Acts of God: why secular climate projects fail in the Pacific
For communities in many poorer countries, including in the Pacific Islands, the most influential messages engage with people’s spiritual beliefs and involve religious leaders
A damaged church, dead trees and debris on Wake Island left by Super Typhoon Ioke in 2006 (US Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)
By Patrick Nunn
Unless you are cocooned in a tourist bubble, it is hardly possible to miss God when you visit the Pacific Islands.
In every village and on every main street there seems to be a church or temple, packed to bursting point on holy days. It is testament to the considerable influence of spirituality on the way people live in the Pacific.
Yet almost every well-intentioned outside agency – including those of foreign governments such as Australia and the European Union – that seeks to help the region’s people adapt to the effects of future climate change is drawing up its plans in secular ways, and communicates using secular language.
Over some 30 years, most such interventions have failed, proving neither effective nor sustainable. The answer to the question “why” may in part lie in the sidelining of God.
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/05/17/acts-god-secular-climate-projects-fail-pacific/