As Tonga moves on from their 2019 South Pacific Games debacle, their Government may have caused irreversible damage in an attempt to salvage development areas.
Anyone might look at Tongan Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva’s recent projects on the fringes of his capital and think that he has struck gold with his plans to develop wetland areas into residential lots, parks and a golf course.
But issues underlying his plans run deeper than the lack of consultation or preparation. What seems like a smart initiative for growth in the Kingdom could end up affecting communities all over the Island in unexpected ways. Even worse, Tonga was recently ranked second on the World Risk Index’s ‘2018 Disaster Risk’ list.
Part of what can improve a country’s risk rating is by increasing the resilience of their economies and communities to natural disaster. Wetlands play an important role in this cycle by protecting coastlines from the impact of destructive swells and sediment erosion. Impacts can build over a long period of time or be sudden in the form of a Tropical Cyclone with high swells or a Tsunami. By replacing these areas with imported sand and rock, using questionable engineering methods, Tonga may have exposed herself to the destructive forces of the Ocean.
Questions about the project
A number of members in the community have made requests for information but are often knocked back by Government officials. It took repeated attempts for Matangi Tonga to gain access to documents.
“I hope you are not going to report on this”
Source: MatangiTonga
Is what a reporter was told in 2017 by an Environmental Officer when viewing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is kept under lock and key. Furthermore, they report that the CEO of that Ministry, Paula Ma’u, has even advised staff the assessment may not be photocopied.
There are other EIAs available for public viewing on a range of Government Websites (the normal protocol for Environmental Assessments). But something seems to render this assessment different.
There also seems to be no reports available from the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee on reasoning behind the project’s approval (which is required by law).
What has happened
In 2015 plans were announced to rehabilitate the old Tukutonga dumpsite into a recreational park with facilities for the public. It soon became clear that the site was being drastically changed with “clearing, filling and levelling of ground surface, drainage, and transformation”.
In 2017, Akilisi also initiated clearing in areas adjacent to the park before obtaining approval. He claimed it was a golf course for the 2019 South Pacific Games which he later abandoned. Matangi Tonga reports, according to Lord Vaea, the golf-course was never even a part of the original South Pacific Games project plan. It was only announced after construction began and prior to an EIA being obtained.
The canals that have been dug are concerning in the erratic way that they have been constructed. The worst of them is the main canal draining directly from the newly built park, through the wetlands (soon to be golf-course) and into the coastline. This could act as a funnel for any chemicals or toxins from the Tukutonga dump site to seep into local marine environments. Once contaminated, this will spread to surrounding marine life that is consumed by all of Tongatapu.
Fertilisers and herbicides required to maintain park and golfing lawns will also be provided direct access to Fanga’uta lagoon through the canals that have been dug. Heavy rain events or high coastal swells could lead to contamination events suffocating surrounding marine life. Studies of Fanga’uta lagoon also show these risks are high because of the nature of water movement within the lagoon.
While most reactions have been positive to information recently posted on online communities such as Facebook page ‘My Tongan’; the information flow coming from the project remains tightly controlled.
Yet a number of people familiar with similar engineering and environmental projects have shown fear of the impacts that may come from this project.
Environmental Engineer Richard Stoll expressed dismay in 2017 to then Health Minister, ‘Ana ‘Akauola, before publishing an opinion piece in Matangi Tonga outlining his concerns.
“I can’t say how extremely disturbed I was to see the area around it now being developed as a children’s park”
Dangerous Health Risks at Popua are Obvious by Richard Stoll
Major questions remain about the assessment process and methods used by the Government for construction. But secrecy surrounding the Environmental Impact Assessment and subsequent refusals by Government to publicly address concerns suggest the public will remain in the dark.
Call for action
As currently ranked second of the countries highest at risk it would be unthinkable for Tonga to willingly move its own people into areas of extreme danger. The Government needs to commission an assessment from qualified experts to assess the risks and dangers of the project.
Update 09/03/2019
New satellite imagery obtained shows the impact of works in the Popua area.
Imagery obtained from publicly available platforms, Bing and Google maps, show changes that have occurred in the area.
A report commissioned for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade states that “passive recreation” activities were intended for the site following its rehabilitation in 2008.
But rehabilitating wetland areas for passive recreation generally does not involve destroying them in the process. From an Environmental Management perspective, this is completely contradictory to the purpose of passive recreation.
The same report also mentions mismanagement of the site in the past. Even 6 years after the rehabilitation, it was still not clear who was in charge of the site or if there was a management plan in place.
From what public information is available it seems the risks taken in pursuit of this project far outweigh the benefits.
Tevita K 