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MT 18 March 2018

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16 News maltatoday SUNDAY 18 MARCH 2018 THE winning photographs of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition organised by Heritage Malta's National Museum of Natural History will be exhibited in Gozo at Heritage Malta's Gozo Area Office in the Citadel. Photographs were submitted for three categories; Flora, Fauna and Marine. Apart from a winning photograph for each category, an overall winner was chosen from the ten finalists. The three winning photos and six runners- up from each category were on display at the National Museum of Natural History. They will now be exhibited at Heritage Malta's Gozo Area Office between the 20th March and 30th April. Heritage Malta often offers repeat events on the sister island in order to increase accessibility of its collections and endeavours. TEODOR RELJIC THE ongoing conversation about climate change, and more crucially, the global initia- tives that are put into place to safeguard its encroaching implications, are missing the boat when it comes to so-called Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This observation emerges from academic papers published in the most recent edi- tion of the International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, in a special issue dedicated to small island states and how they are meant to be dealing with the implications of climate change. However, what emerges most strongly in Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino's paper in the same issue of the journal is that small island states are disempowered on this front by proxy, given how certain rhetorical cliches and ineffective practices continue to be the status quo. In the article 'Seizing history: development and non-climate change in Small Island De- veloping States', Baldacchino (Department of Sociology, University of Malta) expresses his belief that the more sizeable cultural and political hegemonies seek to patronise SIDS through political and market-based manoeu- vres which tend to pay lip service to the same islands' needs in the face of climate change, but which however offer no tangible benefits in the longer term, and which may even be detrimental to the islands. The migration quandary One of the key factors to all of this – in a world order which Baldacchino recognises as becoming increasingly more comfortable with aggressive notions of nationalism – is the dynamic of migration, which does not sit comfortably with the overriding political and popular feeling in most countries. "A large supporting cast of researchers, consultants, journalists, activists and celebri- ties are at hand to consolidate the plight of SIDS people as climate change victims, but not as environmental refugees, lest this no- menclature implicate other countries with responsibilities". Indeed, one does not have to look too far ahead to notice just how volatile a notion migration is even locally – given how the 'Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin' thought it appro- priate to organise a 'national protest' against "foreigners in Malta" based on as-yet unveri- fied claims regarding the supposed criminal behaviour of a Malta-based Bulgarian teen. However, Baldacchino argues that migration – previously characterised in the less conten- tious terms of 'nomadism' – was seen as an acceptable response to adverse natural phe- nomena. But the current status quo dictates other- wise, resulting in an overarching tendency to expect SIDS to simply 'pull their socks up' and cultivate an attitude of "resilience" in re- sponse to their problems – an insidious back- handed compliment which, according to Bal- dacchino, has been doing serious damage. "It is only the current historical epoch that has engendered the mainstreaming of miti- gation and adaptation: with its array of states jealous of their territorial reach and border control and culture of 'technological solu- tionism' bred from the advances of science and engineering and their resulting hubris," Baldacchino writes. Resilience: an insidious narrative Characterising the narrative of 'resilience' as largely an externalised imposition by the Western hegemony, Baldacchino observes that even at best, such an interpretation of the modus operandi of SIDS is inherently disempowering. "There is no resilience without underlying vulnerability; the former exists because of and feeds off the latter. Adaptation and miti- gation measures to boost resilience merely affirm, lock in and naturalise a condition of insecurity and threat; they do not interrupt or transcend the perennial state of emer- gency which prevents even the idea of a dif- ferent, more emancipatory kind of collective agency." While Baldacchino's observations are pri- marily culled from the dynamics of Carib- bean Islands – predominantly St Lucia – he foregrounds these concerns against an over- arching cultural attitude that can leave its impact on small island states of all stripes, not least because even the example of "suc- cessful" small island states is rarely held up as a model of advancement for those who are struggling. "The four European small states of Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland and Malta have all pro- gressed away from being net recipients of UN or other multi-lateral largesse; yet, their im- pressive economic successes in recent years, hiccups notwithstanding, rarely feature in small state analysis as potential exemplars of 'good practice'," Baldacchino writes, add- ing that an insensitivity to the economics of scale inherent in small island states leads to the proposal of complacent and ultimately inefficient "solutions". "What this means is that the optics trump the efficiencies: spending a dollar of interna- tional aid in a small island state may be more visible but ultimately produces a poorer re- turn on investment than if the same dollar were invested in a larger state." Need to address specific realities All of this points to the need for a more sensitive and contextual understanding of the nitty-gritty realities of small island states, in favour of wide-ranging efforts pushed forward by international "elites", but which would have little or no impact on SIDS as they prepare for the fallout of climate change. Baldacchino identifies this tension as arising from a contrasting view of the future and the present. The impacts of climate change are often pitched within the framework of "the future", while SIDS would be more burdened with securing their present, Baldacchino ar- gues. "In a sense, the future has arrived with a very solid knock on the door of the pre- sent, thanks to climate change action: no other current and well-funded projects, programmes and pursuits seek to impact on development agendas with a view to future (rather than present) scenarios as much as climate change," Baldacchino writes, noting the irony implicit in this reality. While Malta appears to be somewhat 'ex- empt' from the more explicit challenges of its Caribbean counterparts on this front, its vulnerability to climate change remains a tangible reality. A recent article published in The European Journal of Agronomy which considered the level of preparedness of Gozitan farmers for climate change posited a stark warning. "Adverse climatic impacts... make small island states [Malta and Gozo included] amongst the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, where nation- al adaptation efforts are often constrained because of their resultant cost," the paper penned by penned by Charles Galdies, A. Said, L. Camilleri and M. Caruana (Univer- sity of Malta), stated. What we talk about when we talk about climate change The way Western hegemony relates to small island states on the subject of migration leaves a lot to be desired, a recent paper by sociologist Godfrey Baldacchino finds Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino

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