CONTENTS PAGE

HOW TO BUILD THE MOST SUSTAINABLE VILLAGE

This Contents Page is constantly under construction as more ideas come-in.

So, feel free to add your suggestions, but, basically, we will be monitoring all 330 villages in Samoa over time, ranking them according to the following 100 or more criteria. And Pacific Islanders (PIs) elsewhere can do likewise.

Each Pacific village is asked to adopt each criteria, where possible, therefore harmonizing such development efforts.

The following list of criteria (ideas, projects, programmes, processes, etc.) will eventually constitute a Pacific Village Development Operations Manual (PVDOM), doubling as an Operations Manual for Sustainable Development in your village.

And this PVDOM could also become a sustainable Pacific village development curriculum, even becoming an Operations Manual for Village Development, and something that possibly the Commonwealth of Learning may be interested in including in its web-based educational programmes for all, both formally and informally.

So, do you think that a Pacific Village Development Operations Manual is really necessary?

Yes, because for us Kids, we will soon realize where our guardians are failing us. So, this time, we Kids are going to put all the necessities on paper, compile all these good (and bad) ideas/practices/experiences into an Operations Manual, then circulate it to every adult for comment.

Let's also do it purely for Pacific Islander (PI) epistemological reasons and see if we can trace our cultural roots, may be even tracing our ancestors' reasonings.

By December 2008, if we complete this Pacific Village Development Operations Manual, we PIs will know exactly where we stand, what the main hurdles/barriers are to sustainability, where to invest our environmental/developmental dollars, and how best to monitor and evaluate our success (i.e. possibly with a lot of sustainability indicator research, looking at those things that indicate good practices and those that indicate bad sustainability practices).

So, here it is:

AGRICULTURAL
- monitor sustainable agricultural indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on agriculture and food security
- village laws on sustainable agriculture
- Fruit tree project
- Permaculture demonstration
- Organic certified plantations (NASA)
- Organic certified village (NASA)


AGRO-FORESTRY
- monitor sustainable agro-forestry indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on agro-foresty
- village laws on sustainable agro-forestry


ANCESTRAL


ANTHROPOLOGICAL
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on anthropology
- village laws on protecting sites of anthropological significance


ARCHAEOLOGICAL
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on archaeology
- village laws on protecting archaeological sites
- Archaeological legislation enacted/enforced
- Archaeology Museum
- Archaeological rescue work performed
- Archaeological sites protected


BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on biological diversity (CBDs)
- monitor sustainable biodiversity conservation indicators
- identify Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)
- complete Biological Gap Analyses
- finalize Protected Area management Plans
- establish Protected Areas System with National Parks, Marine Protected Areas, Reserves, etc.
- manage and eliminate invasive plant and animal species
- village laws on conserving nature - Biodiversity Gap Analyses completed
- Treatened species captive breeding programme


BIOLOGICAL
- monitor sustainable biological indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on bio-safety
- establish national biological targets


BIRDS
- establish Important Bird Areas (IBAs)


BOTANY



CLIMATE CHANGE
- Sustainable Climate Change Indicators

CLIMATE HEALTH



CULTURAL
- monitor sustainable cultural indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on cultural preservation/enhancement
- village laws on retaining one's culture


DEVELOPMENTAL
- monitor sustainable development indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on sustainable development
- village laws on sustainable community development
- village laws on sustainable social development

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
- monitor sustainable disaster management practices
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on disaster management
- village laws on reducing disaster management


DISEASE
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on disease control and monitoring
- village laws on reducing disease (e.g. AIDS/HIV) DRUGS (illicit)
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on illicit drug control
- village laws on illicit drug cultivation, manufacture, sale and use


ECOLOGICAL
- monitor sustainable ecological indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on ecological stability
- village laws on protecting unique and threatened ecosystems


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- monitor sustainable economic indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on sustainable economics
- village laws on adopting sustainable economic practices


ECOTOURISM
- monitor sustainable ecotourism indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on ecotourism
- village laws on adopting sustainable ecotourism practices
- Community tourism
- Educational tourism


EDUCATIONAL
- monitor sustainable education indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on education
- village laws on adopting sustainable education practices
- implement Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Action Plan
- implement Education for All (EFA)
- make education compulsory until completion of high school


EPIDEMIOLOGICAL
- village laws on assisting epidemiological studies (e.g. climate health)


EPISTEMIOLOGICAL
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on epistemology
- village laws on knowing ones' traditional knowledge



ENERGY
- Energy efficiency in the electricity sector project
- Energy efficiency in the transport sector project
- Renewable energy project (solar, hydro, wind)
- Sustainable Energy Indicators


EPISTEMOLOGY


ETHNOBOTANY


FISHERIES
- monitor sustainable fisheries indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on sustainable fisheries
- village laws on protecting fisheries (e.g. ban on dynamite fishing, fish poisoning, gill nets, SCUBA fishing, etc.)
- establish Village Fisheries Reserves (VFRs)
- establish Fisheries No Take Zones


FOOD SECURITY - monitor sustainable food security indicators - ratify all the regional and global conventions on food security - village laws on ensuring food security (especially in light of climate change impacts)


FORESTRY
- monitor sustainable forestry indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on sustainable forestry
- village laws on reforestation (see agro-forestry)
- village laws on illegal and non-sustainable deforestation
- village laws on export of rainforest logs internationally
- village laws on exporting to countries without a ban on importation of rainforest logs!!


GENDER ISSUES
- monitor sustainable gender equity indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on gender equity
- village laws on gender equity
- equal education for both


GEOGRAPHICAL


GOOD GOVERNANCE
- Anti-corruption legislation enacted


HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH
- monitor sustainable human population indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on human population growth
- village laws on producing more Kids (e.g. encourage family planning)


INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
- village laws on new IT technologies


KIDS
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on Rights of the Child
- village laws on giving Kids the rights within the village to plan for sustainability
- village laws on the establishment of a Kids Parliament
- village laws on the rights of Kids to take adults to court for abusing the planet


LEGISLATION
- monitor sustainable legislature indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on sustainable legislation
- village laws to introduce more laws to protect Kids from adults
- village laws to introduce more laws to protect adults from adults


POLLUTION
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on pollution reduction
- village laws to help prevent pollution locally, nationally, regionally and globally


POVERTY
- Poverty alleviation initiatives


RESEARCH


SEWERAGE DISPOSAL
- Compost toilets


SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- monitor sustainable socio-economical indicators
- village laws to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of the village (e.g. micro-financing)


SOCIOLOGICAL
- monitor sustainable sociological indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on social advancement
- village laws to improve local societies


TOURISM
- monitor sustainable tourism indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on sustainable tourism
- village laws to ban international tourism until it is proven to be sustainable


WASTE MANAGEMENT
- monitor sustainable waste management indicators
- ratify all the regional and global conventions on waste management
- village laws to improve waste management (e.g. plastics recycling)


NB: All of the above topics will be discussed and included in our Pacific Village Development Operations Manual.

We want to take the best working examples from the few remaining most sustainable villages throughout the Pacific.

So, if you can assist us, please send in your suggestions now. We want to have a first draft of the Pacific Village Development Operations Manual ready by Xmas, 2008.

And if this means getting more research assistance from our Pacific/Pacific Rim universities, then so be it. We need some rapid monitoring and evaluation conducted right now in order to take stock of the severity of this crisis.

Some of you may still not believe us. Trust us, we Kids never lie (especially when it comes to protecting Gods' creations, just as you adults taught us - remember?).

Hopefully, having learnt all there is to learn and apply from this Operations Manual, we Kids do not follow in your adult footsteps and "do as adults do'.