Kenya: The impact of climate change and colonisation in Fiji and Brazil

Environment   Jul 4, 2017 by Melissa Joe

With an estimated population of 887,271 people, The Republic of Fiji is an island nation consisting of approximately 330 islands (about a third are occupied by humans) lying in the South Pacific. Having been colonized by the British, through the early arrival of traders and groups such as: beachcombers; missionaries; blackbirders; and whalers, the nation's most popular language is English.

The British crown colony existed between 1874-1970 and it was during this time that Britain saw it fit to bring in Indians to serve Fiji. This drastically altered life there from little things such as language to huge ones like religion. The third most spoken language spoken in these islands is Fiji Hindi (a mash up of Fijian and Hindi) due to the influence that the Indians had on them. Hindu is also widely practiced as 27.9% of Fijians belong to the religion. However, a surprising fact is that over 60% of the population in Fiji are practicing Christians. This came to be through the arrival of missionaries in the 1800s. They not only had an impact on the country's choice of religion, but also introduced its people to literacy e.g. through the set up of learning institutions like Loreto and Lomery by the Catholic missionaries, including The Theological College and the Lelean Memorial School by Methodist missionaries.

Fiji is categorized as an oceanic tropical marine country and the nation has experienced a number of phenomena -causing death and financial losses- due to the menace that is climate change. The worst drought to ever hit Fiji took place in the year 1998, impacting the main island of Viti Levu as well as Suva and Nausori. A few years later, the republic went through their latest phase of drought towards the end of 2015. Over 67,000 individuals were affected in the country's Northern and Western divisions. Drought can be a huge issue in Fiji but floods are even more serious and take place more often. The most resent occurrence was in February, 2017 when the town of Nadi turned into a nightmare for its residents and commuters as a result of flash floods. This happened shortly after the major flooding in Fiji's main island of Viti Levu in December, 2016; where towns were submerged underwater; landslides were witnessed; and hundreds of individuals were still being hosted due to the effects of Cyclone Winston.

All these natural disasters are as a result of climate change but as the saying goes; every dark cloud has a silver lining. The government of The Republic of Fiji introduced The National Climate Change Policy, which was endorsed by its cabinet on December 4, 2007 so as to guide the achievement of the seventh Millennium Development Goal (ensure environmental sustainability) by 2015. As part of the policy, adaptation of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program commenced in 2009.(The following link should assist in the explanation of REDD+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SHIznxZN90 )

Jenny Jiva stands out to me as part of the silver lining in this dark cloud. She is a student from Fiji and a climate change activist on top of it. In an interview with TJ Aumua which took place in Suva (2016) https://youtu.be/HIHXypJVjvc the zeal which dwells in her about this matter, is evident. Dr. Jone Hawea -the local associate director of the Foundation for Rural Intergrated Enterprise and Development (FRIEND)- once said "The population of the country does not matter, the proportion of the population standing behind our prime minister and raising their voices on climate change is what matters." Dr. Hawea also stressed the importance of taking full advantage of the fact that Fiji is now part of COP23, as the platform could influence international policies on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Located in the beloved continent of South America, we now move on to Brazil which hosts part of the Amazon rainforest. The Portuguese speaking country gained its independence in the year 1822, after over three centuries under the colonial rule of Portugal. The people of Brazil were greatly influenced by their colonizer into adopting the ways of the Roman Catholic Church as well as its practices. This actually stemmed from their fascination with the Catholic mass, and the alcoholic beverages used during mass. In fact, 64.63% of Brazilians are Catholics.

Portugal was also the reason behind the delay in Brazil's economic development. During colonialism, all of the nation's profits from the export of natural resources ended up in Portugal. The South American country was therefore unable to develop its own industries and make money from them until independence. Not only did the Portuguese affect the development of Brazil's economy, but its trading partners were impacted as well. While under their rule, all exports went to either Portugal, the US and other European countries. The nation's economic growth suffered due to this. Before 1950, Brazil remained economically tied to Portugal (this is referred to a neo-colonialism).

The empire of Brazil has undergone significant climate changes in the recent years, which come along with disastrous natural phenomena. The 2014-2016 drought was described as the worst drought in eighty years and had its greatest effect in São Paulo. One of the major cash crops produced by the country -soy- suffered during this period, as production dropped more than 10% because the climate was so dry. This in turn directly damaged livestock farming as well as the production of bio-diesel, since soy is used in the feeding of domestic animals; and is a raw material for the manufacturing of a type of bio-diesel.

In January, 2011; 482 people lost their lives to floods and landslides caused by the collapse of riverbanks and hillsides due to heavy rains near Rio de Janeiro. Five years later, the same occurred but this time, it took place in São Paulo and at least 20 individuals died. The intense flooding put an end to a period of drought in the region but failed to relieve the pain brought about by climate change.

In attempt to combat climate change, a lot has been done in Brazil by its government, its people, and external parties. Greenpeace has played a huge role in this by doing whatever the organization can to preserve the Amazon Rainforest. One of their greatest strategies has been the campaign against the cutting down of trees in the forest, to plant soy for the feeding of chicken in Europe belonging to McDonalds. Their efforts bore fruit when buyers of Brazilian soy beans agreed not to purchase crops planted on land cleared after July, 2006. Greenpeace has also formed a collaboration with the Munduruku people (a group of indigenous people who have lived around the Tapajos river in Brazil for centuries) to fight the building of dams around the river, which could displace the community and wildlife living in the area. They have been successful in the cancellation of the permit to the largest planned dam. Building the dams would flood a big section of the rainforest, causing the release of huge amounts of carbon and methane that is currently stored in it. This is the driving force behind the protest and a petition can now be signed online to support the initiative.

Brazil has also taken the worldwide lead in the mitigation of climate change. The country's government deserves a big thank you because of all of its efforts in tackling key variables that contribute to the change. Brazil's Amazon rainforest had the highest deforestation rate in the world as of 2005, making the nation one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters. This is no longer the case since the government increased policing in the Amazon rainforest; and made improvements to cattle breeding which enabled farmers to raise animals on few hectares of land. The government is also in the works of fully implementing REDD+ across the country.

From all the information gathered here, it is evident that more countries and people are more concerned and aware of the effects of climate change today. Lots of groups, initiatives and policies have been set up to defeat the issue. These are highly appreciated, but more still needs to be done in order to restore the Earth's natural climate.

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