Curated expert opinion on intractable contemporary issues
Global Outlook: Climate Change and Conflict
Urban–Rural Re-Relocation as a Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Tuvalu
By Carol Farbotko and Taukiei Kitara | 13 April, 2021
During the COVID-19 pandemic migration patterns reversed in the Pacific Islands. As paid employment in cities decreased, migration to some rural areas increased, often with en-couragement from national governments. While some migrants have returned to urban areas following an initial rural relocation, even as a temporary phenomenon, urban-rural migration that occurred during the pandemic is instructive for understanding how cultural and family connections to rural places help in maintaining resilience among Pacific Island populations, particularly in the face of external shocks.
Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament
Climate Change and Conflict
Peace and Security in Northeast Asia
Contemporary Peace Research and Practice
Social Media, Technology and Peacebuilding
COVID-19 Pandemic Triggered Seafarers’ Odyssey Back to the Pacific Islands
By Eckart Garbe | 02 April, 2021
Pacific sailors are used to being away from home for months. But this voyage unexpectedly turned out to involve a lot of drama and almost epic frustration. When the pandemic hit, seafarers found themselves stranded almost everywhere. Some were stuck on ships beyond the maximum end of their contracts waiting for fresh crews to arrive and replace them; when they didn’t, the sailors continued working without a break, while others couldn’t go home because of travel restrictions around the globe.
The UN Security Council at a Turning Point: Securitisation or Climatisation?
By Cesare M. Scartozzi | 13 March, 2021
On February 23, the UN Security Council (UNSC) held a high-level open debate on the topic of climate and security. The meeting, convened by the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, was the latest in a series of open debates and Arria-formula sessions set to define the role of the Council in addressing threats to international security posed by climate change. Despite a decade-long discussion, the UNSC is still divided on a series of conceptual and procedural issues that, as it will be shown in this article, prevent it from defining its role in relation to climate change.
China, Kiribati, Fiji, and a Village on Vanua Levu: A Textbook Example of the Multi-Scalar Effects of Climate Change
By Paulo Baleinakorodawa | 06 March, 2021
At the end of February, the government of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati announced that it planned to collaborate with China in developing Natovatu land bought by the Kiribati government in 2014 on the Fijian island of Vanua Levu. In the light of increasing attempts by the People’s Republic of China to expand its influence in Pacific Island Countries, this announcement was met with some concern on the international stage. It was interpreted in the context of the growing geostrategic power rivalry in the region.
One Loud Voice On Climate Action Needed From The Pacific Islands Forum
By Volker Boege | 22 February, 2021
That the peoples of the Pacific continue to speak with one loud voice when it comes to climate action and climate justice is of utmost importance not only for the PICs themselves, but also for the rest of the world. This voice carries significant weight in the international climate discourse and politics. We desperately need it.
UN Secretary General Sounds the Alarm: – ‘War on Nature’ is ‘Suicidal’
By Volker Boege | 19 December, 2020
The “state of the planet is broken”. This was the UN Secretary General’s succinct summation of the situation humankind finds itself in today. In his speech of 2 December on the global climate change emergency and the dramatic deterioration of the environment, he listed some of the most important facts which illustrate the severity of the current climate and environmental crisis: “The past decade was the hottest in human history”; “Carbon dioxide levels are still at record highs – and rising”; “We are headed for a thundering rise of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius this century”; “As always, the impacts fall most heavily on the world’s most vulnerable people. Those who have done the least to cause the problem are suffering the most”.
The views and opinions expressed in Global Outlook are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toda Peace Institute.
Urban–Rural Re-Relocation as a Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Tuvalu
By Carol Farbotko and Taukiei Kitara | 13 April, 2021
During the COVID-19 pandemic migration patterns reversed in the Pacific Islands. As paid employment in cities decreased, migration to some rural areas increased, often with en-couragement from national governments. While some migrants have returned to urban areas following an initial rural relocation, even as a temporary phenomenon, urban-rural migration that occurred during the pandemic is instructive for understanding how cultural and family connections to rural places help in maintaining resilience among Pacific Island populations, particularly in the face of external shocks.
COVID-19 Pandemic Triggered Seafarers’ Odyssey Back to the Pacific Islands
By Eckart Garbe | 02 April, 2021
Pacific sailors are used to being away from home for months. But this voyage unexpectedly turned out to involve a lot of drama and almost epic frustration. When the pandemic hit, seafarers found themselves stranded almost everywhere. Some were stuck on ships beyond the maximum end of their contracts waiting for fresh crews to arrive and replace them; when they didn’t, the sailors continued working without a break, while others couldn’t go home because of travel restrictions around the globe.
The UN Security Council at a Turning Point: Securitisation or Climatisation?
By Cesare M. Scartozzi | 13 March, 2021
On February 23, the UN Security Council (UNSC) held a high-level open debate on the topic of climate and security. The meeting, convened by the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, was the latest in a series of open debates and Arria-formula sessions set to define the role of the Council in addressing threats to international security posed by climate change. Despite a decade-long discussion, the UNSC is still divided on a series of conceptual and procedural issues that, as it will be shown in this article, prevent it from defining its role in relation to climate change.
China, Kiribati, Fiji, and a Village on Vanua Levu: A Textbook Example of the Multi-Scalar Effects of Climate Change
By Paulo Baleinakorodawa | 06 March, 2021
At the end of February, the government of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati announced that it planned to collaborate with China in developing Natovatu land bought by the Kiribati government in 2014 on the Fijian island of Vanua Levu. In the light of increasing attempts by the People’s Republic of China to expand its influence in Pacific Island Countries, this announcement was met with some concern on the international stage. It was interpreted in the context of the growing geostrategic power rivalry in the region.
One Loud Voice On Climate Action Needed From The Pacific Islands Forum
By Volker Boege | 22 February, 2021
That the peoples of the Pacific continue to speak with one loud voice when it comes to climate action and climate justice is of utmost importance not only for the PICs themselves, but also for the rest of the world. This voice carries significant weight in the international climate discourse and politics. We desperately need it.
UN Secretary General Sounds the Alarm: – ‘War on Nature’ is ‘Suicidal’
By Volker Boege | 19 December, 2020
The “state of the planet is broken”. This was the UN Secretary General’s succinct summation of the situation humankind finds itself in today. In his speech of 2 December on the global climate change emergency and the dramatic deterioration of the environment, he listed some of the most important facts which illustrate the severity of the current climate and environmental crisis: “The past decade was the hottest in human history”; “Carbon dioxide levels are still at record highs – and rising”; “We are headed for a thundering rise of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius this century”; “As always, the impacts fall most heavily on the world’s most vulnerable people. Those who have done the least to cause the problem are suffering the most”.
The views and opinions expressed in Global Outlook are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toda Peace Institute.