Turning the Tide: the need for sustainable sea transport in the Pacific

Newell, Alison and Nuttall, Peter and Prasad, Biman C. and Veitayaki, Joeli (2017) Turning the Tide: the need for sustainable sea transport in the Pacific. Marine Policy, 75 . p. 249. ISSN 0308-597X

PDF - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (1MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

This paper reports on progress in developing a regional research and education strategy for Pacific Island
countries and communities wishing to transition to a low carbon sea transport future. Sea transport is an
absolute necessity for most such communities. All current services are fossil fuel based and are becoming
increasingly unaffordable and unsustainable. The countries in the Pacific region are the most dependent on
imported fossil fuels in the world, importing more than 95% of needs. Such dependency is having a crippling
effect on national budgets and major impacts on key productive sectors. The region's transport issues are
unique; small and vulnerable economies scattered at the ends of some of the longest transportation routes in
the world and arguably the most challenging to maintain per capita and per sea mile. Alternatives to current
fossil fuel powered sea transport have been almost totally ignored in recent regional and national debates
and the issue has been largely invisible within the policy and donor strategy space at all levels despite
concerted efforts over more than two decades to transition Pacific countries' electricity sector fossil fuel use.
The University of the South Pacific has been collaborating with a network of stakeholders and knowledge partners since 2012 to advance this agenda, building off previous doctoral research and the resultant Sustainable Sea Transport Talanoa 2012. Prasad et al. (2013) set out the basis for a catalytic research program
following from the consensually agreed outputs of SSTT 2012 and this paper records the progress made since

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) > School of Marine Studies Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PACE-SD)
Depositing User:	Alison Newell
Date Deposited:	16 Feb 2016 23:40
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2016 21:50
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/8740

Actions (login required)

View Item