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| King tides and rising sea level continue to erode shores of Malapau Island. Pictures by Monica Danam |
By WENCESLAUS MAGUN
The cool breeze in the early
morning hours filled the room. Anasthasia
Ladong (not her real name) was tempted
to sleep in but the plan to do gardening on this day with her husband from
their last night’s discussions forced her to wake up early.
After rinsing her mouth in the
kitchen she quickly washed the dirty pots, pans, plates, cups, spoons and other
kitchen utensils left behind from yesterday’s dinner. She then boiled yams and a few bananas for
breakfast for her family. Unfortunately,
there was no fish and greens to add for a nutritional meal.
Bad weather with strong currents
made it impossible for the fishermen on the island to catch fish.
Quite often, a meal is shared
amongst the entire family including grand children, their parents and the
siblings in one household.
Relieved from her first task, Ladong
relaxes for a moment, chews a betelnut, and checks on her husband if he had
prepared the gardening tools.
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| Monica Danam taking pictures on the effects and impacts of climate change on Malapau Island. |
In the meantime, Ladong has washed the dirty pots, plates, cups and spoons, and organized herself for gardening.
Ladong, yu redi o? Mi laik go long gaden nau, Joe (i no nem tru)
i singaut i go long meri blong em Ladong.
Ladong, are you ready? I am ready
to go to the garden now,” Joe (not his real name) calls out to his wife.
“Yes mi redi” Ladong singaut i go
bek long Joe long haus win blong bus haus blong ol.
Yes I am ready,” Ladong calls
back from the verandah of their humble bush house as she smiles back to Joe.
Years of chewing betel nut has seen her teeth all stained black. Gray hairs have covered the once dark black fuzzy wazzy ones. Years of exposer in the sun has seen strain and stress on her face. The scorching suns heat have also baked her brown skin dark.
The sun had pierced through the
clouds that morning casting their shadows over the calm blue lagoon.
The turquoise blue lagoon
continued to absorb its heat, as it stores and sequestrates the carbon dioxide
from the sun.
Little did Ladong nor Joe know anything
about the climate change, its effects and its impacts.
Yet they knew something wasn’t
right with the sea and their land for gardening.
Their relatives have relocated
their homes from the eastern side of their island facing the open sea and have
and continue to build new houses on the western side.
The ongoing onslaught of king
tides and rising sea level over the years have eroded the eastern side of the
island. Some parts of the island have
also been submerged. The island has
shrunk in size taking away with it some of the majestic califilium trees that once lined the island’s edges and provided
buffer.
Ladong and Joe have paddled
across to Kokong on the mainland from Malapau Island. After leaving their canoe at the beach they ventured
inland to their land for gardening.
They had cleared a new patch of
land for gardening on the mainland and prepared it for gardening.
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| Rising sea level continue to erode and sink parts of Malapau Island. |
Ladong in her mid-60s has just returned home from gardening with Joe. She and Joe had spent a whole day clearing a new patch of land for gardening.
Like many rural women in Papua New
Guinea, Ladong plays a key role in looking after her family.
Life in her island home of
Malapau is never boring. She keeps
herself busy with gardening, fishing, marketing, preparing meals for her
family, doing laundry, attending to customary obligations or doing church
activities with her husband and family.
Malapau Island, in Riwo village,
of Ward 6, in Ambenob Local Level Government is located about 10km north of
Madang town, in Papua New Guinea.
After resting from her hard day’s
activities, Ladong began sharing her concerns.
“I no olsem bipo. Long dispela taim, laip em i hat stret, Ladong
i tok.
Unlike in the past, today, life
is very difficult, Ladong said.
Taim blong planim yam em long mun
Jun, Julai na Ogus. Em taim bilong
san. Nau em mun Ogus, tasol ren i wok
long kam yet. Na mipela i no save, sapos
em gutpela taim blong planim yam o nogat bihain long ol i kam bek long wok
gaden.
June, July and August are the yam
planting season. That’s when it’s
dry. We are in August, and it is still
raining. We are not too sure if this is
a good season for planting yam or not, said Ladong.
Ladong observed that in the past as
she grew up as a child, their gardens produced high yields. There was enough food for their households
for consumption as well as sufficient quantities left for either trading
through barter system with neighboring Bilbil villagers or sell their garden
produce in the markets for income.
She had seen her parents and heard
stories of her grandparents exchanged yams, tobacco, and other goods for clay
pots, dog’s teeth, pig’s tusks and the like through barter system with the Bilbil
villagers.
The clay pots they collected from
Bilbil were used in bride price and other traditional ceremonies such as suabul.
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| A nephew of Ladong, Manalom relocates his house from the Eastern end of Malapau island to the western end to prevent his house from the effects and impacts of rising sea level. |
Suabul is a very unique and special ceremony. During suabul, clans exchange sago cooked with galip that are stuck high up on a diamond shaped pole, with pigs, food, and other items piled under this pole with other clans in remembrance for their deceased relatives. Before presenting these gifts to their partner clans, the host clan will sing and dance from dusk till dawn at the ceremonial (suabul) ground.
This sacred ritual is no longer
practiced in Riwo today due to the increase costs of pigs, and other goods and
services.
At the bride price ceremonies, family
members of the bride would dress a bride elaborately with traditional grass
skirts, bird feathers and a regalia of other decorative traditional ornaments. These included Madang bilum (string bag),
food and other gifts and take her to her groom.
This practice is still practiced today with the inclusion of modern
store goods and cash.
“Nau kaikai i sot olgeta. Planti taim ol stilman o meri i save stilim
ol kaikai blong mipela. Na antap long dispela hevi, i gat planti manmeri. Mipela i no gat inap graun bilong mekim gaden
tu. Sampela taim kaikai i no karim
gut. Ol binatang tu i bagarapim ol
kaikai bilong mipela long gaden,” Ladong i tokaut wantaim bikpela wari.
“Today, we don’t have enough
food. Thieves either men or women steal
our food. And on top of this problem, our population has increased. We don’t have sufficient land for gardening
as well. Sometimes our food do not
produce good yield. Pests and diseases
are also destroying our food,” Ladong expressed with deep sadness.
Ladong and Joe did not realize
that climate change effects and impacts have affected their food, .fish and marine
resources. The warmer temperatures causing
rising sea levels, compounded by more frequent extreme weather events and unpredictable
seasons have made their daily ordinary lives very difficult.
The effects of climate change have
further affected their water wells. Rising sea water has intruded into their wells,
making them unsafe to drink and cook with. Despite these challenges, villagers are forced
to live this lifestyle.
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| Langpain Gem has seen the rise of sea levels devastating her island of Malapau. |
Global warming, through burning up of fuel, oil, and gas compounded by emission from animal dungs, deforestation, logging, slash and burn, and related human activities since the industrial revolution in the 1700s have seen the rapid and steady rise of greenhouse emission.
This has resulted in glaciers,
and ice bergs melting thus increasing the sea level. With rising sea level comes increased shifts
in weather patterns, strong sea currents, prolonged droughts, strong winds or
cyclones and typhoons, monsoons, rapid growth of pests, and related diseases
and a relentless host of other climate change related effects and impacts.
Ladong and Joe join other farmers
and fishermen in echoing their need in real time for hands-on training on Smart
Climate Fishing and Agricultural knowledge and skills.
They call on the government, NGO
partners and other agencies for help.
Villagers need training on climate
smart fishing or agricultural, and village technology knowledge and skills that
will enhance their fishing and farming activities.
These trainings and support with appropriate
village technologies and tools, will play an important role in sustaining villagers’
families with good food crops and marine products for consumption and for earning
income to meet their other basic social and economic needs.
Ladong and her family can join
other villagers in Papua New Guinea play a part to reduce greenhouse emission
if they are supported.
The author seeks information from CEPA, CCDA, and UNDP BCF or any other relevant stakeholder partners on technical advise and support for women in Madang on the recently established Blue Economy Enterprise Incubation Facility (BE-EIF).
He understands the BE-EIF was established to stimulate the growth of viable business models in the new blue economy space.
"Can the BE-EIF provide dedicated technical assistance and a mix of financial instruments, particularly early-stage finance, to unearth, incubate and grow sustainable blue enterprise from cradle to exist with a particular focus on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and on women, in our local communities in Madang?" asked the author.
According to information gathered by the author from UNDP's website, the BE-EIF will be embedded within a dedicated financing window of the Biodiversity and Climate Fund, which provides grant-making and technical support to protected areas and vulnerable communities affected by climate change.
Please contact the author on: magun.wences@gmail.com
.
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