Living in Oceania

Abstract

The ever-increasing impacts of climate change have once again reignited the growing debate on natural resource scarcity in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). New scientific findings repeatedly suggest the situation is grave as we continue to push planetary boundaries for the sustainable use of natural resources, threatening natural systems and our own existence. In the PICTs the situation is especially critical, given the current and forecast impacts of climate change (Chap. 5) on these island nations. In an island setting where resources may be limited and vulnerable the issue of security requires appropriately scaled attention. Confounding this is a multitude of pressures presenting a complex problem of demand. Key pressures faced on many PICT resources are increasing human populations; competing demands; the emergence of new opportunities, markets, and consumers; the fragmented nature of resource governance; and climate change. These illustrate the new realism of physical and economic scarcity of resources we face in the era of globalization, even across the geographically vast region of Oceania. Amongst this, water, energy, and food (WEF), are most critical to the region. These three resources are critical for human sustenance, essential separately but intrinsically connected in their use and management needs. This resource and policy nexus must be actively managed as its mismanagement and insecurity impede social stability and economic growth for the region. This chapter aims to understand the applicability of the WEF nexus in the PICT context. This considers both nexus experience in the PICTs to date and the opportunities and challenges the WEF nexus presents in its operationalization specifically in a PICT context.