A recent webinar hosted by the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) brought together minds from across the region to delve into the intricate issues of the digital economy and data value.

The webinar’s focus was clear — shed light on who was shaping the rules of the digital landscape and how these rules were taking form.

At the forefront of the discussion was the delicate matter of valuing and protecting indigenous knowledge.

• READ MORE: Other indigenous knowledge reports

PANG’s deputy coordinator, Adam Wolfenden, emphasised the need for open conversations spanning various sectors.

“It is a call to understand and safeguard the wisdom embedded in Pacific worldviews and indigenous knowledge systems as we venture into the digital world,” he said.

But amid the promise of the digital age, challenges persisted.

Wolfenden said the Pacific’s scattered islands faced the formidable obstacle of connectivity.

“Communities yearn to tap into online technologies, yet structural barriers stand tall. The connectivity challenges and structural barriers that are faced by the Pacific region are substantial and there is no easy, cheap fix,” he said.

He underscored the necessity of regional partnerships, even beyond the Pacific.

“As they sought to build advanced digital infrastructures, they realised that strength lay in unity. The journey towards progress means joining hands with fellow developing nations.

“It is a testament to the shared dream of progress that transcends geographical boundaries.”

The first step, Wolfenden believed, was awareness.

He said the Pacific region needed to be fully informed about ongoing negotiations, what rules were being carved, and how these might affect the region’s autonomy and data sovereignty.

“Often, these negotiations remain hidden from public view, shrouded in secrecy until agreements were reached. This has to change; transparency is vital,” Wolfenden said.

Beyond this, there was a call for broader discussions during the webinar. The digital economy was not just about buyers and sellers in a virtual marketplace.

It was about preserving culture, empowering communities, and ensuring that indigenous knowledge was never left vulnerable to the whims of the digital age.

Ema Ganivatu and Brittany Nawaqatabu are final year journalism students at The University of the South Pacific. They are also senior editors for Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s student training newspaper and online publications. Republished in a collaborative partnership with Asia Pacific Report.

Do the Fiji news media represent a wide range of political perspectives?
Fiji’s national media, like media elsewhere, would cover a wider berth collectively, rather than as individual media organisations, because individual media have obvious leanings and priorities.

But do the media, even as whole, provide a wide enough perspective?
Not always – media coverage is discriminatory by nature, even by necessity, some would argue.

Besides media’s commercial priorities and political biases, there are resource and logistical constraints to consider, as well as professional capacity development challenges. Inevitably, certain individuals and groups fall through the cracks.

Generally, the political elites, and to some extent the business lobby tend to receive proportionality greater coverage because they are deemed more important and more sellable than the less prominent, prosperous or powerful in society.

Internationally, research indicates that women are among the disadvantaged groups consigned to the margins of political coverage, along with youth.

Then there’s the question of political parties. Are they treated equal?
Usually, the dominant party, and/or the governing party, which can marshal the most resources, gets the lion’s share of coverage, and follows in descending order.

In Fiji, the governing party regularly accuses some media of being anti-government, especially The Fiji Times. Meanwhile, the opposition complain that they are ignored by the Fiji Sun and the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, whom they label pro-government media.

Fiji media weaned on Anglo-American news tradition
The Fiji media were weaned on the Anglo-American news reporting tradition, based on journalistic objectivity as an ethos. This calls for reporting the “facts” in a neutral, unattached manner.

Because objectivity is neither possible nor ideal in every situation, the media can, and will take a stance on certain issues, political or otherwise. The compromise is that any such leanings are confined to the opinion sections. The news section must remain objective, unbiased and untainted by opinion.

However, it is a slippery slope, and the lines between news and opinion have become blurred, both in Fiji and abroad. Nowadays, it is not unusual to see opinion masquerading as news.

Different media commentators have different takes about the risks and benefits of this trend. At best it is a mixed bag, depending on the issue on hand.

Media can support government policy out of conviction, but not out of pecuniary/financial interests. Even if they take a certain stance, media should still provide reasonably equal coverage to opposing views. Especially state media since it is tax-payer funded.

Ideally, state media should give opposing views a fair hearing, but in the Pacific, the reality is different. State media, by policy, serve as government mouthpieces.

The surest way to know if media represent wide a political perspective is through research. USP Journalism is examining Fiji’s 2018 election coverage data with Dialogue Fiji, and preliminary results indicate a clear bias on the part of all media – some far more than others.

Complex variables for media bias
While the Fiji media do have their favourites, analysing media bias can be complex because there are so many variables to consider. For one, media bias is not only intentional, but unintentional as well.

For example, if a politician or political party refuses to talk to a certain media, then the bias is self-inflicted. The media can hardly be blamed for it.

The bottom line is that the Fiji public know by now their media’s stances. While the media have an obligation to be fair and balanced, the public have the right to choose not to consume media that are deliberately biased.

Do Fiji media exercise self-censorship?
It’s obvious that media exercise a greater level of self-censorship since the 2006 coup and the punitive 2010 Fiji Media Industry Development Act. There are several reports attesting to this, including IDEA’s Global Media-Integrity indices.

The indices show that the Fiji media have been bolder since 2013, yes, but they will not cross a certain line – the fines and jail terms in the Media Act are not worth the risk.

While no one has been charged under the Act so far, it’s like having an axe on your neck because the lettering in the Act is quite broad. For instance, any news reports that are “against the national interest” is a breach of the Act, without clearly defining what constitutes “against national interest”.

This means that there are any number of reports that could be deemed to be against the “national interest”.

An ordeal in terms of stress
Even if in the end the charges don’t stick, just going through the hearing process would be an ordeal in terms of the stress, both financial and emotional.

In 2015, the fines and jail terms for journalists were removed from the Act. Was this impactful in reducing self-censorship? Not necessarily, because the editors’ and publishers’ penalties were retained.

The editor, and to some extent the publisher, are the newsroom gatekeepers – they would put a leash on their journalists to protect themselves and their investment.

So, media are trying to live with the Act and operate around its parameters. Rather than take big risks, they are taking calculated risks, such as a degree of self-censorship, so that they can live to fight another day.

Is criticism of the government common?
The answer is both yes and no — criticism is common with some media, not all media.

There is not as much criticism as before the Act, but still a fair amount of criticism — under the circumstances. Private media such as The Fiji Times stand out for their critical reporting, as well as Fiji Village, more recently.

The FBC and the Fiji Sun are on the record saying that they have pro-government policies, and this is reflected in their coverage.

Blind eye to goverment faults
Of course, being pro-government policy would not mean turning a blind eye to the government’s faults, or endlessly singing its praises.

Some complain that Fiji media in general are not critical enough — such people do not fully understand the context that media work in, or appreciate the risks they take — on a daily basis.

Government accusations usually come with the territory. But because of the Act, the government criticism is menacing. So given the context, I don’t buy fully into claims that the media are not critical enough.

Besides its news reporting, The Fiji Times gives space to government critics in its letters columns, and hosts columnists ranging from opposition members, academics and civil society representatives.

Could there be more criticism? Should there be more criticism?
My answer to both is “yes”. But the criticism needs to be measured, as well as fair and balanced.

In the last IDEA session, University of Hawai’i professor Tacisius Kabutaulaka stated that the quality of media reporting was part of media freedom. I agree — the two cannot be separated. Just as a fawning, biased media is bad for democracy, so is a negative, overly-critical media.

Region’s toughest media law
Fiji’s Media-Integrity graph has improved since 2013 but is still among the lowest in the region. Why so?

Fiji has the lowest ranking in the region, simply because it has the toughest media law in the region. There was some improvement in the rankings because of the 2013 constitution and the 2014 elections. Compared to military rule, this signalled a return to a form of democratic order.

But as long as the Act is in place, the media are government-regulated. In a fuller democracy, the media are self-regulated, as Fiji’s media used to be.

Also, the two-day media coverage blackout on the 2018 elections would have affected Fiji’s ranking as well. The ban was seen to restrict political debate at a crucial time.

The contempt of court charge against a government critic and The Fiji Times sedition trial all affected Fiji’s rankings.

How can Fiji media improve?
Addressing the issues concerning the Act could be a starting point. For one, the Act was imposed on the media; for another, it has not been reviewed in over 10 years.

I suggest a roundtable of stakeholders to review and update the act. The government, the media and other interested parties can get together to find common ground and apply it in the Act to come up with a more acceptable arrangement.

Shailendra B Singh is associate professor in Pacific journalism and coordinator of the University of the South Pacific Journalism Programme. This is extracted from Dr Singh’s recent presentation on International IDEA’s Democratic Development in Melanesia Webinar Series 2021.

Campaigners at a TAPOL-hosted global webinar have called on the people of Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States and other countries to stop funding military training for Indonesian security forces who are “killing innocent West Papuans”.

Rosa Moiwend, a member of the War Resisters International, said West Papuans wanted to live peacefully without any oppression by the military – this was the hope of the indigenous Melanesian people.

“If your government is actually behind this scenario, I think the main thing you have to do is to go and talk to your government, Parliament members and question them about your tax money,” she said.

• READ MORE: The Pacific Media Centre’s West Papua file

“Where does your tax money go? Does it go to pay [for] the war or is the tax money used for the purpose of human lives?”

Moiwend said many people across the world loved peace and justice, so they were anti-military and war.

Stopping governments funding military training was a must for activists.

Moiwend, a strong Melanesian and Pacific woman, gave an inspiring message to activists around the world to stand up firmly and speak out about the arms business that was violating human rights and killing people everywhere, “including the lives of innocent West Papuans”.

Sharing militarist experiences
An organiser said a key objective of the webinar was to give an opportunity to lawyers, activists, and supporters of a Make West Papua Safe campaign to share their experiences of militarisation and militarised policing.

Other speakers in the London-hosted webinar on Monday included Elijah Dacosta, a TAPOL campaigner; Yohanis Mambrassar, a lawyer for West Papuan human rights activists; Yones Douw, head of the justice and peace department of the Papua Kemah Gospel Church; author and researcher Jason MacLeod, co-founder of Make West Papua Safe; and Zelda Grimshaw, a Make West Papua Safe campaigner.

TAPOL (Tahanan Politik) is a British-based organisation campaigning for human rights and democracy in Indonesia.

“TAPOL was founded in 1973, and in the beginning the TAPOL campaign was focusing on releasing political prisoners in Indonesia,” said Dakosta.

But later the seriousness of military occupation became increasingly important.

“We have expanded to raise awareness on human rights issue in Aceh, East Timor and West Papua,” said Dakosta.

Yohanes Mambrasar, a West Papuan lawyer gave an illuminating description on what has been happening over human rights violence by state institutions towards indigenous people of West Papua.

“There has been increasing repression. We are seeing violent actions by the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) and police against unarmed peaceful civilians who are gathering to express their political aspirations. We can really see this increasing year by year, even month by month,” said Mambrassar.

Human rights advocacy
Mambrassar who has been working on human rights advocacy said that during 2019 and 2020 “we are seeing this crackdown on protesting West Papuans.”

But they were also seeing a lot of violence towards villagers, who were suspected of supporting independence or having “separatist sympathies”, such as in Nduga, Intan Jaya, and other regions.

He said the violence was now extended to the virtual world where some people who disseminated information on social media such as Facebook and YouTube would face cyber-attacks. They were even physically attacked by the police or armed forces.

RNZ Pacific reports that Indonesian military denied shooting civilians in Papua. Papua’s police chief said that reports of a new military operation in the troubled Nduga regency were a “hoax”.

However, Yones Douw, head of the justice and peace department of KIMI church (West Papua Kemah Gospel Church), said that violence had never stopped since Indonesia had occupied West Papua.

“Really the violence has not changed since 1961 to 1969, 1969 to 2020, and 2020, when special autonomy was declared here in West Papua – right through until today the violence has continued,” said Douw.

Douw, a human rights activist, said that when special autonomy was introduced, Jakarta said that West Papuans would be 90 percent independent.

Promises ‘only words’
He said this was “only words – in fact, we have been seeing increasing violence”.

“So, if special autonomy went the way it was supposed to, West Papuan people should be protected and cared for. But that has not happened at all,” Douw said.

“Why is [the violence] increasing like this? Well, if you find a pastor who is speaking about the suffering of his congregation, he will be called a separatist. Anyone who speaks about human rights will be called as separatist, anyone who speaks about the welfare of Papuan people will be labelled as separatist,” he said.

He said that the Indonesian laws granting freedom of expression did not hold in West Papua. Even journalists, human rights activists, and some church leaders could not work without feeling a sense of fear.

“These are school students who are being shot, these are student who are walking around their own villages and without even any question they are being shot.

“Imagine what it is like if you are an older person, there is just no freedom at all to move,” said Douw.

Stopping foreign support
Jason MacLeod, co-founder of Make West Papua Safe, said he had collaborated with New Zealand activist Maire Leadbeater and Rosa Moiwend in launching this campaign.

The campaign was “to stop foreign government support for the Indonesian police and military,” said MacLeod.

He said it was a peaceful movement seeking to stop New Zealand and Australian government funding and training for the Indonesian police and military which every day brutally repressed the indigenous people of West Papua.

Brisbane-based MacLeod, who has been working on West Papua issues for the last 30 years, said the motivation behind the founding of the Make West Papua Safe campaign was in response to students speaking out in Jayapura.

Asked what they had thought about the New Zealand and Australian governments’ help for the Indonesian military, the students replied that both governments “can go to hell”, said MacLeod.

The activists, lawyers, and human rights defenders called on the people in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, the Pacific, Africa, Caribbean, Europe and Asia to raise their voices support of stopping military oppression in West Papua.

Contributed by a postgraduate communication studies student at Auckland University of Technology.

• For more information, visit Make WestPapua Safe.

A Pacific Islands Forum-hosted webinar has called on the United Nations and Indonesia to be “more responsive” to the pleas of West Papuans and take action to resolve human rights issues in the Melanesian region.

The Secretary-General of the Forum, Dame Meg Taylor, the secretary-general of Pacific Council of Churches, Reverend James Bhagwan, diplomats and human rights activists made the call at the Suva-hosted online event on Friday.

“I do want and hope the UN will be responsive and the Indonesian government to also be responsive, so this matter moves forward and [we are] not continually having a conversation about it,” said Dame Meg.

• READ MORE: Media freedom defenders criticise China, other Pacific info ‘threats’ – cite Papua

She said that the UN high commissioner for human rights had been invited to visit West Papua, but this was not getting attention.

Dame Meg said that although her term would end next year, the issue of human rights in West Papua would go on as it was “ingrained very hard” for citizens of the region.

The webinar was part of the PIF’s Blue Pacific Talanoa series.

Rosa Moiwend, a West Papuan human rights activist, gave a stimulating message from a strong Melanesian and Pacific woman.

“The lives of West Papuans are a matter for all of us, so we need to take an action to save the lives of West Papuans no matter [what] your political backgrounds, or your standing. I think human lives is the most important thing,” Said Moiwend.

Covid no reason to delay action
Reverend Bhagwan said the covid-19 pandemic should not be a reason to not act on the latest Pacific resolutions about West Papua.

He said the resolutions on West Papua to intervene have been long-standing and “we know that the invitation [to visit West Papua] and the discussions have happened well before covid came into the region”.

“The government of Indonesia [must] allow the fact-finding mission to visit West Papua and to respect the call of Pacific leaders in terms of the Human Rights Commission to send a team and respect those findings,” he said.

“We continue to urge the current chair and we acknowledge the work that their chair and secretary general had been doing and we look forward to discussions around the forum leaders meeting this year.”

“And we continue to call for the incoming chair of the forum to continue PIF leaders’ resolutions and report back to the forum leaders meeting in 2021.”
“We need to open the story, we need access for information – this also includes access for foreign journalists to be able to come in and investigate.”

Indonesia ‘committed’ to human rights’
Indonesian representatives Dr Felix Wanggai and Nicholas Messet said that Indonesia was committed to promoting and protecting human rights.

“Indonesia is also facing its own [problems], but we are committed to promoting and protecting human rights and so alleged human right cases with principle of justice,” said Messet.

He said that human rights violations in West Papua never happened without law enforcement against the perpetrators.

“Not a single human rights issue goes with impunity,” he said.

“Indonesia believes that the PIF is not the forum to discuss the issue of territorial integrity of a sovereign countries, but on the other hand, PIF has a moral duty to see that human right issue must not happen to its members and dialogue partners countries, including Papua and West Papua which is part of Indonesia,” Messet said.

Dr Wanggai highlighted the commitment of the central government of Indonesia to human rights such as basic rights of access to health services, education, connectivity, water, housing for the West Papuan people.

“In the context of Papua, our government has defined the root causes in Papua, for example inequality, undeveloped area, lack of connectivity, and lack of the skill to manage their natural resources.”

Managing special autonomy framework
Indonesia was continuing to manage the special autonomy framework for Papua and West Papua provinces.

“So, by the special autonomy framework, the government recognises Papuan identity in economic, culture, social and local politics,” said Dr Wanggai.

He also highlighted that the government recognised the importance of cultural affairs in solving human rights issues which he called Papuan cultural affairs, known as the Papuan People Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua).

However, Reverend Bhagwan said that he was concerned about the arrest of the members of the MRP and the breakup of public hearing meetings across West Papua.

“Here we receive information directly from our member churches and on the ground,” he said.

Last Tuesday, more than 50 people were arrested in Merauke at the meeting to discuss their concern over the special autonomy law,” said Reverend Bhagwan.

Moiwend said that the “invasion” by the Indonesia military in West Papua caused more human rights violations as it often became arrogant and oppressed the Papuans. It scared Papuans in the villages.

Human rights abuse still a problem
She said that human rights abuse still continued.

“But I think one of the key aspects is the political aspect and we can’t deny that there is fighting between the Indonesian military and West Papua freedom fighters. I think when we look at this conflict, ordinary people have became a victim,” she said.

“We have thousands of internally displaced people now living in Wamena and another neighboring regency from Nduga.

“And we haven’t finished working on that issue and now we have Intan Jaya also with the same kind of background. The conflict is also related to the Wabu block which is related to the Freeport mining concession area.

“This needs to be addressed by the government of Indonesia. Two things, one is from the political aspect, and one is from the human rights aspect.

“The most urgent things right now is how the government deals with the human rights issue, especially the situation of women and children as internally displaced people in these two areas, but also in other parts like in Sorong,” Moiwend said.

Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan Masters in Communication Studies student at the Auckland University of Technology who has been studying journalism. He is on an internship with AUT’s Pacific Media Centre.

Pro-independence advocates in New Caledonia say a vote for full sovereignty next month would allow the country to step up onto the international stage.

The next referendum on independence from France will be held on October 4 and determine whether New Caledonia will obtain the powers still held by Paris – such as control over its foreign affairs.

Speakers at a webinar of Australia’s Griffith University yesterday said an independent Kanaky-New Caledonia would set policies to reflect its own economic and national interests.

• READ MORE: Rewind to the 2018 New Caledonia independence referendum

The French president Emmanuel Macron described New Caledonia as part of an Indo-Pacific axis to counter China’s influence in the region.

While export markets for New Caledonia’s mining output are mainly in Asia, a member of New Caledonia’s Congress Patricia Goa said independence would offer a choice.

“What’s wrong with having co-operation with China and others?

“What we are saying is that the difference is that we will choose how we want to put and the level we want to put into that relationship. We choose as a free state, as a state. That’s all the difference.”

Speakers included:
Patricia Goa, an elected member of New Caledonia’s Congress, representing the pro-independence Union Nationale Pour l’Indépendance (UNI). She lives in Baco tribe in New Caledonia’s Northern Province and works as an adviser to provincial president Paul Neaoutyine.

Charles Wea is the FLNKS representative to Australia and has represented New Caledonia’s independence movement at the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Magalie Tingal is a former journalist and serves in the New Caledonia’s Northern Provincial Assembly. As a member of the Union Calédonienne party, she is a co-ordinator of the Yes campaign for the independence movement Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS).

Facilitator: Nic Maclellan is a correspondent for Islands Business magazine and other Pacific media.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

• Watch the Kanaky independence webinar livestream

By Sri Krishnamurthi, reporting for the Pacific Media Centre

“Our journey to a bluer Pacific as we navigate through covid-19, we’ve all experienced the impact of covid-19 one way or another, our region has not been spared the adverse effects of covid-19. The focus here is to look at how are we maintaining the collective momentum in terms of protecting and conserving our ocean, emphasise ocean because our ocean speaks of who we are in this region, our ocean speaks of our joint identity, our entity, our shared ecosystem, our shared resources in the Pacific” – Kosi Latu, Director-General, South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SREP)

Unspoilt beaches, palm trees swaying in a zephyr of a breeze and the gentle sunlight dancing on the turquoise blue sea as the lapping waves shimmer on the breakwater make one imagine a Pacific paradise unspoiled.

But, that is until the best sounds come screeching like a broken record as it grates and gnaws away at the once-booming $4.2 billion Pacific tourism industry.

Tourism throughout the Pacific has been brought to its knees by the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, throwing thousands out of work and fearful about the future.

READ MORE: InfoPacific – the geojournalism project

While Fiji and the Cook Islands have been desperately trying get their economies going with a Pacific bubble with New Zealand and Australia that has not come into fruition – and isn’t likely to any time soon.

Neighbouring New Zealand and Australia are concerned about the pandemic taking hold in the Big Blue that is the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Islands experienced a 6.6 percent increase of tourists in 2019 and the region welcomed 2.2 million visitors to the end of the year. Before covid struck, a boom year was predicted for 2020.

Over the short to medium term, visitor arrivals by air to the Pacific islands countries are predicted to grow by an average of 3.3 percent and expected to reach 2.7 million in 2024, according to the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO).

Established in 1983 as the Tourism Council of the South Pacific, the SPTO is the mandated organisation representing tourism in the region. Its 20 government members are American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Rapa Nui, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and Taiwan.

In addition to government members, the South Pacific Tourism Organisation enlists a private sector membership base.

Pacific quick to close borders
However, the tourism markets of Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau, Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu were quick to close their borders to prevent covid-19 entering their countries.

Emerging tourism markets such as Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tonga are also closed to mass arrivals.

The lockdown has had a major effect with job losses, right throughout and in its March, Pacific Insight the ANZ predicted that Fiji now stands to lose nearly 602,000 visitors by air this year (a whopping drop of 67 percent). This translates into a F$1.4 billion loss in tourism receipts.

Vanuatu’s economy is expected to decline (down by 13.5 percent), as are Samoa (-18.7 percent), Cook Islands (-60.4 percent) and Tonga (-7.9 percent)

When you consider that tourism contributes to almost 46 percent to Fiji’s gross domestic product – about F$2.1 billion (A$1.4 billion) according to the June ANZ Pacific Insight – and it employs more than 150,000 people in various industries it is devastating.

Last year alone, Fiji had 894,000 visitors. The bulk of its tourists came from nearby Australia (41 percent) and New Zealand (23 percent), which like many countries around the world have banned international travel.

Asian Development Bank estimates for this year are that Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau, Samoa and Vanuatu will experience negative or no economic growth.

Heavily dependent on tourism
“Economies such as Fiji, the Maldives and Tonga are heavily dependent on tourism, with shares of tourism in total exports reaching 52 percent, 84 percent or 47 percent respectively,” the ADB report says.

“In many Asia and Pacific countries, more than three in four workers in the tourism sector are informal jobs, leaving them especially vulnerable to the negative impacts of the covid-19 crisis.

“Informal sector jobs are characterised by a lack of basic protection, including social protection coverage.”

Economic growth in the Solomon Islands is expected to slow by 1.5 percent in 2020, and Vanuatu’s economy to contract from 2.8 percent in 2019 to minus 1.0 percent in 2020, according to the ADB.

“The COVID-19 pandemic will severely hit tourism, with the South Pacific economies the most affected. Growth and fiscal outcomes will be undermined in the Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga,” says the ADB.

“The Cook Islands’ economy is expected to contract from 5.3 percent in 2019 to -2.2 percent in 2020 due to a collapse in tourist arrivals. Growth is forecast to recover in 2021 to 1.0 percent. Samoa’s economy is expected to contract from 3.5 percent in 2019 to -3.0 percent, before slightly rebounding to 0.8 percent in 2021.

“Tonga, where economic growth was 3.0 percent in 2019, will see zero growth in 2020 due partly to a plunge in visitor arrivals. Growth will likely reach 2.5 percent in 2021, buoyed by tourism,” the same dire predictions state according to the report.

Regional unity is needed
“The ocean is our shared resource and our shared responsibility, a regional unity is required, covid-19 has exacerbated our vulnerabilities as individual economies and as a region where timely health public and border protections have protected our people from the worst of covid-19,” says Dame Meg Taylor, current secretary-general of the Pacific Forum and Ocean Pacific and Ocean Pacific Commissioner.

“Today the focus of all national economies is to revive their economy activity and production in our Island nations with many already facing the grim reality of recession.

“Covid-19 has also presented with us with a valuable opportunity, an opportunity to link global recovery efforts with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development we must act differently,” she says.

She adds that with collaboration and co-operation, things could be achieved in the Pacific both in terms of tackling climate change and sustainable eco-tourism.

“With strong regional co-operation and collaboration, we can and will achieve our priorities an example of this is the Pacific regional human pathway and forum leaders priorities particularly those of those of climate action and ocean governance.

“It allows the forum to strengthen its hand by acting differently, strengthen its strategic approach, and coherence and collective approach across three separate but related multilateral action such as the COP-26, the second United Nations conference and COP-15 on diversity,” she says.

It is up to the forum nations to find solutions.

‘We must act differently’
“It is time to act differently and innovatively, we must act differently, creatively and constructively to make our Ocean bluer,” Dame Meg says.

Meanwhile, Umiich Sengibau, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism of Palau, and a past chairman of SREP who will chair Our Ocean 2020 conference in December has spoken about the difficulties that his country has faced in the starkness of the pandemic.

“Palau has been fortunate to be one of the few countries in the world to be free of coronavirus global lockdowns that have helped keep our people safe,” he says.

“As in many other places in the world, commercial flights have been suspended and borders are closed but it has also reduced our tourism revenue, over 40 percent of our GDP to zero.”

He was not sugar-coating the truth about his country’s economic plight.

“This matters because our tourism economy and ocean protection go hand-in-hand,” he says.

“When life under our pristine waters thrive that is how we attract visitors to dive in and see it for themselves. Tourism and protection are part of the same sustainable economy, and one is undermined then so is the other.”

Imperative to protect the ocean
Truer words could not be said.

“Palau recognises the importance of sustainable eco-tourism to support employment, livelihoods and ultimately sustainable development. This is why it is imperative that we protect the ocean.

And he spoke about the exclusive zone surrounding the island state.

“This year we began the implementation phase of the Palau, 80 percent of our exclusive zone some 500 sq km is now a “no-take” area. We know such protected areas foster great marine diversity, strengthen resilience to climate impact and provide respite to fish stocks.

“Everyone benefits from a healthy ocean.”

But not so in Fiji which has seen its tourism industry collapse with locals returning to subsistence farming as seen on the reports that proclaim the demise of the tourist industry.

Tourism accounts for 46 percent of GDP and many who work within the sector and associated industries are now jobless.

Key industy shut down
“Tourism in Fiji contributes 46 percent to GDP directly and was the highest foreign exchange earner at $2 billion plus a year,” says Fantasha Lockington, chief executive officer for the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) based in Suva.

“It is also the key industry with the biggest multiplier effects throughout the 333 islands that make up the Fiji Islands. The closing of the borders therefore effectively shut down the country’s biggest employment sector.

“We estimate that around 110,000 tourism employed staff (directly) have been put on leave without pay, terminated (with little or no benefits) or made redundant (with payouts per contractual requirements),” she says.

“Fiji has no backstop for wage earner or salary support mechanisms. Instead, the government allows workers to access small amounts of their superannuation funds.

“Many of the larger resorts provided food support or a living allowance to assist their workers – the large majority of whom come directly from the communities and villages the hotels and resorts are located near and from whom the land is leased,” she explains.

“Fijian workers need their jobs back – the next three months will be the most challenging for them as they do their best to return to their communities and villages and get into subsistence farming to ensure they can feed their families,” she says.

Whether it is time for Fiji to invest in eco-tourism has grown along with concerns around climate change and the environment?

Great record of ‘being concerned’
“Fiji has had a great record of being more concerned about climate change and the environment.

“But we do not do enough to walk this talk. Large numbers of tourism operators practice environmental sustainability, implement recycling and energy renewal practices out of necessity and cost-consciousness (being off the main island grids and trying to ensure they protect their untouched and serene isolated locations).

“These are not recognised by the government in any way or often enough. Instead, the tourism industry is the only industry that is charged the Environment Climate Adaptation Levy (ECAL) – which is 10 percent.

“We have consistently requested that ECAL be reduced and spread to other industries that impact on the environment (mining, excavations and extractions of any kind, transport) or to allow environmental sustainability practitioners to get a credit back to both incentivise and change behaviour for the long term,” she sums up.

Then there is the vexed question of the Cook Islands which has tried desperately to twist New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s arm.

Businessman Tata Crocombe who had shut his three resorts in the Cook Islands, losing 200 staff, was a little more pragmatic when he said “New Zealand produces 70 percent of the visitors to the Cook Islands and so it is our call and major market – and vital that we reopen to New Zealand visitors.

“More and more tourism operators are becoming involved in ecotourism and I expect this trend to continue into the future.

Making properties more eco-friendly
“There are a number of initiatives that the various hotels, resorts and accommodated is have taken to make their properties more eco-friendly. There are a number of tours that have focused on ecotourism such as lagoon cruises, turtle snorkelling tours, cycling tours et cetera. In addition, more and more restaurants are incorporating organic fresh Island produce in their menus.

“The growth in eco-tourism reflects the growth in ecologically thinking in the population more generally because human beings as a species need to learn to live in harmony with our environment in nature.

“We have been instrumental in the creation and preservation of marine sanctuaries in front of all of our three resorts which of become major visitor attractions,” he says.

Of importance to the Cook Islands is the economy, as well as safety of the people, says Jonathan Milne, editor of the Cook Islands News.

“At present, the New Zealand government is effectively blockading the Cook Islands, it’s economy and its people. It’s painful for people here to realise that the country regarded as our closest friend, our closest relative, would do that to us – and we pray they reconsider very soon before the economy of this proud little Pacific paradise collapses entirely,” he says.

“Tourism is 10 percent of the NZ economy. In the Cook Islands, with all the multipliers spreading its impact through retail and hospitality, it’s nearly 90 percent of our GDP. But equally important, the connected heritage of our nations, the shared constitutional history, the fact that we remain a realm country and our people are New Zealand citizens – these are ties that New Zealand leaders cannot in good conscience ignore.

“The Cook Islands is not competing with Queensland and Rotorua; some people want to go skiing, some want to go to the beach – they are complementary. We need to work together to strengthen the New Zealand dollar through strengthening our intrinsically inter-linked economies,” Milne adds.

Both economy and safety needed
The Cook Islands needs both the economy and the safety of the people, he says.

“We need both; they can’t be separated. With New Zealand’s assistance, our health and community systems are well-prepared to deal with covid. But we also need the support of our Pacific family, especially in New Zealand, to help reopen our economy.

“It’s all very well-staying safe from covid, the greater danger now is that we can’t pay for food and electricity. And the answer isn’t aid – it’s trade, it’s tourism, it’s getting our resorts and restaurants running.

“You know what they say – teach a man to fish. Well, we know how to fish, but we need tourists to enjoy what we have to offer. I can vouch for the yellowfin tuna, fresh off the boat,” Milne says.

It was a similar scenario in Vanuatu with 10,000 jobs lost.

“Tourism has been decimated here,” Liz Pechan from The Havannah Vanuatu, a five-star resort on the island of Efate, told the ABC.

“I was shocked for a little while, I think I was a bit dumbfounded: like how can this happen, how can the world just stop?”

Majority of hotels have no bookings
Like the vast majority of hotels, Pechan currently has no bookings, and more than 30 staff have already been let go.

Rising sea levels and climate change underscore the problems covid-19 has brought to the blue Pacific Ocean shores.

And while the economy is predicted to come right in a year or two, it will be mainly through sustainable eco-tourism that does not do anything to allay the fears of climate change.

This is the first of a series of articles by the Pacific Media Centre as part of an environmental project funded by the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) Asia-Pacific initiative.

Pacific Media Watch

A senior Indonesian government official and a New Zealand journalism professor have clashed over differing perspectives on access for journalists and media to the West Papua region.

Speaking on a webinar organised by the Tabloid Jubi newspaper in Jayapura, Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director of the European affairs Sade Bimantara said Papua was “much more open” than credited in social media.

However, Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie said it was still extremely difficult for journalists in Australia, New Zealand and Pacific nations to visit the Melanesian region on assignment.

READ MORE: A Papuan open letter to Jakarta

• Indonesian double standards over press freedom endanger safety of Papuan journalists

He said it was “mixed” at best but in spite of the obstacles some excellent reporting was being done. This was the exception rather than the rule, as mainstream media in Australasia often ignored the West Papua issue.

Dr Robie cited two recent investigative documentaries, The Secret War for West Papua from ABC Foreign Correspondent in May and Al Jazeera’s Selling Out West Papua last month exposing the rapacious palm oil industry and deforestation, as quality “breakthrough” reports.

Bimantara said President Joko Widodo had personally led the “more open” policy with a directive in 2015 – the same year that two New Zealand video storytelling crews made rare visits to Papua.

The policy was putting emphasis on a “more humane approach where development and economic policies touch the lives of ordinary Papuans to bring justice, stability, prosperity at the centre of any policies – national or local,” the official said.

“You can see these policies in action.”

Criticism of development policies
Dr Robie cited the criticisms of development policies such as the Trans-Papuan Highway that had involved minimal or no consultation with Papuans, such as exposed by the recent book The Road by John Martinkus about “exploitation by foreign companies, environmental destruction and colonisation by Indonesian transmigrants”.

He also cited condemnation of the upgraded autonomy plan.

He said there needed to be more journalists visiting Papua freely “without minders” to report on the development issues and challenges, as well as social justice and human rights.

Bimantara said that while the “free and unhindered access” for media had been “slow to trickle down the bureaucratic ladder”, the policy had resulted in “robust and wide” data communication and access across Papua.

The ban on the internet – recently declared illegal by an Indonesian court – for a month last year at the time of the so-called Papuan Uprising with protests over racism was imposed to “put a break on the spreading of hate crime”.

Bimantara said the processing of journalists wishing to go to Papua had been speeded up and Jakarta-based media and foreign journalists were “free to go any time” providing they gave notification of where they were going.

He said that between 2016 and this year, out of 69 applications to visit Papua, 55 had been approved, “which means 80 percent were approved”.

Covid blamed for current restrictions
Any current restrictions were due to covid-19 coronavirus spread concerns.

Dr Robie said that due to the “extreme difficulties for journalists getting visas through the government ‘clearing house’ in Jakarta, the recent ABC production relied heavily on journalists on the ground in Papua, beginning their story with Papuan migrants and refugees in neighbouring Papua New Guinea.

“In the case of the ‘Selling Out’ programme, the producers relied on a ruse – the crew filmed the Wasur National Park in the massive wetlands near Merauke while actually making the wider palm oil investigation,” he said.

“As both a journalist and media academic, I have often referred to the West Papua information ‘black hole’ in various articles and videos since I wrote my first article about Papua in 1983.

“Other journalists have also referred to this black hole or black spot.”

Bimantara described racism against Papuans as an “isolated pattern”, but a prominent Papuan clergyman, Reverend Dr Socratez S. Yoman this week characterised “racism and injustice” as the root of the problems in Papua in an open letter to the Jakarta government.

The foreign affairs official said the Papuan Lives Matter movement had been gaining momentum in Indonesia since widespread anti-racism protests from Jakarta to Jayapura last year.

Sparked by racist harassment
The protests were sparked by racist harassment of West Papuan university students in Indonesia’s second-largest city, Surabaya.

Bimantara said that fake news and disinformation were prevalent in coverage of Indonesian-ruled West Papua.

He said there was a problem with disinformation about West Papua which was an “infodemic spreading like covid-19”, although he claimed this as coming from those leading the Papuan independence movement.

However, Dr Robie cited an investigation by the BBC and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) last year that found that a coordinated and well-funded network of “bots” – or automated accounts – that promoted a pro-government line was “skewing the narrative” about Papua.

When asked about this, Bimantara did not answer, while in other comments apparently blaming the disinformation on pro-independence sources.

“Just last week, our own news website Asia Pacific Report asiapacificreport.nz published a story about a Tongan Kiwi beauty queen, Diamond Langi, making a fairly low key solidarity statement in support of Papuan self-determination and expressing empathy for jailed political prisoners,” Dr Robie said.

“Langi was immediately denounced and abused by thousands of social media trolls from Indonesia and she was forced to close her Instagram account and render her Facebook account non active.”

Webinar drew lively interest
The webinar, moderated by leading Papuan journalist Victor Mambor, who visited New Zealand in 2014, drew lively interest with about 1000 viewers on YouTube in two days.

In response to some webinar social media chat comments, a Papuan NGO activist, who declined to be named, said: “Most of the questions raised are by intelligence agents who are using Papuan people’s accounts, photos or fake names.”

Former Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty said the panel was a worthwhile effort for greater understanding but she was disappointed by the “monotonous denials” of Bimantara over the difficulties for media reporting on West Papua.

“He made claims that are fine in theory but not in practice and also he made the revealing statement that the Indonesian state wants to know where journalists are going and what stories they plan to write.

“That is not the definition of a free press, that is censorship by an occupying government.”

Dr Robie cited the latest international reports from highly reputable media watchdogs on the issues in West Papua but the Indonesian responses were “very unsatisfactory”, she said.

“To accuse the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) and [a pro-independence leader] Benny Wenda as responsible for the killers of workers on the Trans Papuan Highway is just wrong.

“The armed struggle and the international solidarity effort are not the same groups, although all are dedicated to freedom for West Papua.

Honouring Te Tiriti
Delahunty, a spokesperson for West Papua Action Auckland, said that one point where she agreed with Bimantara was when he had talked about sovereignty movements in other countries such as Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Those of us who stand for a Free West Papua also need to stand up for a full honouring of Te Tiriti in this country.”

She commended Mambor and Jubi for hosting this dialogue, saying Professor Robie had a great understanding of the issues and the Pacific context but the claims made by Bimantara were the “usual justifications for the oppressive regime” in West Papua.

Joe Collins, leader of the Australian West Papua Association (AWPA), said from Sydney that although there has been improvement towards democracy in Indonesia it had not translated into democracy in West Papua.

“While people can be arrested and charged with treason simply for raising their national flag, it proves there is no justice under Indonesian rule,” he said.

“For all the talk about journalists being free to go to West Papua, journalists are regularly intimidated for covering demonstrations in West Papua and there is a track record of foreign journalists being arrested or deported for trying to do their job”.