Posted By
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Posted By
The spread of COVID-19, and policies across the world to contain it, continue to have wide-reaching impacts on small-scale fishing communities. Within the Pacific region, most countries, including Papua New Guinea, successfully implemented policies in the early stages of the pandemic which minimised transmission and prevented a direct health crisis in the region. However, the deliberate isolation required to prevent disease spread has had severe secondary consequences for small-island states and their communities.
This report details the findings from in-depth interviews with community members in an atoll island community in Manus Province, about their experiences during and after the PNG state of emergency. The interviews were conducted by mobile phone in late July 2020 and early August 2020. When the state of emergency began, leaders closed the weekly island markets to stop large gatherings of people. This closure quickly started to cause food shortages, and people stopped following the rules and returned to the markets. This disrupted food access so severely, that markets were quickly reopened.
The community’s ability to access mainland markets was greatly disrupted by social distancing rules that halved the number of people able to travel by boat to the mainland. Customer numbers in markets and demand for fish declined dramatically. These changes impacted islander’s income and ability to access storebought goods and foods. Transport disruptions and social distancing rules likewise caused difficulties accessing financial services (e.g. ATMs) and purchasing petrol necessary for both transport and fishing livelihoods. On the island itself, weekly markets were closed at the beginning of the state of emergency. Due to a lack of cash circulating in the community, markets increasingly reverted to traditional barter systems. These findings suggest that unintended flow-on effects of social distancing rules and their implementation severely impacted livelihoods and food and nutrition security on the island.
Based on these findings, we highlight key leverage points for supporting island communities through further and continuing disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic: recognise distinct challenges that islands face if they become isolated, ensure that support reaches islands in a timely manner, ensure clear communication about future rules, and acknowledge trade-offs between social distancing with livelihoods, food and nutrition security and wellbeing.
REPORT
Lau, J., Sutcliffe, S & Hungito, W. 2020. Lived experiences of COVID-19: impacts on an atoll island community, Papua New Guinea. Townsville, Australia. ARC CoE in Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University. Report.
CONTACT
Dr. Jacqueline Lau
Email: jacqueline.lau@jcu.edu.au
Sarah Sutcliffe
Email: sarah.sutcliffe@jcu.edu.au
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
Researchers working with stakeholders in the Great Barrier Reef region have come up with ideas on how groups responsible for looking after the reef can operate more effectively when the next bleaching
A new study has delivered a stark warning about the impacts of urban growth on the world’s coral reefs. As coastal developments expand at pace around the world, a year-long study of coral on a reef
Alarming new research shows global warming of 1.5°C relative to pre-industrial levels will be catastrophic for almost all coral reefs – including those once thought of as refuges. Associate Profes
Abstract: Molecular approaches have revolutionised our understanding of the systematics and evolution of most branches on the tree of life, including corals. Over the last twenty-five years molecula
Abstract: Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are a major driver of coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and compound upon the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe coral
Abstract: Being a new staff member at JCU, I will start with a short overview of my research. Next I will zoom in on a specific topic that I have been interested in for a long time: the impact of e
Abstract: The harsh truth is that, despite exciting innovations and increases in activity, ocean conservation is not succeeding, at least not fast enough. This is my conclusion from the last decad
This talk is the last of the parachute science seminar series organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Universities and institutions across th
This talk is the second of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract For millenia, Traditional Owners have hel
This talk is the first of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Parachute science is the practice whereby
ABSTRACT Climate change loss and damage is known as the “third pillar” of international climate governance in addition to mitigation and adaptation. Although there is no agreed upon definition,
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au