Pacific and Pasifika Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/4764

The theses listed in this collection were all completed at Massey University in a range of different departments and institutes. They have been included in this collection if the topic is strongly related to Pasifika/the Pacific.

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    'E da dravudravua e na dela ni noda vutuni-i-yau' : customary land and economic development : case studies from Fiji : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement of the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa
    (Massey University, 2020) Vunibola, Suliasi
    The purpose of this research is to determine how indigenous Fijian communities have been able to establish models of economic undertaking which allow successful business development while retaining control over their customary land and supporting community practices and values. External critics frequently emphasise that customary practices around land restrict economic development and undermine investments in the Pacific. There is also assertion that within the Pacific islands, culture and customary measures are mostly viewed as impediments of hopeful development. This research seeks to switch-over these claims by examining how customary land and measures facilitate successful business forms in Fiji. Along with the overarching qualitative methodology - a novel combination of the Vanua Research Framework, Tali Magimagi Research Framework, and the Bula Vakavanua Research Framework - a critical appreciative enquiry approach was used. This led to the development of the Uvi (yam - dioscorea alata) Framework which brings together the drauna (leaves) representing the capturing of knowledge, vavakada (stake) indicating the support mechanisms for indigenous entrepreneurship on customary land, uvi (yam tuber) signifying the indicators for sustainable development of indigenous business on customary land, and taking into consideration the external factors and community where the indigenous business is located. Case studies on three successful indigenous Fijian businesses based on customary land were conducted in two geographical locations in Fiji, and methods included talanoa, active participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. This study found that customary tenure and cultural values can support socially embedded economic development activities in the Pacific. It also reinstates the inherent value of customary land as an intergenerational resource aiding self-determined and inclusive development, including economic activities that provide holistic returns to communities as in socio-cultural contributions and community development initiatives. The businesses were able to be sustainable by devising mechanisms that balance daily business and community contributions. The study concludes that locally-driven development on customary land could be a model for alternative forms of economic development, thus, helping to reshape understanding of economies in Fiji and the wider Pacific.
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    Development possibilities and customary land tenure in the Pacific : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2007) Rockell, Dennis Graham
    In parts of Africa and the Pacific, the majority of land remains in customary tenure, perhaps in modified form. This thesis explores the question of whether it is possible to retain customary land tenure in a development context. Major development agencies such as the World Bank have, at times, placed pressure on developing countries to convert customary land into forms of tenure more compatible with boosting agricultural production. The Vanuatu constitution specified upon the nation's independence in 1980 that all land was to be returned to the custom owners. This thesis investigates how Vanuatu has grappled with the apparently conflicting objectives of customary tenure and economic development. An attempt was made to give the issue maximum possible focus by choosing the West Coast of Tanna Island as the location of study. Here, urbanisation and infrastructural development is attempted in surroundings where the majority of land has never been removed from customary tenure. The very small areas alienated during the colonial period have become the principal localities for such development. Must customary tenure or modernisation triumph, one over the other, or is it possible to achieve some of the benefits of modernisation without betraying the intent of the Vanuatu constitution? The thesis comes to no simple conclusion, but examines closely how this contradiction is unfolding and suggests that there are grounds for optimism, while noting the unrelenting nature of the forces for change.
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    Assessing the impacts of land use patterns on river water quality at catchment level : a case study of Fuluasou River Catchment in Samoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Management at the Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Faiilagi, Seumaloisalafai Afelē
    A sound understanding of the impacts of land use on river water quality and their relationships is fundamental in addressing issues of water pollution at the catchment level. However, while the impacts of land use on water quality, at different scales of operation and management, are well researched in temperate climate region, there is limited information on the impacts of land use on water quality in most developing countries in tropical regions, including the Pacific islands. This study contributes to determining this information gap and qualifying these gaps through scientific evidence, as well as assessing the impacts of land use on river water in the Fuluasou River Catchment (FRC), Samoa. The FRC is one of the sub-catchments (and the largest of four) that drain Samoa’s largest watershed basin known as the Apia Catchment Basin (ACB) on the island of Upolu. It covers an area of 45.57 km2 dominated by forests on the higher elevation of the upland catchment, by agriculture (through mixed cropping e.g. taro and banana plantations with vegetable gardens) and tree crops plantations in the mid-catchment, and by home gardens with patches of small-scale plantations (taro & banana) around households in the lower catchment. This study investigated the impacts of land use on river water quality response at ten sites across the upper, medium and the lower catchment. The study examined the relationships between various physicochemical (pH, temperature (Temp), turbidity (TUR), conductivity (COND), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), Nitrate (NO3-), total nitrogen (Total N), and total phosphorus (Total P), and microbiological (E. Coli & Total Coliform) water quality parameters, and four major land use types: agriculture (AG), grassland (GR) (ie. livestock), built-up areas (BUA) and forest (FO) cover in the catchment. A change in land use was estimated by comparing the land use maps created from the years 1999 and 2013. The water quality was sampled and measured every 2 weeks at ten sites over the three months of the dry season from August to October, 2013. The findings showed the mean (± sd) concentrations levels of Temp (27 ± 3.521), pH (8.4 ± 0.48), COND (124.2 ± 25.73), TDS (62.1 ± 12.88), DO 8.96 ± 0.558), TUR (1.3 ± 0.557), Total P (0.01 ± 0.0026), Total N (0.24 ± 0.0159), NO3-(0.01 ± 0.0032), T coli (9923 ± 1782), and E. coli (7431 ± 1347) respectively. The measured parameters were analyzed and compared with the WHO, SNDWS and DWSNZ/ANZECC drinking and aesthetic standards. All parameters were found to have had their total mean concentrations below the permissible standards, with the exception of Total coli and E.coli. Out of 53 water quality parameters that were tested and analyzed, all samples for Total coli and E. coli were significantly higher, and therefore failed to comply with the drinking (SNDWS: 0/100 mL; WHO & DWSNZ/ANZECC: <1/100 mL) and aesthetic regulatory standards (DWSNZ/ANZECC: <260/100 mL) thus indicating a 100% of non-compliances. The findings are indicative of high levels of microbiological contamination all across the catchment, which indicated very poor microbial water quality of the Fuluasou River. The Total coli and E. coli were recognized as the two major pollutants in the Fuluasou River. The coefficient of variance (CV) for all the measured parameters have indicated a low variation amongst the measured parameters across the upper, mid and the lower catchment at different sampling stations, except TUR (44.4%), NO3- (38.9%) and TSS (37%) with a significant degree of variability compared to other parameters. The land use change analysis from the years 1999 and 2013 informed 12.7% of forest (FO) had been lost since 1999, with AG lands increasing by 10.8%, GR slightly decreased by 0.50%, and with BUA increasing by 2.40%. The findings demonstrate that FRC is under threat from increasing land clearance for agriculture activities such as mixed cropping (eg. taro and banana plantations), tree crops plantation (eg. coconut), and increasing in BUA to allow expansion for new developments (e.g. settlements) especially on the eastern-upper & mid to lower catchment. The study found a strong positive relationship between the four main land use types and water quality parameters. In the upper catchment where high proportion (%) of FO exists and this was found to be strongly associated with decreasing concentration levels of Temp, pH, COND, TDS, Total N and NO3-. This is unlikely the mid-catchment where AG is the dominant land use type and it positively influences pH, Temp, COND, NO3-, TDS, Total N, Total P, which are indicative of high intensity in mixed-cropping plantations and possible waste input from increasing agricultural activities and settlements going downstream. This spatial relationship is similar to GR areas used for livestock grazing and cattle farming in the upper and the mid-catchment which is strongly reflected in increase in pH, COD, TDS, NO3-, E.coli, Temp, Total N, Total coli, and E.coli. Despite having water quality parameters that are strongly influenced by land use across the catchment, individual effects for each land use type could not be determined due to a multicollinearity issue, as a result of the net effects of land use proportions (%) of sub-catchments delineated upstream. This can be further examined in future studies. Future improvements to the assessment of land use impact, can include water quality monitoring covering the wet seasons (Nov-Apr), as more runoff could possibly discharge higher concentration levels of pollution, instead of only having samples from the dry period.