poses problems

Trade

Winds

Development poses problems in Tonga

Vhile Tonga develops its position as a trading partner of ,ther nations in the South Pacific there are signs that its and mining for concrete, its timber cutting for artefact >roduction and even the new forced pace of its agriculture ire contributing to a possible ecological problem.

onga Faces Ecological Disas er shouted a banner headline cross the front page of a recent ;sue of the Tonga Chronicle.

Below it, the paper reported a üblic lecture given by a US •eace Corps Volunteer, homas Hubbard, who until ecently had worked in the ingdom as a marine biologist nd supervisor of Tonga’s five esignaled marine national arks, in which all lagoon life, oral and beach sands are now ully protected.

Mr Hubbard cited a broad pectrum of causes for public oncern, notably: Effect on land tenure and raditional subsistence farming 1 explosive population growth i a country with only about OOsq km of land area, and the onsequent emergence of a new andless class. • Sea-caused coastal erosion esulting from the escalation of andmining, to meet an ever acreasing demand for locally nanufactured concrete and oncrete blocks. » Rapidly diminishing stocks if important culture trees as ised in the making of handi rafts, cosmetic oils and folk nedicines, and traditional lance costumes. ► Polluting potential of agricul ural chemicals on land and of >il exploration and transport on he sea. » Endangered wildlife, particu arly among certain unique fongan animal and bird species ind the whales and turtles in erritorial waters.

In his conclusion Mr dubbard warned that time was •unning out and that there was in urgent need to pinpoint the problems and seek the sol itions.

Inquiries at senior govern ment level reveal that the problems are, in fact, very Nearly realised and that sol utions are being actively

sought, though within a frame work which must, inevitably, strike a balance between developmental and ecological demands, and allow for both financial and cultural con straints. Relevant departmental heads proved most willing -to provide PIM with information relating to their various areas of concern.

Under the constitution, every Tongan male attaining the age of 16 years is entitled to a ‘tax allotment’ of 3.3 ha, but the combination of population ex plosion and finite land area is effectively nullifying this legal right. An estimated 70% of eligible young men have been unable to obtain a farming land allocation, thus becoming the new ‘landless class’ to which Mr Hubbard referred.

On the other hand, govern ment surveys indicated that two-thirds of Tonga’s available arable land is either unculti vated or capable of far more intensive cultivation; and that about 90% of the nominally landless have access to farming land through extended family links if they really want and need to grow traditional foods for themselves or their immedi ate families.

With population growth pushing up the demand for housing, development creating the demand for larger-scale commercial, industrial and tourist facilities, and the vari ous religions constantly aiming for more and bigger churches, the volume of locally available building materials required has long since outstripped what can be safely supplied without dam age to the environment.

With the assistance of aid funds and expertise, the for estry division is going all out on afforestation and sawmilling projects. But in the short term this can do little to offset the emphasis on concrete and the

consequent drain on the beach sands which are the natural buffer zone against sea-caused erosion.

Somewhat to the ire of local construction companies, des perate for more and more concrete to meet contract com mitments, the ministry of lands, surveys and natural resources has imposed stringent licensing and supervisory controls on sandmining.

At the same lime it has enlisted overseas experts to help evaluate the cost and feasibility of saving the threatened beaches by obtaining essentials and supplies from uninhabited offshore islands or by dredging the seabed.

Along with its industrial pro gramme, the forestry division has for years been experiment ing with the propagation of seedlings of culture trees and in publicising the need for tree planting programmes by indi viduals throughout the king dom.

Action has also been taken to put an end to the lucrative sandalwood export trade. Per mission has been given to ex port slocks from trees already cut, under licence and supervis ion, but further felling has been banned. Meanwhile it is hoped that the successful propagation technique achieved in Tonga will in lime replenish supply.

Tonga’s most pressing pol lution problem pertains to the slocks of agricultural pesticides and herbicides in the highly hazardous category which were dumped on this country as cut price bargains after being banned in the producing countries.

The agricultural department is seeking watertight legislation to prevent further import of chemicals designated as dangerous and in the interim is issuing radio and press warn ings, identifying highly and moderately hazardous products by brand name. It is also insisting that all agricultural chemicals brought into the country should have safety-and usage instructions printed in Tongan as well as English.

The natural resources auth ority is also keenly aware of the potential problems associated with oil exploration and trans portation. In view of the pro posed oil-search programme by Webb (Tonga) Inc in the waters

between Tongalapu and Eua, and the real possibility of oil slicks being deposited by giant tankers plying territorial waters, it has sought expert advice on the formulation of stringent regulations on oper ational procedures and on pen alties in the event of pollution occurring.

The government’s national parks programme, under the ministry of lands, is designed to counterbalance the environ mental effects of the present extensive agriculture, fisheries and economic development pro grammes.

The five designated marine parks are suitable habitats for breeding fish and shellfish populations whose progeny are expected to migrate from these protected areas to replenish overfished catchment areas.

The terrestrial national parks on the island of Eua and in the indigenous forest area of Pelehake will help to preserve rare and endangered species of trees, plants, birds and animals.

In addition to aiding conser vation goals, the parks are intended to serve increasingly important recreational, edu cational and research purposes by providing areas in which human interference is now con trolled and minimised.

Specific bans have also been imposed in territorial waters: • In 1978 an indefinite mora torium was imposed on the catching of humpback whales, one of whose few identified breeding places lies within Tongan waters. • A total ban on turtle catching during the designated breeding season has existed for many years and has been re cently extended over a longer period as a further safety measure.

On the broad front of the population problem, nobody questions Mr Hubbard’s assess ment that this is Tonga’s most pressing problem. But it would be simplistic to assume that the

obvious family planning sol ution can be implemented over night, or even over one gener ation. ‘Large families,’ said one senior official ‘have been part of our cultural tradition since time

immemorial. In pre-Christian

days they were demanded by the tribal chiefs who needed warriors for their tribal clashes.

And in the 19th century the missionaries came and in their turn exhorted us to go forth and multiply. That indoctrination aver generations is still power ful today. And, in a country

that cannot as yet afford many social services, a large family is in effect the poor man’s in

surance policy.’

Public education is obviously one essential but even that is not so simple in a country with a cultural taboo against dis cussions of sexual issues on radio, in newspapers or in the classroom.

There is a government sponsored family planning pro gramme under the direction of the ministry of health, backed up by a supportive voluntary one under the aegis of the

Regional Family Planning As sociation. Measurable results are being achieved but the latest official statistics on the annual birth rate (28.3 per thousand) indicate that effective stabilisation of a popu lation already approaching 100 000 is still a long way off.

Singapore’s solution of financial whips-and-carrots, India’s experiment sterilis ation of males after two chil dren are unthinkable in the Tongan context of a proud and inherently independent people.

So what alternative is there.

except education and more education?

It would seem that primary and secondary school curricula will have to be revised, so that the message can be pounded home via geography, econ omics, social studies, math ematics and biology lessons that X amount of natural re sources in only 700 sq km of land area cannot possibly sup port an ever-expanding popu lation without leading to depri vation for all concerned.

Penny Hodgkinson in Nukualofa.