TANNA, Vanuatu — A 6.5 magnitude earthquake. A volcanic eruption for the first time in over 100 years. A category 5 cyclone. This near apocalyptic sequence of events, which occurred within just a few short weeks of each other, devastated communities across the Vanuatu archipelago this past spring. With emergency relief efforts decreasing more each day, many are now warning of the potential food insecurities that may unfold despite large reconstruction efforts across this South Pacific island chain.
Cyclone Pam, which killed 19 residents and displaced thousands more, swept across the 90 individual islands of Vanuatu on March 13. The storm’s 320 km/h wind gusts flattened many of the subsistence crops local residents rely on for daily food sources, subsequently creating food insecurities that have continued to grow in the months after the storm.
On the island of Tanna, which received a direct hit from the cyclone, only a small percentage of subsistence crops were salvageable as the storm struck during the peak of harvest season. While the residents of Tanna and other islands across Vanuatu have grown dependent on the provision of food aid from relief agencies, the decreases in emergency aid operations have begun to concern many.
David, a local resident who lives on the East Coast of Tanna, explained in a recent interview that despite the distribution of seeds from relief agencies, the regrowth of agricultural production will take time.
“It takes three months for sweet potatoes to grow, nine months for taro roots and leaves, a year for bananas […] In the meantime, we’ll scrape by,” he said.
With the residents of Tanna receiving their last food rations of rice, pasta and tuna in June, many now hold growing fears about the future of their communities’ food security.
The Vanuatu Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (VFSAC), which works to create collaboration between national administrative agencies and several active NGOs, succeeded in distributing food aid to 218,000 residents on 80 out of 90 of Vanuatu’s islands in the wake of the storm through the organization of three major food handouts.
Christopher Bartlett, director of the VFSAC, when asked about the resilience of residents in an interview, stated “People are hungry. But the famine everyone feared hasn’t happened. Ni-Vanuatu are very tough and have used traditional learning disregarded under normal circumstances, like picking wild fruit and roots.”
In addition to the notable impact Cyclone Pam has had on the subsistence crops of Vanuatu, agricultural experts have also expressed concerns about the long-term impacts this disaster will have on the growth of cash crops. Coffee plants will take an estimated three years to regrow, kava (a traditional Ni-Vanuatu drink) will be unavailable for nearly five years, and coconut palms will take over 10 years to return.
A report issued by the International Monetary Fund in the wake of the storm stated, “Cyclone Pam caused serious damage to production facilities and a sharp fall in economic activity. Tourism and agricultural output are expected to sustain a large decline in 2015, although reconstruction activities and the commencement of several large infrastructure projects will provide a partial onset […] real GDP is projected to decline 2 percent this year.”
In response to these dismal economic forecasts and concerns about rising food insecurity, Bartlett explained how the government of Vanuatu is responding. “The accumulation of natural hazards, wholly inconsistent with normal climate patterns, is beginning to seriously jeopardize food-security. The government is setting up a three-year recovery plan, costing an estimated $70m for agriculture alone.”
The United Nations World Risk Index, which analyzes certain variables in regards to regional natural disasters, has placed Vanuatu at the top of the list of nations most likely to be affected by a natural disaster. Officials have cited this first place ranking as largely influenced by the impacts of climate change on the Pacific Ocean and the potential for increased variations in seasonal floods and droughts.
Shedrack Welegtabit, director of the Natural Disaster Management Office, recently presented a new disaster response technology being used on the ground in Vanuatu. A simple SMS quiz distributed to residents cell phones allows farmers and aid workers to report which varieties of subsistence and cash crops are in short supply and how long the regrowth of such resources will take.
Welegtabit said “It’s a ground-breaking venture, brought on by Pam. We’ve placed high demands on our two telecom operators to deliver the messages. It’s allowing us to reach more people than with radio or TV, including sending safety guidelines before the cyclone, then managing the aftermath.”
Officials associated with the SMS program have expressed optimism that the capabilities and applications of this technology will be expanded to other regions suffering from humanitarian crises.
Sources: The Guardian, International Monetary Fund, The Guardian
Photo: The Guardian