Vanuatu - the tradegy of our "help"?

My understanding, it may be incorrect
Written  originally  in 2004

I really loved the people in Vanuatu. They were friendly and helpful to me.
I also met some nice expats who volunteered with the hospital.
To try to give a picture of part of the culture-

A cyclone hit Vanuatu not long before I arrived in April 2004, and another hit the Solomons and some of the northern Vanuatuan islands when I was there.
The Ni-Vanuatuan who still live in tribal villages seek shelter in the caves or higher ground, at least that's what I was told by some Ni-Vanuatuans.
I understood that a local village held a meeting to send aid to the villages hit by the cyclone, but not much was needed really, some very short term food I think I was told, even most of that can be caught in the ocean or off the land after a short while to get back on their feet.
It seemed to me perhaps the people of these regions traditionally have build their lifestyle to accommodate most disasters as well as possible. They expect to have to rebuild their huts every few years. Their huts are designed to be replaced every few years, so it all fits. They use leaves of local trees to rebuilt them.

This is  where the western world has not changed their traditional way of life too much, bought their land to help increase their GNP etc.
 I was upset when I was over there( April 2004) as this is starting to happen, it seemed with the help and blessing and perhaps even encouragement (guidance)? of foreign aid workers/governments, but I could be wrong.

I have never believed GNP accurately reflects"living standards/wealth" especially regarding environment and lifestyle, although I realise it is a useful comparator.
I'm afraid  there is a huge difference between zero income and living in a village that owns all the land and has its own pawpaws, coconuts, banana trees, few veggies grown, clean ocean with good supply of fish
and zero income and owning no land , having nowhere to live and nothing to eat,
yet the GNP would be much the same, sigh.
 
I think our "aid" should be more in protecting their environment, providing free education and health care knowing perhaps partly in exchange for  greenhouse credits( I have enough light bulbs and shower heads now thanks)...by maintaining the clean  environment to help counter. I guess I'm an environmentalist. Other aid may be in helping protect their reef from foreign divers or their water and ports from oil from foreign shipping.
A pristine reef is worth a lot in tourist dollars to Vanuatu, now and in the future.

Some ways of making money?
Perhaps a jointly owned eco-resort  near beachfront .. but no too many!
where the village provides a lease of the land for say a max of 30 years with, say,  an option to renegotiate after 25 years. The resort providing employment and joint share of profit would have alleviated the poverty levels in some villages. I think it was a possibility worthy of consideration.
There are other more "usual" ways of income adding too.. like making and organic coconut oil, soap etc and selling to tourists who may visit villages or in markets (where they do already sell necklaces, fruit, veges etc to tourists and locals).

I sat in a ferry from Hideaway Island to the mainland with a foreign aid worker. I think she was French, but I cannot recall who she was working for. 
She seemed to be saying that the "aid" they were doing was helping the Ni-Vanuatuans to sell their land to improve their wealth?( Perhaps I misunderstood this. perhaps they were trying to help so the niVanuatuans would not be so ripped off?
I objected strongly to this. .. an uncomfortable disagreement, even a plea on my part, for understanding of the consequencs of any land "sale", in a small boat  from which neither of us couldnt escape(without jumping overboard).
I regret I cannot remember the exact conversation, but I could see what would happen to the people in the villages lifestyle. I was fairly sure they wouldn't understand the true implications of any land deals that anyone would make with them, and definite they wouldn't have sufficient legal cover to keep property developers at their word, to prevent them being ripped off, and to allow them to still keep their lifestyle.
I do vaguely remember her argument of ..Vanuatu has one of the lowest GNP's or GDP's in the world so they need the money which they can get by selling (leasing) their land? 

I do remember being very sad, upset, even angry at the way foreign "aid" was being implemented(if it was)..to "aid" the developed nations!, sitting in that ferry, envisaging a bloodbath in the years to come. .. a bit like the Solomons only different.
The loss of a lifestyle they treasured, perhaps not idyllic due to the poverty and disease, due to the loss of land outcome will not be represented in GNP or even worse GDP or any other "artificial " and extremely "inaccurate" ,measure of wealth for this lifestyle. The total wealth (as measured by GNP or even bigger GDP) of the local Ni-Vanuatuans may be more if their land is subdivided and sold.. but not their true "living standard" or happiness. This, to me, seems to be due to the flaws in the economic measures of "living standards" used in the West when  applied to a subsistance economy.

Perhaps I misunderstood. Perhaps it was the property developers from Australia and elsewhere seeing a chance for a  huge buck, approaching the govt  or PM of Vanuatu and beginning it all!

This all  assumes that the system of land ownership and title; of sale / lease or even rent is fair .. which is extremely unlikely. The property developers in Australia do not ,in my opinion, rank highly  in fairness, consideration of people, lifestyle, or environment , planning, and not "ripping " people off.  I have been saddened  over my lifetime to watch the property developers winning in Australia, the massive sprawl of suburbia, the overtaking of arable farmland with housing.. something not done in Japan /England/Europe where the towns are surrounded by famland.. but here in Oz the property developers appear to win (another story- control of  govts, buying land, getting it rezoned etc.).

I doubt if any land sales will  see any significant money filtering down to the majority of Ni-Vanuatuans..maybe some in the govt, and mostly to property developers and rich "investors" from other countries (e.g.. Australia and NZ, France, US)
My inadequate contribution when I was over in Vanuatu in April2004, was to speak to a few of the NiVanuatuans informally that I met about it.
I did speak,  casually, with one young man,  and told him how I saw it panning out and how important it was to hold onto their land.
I explained if it was a 50 yr or longer lease. ..even if they got most of the money from the sale(doubtful), and even if they no longer wanted they lifestyle(doubtful)..how will the next generation live, in 25 years time when the money has gone?  What would his children face?(money tends to disappear quite fast thru poor  investments, being ripped off,  etc often with little left for the next generation. This money must last 3 generations and with some left over for restoration if possible!)
He seemed to understand and agree. I hope somehow I got thru. But he did say he had no real say in his village(which is understandable), however I sure hope he at least tried to talk to as many as would listen 

Update added in Nov 2006
I just watched Dateline. Vanuatu Land Grab(transcript) Nov 22nd 2006; to view a video  just click on the video icon and select "vanuatu land boom 22nd Nov 2006"
Sigh, it has started.
I guess they now understand(or are beginning to) how necessary their land is to their lifestyle. I felt they always appreciated its beauty.
It appears they also are beginning to understand just who gets most of any money.
I was not surprised to see Paul Keating's name in there. It fits in with my impression of him when he was a PM in Australia, owning his pig farm and having a tax system which favoured ownership of such. He never appeared to truly represent what I had grown up believing the Labour party represented.

My understanding back when I visted Vanuatu in 2004 was...
The land was owned down past the high tide mark ..or beaches and some of the water,  as well as the land as traditionally the tribes owned their own fishing grounds as permission was expected to be obtained before anyone used their waters.(even  by tourists).
 I think this is not so incredible considering the tribes used this as part of their way of life to get food..the same as the land provided food, and therefore was owned collectively by the tribe.

I cannot understand why anyone would want to buy a block of land in a suburbia created by property developers, the trees chopped down, the lifestyle gone for many... in a place they are no longer welcome and  cause hardship, even starvation perhaps.
Thing is, can we do anything to stop this?
A few cyclones repeatedly occurring may help slow it down, but not prevent it.
Can this disaster be reversed?
Sigh,
Australians used to be liked over there..
I do fully understand the comments about killings made.  I don't think it's that extreme either if you consider the Solomons,  or even Fiji.
Uncomfortable for the expats for sure....
The long time expats , at least the Aussies and NZ'ers appeared to be liked and trusted..and the ones I met were all helping or providing employment, and much-needed income , .. not destroying their lifestyle for their own massive gains.
What other solution can we offer as a choice?

I feel the NiVanuatuans do not fully understand that people can say things just to get money.. and then not carry it out unless forced to by courts..and even then..
Courts(IMHO) are still for the rich and not a relaxed friendly way . Some people seem to think its the way to go, others just avoid them , even if it means remaining poor. If a group said they were going to use the lease to build a big resort and provide work and they dont, IMO the lease should be automatically cancelled and a financial penalty paid .. maybeup to the amount of money no longer retrievable as its "disppeared" or been spent on legal costs, establishment. of lease, govt fees/duties etc.
The property developers should also have to return any money they made under "false  pretences" or at the least not fully understood.
If those few people are left poor.. .. I think a Ni Vanuatuan expressed it on  Dateline.
--------------------------
As far as I can see , the villagers way of life depends on their communal ownership of their land, especially in the future.
At present it seemed to me that there was sufficient land for all?, Their lifestyle was changing and young leaving the villages for Vila or other villages on other islands, but it didn't need to be destroyed so abruptly.
I guess if population pressure or money to have a few of the things of a modern, higher living standard, then I can see the some value in subdividing a part of their land.. but leaving as much as possible to maintain some feasible part-living off the land and water.
A well drawn up joint ownership of a eco-resort(and its profit) .. where the village provides the land via a lease and the resort developer provides the money for building and marketingand guarantees employment of the villagers. Villagers are paid at a much lower rate  so this is beneficial for the resort too! I would have thought this scenario was achievable without having to subdivide the land and lease it... which  may amount to a total loss of lifestyle.   I cannot understand why this should not have been viable for those villages near Port Vila.(as Erakotor is)?
Or even running tours(like Gecko or Intrepid etc) between villages and building a few cabins on the outskirts of their villages to house the tourists for some income without as great a change in their lifestyle.

more on vanuatu 2004
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jandi_7/slideshow?.dir=/fb0c&.src=ph