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PEFLE POTENTIALS IN TFE PACIFIC
Mere Puba
Mere Pulea & Associates
Fiji
ABSTRACT
Pqulation patterns in the Pacific show rapid'population growth, tempered in
some countries by out-migration, family planning programmes and rising age at
marriage. A reduction in population growth rates is crucial to achieving
development goals. With children making up 40 to 50 per cent of lhe population,
education and training need to be planned with care and adapted to the changing
needs and future of Paeific people.
Are development lheories arrd strategies derived from foreign ideas and
values really relevant to Pacific countries? Aid often perpetuates economic and
political dependency, creating employment for international experts to the
detriment of Pacific lslander personnel. Pacific wornen are still disadvantaged in
their participation in development.
From a colonial or international perspective, Pacif ic customs and social
system3 have been interpreted as obstacles to development, but the critical issues
in Pacif ic developnrent are nol technological or economic, but psychological,
social, anltural md political. Soeial systems md occupational continuities are
potentials thet could be utilized for the development of Pacific people. Pacific
Islanders should be allowed to develop I'naturallyil by defining their onn needs and
wants. Regulations for peopleer participat.ion in developnnnt can improve equality,
but rnay retard innovation.
The npst valuabb neEource any country poEsesses is its people. Indeed sorne of the
Pacific Island countries have little else. Every once in a while we are asked to stop, and
think about the deep and problematic truths of our lives in the Pacific. I would like to take a
broad view of sorp of the factors that have a bearing on people potentials in the Pacific and
the attenpts being rnsde at developing Fesources as I understand them, and raise a few
questions for your consideration. The framework in which we attempt to examine Pacific
Ialender potentials covers the developrnent of human reeources, developrnent theories in a
Pacific lelend context, nethods of assessing resource and human potential, the kinds of
opporttnitiar which exiot, tnalth factors and so forth.
Underpinning rmtt of these topica is m inplied if not trr expressed inlerpretation that
the develqrpnt of turnan nerources ig consonent with rneintaining I healthy population end
providing edueationel qportunities srd tfaining for the development of ski[s in the various
industriee and for the potentiel uaers of Paeific Islander skiils. We then nnve not only
towarde work-forces that are efficieni and productive but towards maintaining a quality of
lifc Prcific ldanderr pereeive for therngelves" Concsnitant with thege developrrEnts are the
socio-eultural constraint! md potentiale thet are likely to inhibit or Ealize Pacific lelander
potcntitlr I will confinc my dircuecions to the framework of these topics.
Peulntion Trcndr
ln cdor to dircur p.ople potentiab it ir reccsrary to give e broad overview of
popuhtlot pattcru in the Pcific o population increeoes have far reaching inrplications in
the. daveloprnnt and the utilizetion of potentials. It wac mly in the 1960's that the