Over Fishing
From attracting tourists to providing a staple food for the diets of natives, the fish markets in Vanuatu are an essential component of the nation’s livelihood. In the past decade, foreign companies have been depleting the fish populations at rates exceeding the ocean’s ecosystem’s capacity to replenish them.
The coral reef located along Vanuatu’s coast is home to countless species of tropical fish. Ranging from small exotically colored creatures to large edible fish, each inhabitant of the reef’s fragile ecosystem plays a role in maintaining the intricate workings of this wildlife refuge. Since the introduction of foreign fishing companies in Vanuatu’s waters, there has been a 50% decline in the populations of tropical fish species that are harvested from the reefs. The disappearance of these species has directly affected the population of various other fish species, which are relied on heavily as a source of food for the people of Vanuatu.
The steep decline in annual catches from 90,000 tons in 1999 to 30,000 tons in 2001 provides a grave portrayal of just how real the statement overfishing is for the people of Vanuatu. Such a decline in available fish stocks has forced several islanders to resort to imported and less nutritious foods. Items such as turkey tails, mutton flaps, tinned fish and corned beef have been replacing the fish that was once a reliable and healthy source of food.
Vanuatu’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism and the area is especially well known for scuba diving. With a continuous decrease in the tropical fish that draw tourists to these waters, the profits gained by these attractions will continue to dwindle.
To Learn More Visit:
Discovery Channel:
http://dsc.discovery.com/
Scientific American:
http://www.sciam.com
United Nations Environmental Programme:
http:www.unep.org
United Nations – Article on Overfishing:
http://www.un.org/events/tenstories/06/story.asp?storyID=800
“Kids by Boat,” One moment of down time for these young village girls after the usual long day of helping their father catch fish.
Climate Change
The people of a small village in Vanuatu became the first “climate change refugees” as a result of rising sea levels caused by global warming in August 2005. The 100 residents of Tegua Island were forced to relocate to a higher ground after a series of surges and large waves that destroyed their homes.
By 2010, scientists estimate that sea levels will rise by 11 inches. Low-lying coastal areas of the small Pacific islands are under threat from rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and increasingly destructive storms. Frequent flooding has increased the cases of malaria and skin diseases among children as a result of standing water, which serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Furthermore, the rates of erosion are rapidly rising. The effects of global warming are threatening the lives of the Vanuatan people as they struggle to protect their homes and agricultural land.
To Learn More Visit:
The Earth Institute, Columbia University:
http://www.earth.columbia.edu
Global Warming: Devastation of an Atoll:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0830-07.htm
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP):
http://www.unescap.org/
United Nations Environmental Programme – Climate Change:
http://www.unep.org/Themes/climatechange/
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
http://unfccc.int/2860.php
“Volcano Erupt,” Parts of the crew and myself ventured to the mouth of the volcano with a local tribesman. Amazing red eruptions.