Prime Minister Edward Natapei, only elected as the leader of Vanuatu in September 2008, has just lost his job over his failure to submit paperwork to excuse his absence from parliament recently.
Vanuatu - This tiny
nation consisting of some 83 islands in the Pacific Ocean, with a population of just over 200,000, was described as being 'in turmoil' after the Prime Minister's office forgot to hand in a
signed note excusing Natapei's absence from parliament this past week. He was out of the country attending the meeting of
Commonwealth leaders in preparation for the upcoming Copenhagen climate change talks. Natapei had to make an emergency trip back to Vanuatu to prepare for elections, which are expected to be held next week. A new Prime Minister will be elected by parliament. Until that election, a "caretaker" government is in place. An unnamed official told the
media "It was a standing order. If you miss three consecutive meetings, your seat will be declared vacant."
Observer Derek Brien of the
Pacific Institute of Public Policy,
said "It's truly unbelievable something as basic as that could have been overlooked. It's flabbergasting. I truly am shocked this has happened."
Vanuatu has already been suffering the
consequences of global warming, There has been no speculation as to what this situational blunder might mean for Vanuatu with the upcoming climate change talks in Copenhagen. However, Vanuatu has been attempting to
address the issue for many years, so it is anticipated that even if another Prime Minister be elected next week, Vanuatu will not lose momentum on the climate change front.
Critics
say that addressing climate change would mean little to the people of Vanuatu, the majority of whom
live in poverty. Vanuatu citizens lack the luxeries that much of the world now accepts are basic necessities of life, such as running water and sewage treatment. However, Vanuatu's poverty runs deeper than that, and many of its citizens struggle to feed and educate their families. Vanuatu's economy relies mainly upon tourism and agriculture.
Advocates and scientists counter those critics by arguing that climate change, which means rising sea levels and increased storms, means that people living in places like Vanuatu will lose their homes altogether, becoming "climate refugees." The United Nations has already
acknowledged the risk to inhabitants of the island nation because of climate change.
The islands and their inhabitants are acknowledged as being on the front line in terms of effects due to climate change. The combination of rising sea levels and exacerbated extreme events such as droughts and tropical cyclones are two of the more visible examples of global environmental change occurring across the region. Smaller, incremental changes in the underlying climate also impact on day-to-day activities such as farming. Weed invasions have already occurred and plant and human disease outbreaks are now more prevalent. Both can be linked to increasing temperatures and shifts in precipitation regimes."
Prime Minister Napatei was recently facing a vote of non-confidence,
shuffling his cabinet to deal with that political threat.
Vanuatu only gained its
independence from the United Kingdom and France in 1980.
Survivor was filmed on location in Vanuatu for its 9th season.
In related news, several hundred residents on the island of Gaua in the Torba province had to be relocated due to a volcanic
eruption.
