Monday, April 20, 2015
What Makes a Place Habitable? Or Livable?
That was the title of a short article I prepared for the M.A. in Climate & Society Program "Hot Topics" page. Thank you to Brian Kahn, Wed Editor at Climate Central (and C+S alum) for his fine editing assistance.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Atoll Habitability Thresholds
Its been four months since returning home from the Columbia M.A. in Climate and Society Program, and I am now doing field work to refine my thesis paper on atoll habitability thresholds with intentions to submit to my amazing team of advisors Michael Gerrard and Benjamin Orlove, PhD by July of this year. Wish me luck!
So some people have been asking what is this "habitability thresholds" thing? Well, the basic idea is that as ecosystems that make up areas of the world that different societies inhabit (e.g. atoll ecosystems for Marshallese) incrementally undergo physical and chemical changes due to climate change, the habitability of these ecosystems will incrementally diminish as well. Monitoring these changes and positively affecting their longevity is at the core of this idea.
One of the things I like about it so much is that it is very human focused, and reflects what society determines as acceptable. It is intentionally oriented to allow everyday citizens the opportunity to organize themselves around the process of understanding how climate change affects their lives and ecosystems, and then to act on that information. I believe that potential climate-displaced communities can be empowered in spite of the disempowering phenomena of climate change, and I believe it can be done by framing climate impacts, adaptation, and resilience around internationally recognized, locally refined, concrete measurements of habitability.
It is going to be a wonderful journey of discovery into climate science communication, and I am encouraging people with an interest to delve more into the concept and its demonstration in other settings (e.g. mountainous community settings in Nepal) as well.
So some people have been asking what is this "habitability thresholds" thing? Well, the basic idea is that as ecosystems that make up areas of the world that different societies inhabit (e.g. atoll ecosystems for Marshallese) incrementally undergo physical and chemical changes due to climate change, the habitability of these ecosystems will incrementally diminish as well. Monitoring these changes and positively affecting their longevity is at the core of this idea.
One of the things I like about it so much is that it is very human focused, and reflects what society determines as acceptable. It is intentionally oriented to allow everyday citizens the opportunity to organize themselves around the process of understanding how climate change affects their lives and ecosystems, and then to act on that information. I believe that potential climate-displaced communities can be empowered in spite of the disempowering phenomena of climate change, and I believe it can be done by framing climate impacts, adaptation, and resilience around internationally recognized, locally refined, concrete measurements of habitability.
It is going to be a wonderful journey of discovery into climate science communication, and I am encouraging people with an interest to delve more into the concept and its demonstration in other settings (e.g. mountainous community settings in Nepal) as well.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Naan ne am Dede
"Your mommy, daddy, bubu, jimma, your country, and your President too -- we will all fight."
Those are just some of the words still reverberating around the world from poet/activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner who opened the UN Climate Summit on behalf of all of the civil sector including the non-profit she and her cousins and friends founded in the Marshall Islands called JoJiKuM.
Milañ Loeak, daughter of the Marshall Islands
Earlier this month a group of Pacific island warriors paddled traditional canoes into the world's largest coal port in a blockade. One of the protesters was quietly spoken Milañ Loeak, daughter of the president of the Marshall Islands.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Facing a grim reality with confidence and not with despair
Also available here
Marshallese are the descendants of seafarers who seized the climatic opportunity some 2000 years ago–when sea levels dipped to present position–to entrench a civilization with distinct customs and life skills suited for human habitation in what is now called the Republic of the Marshal Islands (RMI). Looking towards the future with 0.6 – 1.2 meters of sea level rise projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by the end of this century, Marshallese face increasingly frequent threats of submergence, coastal flooding, and coastal erosion that will progressively render atoll environments uninhabitable.
This grim reality is quietly but notably alluded to in the United States 3rd National Climate Assessment released last May. It comes in the assessment’s 23rd chapter, in the form of a ‘key message’ to the 100,000 or so atoll inhabitants within the US-affiliated Pacific islands region. As foretold: Mounting threats to food and water security, infrastructure, and public health and safety are expected to lead to increasing human migration from low to high elevation islands and continental sites.
Work is now underway to better understand and anticipate the timing and spatial sequence of climate-induced migration, particularly given the exacerbating impacts of tropical cyclones and drought. This type of information will help not only Marshallese prepare for climate change, but also the host communities that are likeliest to receive them as climate migrants, so that collectively we can confront the tides of climate change with confidence and not with despair.
Marshallese are the descendants of seafarers who seized the climatic opportunity some 2000 years ago–when sea levels dipped to present position–to entrench a civilization with distinct customs and life skills suited for human habitation in what is now called the Republic of the Marshal Islands (RMI). Looking towards the future with 0.6 – 1.2 meters of sea level rise projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by the end of this century, Marshallese face increasingly frequent threats of submergence, coastal flooding, and coastal erosion that will progressively render atoll environments uninhabitable.
This grim reality is quietly but notably alluded to in the United States 3rd National Climate Assessment released last May. It comes in the assessment’s 23rd chapter, in the form of a ‘key message’ to the 100,000 or so atoll inhabitants within the US-affiliated Pacific islands region. As foretold: Mounting threats to food and water security, infrastructure, and public health and safety are expected to lead to increasing human migration from low to high elevation islands and continental sites.
Work is now underway to better understand and anticipate the timing and spatial sequence of climate-induced migration, particularly given the exacerbating impacts of tropical cyclones and drought. This type of information will help not only Marshallese prepare for climate change, but also the host communities that are likeliest to receive them as climate migrants, so that collectively we can confront the tides of climate change with confidence and not with despair.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Homeowners Guides, Landowners Guides, and Atoll-Wide Frameworks, oh my!
Came across a 1990s Marshallese homeowners guide for new buildings to strengthen against wind damage during tropical cyclones. Maybe old news, but new to me! It is written in Marshallese with FEMA funding and Office of the Chief Secretary support. From what I can tell it covers wood framed buildings, emphasizes brackets at all joints, and use of high quality nailing work especially with aluminum sheeting.
It reminded me of a hazards community guide in development, courtesy of UH Sea Grant Program that "will cover specific topic areas, such as how to protect oneself in an emergency through disaster preparedness (i.e., evacuation planning and maintaining emergency supply kits), guidelines for identifying and mobilizing local assets, and best practices for developing ‘adaptation coalitions’ to facilitate locally-led, long-term, and flexible strategies for community resilience." Stay tuned!
This hazards community guide in turn also reminded me of the Landowners Shoreline Protection Guide released in 2013. It was prepared by UH Sea Grant with USAID/NOAA funding, and I think UNDP/OEPPC supported with funds as well. This Landowners Guide was largely translated by CMI Land Grant Program and at Marshallese Language Commission, and reformatted as a oral slideshow. The presentation was then tested in August 2013 by Karl with translation and logistical support by the Djarrot community resource management committee, and later presented to the Mayors Association in November 2013.
And of course, to complete the circle of reminders, these self-help guides reminded me of another guide available to Marshallese seeking to build their resilience to climate impacts. It is the Reimaanlok Framework released in 2008. This guide targets municipal governments rather than homeowners/communities, and is accompanied by financing support, which all means that it requires facilitators to help implement.
So from the 1990s to the present day, some good guides and in culturally-sensitive formats people can absorb, kommol nan ro raar kobooj melele rot kein elap aer jiban armej in Majol. It would be great to see all these existing resources downloaded and shared widely, and even greater if presented orally (i.e. bwebwenato) via one-on-one or group discussions.
It reminded me of a hazards community guide in development, courtesy of UH Sea Grant Program that "will cover specific topic areas, such as how to protect oneself in an emergency through disaster preparedness (i.e., evacuation planning and maintaining emergency supply kits), guidelines for identifying and mobilizing local assets, and best practices for developing ‘adaptation coalitions’ to facilitate locally-led, long-term, and flexible strategies for community resilience." Stay tuned!
This hazards community guide in turn also reminded me of the Landowners Shoreline Protection Guide released in 2013. It was prepared by UH Sea Grant with USAID/NOAA funding, and I think UNDP/OEPPC supported with funds as well. This Landowners Guide was largely translated by CMI Land Grant Program and at Marshallese Language Commission, and reformatted as a oral slideshow. The presentation was then tested in August 2013 by Karl with translation and logistical support by the Djarrot community resource management committee, and later presented to the Mayors Association in November 2013.
And of course, to complete the circle of reminders, these self-help guides reminded me of another guide available to Marshallese seeking to build their resilience to climate impacts. It is the Reimaanlok Framework released in 2008. This guide targets municipal governments rather than homeowners/communities, and is accompanied by financing support, which all means that it requires facilitators to help implement.
So from the 1990s to the present day, some good guides and in culturally-sensitive formats people can absorb, kommol nan ro raar kobooj melele rot kein elap aer jiban armej in Majol. It would be great to see all these existing resources downloaded and shared widely, and even greater if presented orally (i.e. bwebwenato) via one-on-one or group discussions.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
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