disasters and agriculture in the pacific islands - Pacific Disaster Net

have created exotic grasslands on the driersides of the larger islands. The dominantvegetation type, covering about 34 percent ofVanuatu, is a disturbed low canopy thicketbush (Table 21).Both human activities and natural events suchas volcanic eruptions and frequent cycloneshave disturbed the native forest cover. Theforest inventory project showed much variationin the forest cover of the different islands,mainly related to population density and landuse. Islands with the highest populationdensities Paama and the Shepherds no longerhave any significant native forest cover. Thosewith more than 40 percent forest cover TafeaProvince and Banks and Torres Islands haveamong the lowest population densities.Of the national population of nearly 170,000people, approximately 20 percent live in thetwo urban centres of Port Vila and Luganville.The population grew around 2.8 per cent peryear over the decade 1979-89, growing slower(2.6 per cent) in the rural areas and faster (4.7per cent) in the urban areas, because of urbanmigration 82 . Urbanisation increasesvulnerability to natural disasters. For example,rural people supply their urban relatives with asignificant amount of root crops, usually inexchange for past and future obligations,exchange flows that can be cut off by acyclone on the home island. The last 100 yearshave also seen the movement of people fromupland areas to the coast, which has increasedtheir vulnerability to natural disasters such ascyclones.The rural population is dispersed amongst theislands and has limited communications withthe82 ADB, 1997.Table 21: Vegetation cover of Vanuatu.Vegetation type Area (ha.) Per cent ofland areaMid·height forest (20-30m) 205,300 16.7Low forest (10-20m) 234,100 19.1Woodland«10m) 400 0.1Thickets (3-8m) 433,900 35.4Scrub (3m) 45,000 3.7Grassland 51,100 4.2Swamps 2,300 0.2Mangroves 2,500 0.2Bareground/human made 252,300 20.6Total land area 1,226,900 100urban centres, necessitating a relatively highdegree of self-reliance in times of disaster.Rural population densities are uneven, beinghigh in some locations and sparse in others.Land ownership is a fundamental aspect of theindigenous culture, and 'custom' relationshipsrestrict the use of land for economicdevelopment. Some more densely populatedislands have a shortage of land and there hasbeen substantial out-migration to urban centresand other islands. These crowded islands aremost vulnerable to natural disasters. Givencurrent land use practices and populationgrowth rates, land shortages may becomeevident on a national scale within thirty toforty years, presenting a prospect of muchgreater national vulnerability to disasters.Agriculture in the Vanuatu economyAgriculture is more important to the economyof Vanuatu than in any other Pacific islandcountry. Vanuatu does not have themanufacturing base of Fiji, the mineral andforestry resources of Papua New Guinea, theforestry resources of the Solomon Islands, themarine resources of Micronesia, nor the accessto remittances of the Polynesian countries.Over the last five years, the contribution ofagricultural products (copra, cocoa, coffee,kava, and squash) to visible exports rangedfrom 69 to 75 per cent. According to StatisticsOffice and Reserve Bank estimates, agricultureaccounts for 19 per cent of GDP at constant1983 prices, and 15 per cent at current pricesbut this is probably an under-estimate giventhat subsistence was estimated to contribute amere 9 per cent at 1983 constant prices and 7.5per cent at current prices.Agriculture dominates the Vanuatu economy,even more than official statistics mightsuggest. At least 80 per cent of the ni-Vanuatupopulation live in the rural areas and areinvolved in agriculture, mainly providing fortheir own subsistence. Much of the ni-Vanuatupopulation in urban and peri-urban areassupplement their household cash incomethrough food gardening. While less than halfof Vanuatu's arable land is under any form ofcultivation, the agricultural population isskilled in traditional horticultural gardeningand, in the commercial sector; there is a poolof agribusiness and entrepreneurial capability.Agriculture is expected to dominate theeconomy for the foreseeable future, providing,along with plantation forestry, the bestopportunities for broad-based growth andemployment even though terms of trade arelikely to continue moving against the mainexport commodities of copra, and cocoa,coffee, and despite Vanuatu's susceptibility tonatural disasters.Source: Vanuatu National Resource Inventory System(VANRIS)