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Climate change and community resilience in Samoa
Climate Change Resilience
Available Online

Binns, Tony

,

Latai‐Niusulu, Anita

,

Nel, Etienne

2019
Being resilent in the face of climate change seems especially important for island societies, which face the effects of rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, changing wind patterns and sea level rise. To date, most studies of adaptation and resilience among Pacific island communities have used indicators and methods rooted in Western science and neo-classical economics. These have been criticized as being locally irrelevant and inadequate to appreciate the dynamic nature and social structures of island communities and their capacity to adapt. This paper challenges the paradigm that defines resilience as a return to equilibrium, by using a non-equilibrium, cultural ecological lens. The non-equilibrium view of resilience sees the social systems of island nations as highly dynamic and undergoing persistent adaptation in the face of changing environmental factors. Field-based research undertaken in eight villages in Samoa found that , through constant exposure to environmental change over extended periods of time, communities have become resilient and are in a position to adapt to future changes. In developing future policy in relation to climate change, Pacific island government need to develop a more nuanced understanding of islanders' perceptions and historical actions in the context of both their physical locations and their dynamic socio-cultural systems
Geographic information systems in wildlife management: a case study using yellow-eyed penguin nest site data
Island and Ocean Ecosystems
Available Online

Clark Ryan D

,

Mathieu Renaun

,

Seddon Philip J

2008
This report provides a comprehensive yet simple guide to the construction and use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) for collating, analysing, updating and managing data in wildlife management or research projects. The spatial analysis of yellow-eyed penguin (hoiho, Megadyptes antipodes) nest site data from Boulder Beach. Otago Peninsula, is used as an example. The report describes the key components used in the construction of the GIS, which included aerial photography, a digital elevation model and habitat map of the study area, and nest site data collected at Boulder Beach between 1982 and 1996. The procedures for estimating the geographic locations of nest sites using historical hand-drawn sketch maps are also described, demonstrating the potential for incorporating and analysing historical datasets in this type of GIS. The resulting GIS was used to conduct simple spatial analyses of some of the characteristics of yellow-eyed penguin nesting habitat selection, as well as the densities of nest sites in each type of nesting habitat at Boulder Beach. The sources of error, uncertainty and other limitations of this and other GIS arc described, along with procedures and steps to minimise and avoid them. The yellow-eyed penguin GIS described in this report provides an example of the potential utility of GIS in ecological research and management of both yellow-eyed penguins and many other species.