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Accepted Paper:
From social justice to spatial justice: De-marginalising remote islands in the Pacific
Kim Andreas Kessler
(University of Otago)
Aiming to advance research and policy on de-marginalisation, this presentation argues for the need to include a spatial lens in social justice research and policy in archipelagic Pacific Island states and beyond.
Paper long abstract:
Social justice, with a focus on marginalised population groups, has recently gained prominence in global development. In the Pacific Islands region, this has resulted in an increase of civil society, government, and private sector support for enhanced and more sustainable livelihoods of minority groups, such as women, LGBTQI, people with disabilities, and the elderly. However, such support has been spatially biased toward main islands and has rarely reached (remote) outer island populations in the Pacific. Spatial inequality is a key element that characterises the Pacific region. Remote outer islands in the region are geographically isolated, have limited accessibility, and insufficient infrastructure. This spatial disparity contributes significantly to the socioeconomic marginalisation of these distant island populations. Focusing on field-based research in Fiji and embedding a spatial justice lens within an intersecting inequalities approach, this presentation argues that spatial inequalities need to be considered if research and policy are to be fit for purpose to enhance social justice and reduce inequalities within archipelagic Pacific Island countries. Effective de-marginalisation of left behind populations will require a reassessment of policies with a focus on the specific needs of remote outer island populations in the Pacific.