Dr Roannie Ng Shiu, researcher for the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia programme at the Australian National University. Photo: Pacific Cooperation Foundation
Experts will gather in Auckland next week to discuss how to cope with the health impacts in the Pacific that are due to climate change.
A symposium is being held at the University of Auckland by Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa - the Centre for Pacific and Global Health - involving knowledgable people from around the Pacific.
A director of Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa, Roannie Ng Shiu says climate change is driving up temperatures in the islands - and heat is a "silent killer."
She told Don Wiseman they'll look at the health impacts of climate change in the Pacific, and share potential solutions.
(This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity).
Roannie Ng Shiu: So our conference theme around climate health in the Pacific region sort of speaks to trying to think about the Pacific region and Pacific researchers providing important contributions to unlocking not just Pacific health solutions, but also global solutions related to climate change. We see this as an important aspect of the work that we do, as a centre, to amplify and uplift the research and the learnings that are coming out of the Pacific region, that also can be of use to other countries and other regions around the world.
Don Wiseman: We've known for years about the environmental impacts from climate change, but your group would say that there have been very significant health effects already. What sort of things?
RNS: We can see that climate related impacts include NCD [non-communicable diseases]. So when we think about the Pacific region, we think about two crises. One is climate change, but the other is NCDs, and this is a result of over-reliance on ultra-processed imported food, and the impact that global warming and climate change is having on sustainable agricultural practices and also in the ability to provide nutritious food by Pacific people for the region. The other thing is dengue fever. So we can see that as a result of climate change, that there's been an increase in vector-borne infectious diseases. Dengue is the current example that we have, and this is because the climate is producing more breeding grounds and warmer weather longer; we can also see that there's been intense cyclones that are happening quite often, and this actually is a real problem, because it affects the development gains that Pacific communities and countries have made. So for example, I think from our last analysis, the cyclones that happened in Fiji - Cyclone Winston that was estimated to cost around US$480 billion. So with so many frequent cyclones that are more intense, Pacific communities can't necessarily catch up to rebuilding or building better, particularly around their water, sanitation, hygiene facilities. So we can see the significant effects too of climate on wash utilities and outcomes. The Pacific region has the lowest levels of access to clean water as a result. There's quite a number of impacts. We need to be researching into these areas a lot better to understand how communities themselves are dealing and adapting and mitigating these factors as a place of strength and resilience. But at the same time, we also need to be part of that conversation globally - around how do we get big countries who are emitting the most greenhouse gasses to do their bit in terms of global climate. So things around climate justice inequity are really, really important, but it's a conversation that needs to be had with everyone globally, and not just people from the region.
DW: Yes, one remarkable thing that I've seen is the number of people in the Pacific dying of heatstroke in the last 20 years, and this is quite a significant number.
RNS: So I think as part of the symposium, we are launching the inaugural landscape countdown small island developing states report. And this is one of the key findings - where mortality attributed to heat has increased. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the fact that those deaths are happening mostly with babies, so children under the age of one, and then those who are a little bit elderly, or wisdom holders, as we like to say, who are 65 years and older. We have the Pacific that is seen as vulnerable, and then the most vulnerable, which are our children and our elderly, are at the highest risk of climate impacts.
Photo: 123rf
DW: Countries like New Zealand and Australia - are they doing enough in terms of preparing the region for this threat that's already here?
RNS: I would say no, I think more could be done - I'm speaking about New Zealand. Australia does put a lot of money into development assistance for the Pacific region, but at the moment that is going towards more geopolitics and security programs. I think we could always be doing better. We could always be doing more. There is also the sense that climate change is going to increase the numbers of people claiming environmental refugee status. But other research we've conducted actually shows that Pacific people want to stay where they are. They just need support and helping them to live in the environments that they currently live in, and dealing with climate impacts that they really haven't contributed to. So, for example, the Pacific region only contributes 0.03 percent of greenhouse gasses, but are impacted the most.
DW: The centre wants to look at bringing health closer together with the MetService so that there can be more information readily available to deal with extremes.
RNS: One of the things that we are also looking at, and we've seen from our research, is the need to have better surveillance in order to be prepared for climate health risks - things around infectious diseases, as well as vector-borne diseases like dengue and waterborne diseases. So that if we have a better idea of extreme weather events that are likely to happen, and then layer that on top of health metrics, then we have a better understanding of where we need to be focusing our health intervention and prevention services, particularly for Pacific countries which don't have the same sort of resources that New Zealand or Australia has, for example, in preparing for disasters and extreme weather events.
