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Item Pacific tourism is desperate for a vaccine and travel freedoms, but the industry must learn from this crisis(The Conversation Media Group Ltd, 2020-11-25) Movono A; Scheyvens RItem Traditional skills help people on the tourism-deprived Pacific Islands survive the pandemic(The Conversation Media Group Ltd, 2020-11-02) Scheyvens R; Movono AItem The contribution of kumala to traditional food systems in two districts of Tanna Island, and its potential for increasing food security : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Horticulture and Ethnobotany at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024) Nasse, AmandaSweetpotato (Ipomea batatas) is considered a versatile food crop owing to its robust adaptability to diverse soil conditions and environmental conditions. In Vanuatu sweetpotato is a significant food security crop that smallholder farmers cultivated within traditional cropping system. Within the national and local context, sweetpotato has played a significant role as recovery crop that supports the farmers and increasing urban population buffer against food scarcity during the aftermath of natural disasters. The research reported in this thesis examined and explored how kumala (sweetpotato) contributed to smallholder farmers livelihood and enhanced food and nutrition security. The aim of the study was to understand the significant role of kumala within the traditional food system and draws on smallholder farmers perspectives. Storian is the overarching cultural approach that underpinned the research process in this study, supported with the use of qualitative methods of collecting data these included, semi structure interviews, secondary data, and field observation. Subsequently the data collected through the interviews and storian were analysed using qualitative data analysis. The research study was carried out in Tanna Island, a society with stronghold of traditions and cultural activities that are interwoven in the livelihood of smallholder farmers influencing the farmers perception on the production of kumala. This research highlights kumala is a favoured food security and recovery crop featured as response to recovery program. Kumala has a role in the traditional food system which is enhanced by existing social and cultural ties. The study put forward a critical perspective on leveraging on short term resilient crops that emerge through strengthening and revitalize the role of kumala within the local food system can strengthen household resilience and enhance food security for smallholder farmers.Item Spiritual and environmental well-being: Factors supporting adaptation of Pacific peoples during pandemic times(Victoria University of Wellington and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd, 2024-08-01) Scheyvens R; Movono A; Auckram J; Faaiuaso LMost Western models of well-being focus only on social, mental, financial and physical well-being. Collecting data on how tourism-dependent communities in the South Pacific had adapted to the dramatic impacts of the pandemic, we became aware of the significance of spiritual and environmental dimensions of well-being. We also identified several Pacific well-being models that incorporate these dimensions. This article thus examines how COVID-19 lockdowns influenced the spiritual and environmental well-being of Pacific peoples living in tourism-dependent areas. It demonstrates that many people were able to adapt well despite dramatic changes in their financial situation and restrictions on their mobility. They often showed deep appreciation about having more time for religious practices and to care for others in their communities, and they enjoyed working more with nature, on the land or in the ocean, and looking after the environment. We conclude that if the tourism industry can rebuild in ways that support spiritual and environmental well-being, this could mean tourism will be appreciated more by resident communities as something which compliments – rather than competes with – their culture and way of life.Item Variability of naturally occurring fluoride in diverse community drinking-water sources, Tanna Island, Vanuatu(IWA Publishing, 2021-07) Webb E; Stewart C; Sami E; Kelsey S; Fairbairn Dunlop P; Dennison ELarge variations in fluoride concentrations exist in natural waters, many of which are the source of community drinking-water supplies. Determining fluoride concentrations in community drinking waters can be challenging in developing Pacific countries such as Vanuatu that have limited laboratory capacity. Knowledge of naturally elevated fluoride concentrations that cause irreversible, adverse health outcomes may allow communities the opportunity to treat and manage their drinking-water supplies. Community drinking-water samples (n = 69), sourced from groundwaters, roof catchment rainwaters, surface waters and springs, were sampled on Tanna Island, Vanuatu between 2017 and 2020. In an 18 km2 area of Western Tanna, a set of 30 groundwater-based drinking-water samples had a median fluoride concentration of 3.3 mg/L, with 20 samples >1.5 mg/L and seven samples >4.0 mg/L. These concentrations increase the risk of dental and skeletal fluorosis, respectively. Repeat resampling at five sites showed little variation over the sampling period. Rainwater-fed drinking-water supplies were lower overall and highly variable in fluoride concentrations (<0.05–4.0 mg/L, median of 0.53 mg/L), with variable inputs from volcanic emissions from Yasur volcano. We recommend a comprehensive oral health and bone health study for the whole island to determine adverse health effects of excess fluoride in this vulnerable population.Item Timings of permanent tooth emergence in children of rural Vanuatu, Melanesia(Pasifika Medical Association, 2021-12-30) Webb E; Stewart C; Woods L; Dunlop PF; Tangis J; Stephens J; Dennison EIntroduction: Global patterning and timing of permanent tooth emergence is influenced by ethnicity, with no known timings reported for ethnic Melanesian children living in the tropical archipelago of Vanuatu. Aim: To determine timings of permanent tooth emergence and sequencing for children who reside in rural Vanuatu Methods: Children aged 4-17 years (n=1026), part of a larger oral health cross-sectional study, were examined recording all permanent teeth present, across four spatially separated islands. Binary logistic modelling established children’s median age of emergence of each permanent tooth for each study area. Findings: The median emergence of first permanent molars for girls is 4.9-years and 5.3 -years for boys. In all locations, children had all permanent teeth emerge by age 11 years (excluding 3rd molars). Clinically important differences exist for permanent tooth emergence by study area. Discussion: Permanent teeth emerge earlier for Ni-Vanuatu children compared to both Melanesian children of Papua New Guinea as well as other ethnicities across Oceanic countries. These results can be used as a set standard for Vanuatu. Early tooth emergence suggests oral health education programmes should target pregnant women with clinical preventive strategies commencing for their children before 5-years of age.Item Learning from population displacement in the Pacific: case study of the 2017-2018 eruption of Ambae volcano, Vanuatu. SWOT analysis and recommendations.(Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University, 2020-11-04) Rovins J; Stewart C; Brown NThe 2017-2018 eruption of Ambae volcano, Vanuatu, caused the entire population of the island (~11,700 people) to be evacuated off-island twice: firstly in October 2017, and then from the end of July 2018 until the end of October 2018, when the eruption ceased. This event presents a valuable opportunity to learn from a large-scale forced migration in a Pacific setting. Lessons from this event will advise and help to plan for future population displacements and forced migrations due to hazard and climate change events. For the first phase of this report, a review and analysis of the literature on internally displaced people was carried out, and used as the basis to design a questionnaire. Our field team visited the island of Santo, the destination for the majority of evacuees from Ambae, in February 2020, and carried out interviews with 42 evacuees, 26 female and 16 male, ranging in age from 21 to 82 over a four-day period. This report contains an event summary; a description of the research; a SWOT analysis; a discussion of key findings; recommendations; and an identification of future research needs.Item Development in a world of disorder : tourism, COVID-19 and the adaptivity of South Pacific people(Institute of Development Studies, Massey University, 2020) Scheyvens, Regina; Movono, Apisalome; Strickland, Danita; Bibi, Patricia; Tasere, Apakuki; Hills, Georgie; Rihai, Norah; Teama, FionaThis research about the impacts of economic slowdown caused by COVID-19 on the wellbeing of tourism-dependent communities in the Pacific emerged from concerns shared by Dr Apisalome Movono and Professor Regina Scheyvens – tourism and development researchers in the Institute of Development Studies at Massey University. Both scholars had previously researched how tourism could contribute to sustainable development of communities in the Pacific and they felt compelled to now examine COVID-19’s effects on people who were highly reliant on tourism income. By Easter 2020, most international flights to the region had ceased and tens of thousands of tourism sector jobs were threatened. Anecdotally, the researchers had heard that some people were adapting quite well to life without international tourists by growing their own food and bartering, for example, but they were also aware of others who were really struggling. They thus started to design a research project that would allow them to understand the complex realities of the impacts of the pandemic on those people whose livelihoods were largely based on tourism, and how they were adapting. The focus was on communities in tourism-dependent areas, as other entities in the region were already running separate surveys on businesses impacted by the slowdown.Item Extending the knowledge system and food value of kumala (lpomoea batatas or sweetpotato) in Vanuatu as a response to climate change : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Horticultural Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2018) Setak, PatriciaLoss of traditional knowledge in food production is a major problem occurring in many countries due to modernization and globalization. Additionally, further compelled by the impacts of climate change, this can have a devastating effect on the livelihood of people. As a result, farmers are therefore compelled to revive the use of traditional knowledge in food production especially its blended use with contemporary knowledge in adapting to and mitigating climate change impacts. The aim of this study is to identify the contribution of traditional knowledge of kumala (Ipomoea batatas) production in sustaining the livelihoods of people in Vanuatu. The target population of this study was kumala farmers in two villages: Lorevulko and Sara 1 in East Santo, Vanuatu where qualitative data using semi-structured interviews was obtained. A literature review was also undertaken on kumala production in other countries where kumala is commonly grown. The younger generations should be educated on traditional knowledge and skills, and efforts should be made to document traditional knowledge. Traditional knowledge is being used in the pre-production activities of kumala such as planting calendar, site selection, land clearing and soil preparation. Both knowledge systems are used in the production of kumala for example in kumala cultivar selection, division of labour, planting, crop maintenance, preparation and management of kumala during droughts and cyclones. In addition, both traditional and contemporary knowledge are used in post-production of kumala in different storage methods such as field, bag, basket, and food bed. Overall, the findings in this study confirm compelling evidence that traditional knowledge contributes towards the sustainable livelihood of the people in Lorevulko and Sara 1. It shows that there is an assimilation of knowledge systems and they create a cultural output that is unique to location and time, and provides a good example of cultural dynamics which never stand still and which respond to environmental and other pressures. Findings from this research will contribute immensely in improving food security at the household and national level in Vanuatu, and generate sustainable income for farmers and livelihoods for farmers. Researchers can also use the findings of this study as a basis to undertake further studies on traditional knowledge of kumala in Vanuatu. Moreover, the results will be useful for informing and influencing government policy and farming practices.Item Sport as a vehicle for development in Vanuatu : a review of the literature and analysis of the Women's Island Cricket Project : a research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of International Development, Development Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(The Author, 2014) Farrell, Julie AnnApproaches to development delivery have changed significantly post World War II. Current development delivery practices are often referred to as the 4th paradigm of aid delivery. A focus on the concept of empowerment through the delivery of aid has become very popular, especially in relation to women’s development (Cornwall & Brock, 2005, Batliwala, 2007). The 3rd Millennium Development Goal with an aim to empower women is a good example of the increased international focus on and support for, the development of women around the world. This popularity has also surfaced within the new and emerging Sport-for-Development paradigm. The marrying of Sport for Development and empowerment seem to be synonymous in a number of aid projects. However due to the fact that empowerment is a multi-faceted and contested term, there are issues concerning implementation and effectiveness of Sports for Development projects. Monitoring and evaluating Sport for Development projects continues to be an issue many writers lament about. As many have empowerment as an end goal, this is something that causes disquiet in the development field. With the above-mentioned in mind, this research project aimed to investigate, via a desk-based study and field observations, in what ways the Women’s Island Cricket Project in Vanuatu has contributed to women’s empowerment and identify what some of the consequences of this empowerment of participants were at the personal, family and community level. Using Kabeer’s (1999, 2005) notion that empowerment is about the ability to make choices to improve one’s life, and transform one’s life, I consider whether the women involved in the cricket project had acquired agency – the ability to transform – and whether the women have changed the way they feel about themselves and have been able to improve their own self-efficacy. My research identified that Island cricket has considerable ‘buy-in’ by the participants of the Women’s Island Cricket Project and their families. I conclude that this project has been successful, resulting in empowerment-type behavioural change for participants. Whilst paternalistic attitudes towards women exist in Vanuatu, on Ifira Island, the project has challenged and transformed some of these historical attitudes. Development Alternatives for Women of a New Era’s idea that women’s solidarity adds to empowerment (Sen & Grown, 1988) was observed by me when attending the Women’s Island Cricket Committee meeting. Whilst Vanuatu women who play cricket are the focus of this aid project, the reality is that despite sport for women not being equal with empowerment opportunities available to male sports people, well-planned and well-organised Sport for Development projects that involve local women in the planning, implementation and evaluation, are meritorious and provide considerable scope to transform participant’s lives.