My last day in Buka. I do a total of three interviews, including with the Bougainville Regional Disaster Office Coordinator, and Division Primary Industry Coordinator.
The interviews bring out the significant threats posed by weather variability and climate change-reinforced drought. I learn that a particularly bad drought, reminiscient of the one in 1998, is expected to come up soon. If the 1998 drought was a precursor, then the coming drought could last up to 18 months.
Unfortunately I don't have time to verify sources because of time constraints, but based on my observations on the atolls I'm not surprised to hear that water stress poses huge risks in face of rainwater dependency, saltwater intrusion and freshwater decline.
Carteret Atoll, Huene Island: Being heavily reliant on rainwater harvesting, steady freshwater supplies present significant challenges for low-lying islands.
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