Sustainable development: successful case studies from the Pacific

Abstract

The Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) have for centuries lived a subsistence lifestyle, depending solely on natural resources from the land and sea. With the introduction of a market-driven economy, how- ever, their cultures and lifestyles have been changing rapidly from an economy administered through a communal social system to a more western style of living. This trend and its socioeconomic consequences are driving internal migration into the urban centres from rural areas, industrialisation, monoculture agricultural development and commercial exploitation. The result is unprecedented degradation of the limited natural resource base.