Week 9: Oceania Lecture Slides

• 3 S of pacific islanders: solitude, self-sufficiency, subsistence

• Region comprises Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and various Pacific Islands, along with Antarctica.

• Total population: approximately 38 million, predominantly in Australia.

Major Divisions of Oceania

• Melanesia: Papua New Guinea & neighboring islands.

• Micronesia: Smaller islands to the north like Guam.

• Polynesia: Islands in the central and southern Pacific.

• Australia: Unique continent with distinct geographical and cultural features.

• Key traits for Pacific island nations include:

  • Population: 100,000 to 150,000.

  • Size: 250 to 1,000 square miles.

  • High dependence on foreign economic aid.

Landforms and Climate

• Formation of Australia: Evolved from Gondwana, apart of supercontinent Pangaea. Characterized by ancient and low-lying land.

• Typical Australian Landforms:

  • Contains two gulfs; major desert in the center.

  • Middle lowland desert

  • Eastern uplands and the Great Barrier Reef impacting climate.

• Island Formation:

  • Pacific islands created through tectonic plate movements, including volcanic activity.

  • Types of islands: Continental (Tasmania, New Guinea) and Volcanic (Hawaiian Islands, Atolls like Kiribati).

  • Atoll- low lying island or chain of islets, formed of coral reef built up on the circular rim of submerged volcano - most affected by sea level rising

• Climate:

  • Central Pacific has mild, humid climates; Australia is substantially arid, receiving less than 50cm annual rainfall.

  • Orographic rainfall patterns evident, particularly on islands with mountainous terrain. wet windward side and dry leeward side

  • Australia climate: dry, 1 major river system so arid in the south - most Australians live here

• Pacific Islands waterfront views on most fragile right now. Colonial settlements and docking facilities have little land available for development from rising waters

  Flora and Fauna

• Endemic Species: Significant due to isolation. Species like mosquitoes, marsupials, and various plant species evolved uniquely, with many endemic to Australia.

• Plant Adaptations:

  • Eucalyptus (450 species), Acacia (900 species) adapted to dry conditions with deep roots for moisture and reflective leaves.

Environmental Issues

• Global Climate Change:

  • Oceania is a minor greenhouse gas contributor; however, islands are highly vulnerable.

  • Australia has one of the highest GHG emissions

  • Issues include prolonged droughts, water shortages, wild fire and increased storm severity.

• Coral Reefs: Major concern due to bleaching; Great Barrier Reef represents ecological fragility.

• Responses:

  • Efforts to transition to renewable energy amid dependency on fossil fuels- (91% coal, oil and natural gas)

  • Protection of marine areas and legislation targeting plastic pollution, with examples like Bill 40 in Hawaii.

  • Solar energy is wildly used on islands

  • Net zero goals for 2050

The Peopling of Oceania

• Historical Context:

  • Aborigines: Long-standing inhabitants, migrated from Southeast Asia.

  • Earliest contact with Europeans occurred in 1521 with Ferdinand Magellan.

  • Colonization began with British settlement affecting indigenous populations.

Cook islands VS Australia- Equity

-Highly vulnerability - low vulnerability

-Future big concern - present concerns

-Depend on nature -structural impediments (trade, money)

Risk to subsistence - risk to wealth

• Invasive Species: endemic species are being displaced by invasive species- affects environment and economy, European rabbits came from British settlers who loved to eat them, released for hunting but with no other predators they multiplied quickly, consume so much of the native vegetation that native animals starve

• Fishing- other countries over fishing Oceania shores (Asia and USA)

• Nuclear Testing on distant islands- major racism- almost took out whole population of indigenous peoples

• Plastic from other countries ends up on Oceania shores

• Tourism - foreign-owned enterprises accelerated loss of wetlands and beach erosion — strained island water resources —-Canadians are the 2nd highest country visiting and buying Hawaiian

MPA- Marine protected areas- they are a good solution to protect but enable indigenous people to fish and live traditionally

Plastic Controls- Single use plastic ban- phase out plastic

History

• Preserved ancient migrations and settlement stories through oral tradition

• 1521 first contact in Micronesia- The portugeses’s sailors burned and killed the village to the ground for being curious about the vessel

• Colonization- NZ and AS were British parts- once US left British control AS became the dumping ground for convicts - Irish and English convicts stayed after sentence

• Disease, murder and exile to native people decimated the population

Current Geographic Issues

• Economic Shifts: globalization & Asia

  • Post-WWII shift from European-led systems to U.S. influence, now reoriented towards Asia, impacting export dynamics.

  • Asia buys 76 plus of Australia’s exports

  • Service sector dominance: Transition from raw material exports to diverse service economies in Australia and New Zealand.

  • AUS and NZ allies with USA

• Sociocultural Issues:

  • Growing respect for indigenous perspectives amidst historical racism and marginalization.

  • Revivals of indigenous culture, including the Māori and Aborigines in contemporary society.

  • Mechanization is decreasing employment rates

  • Island Economics: self-sufficiency cushions stress of economic change. Some islands rely on MIRAB economy- migration remittances aid, and bureaucracy

Subsistence Affluence: reflects a situation in which standards of living are high, even though formal economies are low— pacific islanders are often classified in this

Sustainable tourism- decreases tourism imprint and minimizes disparities between host and visitors

Gentrification: the renovation and renewal of run-down inner-city environments through an influx of more affluent persons such as middle-class professionals. Has led to the displacement of poorer citizens

Pidgin Language- several languages combined during trading

Creole languages- When pidgin languages acquire fuller vocabularies and become native languages

Indigenous come back→

NZ Maori population rose by 20 percent recently

AUS indigenous land claims