1%, poor physical activity at 7.4% and alcohol consumption at 1.8% (Ong et al., 2021). With the assistance of nurses, physiotherapists, and general physicians of Vunisea Hospital, on the main island of Kadavu, we looked at the Body Mass Index status of villagers on Galoa. In a study involving 34 adults, 79% were found to be overweight and obese, while only 21% maintained a normal weight. This high prevalence of obesity and overweight among adults on the island is worrying because of its association with the increased risk of diabetes.

The high rate of overweight and obesity echoes Qoroya’s concerns for his people, especially because of the climate crisis and its influence on changing lifestyles. Prolonged drought has restricted access to homegrown crops and vegetables and increased the dependence on processed food from Vunisea. Processed foods are usually rich in carbohydrates and salt, are less nutritious, and contribute to overweight, obesity, and diabetes. Additionally, the reduced availability of fish and cash crops such as kava and taro indirectly affects the socio-economic well-being of families, subsequently impacting their education and health outcomes. Qoroya is hopeful that the sons of Galoa, who live in Fiji and abroad, can help to create awareness, education, and adaptation measures to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis on their people. While this is not easy, change can happen when people work together.

Adult Body Mass Index (%) on Galoa Island

 

A health worker taking measurements for BMI (body mass index) on Galoa island. Sitiveni Qoroya (right), an elder in the community, volunteered to be first in the survey.

The proximity of Galoa Island to New Zealand (2558km) suggests that the impacts of the climate crisis on the island are also being witnessed here. Take for example the case of the extreme rainfall and flooding in Auckland in January 2023 in which NIWA (the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) said an entire summer’s worth of rain fell within one day. The event was considered the worst flood in Auckland’s modern history. Linked to climate change, heavy rain and flooding caused landslides, damaged infrastructure, and forced mass emergency evacuations. That event highlighted that our cities and infrastructure are ill-prepared for climate change and that we must make our urban environments 'spongier' by incorporating more permeable surfaces and wetlands. Additionally, to mitigate future risks, we should not build in areas prone to flooding.

 Climate change has been linked to an increase of more than 1°C in ocean surface temperatures around New Zealand since 1982. As a result, coastal sea levels rose by 1.8mm a year between 1900 and 2018, with ongoing changes. The increasing frequency of hot days will exacerbate the rising ocean levels. In Canterbury, for example, the average number of hot days per year is 27, and this is predicted to increase to 62 by 2100. Extreme weather changes will continue, leading to frequent river flooding and severe droughts, which in turn will increase the risk of bushfires in susceptible areas. Glaciers around New Zealand are expected to lose 33-77% of their mass at the end of the century, again contributing to the rise in sea levels (Te Whatu Ora, 2023). 

We cannot stop the climate crisis; however, we can learn from the past and adapt by implementing mitigation policies. The lived experience and stories in this case study are a testament to what can happen if we do not take climate change seriously and find ways to address it. Perhaps we should listen to Confucious who said, “Study from the past if you want to define the future.”

  

Ong et al, 2023- GBD 2021 Diabetes Collaborators (2023). Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet (London, England), 402(10397), 203–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01301-6

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Morton, J. (2023, February 2). Analysis: The three biggest lessons from Auckland’s historic floods. New Zealand Herald. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/analysis-the-three-biggest-lessons-from-aucklands-historic-floods/SKKD6HGILZENPMN2WKC5Q3MP4I/ 

Te Whatu Ora. (2023). Climate change and health in Waitaha Canterbury: A scoping and profiling report to inform health impact assessment. https://www.cph.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/ClimateChangeHealthWaitahaCanterbury.pdf