Social–ecological change and implications for food security in Funafuti, Tuvalu

Abstract

ABSTRACT. This article examines food security in Funafuti, Tuvalu in the context of recent social-ecological changes. We consider both social and ecological processes in order to provide a holistic account of food security. An analysis of data collected through a fixed-question survey and freelists with 50 households and semistructured interviews with 25 key informants reveal that access to food of sufficient nutritional and cultural value is the primary driver affecting food security, more so than general food availability. Ten percent of the households surveyed experienced a shortage of food in the previous month, and 52% ate less desirable imported foods, which tended to be nutrient poor because they could not access preferred local foods. Factors and processes affecting access to local foods include: availability of and access to land; declining involvement in local food production; the convenience of imported foods; unreliable interisland shipping; and climate and environmental changes that have negatively affected food security and are expected to continue to do so.

Patterns of island change and persistence offer alternate adaptation pathways for atoll nations

“…Against this backdrop of patterns of human resettlement, exploring opportunities presented by the dynamic mosaic of land availability necessitates a reconsideration of how land-use planning is undertaken that recognises the heterogeneity of island changes 21 , existing land tenure systems, patterns of food security 52 and approaches to support internal migration within atoll nations. Such suggestions are by no means novel 14 but to date long-term planning has been constrained by concerns about lack of data about island change to support informed decisions.…”

Dietary Diversity of an Adult Solomon Islands Population

“…The final four questions (section three) of the survey asked participants, “what are your favourite foods?”, “what foods do you eat most often?”, and do you prefer eating local food (food grown or caught in the Solomon Islands) or shop foods (food that has been brought into the Solomon Islands from another country or processed, long life food), or both and why. Free listing is a method intended to generate data on the participant’s food preferences and commonly consumed foods [28]. Assuming that participants listed food items in order of familiarity and that the most commonly listed foods were consumed most often locally [28], this data was used to supplement the information collected on dietary diversity.…”

Climate change in context: putting people first in the Arctic

“…), food security (e.g., Bohle et al 1994), and vulnerability and adaptation (e.g., Smit and Wandel 2006), and put into practice in some studies to date (e.g., McCubbin et al 2017, Prno et al 2011, Tyler et al 2007, such as those examining multiple stressors to climate change (e.g., Bunce et al 2010, McDowell and Hess 2012, Reid and Vogel 2006. Yet many studies still retain a central focus on climate even as they consider multiple factors that affect people; they can thus overlook or minimize the principal concerns, knowledge, politics, livelihoods, experiences, and priorities of people themselves as research agendas driven by outsiders' focus on climate change rather than the people themselves.…”