By Torrey McDonnell

Source: Torrey McDonnell

Recently I proudly added a large rash across my stomach to my growing collection of tropical ailments. Unlike the coral infections I have gained from surfing local reefs, this rash was contracted whilst walking in a polluted river. But much like the coral infections, this rash is a small price to pay to get out and enjoy Vanuatu’s waterways and learn more about local environmental management. My first thought upon visiting the river was that I would not swim in it if you paid me, let alone use it for drinking water. The first time I was taken for a walk along the banks by my workmate, we saw a dead dog floating amongst an island of rubbish at a culvert bridge. I was wondering how this could happen to such a beautiful river. Then recently I helped organize, and participated in, a river clean-up day that altered my perceptions of this river and environmental management in Vanuatu.

The river I am talking about is the Tagabe River.  Fed by Port Vila’s abundant rainfall, the Tagabe River Catchment is where Northern Port Vila’s water travels to the sea. The river is important to people in Port Vila for a variety of reasons. Water is extracted from the upper and middle catchment for town supply; adjacent land is used for agriculture, logging and farming; and settlers and squatters live along the banks of the middle and lower parts of the river. Tagabe and Blacksands are two squatter communities on this lower part of the river I have been involved with. The river is a vital part of daily life in these communities, a walk down the river will reveal people bathing, swimming, washing clothes, and collecting water. There are even fresh water prawns to be found.

On the day of the clean-up we started out from the river mouth at Blacksands. We met a Blacksands man having his morning bath in the river, I told him what we were doing and he enthusiastically joined us for the day. Most of the rubbish we were collecting was littered plastic — like washing powder packets thrown directly into the river or food packets washed in from around the catchment. Traditionally litter has not been an issue in Vanuatu as most of the waste has been biodegradable (such as coconut shells and banana peels). The problem is that nowadays much of the food comes wrapped in plastic. Traditional methods of disposal don’t work for plastic litter. Food packaging is just thrown on the ground or in the river after it is used. There is none of the awareness like that which is ingrained in most New Zealanders, to Keep New Zealand Beautiful’ or Be a Tidy Kiwi’. With the increase in consumption of western style packaged food, there seems to be a need for a similar awareness campaign.

Source: Don Hunter

We walked past women doing their washing and children playing in the river and collecting prawns. It was hard to believe that these activities still happen in such a heavily polluted river. Other than the litter, the main pollutants are from pigpens and toilets being too close to the river and local industry releasing pollutants into the water. They cause numerous health problems such as diahorrea, giardia and skin infections. I was soon to experience the latter — a firsthand demonstration of the dangers of a polluted river.

As we continued through the morning more people joined us. The clean up group soon swelled in numbers. Local residents were happy to join in, many of these were kids who were having a great time clearing out as much rubbish as they could. The slow pace of the clean up gave me time to start to see the river, in a different light from my initial trip there. Children playing, cool shaded groves of trees, meandering curves, sparkling pools showed me glimpses of how the river looked before plastic and industry arrived in Vanuatu. The number of people who joined in showed me how much the community cares for this river. I wondered if I would ever get so many people eagerly volunteering in a river clean-up day in New Zealand?

Since the clean-up day, we have been working to reduce the amount of rubbish in the Tagabe River. We have erected signs wherever people can be found washing or bathing, urging them not to discard rubbish in the river. We have also been continuously involved in performing environmental themed plays and conducting workshops around Port Vila. However, the process is somewhat demoralizing for all involved. No matter how much Tagabe and Blacksands residents mobilize themselves to keep the river clean, a constant stream of pollutants and rubbish still keep flowing down from the upper and middle catchments.

As I learnt on the clean-up day, once people learn more about the impact of litter and the importance of proper waste disposal they eager to help — but there needs to be more done. It is hoped the work that Wan Smolbag and other NGOs are doing will inspire the council, industry and the public to improve their environmental practices. Only then may the Tagabe River become cleaner and continue to be a resource for future generations.

Torrey McDonnell is a VSA UNIVOL volunteer currently working as a Youth Worker/Environmental Advisor with Wan Smolbag, a Non Government Organisation based in Port Vila Vanuatu. Torrey was assignment from March til December 2008.

For more information check out:

www.wansmolbag.org
www.vsa.org.nz