Water, water everywhere

Editorial

One might be forgiven for

thinking that infrastruc tural development and

technological advance

ment - when it comes to water supply in the Pacific - is more early 20th cen tury than anything else.

The biggest problem, it seems, is not the El Nino phenomenon, although that has made it a bit difficult, but the lack of plan ning and foresight on the part of govern ments throughout the region. Take Fiji, for example, where in the western division there is abundant water in the reservoir, but, because the pipes carrying them to people’s homes are small, water supply is unreliable. Even in the capital Suva, the increases in population and the need for better infrastructure have not been planned or budgeted for. In the Marshalls, where a constant water supply is considered a luxu ry, the lack of water because of the El Nino phenomenon is understandable. One won ders, though, how people have managed to survive in Micronesia all these centuries without the help of President Clinton. Even there, it seems that officials have not allowed for the huge increases in popula tion that have placed severe pressure on water tables, community water tanks and wells.

One of the fears in the Marshalls is that the water shortage may have adversely affected the physiology of the islands and atolls themselves. In Papua New Guinea, the drought seems to be easing but the effect that the lack of water has had on the vegetation and animal patterns is yet to be seen. In most cases, officials have been left scrambling when faced with water short ages, and many Pacific citizens have been left wondering how such occurrences could happen in the age of internet, computer driven development and increasing pros perity. Even in places such as Samoa and the Solomons, where economies are said to be growing, water supply is unreliable - not in terms of supply, but in terms of health.

Tourists are advised not to drink the water in such countries, and the image that this portrays to the outside world is not favourable. The water problems in some Pacific countries have left many lessons for others. Foremost amongst these is the need for planning and foresight when it comes to population growth and pressure on aquifers, maintenance of current equip ment, emergencies and disasters such as hurricanes, and budgeting for the future.

The quality of life, and indeed the survival, of tomorrow’s Pacific island citizens depends on it. ■