Our team had the intent to investigate the true state of Oceania’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) efforts. But what seems like a clear topic, quickly turned into a complex web of strategies, policies, and programs that all relate to DRR in some form or another. The problem of trying to… read more
Country Profiles
Room to Step-Up: Australia’s Bid to Maintain Influence in Oceania (1/2)
As China becomes increasingly assertive in Oceania, Australia seeks to reinforce and strengthen ties with its Pacific neighbors. However, its success in reengaging the Pacific will depend on its willingness to step up on climate issues. Australia has long been perhaps the preeminent partner to the Pacific. It is the… read more
Rejecting Reality: Kiribati’s Shifting Climate Change Policies
In December 2015, world leaders passed the groundbreaking Paris Agreement at the 21st United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP 21). In early December, world leaders met again in Madrid at COP 25 to negotiate details of the Paris Agreement and “were unable to reach consensus… read more
Perspectives on Chinese Lending and Implications for Oceania
This blog was updated on 7 March 2020 from its original version. China’s lending levels and loan-issuing practices are increasingly topics of analysis for governments and policy wonks. Assessing China’s intentions, its massive Marshall Plan-esque foreign development strategy — the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — and stories of debt… read more
A Vulnerable Honiara
Honiara is Solomon Islands’ capital city situated along the Guadalcanal coastline. Much like other island cities in Oceania, Honiara is at risk of natural hazards heightened by climate change. But the stress on Honiara is aggravated since over ⅓ of its residents inhabit vulnerable informal settlements. That means, over ⅓… read more
Electrification in Oceania: Case Study of the Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands is largest island nation in Oceania in terms of land area, and the second largest nation by population (excluding Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea). It also is the least electrified. Less than 20% of the population of Solomon Islands has access to electricity. Those who… read more
Exploring Secure Tenure in Urban Bangladesh
Adequate, affordable and accessible housing for low-income, informal and slum settlements cannot be discussed or conceptualized in isolation from secure tenure. Doing so reiterates unsustainable development practices and notions that low-income and informal settlements do not have equal rights in terms of where they live. In the absence of an… read more
Island Geological Profiles and Associated Risks
While there may be demographic, development, and economic factors that present disaster risks to Oceania states, the primary sources of disaster risk, particularly those resulting from climate change, stem from the geological foundations that make up tiny land masses these states call home. Island formations in Oceania can broadly be… read more
Rumor has it: China in Vanuatu
Is it a naval base? A wharf? A commercial port? A space tracking station? Beijing’s plans in the small South Pacific island nation Vanuatu have been under intense speculation in recent years. Given China’s worldwide interest in expanding its maritime security footprint, this incident fits into a larger narrative of… read more
Building Institutional Capacity Towards Tenure Security: Philippines
Spread across 7,500 islands, with a population of more than 100 million, the Philippines is prone to severe geological and hydrometeorological hazards. Sitting astride the typhoon belt, between 1990 and 2008, a total of 158 destructive typhoons resulted in 13,491 deaths across the Philippines. It has the 5th largest coastline… read more