{"id":105297,"date":"2021-02-19T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/?p=2831945"},"modified":"2021-02-19T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T13:00:00","slug":"pacific-islanders-turn-to-local-economies-to-drive-post-pandemic-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2021\/02\/19\/pacific-islanders-turn-to-local-economies-to-drive-post-pandemic-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>iCrowdNewswire <\/strong><span class=\"date\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Feb 19, 2021&nbsp;&nbsp;8:00 AM ET<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"featimg\" align=\"center\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/submission.icrowdmarketing.com\/assets\/source\/users\/195\/CE-Wilson-Image-6-Tourist-Market-Port-Vila-Vanuatu-090614-1024x768.jpg?1613647574753\" alt=\"CE-Wilson-Image-6-Tourist-Market-Port-Vila-Vanuatu-090614-1024x768\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tourist handicraft market in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu, prior to the pandemic. The price for Pacific countries maintaining strict border closures to protect their small highly vulnerable populations is the decimation of the tourism industry. Credit: Catherine Wilson\/IPS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"meta_origin\">CANBERRA, Australia, Feb 18 2021 (IPS) <\/span>\u2013 While Pacific Island countries have, so far, been spared a catastrophic spread of COVID-19, their economies have been devastated by the effects of border closures, internal lockdowns and the demise of international tourism and trade. With the global pandemic far from over, Pacific Islanders are looking to their local and regional economies to drive resilience and recovery.<span id=\"more-170269\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In Fiji, the pandemic has led to <a href=\"https:\/\/devpolicy.org\/Events\/2020\/COVID-19_economic_costs_and_responses_in_the_Pacific_19_Aug\/DFAT_slides_JG.pdf\">one in three people losing their jobs<\/a>. In Vanuatu, in the southwest Pacific, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adb.org\/publications\/pacific-economic-monitor-december-2020\">combined economic losses<\/a> of COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclone Harold, which descended on the Melanesian nation in April last year, are predicted to reach 68.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/devpolicy.org\/poverty-and-teh-pandemic-in-the-pacific-20200615-2\/\">extreme poverty<\/a> across the region could rise to 40 percent, forecasts the Development Policy Centre at the Australian National University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe development and support of existing and new domestic industries and the private sector is critical to help affected families get through the economic downturn and to maintain income,\u201d Mia Rimon, Regional Manager for Melanesia at the regional development organisation, Pacific Community, in Vanuatu told IPS.<\/p>\n<p>The Pacific Islands region, with a total of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spc.int\/updates\/blog\/2021\/02\/covid-19-pacific-community-updates\">27,215 reported cases of coronavirus<\/a>, as of Feb. 18, represents a fraction of the more than 100 million cases worldwide. However, the price for countries in the region of maintaining strict border closures to protect their small highly vulnerable populations is the decimation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/devpolicy.org\/Events\/2020\/COVID-19_economic_costs_and_responses_in_the_Pacific_19_Aug\/DFAT_slides_JG.pdf\">tourism industry<\/a>.&nbsp; The sector is of huge importance to island countries, such as Vanuatu, where it accounts for 46 percent of GDP, and in Fiji 39 percent of GDP. Between April and September last year, the pandemic caused monthly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adb.org\/publications\/pacific-economic-monitor-december-2020\">tourist arrivals<\/a> in the Pacific Islands to plummet by 99-100 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Trade in the region has also been hit. During the first half of 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spc.int\/updates\/blog\/2020\/10\/new-data-shows-significant-declines-in-international-trade-in-four-pacific\">exports from Tonga dropped<\/a> by 28.3 percent and from Tuvalu by 71 percent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Pacific Island governments have, accordingly, seen a decline in revenues. Most governments introduced stimulus packages to support households and businesses during the worst of the crisis, but, in the current economic climate, these costs will be unsustainable over a long or indefinite period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">With the prospect of a \u2018travel bubble\u2019 between Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island countries unlikely to occur soon, the region will struggle to grow by 1.3 percent this year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adb.org\/publications\/pacific-economic-monitor-december-2020\">forecasts the Asian Development Bank<\/a>. But <a href=\"https:\/\/openknowledge.worldbank.org\/bitstream\/handle\/10986\/34497\/9781464816413.pdf\">output levels<\/a> in highly exposed Pacific Island countries are unlikely to recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2022 or beyond, reports the World Bank.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Pacific leaders are now looking to the economic potential within the region. At a virtual meeting in August last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forumsec.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/2020-Forum-Economic-Ministers-Meeting-Outcomes.pdf#:~:text=The%202020%20Forum%20Economic%20Ministers%20Meeting%20was%20convened,of%20the%20Pacific%20Islands%20Forum,%20Dame%20Meg%20Taylor.\">Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers concluded<\/a> that the crisis offered \u2018the opportunity to assert a regional economy that supports Pacific priorities and to consider investments, policies and partnerships required to secure the region\u2019s economic resilience and the wellbeing of its people now and into the future.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Dr Neelesh Gounder of the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, told IPS that the private sector will be important to recovery, but added that \u201cgovernments will need to support the private sector with policies and incentives that will reduce the cost of doing business and provide incentives for expansion and growth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Some local entrepreneurs are already manoeuvring to gain new skills and adapt their enterprises for a local, rather than international market.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_170273\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" readability=\"34\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/submission.icrowdmarketing.com\/assets\/source\/users\/195\/SPM-Image-1-Tonga-e1613645780809.jpg?1613647648004\" alt=\"SPM-Image-1-Tonga-e1613645780809\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers at South Pacific Mozuku cleaning seaweed in Nuku\u2019alofa, Tonga. Photo credit: South Pacific Mozuku<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In the Polynesian Kingdom of Tonga, a local business, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spc.int\/updates\/blog\/2020\/08\/from-luxury-lotions-to-tasty-local-dishes-tongas-mozuku-seaweed-producer\">South Pacific Mozuku (SPM)<\/a>, specialised in a luxury range of cosmetics and skincare products incorporating a seaweed, known as \u2018Mozuku\u2019, which grows in the waters around Tonga. It was a perfect fit for the international tourist market. Before the pandemic, Tonga received up to 5,000 cruise ship visitors per day. The business also exported raw seaweed to international buyers, mostly in Japan. But then the pandemic hit, tourist visitors evaporated and the export market declined.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe lost 60 percent of our orders during lockdown in March and April 2020,\u201d Managing Director, Masa Kawaguchi, told IPS. After a strategic rethink, he is now pivoting the business to make fresh food products, still using \u2018Mozuku\u2019 seaweed, which possesses nutritious and anti-oxidising properties, as an ingredient. They are now sold through local supermarkets and distributors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It is a sector of natural strength and expertise in the region. \u201cAlmost all Pacific people are coastal people and have their lives entwined with the sea. Significant livelihood opportunities are marine-based. Hence, it is important to continue upskilling to meet changing demands and resources,\u201d Avinash Singh, the Pacific Community\u2019s Aquaculture Officer, told IPS. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">SPM, which employs 25 local Tongans, is delivering further benefits to local communities. Its partnership with the Tonga Youth Employment Entrepreneurship (TYEE) scheme has led to local youths being involved in promoting public awareness of \u2018Mozuku\u2019 seaweed as a health food and organising tasting events in shops and restaurants in the capital, Nuku\u2019alofa. And \u2018Mozuku\u2019 is now on the menu for patients, doctors and nurses at the Vaiola Hospital, also situated in the capital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Further west in Vanuatu, youths, women and islanders with disabilities are being mobilized in a new income generating initiative, called the 300 Coconut Bag Project, in the main city of Port Vila.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cThe impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of Ni-Vanuatu is really sad as people get laid off from their jobs, young people who are recruited in tourism sectors and other trades have to go back home due to limited hours of operation as there are no more tourists,\u201d Project Manager, Sethy Melenamu, told IPS.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilo.org\/wcmsp5\/groups\/public\/---asia\/---ro-bangkok\/---ilo-suva\/documents\/publication\/wcms_759993.pdf\">International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports<\/a> that \u2018the pandemic is inflicting a triple shock on young people: destroying their employment, disrupting education and training and placing major obstacles in the way of those seeking to enter the labour market.\u2019 These issues are of importance in the Pacific Islands, which is experiencing a youth bulge. Currently half the region\u2019s population of about 11.9 million are aged under 23 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_170274\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"36\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2833219\" src=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Image-4-300-Coconut-Bag-Project-Vanuatu-2021-e1613645886888.jpg\" alt width=\"554\" height=\"738\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The making of recycled and reusable coconut bags is generating employment and incomes for youths, women and disabled people affected by the pandemic in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Photo credit: 300 Coconut Bag Project<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In Port Vila, about 30 young people are being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spc.int\/updates\/blog\/2020\/06\/spcs-300-coconut-bags-project-promotes-youth-employment-recovery-after-covid\">employed to collect discarded waste plastic<\/a>, which is then crafted and sewn by local women and disabled people into large reusable carry bags. Each bag, which is designed to hold six heavy coconuts, features an inner lining of recycled plastic and an outer layer of aesthetically woven pandanus leaves. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It is envisaged that, following production, the bags, which are being promoted as waterproof, reversible and fashionable, will be on sale in March in local fresh produce markets, retail shops and online.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The project, which is supported by the Pacific Community in partnership with the Vanuatu Office for Ocean and Maritime Affairs, intends to outlive the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cThe project is long-term; there will be more prototypes of products to be tested and modified. Also, the beneficiaries will see it as an alternative source of income for the vulnerable. I would like to make it a sustainable social enterprise in the future,\u201d Melenamu said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_170275\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"17.6335877863\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-170275 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.ipsnews.net\/Library\/2021\/02\/CE-Wilson-Image-5-Women-at-Port-Vila-Market-Vanuatu-1-e1613646029617.jpg\" alt=\"The distinctive fashionable and sustainable coconut carry bags will be sold at public venues in Port Vila, such as fresh produce markets, Vanuatu. Credit: Catherine Wilson\/IPS\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The distinctive fashionable and sustainable coconut carry bags will be sold at public venues in Port Vila, such as fresh produce markets, Vanuatu. Credit: Catherine Wilson\/IPS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"related_posts_wrap\">\n<h4>Also Read:<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"viacrowd viaimg\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/themes\/icrowdnewswire\/images\/post_via_image.png\" alt=\"iCrowdNewswire\"><\/a> <\/div>\n<p> <!-- Now display keyword(tags) if any, and Categories combined --> <!--<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"btn btn-primary\"> <a href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"related_posts_url\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">View Related Posts<\/a> <\/div>\n\n\n\n--> <\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/heymuse.com\/pacific-islanders-turn-to-local-economies-to-drive-post-pandemic-recovery\/\">Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/heymuse.com\">Financial Market Brief<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>iCrowdNewswire &nbsp;&nbsp;Feb 19, 2021&nbsp;&nbsp;8:00 AM ET A tourist handicraft market in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu, prior to the pandemic. The price for Pacific countries maintaining strict border closures to protect their small highly vulnerable populations is the decimation of the tourism industry. Credit: Catherine Wilson\/IPS CANBERRA, Australia, Feb 18 2021 (IPS) &ndash; While Pacific [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/heymuse.com\/pacific-islanders-turn-to-local-economies-to-drive-post-pandemic-recovery\/\">Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/heymuse.com\/\">Financial Market Brief<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2021\/02\/19\/pacific-islanders-turn-to-local-economies-to-drive-post-pandemic-recovery\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":291,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery - Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2021\/02\/19\/pacific-islanders-turn-to-local-economies-to-drive-post-pandemic-recovery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery - Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"iCrowdNewswire &nbsp;&nbsp;Feb 19, 2021&nbsp;&nbsp;8:00 AM ET A tourist handicraft market in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu, prior to the pandemic. The price for Pacific countries maintaining strict border closures to protect their small highly vulnerable populations is the decimation of the tourism industry. Credit: Catherine Wilson\/IPS CANBERRA, Australia, Feb 18 2021 (IPS) &ndash; While Pacific [&hellip;] The post Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery appeared first on Financial Market Brief. 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The price for Pacific countries maintaining strict border closures to protect their small highly vulnerable populations is the decimation of the tourism industry. Credit: Catherine Wilson\/IPS CANBERRA, Australia, Feb 18 2021 (IPS) &ndash; While Pacific [&hellip;] The post Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery appeared first on Financial Market Brief. 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