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J. Atkinson-Nolte et al.
by the researchers during this questioning as this has previously been linked to
biased responding (Rudiak-Gould 2012). Pacific Island societies are communal so
focus groups are a widely-accepted way of obtaining information of the kind sought
in this study (Warrick 2009). Yet for the same reason, it is not always easy to control
the composition and size of focus groups as people invariably come and go at will.
Our survey gathered information from a number of less-formal, more fluid focus
groups of this kind as well as from eight focus groups separated by age and gender
(young female, mature female, young male, mature male) in the villages of Narikoso
and Vabea where participants were selected using maximum variation purposive
sampling. Twenty-seven adults were engaged in this manner and this is the key
source of data used in this chapter.
Discussions took place in places and contexts in which interviewees and community participants all felt comfortable, typically on the floors of houses, where kava,
tea or snacks might be consumed while questions were asked. All formal interactions
were guided by the researchers’ University’s ethics requirements, participation was
informed and voluntary and unremunerated. Questions were generally asked in the
Fijian language (iTaukei Bauan) and responses translated in summary as necessary.
All discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim as needed.
Results and Analysis
Since most of the data collected was qualitative, it is presented in this section
alongside a discussion about its meaning and implications for understanding and
addressing climate-change impacts on Ono Island and in comparable contexts
elsewhere.
This section is divided into four parts. The first (section “Observations of Climate
Change by the People of Ono”) explains Ono residents’ observations of environmental change that are attributable to climate change. The second (section “Ono
Residents’ Views on the Causes of Climate Change”) explains residents’ views
about the causes, both proximate and ultimate, of observed changes while the
third (section “Responses to Climate-Change Impacts on Ono”) focuses on their
responses, past and planned, to these changes. Finally in section “Views About
Future Coastal-Environmental Changes on Ono”, we report on what people on Ono
feel might happen in the future and how they expect to be affected and to respond.
Observations of Climate Change by the People of Ono
Like most Pacific Island peoples, those of Ono Island understand that the part of
the Earth’s surface they occupy is dynamic and changeable (Galipaud 2002) but
consider that it is usual for this to happen within a fixed framework of land and sea. In
other words, while accepting that landslides sometimes occur or even that superficial
J. Atkinson-Nolte et al.
by the researchers during this questioning as this has previously been linked to
biased responding (Rudiak-Gould 2012). Pacific Island societies are communal so
focus groups are a widely-accepted way of obtaining information of the kind sought
in this study (Warrick 2009). Yet for the same reason, it is not always easy to control
the composition and size of focus groups as people invariably come and go at will.
Our survey gathered information from a number of less-formal, more fluid focus
groups of this kind as well as from eight focus groups separated by age and gender
(young female, mature female, young male, mature male) in the villages of Narikoso
and Vabea where participants were selected using maximum variation purposive
sampling. Twenty-seven adults were engaged in this manner and this is the key
source of data used in this chapter.
Discussions took place in places and contexts in which interviewees and community participants all felt comfortable, typically on the floors of houses, where kava,
tea or snacks might be consumed while questions were asked. All formal interactions
were guided by the researchers’ University’s ethics requirements, participation was
informed and voluntary and unremunerated. Questions were generally asked in the
Fijian language (iTaukei Bauan) and responses translated in summary as necessary.
All discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim as needed.
Results and Analysis
Since most of the data collected was qualitative, it is presented in this section
alongside a discussion about its meaning and implications for understanding and
addressing climate-change impacts on Ono Island and in comparable contexts
elsewhere.
This section is divided into four parts. The first (section “Observations of Climate
Change by the People of Ono”) explains Ono residents’ observations of environmental change that are attributable to climate change. The second (section “Ono
Residents’ Views on the Causes of Climate Change”) explains residents’ views
about the causes, both proximate and ultimate, of observed changes while the
third (section “Responses to Climate-Change Impacts on Ono”) focuses on their
responses, past and planned, to these changes. Finally in section “Views About
Future Coastal-Environmental Changes on Ono”, we report on what people on Ono
feel might happen in the future and how they expect to be affected and to respond.
Observations of Climate Change by the People of Ono
Like most Pacific Island peoples, those of Ono Island understand that the part of
the Earth’s surface they occupy is dynamic and changeable (Galipaud 2002) but
consider that it is usual for this to happen within a fixed framework of land and sea. In
other words, while accepting that landslides sometimes occur or even that superficial