Course name: English for Academic Purposes

Course code: UU114

Essay title: Evaluate the challenges faced by the Pacific Island Nations in securing food sources

Full name: Josed David Leavai

ID#: s11176243
Group #: 6
Tutor’s name: Keith Giblin
Date: 13 March 2020
 Abstract

To sum up, this essay is mainly evaluating the different types of challenges each individual go
through daily. In the economic world, workers tend encounter these problems of such, Political
factors in terms of tariffs and embargo, and the lack of skilled labor, which highlights certain
individuals with incompetent skills. On the other hand, Environmental factors, which include
climate change in terms of ocean acidification and storm surge and precipitation, and that of
natural disasters. However, agricultural activities done by humans that also damage our food
sources such as mass fishing, use of technology and Urbanization which deals with migration of
people from rural areas to urban areas and because of this, It will obviously lead the uneven
distribution of resources amongst the people.
Essay title: Evaluate the challenges faced by the Pacific Island Nations in securing food sources

Introduction
Context: Food is vitally important for life.

Subject: Food security

Limited subject:
a. What are the challenges faced
b. Pacific Island Nations

Issue: It is important to argue the factors affecting Food sources in Pacific Societies

Thesis: This essay will argue the challenges that Pacific Island communities face in terms
of food security

Main Idea 1:
Economic
a. Political factors
i. Tariffs
ii. Embargo

b. Lack of skilled labor

i. Employees with inadequate skills
ii. Unskilled labor become insignificant and badly paid in any workplace

Main Idea 2:
Environmental
a. Climate Change
i. Ocean Acidification
ii. Storm Surge and Precipitation
 b. Natural Disasters
i. Increasing soil erosion
ii. Water pollution

Main Idea 3:
Agriculture
a. Human activities
i. Mass Fishing
ii. Use of technology

b. Urbanization
i. Migration from rural to urban areas
ii. Uneven distribution of resources
 Introduction
Food is becoming essential to our world nowadays. Food security is the measure of the
availability of food and individuals’ ability to access it. When talking about food security faced
by small island nations, challenges are mostly what comes to mind. These challenges will have
huge impacts to the people’s livelihood. This essay will argue those factors that Pacific Island
nations face in terms of Food security.

Firstly, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs categorizes food as the major priority, for it is an important
part of our lives; some may have said that food is indeed life. Political factors are one of the
major conflicts that affect food security economically. Political factors is known to be the
relationship between the government and the economy by generating certain rules and
regulations that improves the economy, such as tariffs, quotas and more. Take for instance,
Governments impose tariffs to increase revenue by making local made products more expensive
and may hurt consumers in rural areas who are likely to pay extra for manufactured products.
According to the Pacific Islands Tourism Guide, Fiji Customs Authority may enforce strict
regulations, concerning temporary importation products such as honey. Fiji placed an embargo or
restrict of trade on the purchase of Honey from Pacific Islands. Such method is only beneficial
for developed small island nations.

Moreover, the lack of skilled labor in the economy is associated with the factors that affect food
security. It is considered as, the scarce of certain individuals with the appropriate skills and
knowledge required for a particular job, such as having inadequate skills and thus having
insignificant pay. For example, the fact that individuals have unqualified skills to complete one’s
work, will result in low-income jobs that involves grocery clerks, fast food workers and more.
Thus, earning low income will not be a help for the preservation of food for one’s families.

Secondly, despite economic pressures faced, Environmental factors such as climate change also
contributes to the downfall of food sources in the pacific. Where climate change is simply the
fluctuation of the weather patterns around the globe. For instance, “ocean acidification has the
potential to affect food security” (cf. Coast Adapt; 2017) thus, some seafood will be inedible.
“Coastal areas are also vulnerable to increases in the intensity of storm surge and heavy
precipitation. Storm surges flood low-lying areas, damage property…” (cf. United States
Environmental Protection Agency; 2017) hence, crops are obliterated. For such of these, it is best
to stay alerted and prepared in securing food sources from these uncontrollable threats.

Additionally, Natural Disasters are the first-degree destroyers of food sources. Natural disasters
are natural occurring events such as floods, which causes great destruction and loss of life. For
example, cyclone Eveni that occurred on the year of 2012 led to the mass destruction of property
and land in which a high number of crops and trees were uprooted and the loss of life of others.

Lastly, In the Agricultural world, Human activities have progressed from previous years and is
becoming a main threat to our source of food. Human activities are human controlled actions that
are considered suitable for obtaining food. Such as mass fishing, that damages marine life, which
later on will become inhabitant. Also the use of pesticides that decreases the fertility of the soil
used for growing crops.

In addition, Urbanization is another common challenge that is faced today in our economy.
Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural areas to urban areas either for education or
for the availability of resources. For example, people from rural area often stay with family in the
urban areas, which results in the increase of the population in that certain area that has limited
number resources. Alternatively, due to the fact of uneven distribution of resources, where high-
income earners will attain more resources whereas low-income earners will get less.
Urbanization may have its pros and cons but depending on the main purpose, people ought to
find.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is vital to take into account the major conflicts that can result in the decay of our
livelihood. People tend to ignore these threats and the costs incurred could be permanent. Food
security need not to be taken lightly; however, we should think about future generations and how
it will affect them. Unless pacific communities as a whole are committed to follow up on these
setbacks and try to prevent it, the impacts will not only be extreme but also long lasting.
Bibliography

Coast Adapt, 2017, “Ocean acidification and its effect”, (viewed on 13 March 2020),
https://coastadapt.com.au/ocean-acidification-and-its-effects

KENTON, W. 2019, “How a Tariff Works”, Investopedia, (viewed on 13 March 2020),

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tariff.asp

Pacific Islands Tourism Guide, 2020, “Fiji Restrictions/Quarantine and Prohibited Items”,
(viewed on 13 March 2020), https://www.pacifictourism.travel/pacific-islands/about/fiji/visas-
and-restrictions.html

United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017, “Climate Impacts on Coastal Area”,
(viewed on 13 March 2020), https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-
impacts-coastal-areas_.html