Climate change advocacy in the Pacific: The role of information and communication technologies

Abstract

This article explores the phenomenon of the use of ICT for climate change activism in the Pacific. Climate change activism in the Pacific is characterised by the use of ICT tools such as social media. The article draws on semi-structured interviews and an analysis of social media sites to examine the use of social media in Pacific climate change campaigns. While other campaigns such as relating to West Papua have also been facilitated by social media, it has been generally NGO, citizen-led and varied in Pacific government support. In contrast, climate change campaigns in the Pacific are fully supported at the NGO, citizen, and state levels. Furthermore, while early Pacific ICT-based climate change campaigns used iconic images of Pacific Islanders leaving their homelands, more recent campaigns have leveraged social media to depict Pacific Islanders not as victims but as ‘warriors’. This new imagery aims to empower Pacific Islanders and engender a regional Pacific identity that shows strength and solidarity on the Pacific’s stance towards climate change.

Internet under threat?: The politics of online censorship in the Pacific Islands

“…Robie (2017) and Titifanue et al (2016) demonstrate how Pacific Islanders have leveraged social media as a means to report on human rights issues in repressive media countries such as West Papua. Titifanue et al (2017) further demonstrate how local, national and regional groups and organisations in the Pacific concerned with, and striving to address, the issue of climate change are using platforms afforded by the internet for climate change advocacy both nationally and internationally. Both in the context of West Papuan activism and climate change advocacy, ICT tools and platforms have rejuvenated a bottom-up push for regional solidarity and identity.…”

“…While Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and social media platforms are relatively new phenomena to the Pacific region, statistics show that ICT elements such as mobile phone and internet accessibility have been increasing at exponential levels (Titifanue et Tarai, Kant & Finau, 2016;Titifanue, Kant, Finau & Tarai, 2017). Pacific Islanders are becoming consumers of ICT technologies.…”

“…At the same time, increasing penetration rates have resulted in their use exponentially increasing in rural areas. Mobile phone penetration in the Pacific has grown to the extent that it has far outstripped fixed line usage (Titifanue et al, 2016;Titifanue et al, 2017).…”

“…However, an analysis of political trends within Nauru reveals a political culture of political dissent being stifled, and high visa fees hindering impartial media from entering the country-this is repetitive. In such a repressive media environment, social media plays a crucial role in disseminating information through citizen media and fostering activism (Robie, 2017;Titifanue et al, 2017;Titifanue et al, 2016). Blocking of Facebook when placed in Nauru's broader political context reveals a transparent attempt by the government to stifle dissent from opposition politicians and citizens, as well as limit the dissemination of information on the treatment of asylum seekers.…”

Tanah Papua, Asia-Pacific news blind spots and citizen media: From the ‘Act of Free Choice’ betrayal to a social media revolution

“…However, in May 2016 a wave of 'pre-emptive' mass arrests was made, rounding up hundreds of activists, and this demonstrated the compelling popular support among Papuans for self-determination and how this has been steadily growing stronger over the half century, partly fuelled by recent social media campaigns by solidarity groups around the globe (Titifanue et al, 2017a(Titifanue et al, , 2017b. A lawyer advocate for the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Veronica Koman (2016), wrote in The Jakarta Post:…”