Effects Of Globalization On The Pacific Islands

Globalization is now a central theme in the affairs of the Pacific Islands. Pacific Islands’ governments are caught up in the rhetoric, the ideology, and the economic policies of globalization. In detailed, will be the discussion on the following;
1. What are the benefits and adverse effects of globalization in the Pacific?
Globalization has become one of the biggest issues in the world today, since many people believed is a good thing while there are also many who think it is bad. Therefore, the following are some of the good things or the benefits which globalization brings about in the Pacific;
• Free Trade- Through interconnectedness of countries’ economies, it allows them to trade freely when tariffs and subsidies are reduced (Pitylak,

Information technology drives the innovative use of resources to promote new products and ideas, and makes communication easier and convenient.
However, globalization also has adverse effects in the Pacific. The following are some of the adverse effects or negative effects which globalization has on the Pacific Islanders;
• Global warming- It refers to an increase in an average global temperatures which caused by natural and human activities (Shah, 2014). Increase in temperature can cause rise to sea levels. Therefore, suffering most of Pacific Island nations since they are small islands.
• Natural resources exploitation- Many of our natural resources have been exploited by foreign mining and logging companies. Eg. PNG LNG Project. After extracting all the natural resources, we will be left with nothing and the generation to come may suffer a lot of

In addition, is the issue of brain drain. “It appears that PNG is losing some of its top highly trained human capital to work offshore” (Hualupmomi, 2010). Just to name a few more, is the influx of conterfeit products, local business going out of business, the issue of Asian prostitutes coming to PNG, etc.
• Loss of traditional and cultural values- Most of the Pacific Islands cultures are dying out because it has been influenced by western lifestyle.
• Cheaply leveraging local labourers- local labourers are paid lower than the expatriates.
2. How does globalization affect governments and people of the Pacific?
It links the Pacific countries’ government together and making them more interdependent as they face its impacts. Because they are made up of smaller islands and economies, they have form large regional organizations so they can work together to deal with common economic, political, social and environmental problems. Example of such organization is the Pacific Islands Forum (www.forumsec.org.fj).
3. How can people in the Pacific deal with the problems and issues created by the processes of globalization?
Globalization is here to stay. Therefore, we cannot escape it but we can try to minimize or reduce its impacts. Here are some of ways;
• Minimize export-oriented