The Use Of Public Diplomacy By Pacific Island Forum States To Address The Climate Change Challenges

Pacific Island countries and territories(PICTs)are extremely vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change,indeed,they are among the most vulnerable countries in the world.Reducing the risks associated with the impacts of climate change,including extreme weather,climate variability and accelerated sea level rise,is a fundamental development challenge faced by PICTs.The Pacific Island Forum(PIF)leaders developed the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change(2006-2015)as a buffer for the climate challenges.The Framework's goal is to ensure that Pacific Island peoples and communities build their capacity to be resilient to the risks and impacts of climate change.The objective of this thesis is to identify the presence of PD in the whole processes from PIF leaders discussion in PIFACC to the general public of the Pacific states.PD in this context,is regarded more a communication phenomenon than a political one towards foreign publics.The indicators of the success of PD is reflected in the outcomes of the PIFACC over the last 10 years(2006-2015).To construct elements of PD in the PIF context,the communications methods used is discussed;mass communication and network communication,also including the dimensions that constitutes a PD,the actor,main message and instruments(media tools)used.Case studies also provides evidences of how a regional policy is integrated into national and sectoral plans to implement some of the principles of the PIFACC 2006-2015.Though there are reference book,reports,research papers,journals and more articles on Climate change and its challenges and various literatures on Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy,there is inadequate or no specific literature on the Public Diplomacy of the Pacific Island Forum(PIF)and its discourse with the citizens of the Island States.The significance of this research is to provide a literature on public diplomacy of the Pacific Island Forum and other regional agencies that delivers on PIFs goals and aspirations.The recommendations provided are indicative of improvements needed for PIFACC and its successor and or any other programs that PIF may initiate in future.To understand climate change and its effects,one needs to know the regional organizations that is tasked to deal with these challenges,the Pacific Island Forum(PIF)consist of 16 member states from throughout the Pacific Islands.The forum discusses major issues affecting the Pacific including the climate change issues.The Pacific Island Forum Secretariat(PIFS)is responsible for delivering the PIF's leaders decisions,it ensures effective implementation of leaders decision,also the Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific(CROP)that was established in 1988 serves to improve corporation,collaboration and coordination among other intergovernmental regional organizations to achieve common goal of sustainable development in the Pacific region.The regional organization that is responsible for climate issues is the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme(SPREP).The Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change(PIFACC)2006-2015,the goal of this Framework is to ensure Pacific island people build their capacity to be resilient to the risks and impacts of climate change with the key objective to deliver on the expected outcomes under six(6)defined principles.One of the primary purpose of this Framework is to strengthen climate change action in the region by raising awareness of climate change issues in the Pacific for stakeholders within the Pacific and outside the region as well.PIFACC and other regional policies comes under the Pacific plan,a regional strategy for strengthening cooperation and integration between Pacific countries.Implementation of PIFACC requires focus and support from regional organisations and the international community.The implementation of PIFACC,and its monitoring and evaluation is dependent on the financial contributions of PICTs,CROP agencies and international donor and financial institutions.Two of PIFs goals as stated under the PIFACC themes three(3)Improving the understanding of Climate change;and four(4)Education,training and awareness,are critical in understanding climate science,impacts and adaptation and for development and implementation of effective responses to climate change challenges.Climate change in the context of sustainable development requires a long-term view,rather than approaches that focus on short-term gains.Sustainable development strategies are multifaceted,taking into consideration economic,social,cultural,environmental,participatory,and political factors that affect human welfare.An optimal level of understanding of and participation in climate change action in PICT communities can only be realized if stakeholders have access to the required education and training,and awareness is raised within the broader community of the Pacific islanders.The expected outcome under this theme(4)from 2006-2015 is for Increased awareness and understanding of climate change issues among communities and other stakeholders.PIF is engaging PD to address the climate challenge issues in the Pacific;To understand how PIF's Public Diplomacy addresses the climate challenge issues in the Pacific Island States,foremost it is important to appreciate the three(3)major dimensions that constitutes a country's PD framework.The 3 Dimensions as according to Ingrid d'Hooghe are;1.Actors and Decisionmaking,2.Public Diplomacy Content,3.Public Diplomacy Instruments.The first dimension includes the actors and decision-making,this can involve both state and non-state actors in public diplomacy either in developing or conducting public diplomacy.The second dimension is the Public Diplomacy content of the country.This concerns the main messages that it wants the general public to be aware of.The content of PD is developed in three domains.The third dimension is the use of Instruments in the execution of Public Diplomacy.The PIF and SPREP also uses digital diplomacy or what is also known as public diplomacy 2.0 which is a new platform of communication for their outreach as messages delivered via internet can reach a global audience.Climate change is a global issue that needs global effort to curb this calamity.According to the Pacific Plan,the Pacific Island Forum leaders have collectively acknowledge the threat posed by climate change to the economic,social,environmental and cultural well-being of Pacific Island Countries and Territories(PICTS)and have reaffirmed the continuing urgency of addressing the challenges posed by,and the impacts of,climate change as a regional priority.The medium to address this issues is to actively engaging through communication and that is through Mass communication and Network communication approach.The main strength of mass communication through mass media is the audience reach.A single source is capable of transmitting a uniform message to a mass audience.In Network communication approach,it focuses on information exchanges and collaboration with CROP Agencies in designing and delivering a more coherent message to the public also.There are three layers of public diplomacy;monologue communication or one way communication,dialogue(i.e.,two-way or multi directional)communication and collaboration-defined here as people working together on a joint venture or project,this provides an equally critical and,more effective approach to engaging with foreign publics.Each of these three layers is equally important in serving its specific goals.The monologue communication is dominant in mass communication approach while the dialogue communication and collaboration are dominant in the network communication approach to public diplomacy.In the PD of PIF the dialogue and collaboration is more dominant in information dissemination that includes both state and non-state actors to develop and conduct PD.The Public Diplomacy of PIF is effected by PIFS,SPREP and other CROP agencies through the 'focal point' of individual member countries.This is for effective implementation of the PIFACC 2006-2015 activities,examples of this collaboration is the case of REDD+(Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation)in Papua New Guinea with.A country's PD framework is constructed around three major dimensions.The six(6)key themes of the PIFACC 2006-2015 can be categorized also under the three PD dimensions.Themes 2 and 6 relates to Governance,decision making,partnership and cooperation,these can be related to dimension One(1)of PD framework as it relates to Actors and Decision making process of PD.Themes 1 and 5 relates to Implementing tangible on-ground adaptation measures and mitigation of GHG emissions,this is related to dimension two(2)of PD framework as it relates to content dimension of public diplomacy.Themes 3 and 4 relates to improving the understanding of climate change and education,training and awareness,this is related to dimension three(3)of PD framework as it relates to instrument dimension of public diplomacy,the various platforms that will be used to deliver the message.This research has ascertained that PIF and its agencies are engaging both forms of communication networks used in PD;Mass communication and Network communication.The method best used to achieve a particular goal depends on the needs of the moment,the actors involved,and the audiences that need to be reached.However,there are limitations and challenges along the way in reaching the general public through PD,with PIFACC,the disconnect between PIFACC as a regional policy and its use to guide and support policy development and implementation at country level is still a challenge.Also the lack of quantitative performance indicators,baseline information and performance targets is another of the reasons why there has not been more effective implementation of the PIFACC,and why there is little knowledge of what the PIFACC has achieved.Recommendations to improve on PIFACC or its successor program includes;aggressive awareness with all state and stake holders must be a priority,funding must be made available by all member states of PIF to implement the directives and principles stated in PIFACC and have adequate baseline data and set performance targets when implementing a succeeding framework for PIFACC,which will be easier to asses achievements.