Date First Written: April 24, 2016.
Chairman, Vunausi Environmental Conservation Organization (VECO).
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With the growing gap in the relationship between community members and leaders like Chiefs, Churches leaders and relevant Government institutes and other governing institutes resulting in poor governance. Also added is the reduce recognition of the leadership thus status in the rural area there is less control over proper management of the natural renewable resources. And the recent increase in intensity in weathers such as heavy rainfall, strong winds causing high sea through the storms has seen the movement of sea inland for the last two decade reaching around estimated ten meters (10m) inland and more in other more exposed areas. The Climate Change impact and issues of poor governance combined posed great challenge are observed to have negative significant impact to the coastal area degradation.
There is marked negative impact to the ecological systems seeing migration of fauna and flora, growing social implications indicative of ignorance of environmental guidelines including traditional ones and the growing income earning avenue such as eco-tourism currently may not be possible with the degrading condition of the environment.
South Santo coastal area erosion is currently occurring at an alarming rate mostly as a result of the new settlement areas, removal of the coastal vegetation and waste management techniques such as burning of rubbish along the coastal area and fuel wood harvesting and sand and coral mining.
Area 2 Chancellor Mr. Jimmy Sokarai holding paneer with Tata Primary School on the Campaign on Coastal area Tree Planting Day.
Earlier the Chief of the island of Tangoa Island of South Santo has the law that all people should live in the offshore island of Tangoa and commune to the mainland to do their farming and gardening. This period was around 70s to the mid-80s. Around this period about as well was when the Vanuatu Presbyterian Church Bible Ministry was hosted and then was called Tangoa Training Institute (TTI). While there was much happening at that time also involving harvesting of trees to build the church buildings there was great authority by the Church and Chief of the island and the governance system was great managing the natural renewable resources to support the Institute and the community at large.
It was later after this period when the community governance structure was weakening when members of the communities were moving to the main land to settle. The decisions were made with good intensions for availability of space and ease to manage resources to support a growing population however there was no proper planning and control as to where people should move to settle and if was voiced was not effectively regulated resulting in people moving inland deciding to settle along the coastal areas with less understanding or ignorance of the negative implication to a unique land feature and resource. It would have been a great move if the relevant authorities had realized and intervened to address the issues now faced will have seen much difference.
Most of the land areas on the mainland Tangoa Island in the South Santo area are allocated to different family members by arrangements by the leaders of the communities then and members of the families who are working in the area and including the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu. Today the Presbyterian Church own three institutes in the area; Talua Ministry, Navota Farm Rural Training Center and the Tata School Christ Center Primary and Secondary School.
It is natural that most settle areas in the islands in Vanuatu in the islands are around the coastal area for good reasons. There however are great negative impact to the coastal area for the kind of activities are carried out in the livelihood of the people. The first thing to do was to remove the coastal vegetation to build houses, followed by gardening or apply landscaping to their taste to planting ornamentals, harvesting of wood for fuel wood and method of waste management which was very destructive.
Two of the main areas that urged the people into taking sea front area for settlement is access to new areas for settlement area and the Sea fronts and for the growing industry of Eco-tourism activities. It is really discouraging to note this kind of decisions with narrow range of information the consequence to a valuable and unique resource such as the coastal area. A unique land feature that combines the terrestrial and marine resources and ecological composition there is.
While there is much degradation of the coastal area happening and issues of governance observed there the scale are still manageable and will needed to be urgently dealt with through proper approach. Conduct basic baseline studies then identify the strategic options to apply and seek support to involve the authorities and community members in addressing the governance system and coastal area degradation.
There has been a number of awareness raising to the local communities recently on the continued impact of Climate Change to the coastal areas and highlighting the activities that are happening that will accelerate the coastal erosion and movement of sea inland. The Vunauai Environmental Conservation Organization (VECO) is the current first Charitable NGO registered under the Vanuatu Financial Service Commission is currently assisting in raising seedlings and supplying to the members of the community of South Santo in a small scale but assisting. VECO is looking forward to accessing support to empower the community members to reduce the erosion and intergraded ecotourism development activities to support alternative livelihood of the community of South Santo.
VECO currently has is engaged in a UNDP GEF Small Grant program and will continue to work through the project to address the Impact of Climate Change on the coastal area erosion of South Santo and its focus on addressing the new leaders of tomorrow whom are school children of Tata School or rather students of the South Santo area in Area 2 Secretary Council area. The mission statement of VECO is to “Empower the Betterment of Rural Communities Livelihood through Sustainable Management, Conservation and Protection of the Natural Resources”.
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