Pacific climate change adaptation: The use of participatory media to promote indigenous knowledge
Keywords:
climate change adaptation, participatory media, photo essay, photography, indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge, Papua New Guinea
Abstract
Pacific Island communities are increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change. Inaccessibility to relevant information about contemporary climate change adaptation strategies at the community level presents challenges. At the same time, indigenous strategies to adapt to climate changes have been overlooked in both local and global climate change debates. This article discusses a project undertaken with a community on Andra Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. Climate change impacts and adaptation strategies were explored through photo essays developed by community members, engaging in approaches of visual participatory action research and indigenous research approaches. The collaboration with the Andra Island community created a space for reflective dialogue about challenges posed by climate change as well as how photo essays can be used to promote Indigenous Knowledge (IK) as a viable capital for community-based adaptation (CBA). Within this context, this article demonstrates how climate change is both a natural and cultural process of change which poses socio-economic challenges. These challenges can compel people to engage in unsustainable practices that might exacerbate natural climate change impacts. The article highlights that building community capacity in participatory media can be an important tool to forge collective synergy, dialogue and ownership in local climate change initiatives. In particular, the authors demonstrate how participatory media can be harnessed to integrate indigenous knowledge in community-based climate change adaptation.
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References
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IWGIA. (2008). Conference on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change. Paper presented at the Conference on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kaluwin, C., Duguman, J., Kiele, R., & Poselei, D. (2013). Rapid vulnerability and adaptation assessment for the Los Negros island—Manus Province. Port Moresby: UPNG Centre for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.
Kovach, M. (2009). Indigenous methodogies: Characteristics, conversations, and contexts. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Lefale, P. F. (2010). Ua ‘afa le Aso Stormy weather today: Traditional ecological knowledge of weather and climate. The Samoa experience. Climatic Change, 100, 317–335.
MacColl, I., Cooper, R., Markus, R., & Viller, S. (2005). Watching ourselves watching: Ethical issues in ethnographic action research. Paper presented at the OZCHI 2005, Canberra.
McMillen, H. L., Ticktin, T., Friedlander, A., Jupiter, S., Thaman, R., Campbell, J., Orcherton, D. F. (2014). Small islands, valuable insights: systems of customary resource use and resilience to climate change in the Pacific. Ecology and Society, 19(4), 44.
McNamara, K. E., & Prasad, S. S. (2013). Valuing indigenous knowledge for climate change Adaptation planning in Fiji and Vanuatu. Retrieved from www.gpem.uq.edu.au/island-climate-change-indigenous-knowledge
McSwain, R. (1977). The past & future people. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Mercer, J. (2010). Disaster risk reduction or climate change adaptation: Are we reinventing the wheel? Journal of International Development, 22, 247–264.
Mimura, N. (1999). Vulnerability of island countries in the South Pacific to sea level rise and climate change. Climate Research, 12, 137–143.
Moore, B., Siaosi, F., Lalavanua, W., Simpson, R., Magron, F., Bertram, I., & Chapman, L. (2012). Climate change baseline assessment: Northern Manus outer islands Papua New Guinea. Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).
Mullen, K. C. (2013). ‘I see what you mean’: Visual and particularly climate change communication. Unpublished Master of Science thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
NOAA. (2014). What is the largest ocean basin on Earth? Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/biggestocean.html
Papoutsaki, E., Kailahi, S., & Harris, U. (2014). Communicating climate change, disaster and crisis in the Pacific. paper delivered at the Pacific Journalism Review Twenty Years 2014 Conference. Retrieved from www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/content/pacific-journalism-review-2014-conference
PIRCA. (2012). Climate change and Pacific Islands: Indicators and impacts. East-West Center, USA: Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA). Retrieved from www.cakex.org/sites/default/files/documents/Exec-Summary-PIRCA-FINAL2.pdf
Pokana, J. (2015). Office of Climate Change and Development (OCCD). [Press release]
Prosser, J., & Loxley, A. (2008). Introducing visual methods. ESRC National Centre for Research Methods Review Papers, 010.
Rolling, J. H. (2010). A paradigm analysis of arts-based research and implications for education. A Journal of Issues and Research, 1(2), 102-114.
Roundell, T. (Ed.) (2003). Arts education in the Pacific region: Heritage and creativity. Apia, Samoa: UNESCO.
Sanka, C. G., Eyison, H. M., & Darteh, P. A. (2014). The importance of oral tradition in Ngugi WA Thiongo’s writings: A critical analysis of The River Between and Petals of Blood. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), 6-14.
Schnüttgen, S. (1997). Open learning communities under construction—Are NGOs contributing to the process? Paper presented at the CIES Conference on Education, Democracy and Development at the Turn of the Century. Retrieved from www.unesco.org/education/lwf/dl/cies97ss.pdf
Showren, T. (2014). Oral traditions: Method to adaptation of construction of the history of non-literate tribes. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 4(6), 478-481.
Sullivan, N. (2003). How media became the message in Papua New Guinea—A coda. Spectator, 23 (1).
Tauli-Corpuz, V., Enkiwe-Abayao, L., & Chavez, R. d. (Eds.). (2010). Towards an alternative development paradigm: Indigenous people's self-determined development. Baguio City, Philippines: Tebtebba Foundation.
Taylor, C. (2003). New kinds of literacy, and the world of visual information. Paper presented at the EIGVIL workshop: Explanatory & Instructional Graphics and Visual Information Literacy, London Metropolitan University. Retrieved from www.conradiator.com/downloads/pdf/literacies4eigvil_ct2003.pdf
Thomas, V. (2011). Visual arts: A tool to enhance research capacity in Papua New Guinea. In E. Papoutsaki, M. McManus, & P. Matbob (Eds.), Communication, Culture & Society in Papua New Guinea: You tok wanem? (pp. 184-196). Madang, PNG: DWU Press.
UNFCCC. (2015). Conference of the Parties UNFCCC. Retrieved from http://unfccc.int/meetings/paris_nov_2015/meeting/8926.php
UNISDR. (2005). Hyogo framework for action 2005-2015: Building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, World Conference on Disaster Reduction, 18-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
Warrick, O. C. (2011). Local voices, local choices? Vulnerability to climate change and community-based adaptation in rural Vanuatu. Unpublished doctorate in geography, University of Waikato, Waikato, New Zealand.
Wia, J., Januchowski-Hartley, F. A., Lahari, R. U., Morove, T., Perks, H. M., & Holmes, K. E. (2012). Coral farming as means of sustaining livelihoods and promoting resource management. Paper presented at the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia.
ABS. (2002). Social capital and social wellbeing. Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Commonwealth of Australia.
ADB. (2013). The economics of climate change in the Pacific. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: A. D. Bank. Retrieved from www.adb.org/sites/default/files/.../30372/economics-climate-change.pdf
Alexander, C., Bynum, N., Johnson, E., King, U., Mustonen, T., Neofotis, P., Weeks, B. (2011). Linking indigenous and science knowledge of climate change. BioScience, 61(6), 477-484.
APEC. (2015). The 23rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Declaration—Building inclusive economies, building a better world: A vision for an Asia-Pacific community. Retrieved from www.appf.org.pe/.../23appfec-15-maternal-and-child-health-for-susteina...
Bhandari, D., & Malakar, Y. (2009). Practical approaches on community based disaster management planning. Kathmandu, Nepal: Department for International Development.
Briggs, J. (2005). The use of indigenous knowledge in development: Problems and challenges. Progress in Development Studies. 5(2), 99-114.
CARE. (2010). Community-based adaptation toolkit. n.p.: Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. (CARE).
Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous research methodologies. Los Angeles, USA: Sage Publications Inc.
Cinner, J. E. (2005). The role of socioeconomic factors in customary coral reef management in Papua New Guinea. Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, James Cook University, James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia.
Cinner, J. E., Marnane, M. J., McClanahan, T. R., Clark, T. H., & Ben, J. (2005). Trade, tenure, and tradition: Influence of sociocultural factors on resource use in Melanesia. Conservation Biology, 19(5), 1469-1477.
Coogan, A. ( 2011). WHAT IS—Performance Art? Retrieved from www.imma.ie/en/downloads/whatisperformanceart.pdf
CRED. (2009). The psychology of climate change communication: A guide for scientists, journalists, educators, political aides, and the interested public. New York, USA: Columbia University.
Dekens, J. (2007). Local knowledge for disaster preparedness: A literature review. Kathmandu, Nepal: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (1994). Handbook of qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.
Diamond, H. J. (2006). Pacific islands global climate observing system (PI-GCOS) program. Paper presented at the 8 ICSHMO, Brazil.
DIICCSRTE. (2013). Australia’s Sixth National Communication on Climate Change: A report under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Australia: Department of Industry, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
Dutta, M. J. (2011). Communicating social change: Structure, culture, and agency. New York: Routledge—Taylor & Francis Group.
ESCAP. (2015). Overview of natural disasters and their impacts in Asia and the Pacific, 1970—2014. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved from www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Technical%2520paper-Overview%2520of%2520
Finnegan, R. (2012). Oral literature in Africa (Vol. 1). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Open Book Publishers CIC Ltd.
Fish, S. (1980). Is there a text in this class? The authority of interpretive communities. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Flora, C., & Arnold, N. (2012). Community development. 52 Corbin Hall, Missoula: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities.
Gero, A., Fletcher, S., Rumsey, M., Thiessen, J., Kuruppu, N., Buchan, J., Willetts, J. (2013). Disaster response and climate change in the Pacific. Gold Coast: University of Technology Sydney and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.
Gero, A., Méheux, K., & Dominey-Howes, D. (2011). Integrating community based disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: Examples from the Pacific. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences, 11, 101–113.
Goreau, T. J., & Hayes, R. L. (2008). Reef restoration as a fisheries management tool in fisheries and aquaculture. In P. Safran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of life support systems (EOLSS). Oxford, UK: Eolss Publishers.
Hammersley, M. (2008). Questioning qualitative inquiry. London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd.
Hanson, E. (2009). Oral traditions. Retrieved from http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/oral_traditions/
Harris, U. S. (2014). Communicating climate change in the Pacific using a bottom-up approach. Pacific Journalism Review, 20(2), 77.
Helde, M. L. (2012). The dialogue handbook. Copenhagen, Denmark: DUF.
Helden, F. V. (1998). Between cash and conviction: The social context of the Bismark-Ramu integrated conservation and development project. NCD, PNG: The National Research Institute.
Herman, R. D. K. (2015). Traditional knowledge in a time of crisis: Climate change, culture and communication. Sustainable Science, 11(1), 163– 176.
Hodkinson, P. (2011). Media, culture and society: An introduction. London, UK: Sage Publication.
Holstein, A. N. (2010). Participation in climate change adaptation. London: European Union.
Inamara, A. (2016). Senis em yumiyet—Indigenous knowledge and climate change adaptation on Andra Island, Papua New Guinea (Vol. 3). Goroka: Centre for Social and Creative Media.
IWGIA. (2008). Conference on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change. Paper presented at the Conference on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kaluwin, C., Duguman, J., Kiele, R., & Poselei, D. (2013). Rapid vulnerability and adaptation assessment for the Los Negros island—Manus Province. Port Moresby: UPNG Centre for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.
Kovach, M. (2009). Indigenous methodogies: Characteristics, conversations, and contexts. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Lefale, P. F. (2010). Ua ‘afa le Aso Stormy weather today: Traditional ecological knowledge of weather and climate. The Samoa experience. Climatic Change, 100, 317–335.
MacColl, I., Cooper, R., Markus, R., & Viller, S. (2005). Watching ourselves watching: Ethical issues in ethnographic action research. Paper presented at the OZCHI 2005, Canberra.
McMillen, H. L., Ticktin, T., Friedlander, A., Jupiter, S., Thaman, R., Campbell, J., Orcherton, D. F. (2014). Small islands, valuable insights: systems of customary resource use and resilience to climate change in the Pacific. Ecology and Society, 19(4), 44.
McNamara, K. E., & Prasad, S. S. (2013). Valuing indigenous knowledge for climate change Adaptation planning in Fiji and Vanuatu. Retrieved from www.gpem.uq.edu.au/island-climate-change-indigenous-knowledge
McSwain, R. (1977). The past & future people. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Mercer, J. (2010). Disaster risk reduction or climate change adaptation: Are we reinventing the wheel? Journal of International Development, 22, 247–264.
Mimura, N. (1999). Vulnerability of island countries in the South Pacific to sea level rise and climate change. Climate Research, 12, 137–143.
Moore, B., Siaosi, F., Lalavanua, W., Simpson, R., Magron, F., Bertram, I., & Chapman, L. (2012). Climate change baseline assessment: Northern Manus outer islands Papua New Guinea. Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).
Mullen, K. C. (2013). ‘I see what you mean’: Visual and particularly climate change communication. Unpublished Master of Science thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
NOAA. (2014). What is the largest ocean basin on Earth? Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/biggestocean.html
Papoutsaki, E., Kailahi, S., & Harris, U. (2014). Communicating climate change, disaster and crisis in the Pacific. paper delivered at the Pacific Journalism Review Twenty Years 2014 Conference. Retrieved from www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/content/pacific-journalism-review-2014-conference
PIRCA. (2012). Climate change and Pacific Islands: Indicators and impacts. East-West Center, USA: Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA). Retrieved from www.cakex.org/sites/default/files/documents/Exec-Summary-PIRCA-FINAL2.pdf
Pokana, J. (2015). Office of Climate Change and Development (OCCD). [Press release]
Prosser, J., & Loxley, A. (2008). Introducing visual methods. ESRC National Centre for Research Methods Review Papers, 010.
Rolling, J. H. (2010). A paradigm analysis of arts-based research and implications for education. A Journal of Issues and Research, 1(2), 102-114.
Roundell, T. (Ed.) (2003). Arts education in the Pacific region: Heritage and creativity. Apia, Samoa: UNESCO.
Sanka, C. G., Eyison, H. M., & Darteh, P. A. (2014). The importance of oral tradition in Ngugi WA Thiongo’s writings: A critical analysis of The River Between and Petals of Blood. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), 6-14.
Schnüttgen, S. (1997). Open learning communities under construction—Are NGOs contributing to the process? Paper presented at the CIES Conference on Education, Democracy and Development at the Turn of the Century. Retrieved from www.unesco.org/education/lwf/dl/cies97ss.pdf
Showren, T. (2014). Oral traditions: Method to adaptation of construction of the history of non-literate tribes. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 4(6), 478-481.
Sullivan, N. (2003). How media became the message in Papua New Guinea—A coda. Spectator, 23 (1).
Tauli-Corpuz, V., Enkiwe-Abayao, L., & Chavez, R. d. (Eds.). (2010). Towards an alternative development paradigm: Indigenous people's self-determined development. Baguio City, Philippines: Tebtebba Foundation.
Taylor, C. (2003). New kinds of literacy, and the world of visual information. Paper presented at the EIGVIL workshop: Explanatory & Instructional Graphics and Visual Information Literacy, London Metropolitan University. Retrieved from www.conradiator.com/downloads/pdf/literacies4eigvil_ct2003.pdf
Thomas, V. (2011). Visual arts: A tool to enhance research capacity in Papua New Guinea. In E. Papoutsaki, M. McManus, & P. Matbob (Eds.), Communication, Culture & Society in Papua New Guinea: You tok wanem? (pp. 184-196). Madang, PNG: DWU Press.
UNFCCC. (2015). Conference of the Parties UNFCCC. Retrieved from http://unfccc.int/meetings/paris_nov_2015/meeting/8926.php
UNISDR. (2005). Hyogo framework for action 2005-2015: Building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, World Conference on Disaster Reduction, 18-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
Warrick, O. C. (2011). Local voices, local choices? Vulnerability to climate change and community-based adaptation in rural Vanuatu. Unpublished doctorate in geography, University of Waikato, Waikato, New Zealand.
Wia, J., Januchowski-Hartley, F. A., Lahari, R. U., Morove, T., Perks, H. M., & Holmes, K. E. (2012). Coral farming as means of sustaining livelihoods and promoting resource management. Paper presented at the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia.
Published
21-07-2017
How to Cite
Inamara, A., & Thomas, V. (2017). Pacific climate change adaptation: The use of participatory media to promote indigenous knowledge. Pacific Journalism Review : Te Koakoa, 23(1), 113-132. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v23i1.210
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2017 Aaron Inamara, Verena Thomas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
