'O Bulavinaka' : space and well-being in rural Fiji

This study is an examination of the spatial variations in well-being among the rural, indigenous population in Fiji. The study was undertaken in the context of current development thinking about the importance of human capital and the role of well-being in human capital formation. Information regarding access to transportation, sanitation, communications, sources of power, housing types, and community halls was taken from a Ministry of Fijian Affairs survey of officially designated rural, indigenous Fijian villages and settlements. The data was standardized and the scores were mapped to illustrate the spatial distribution of well-being. The composite pattern of well-being was then compared to a standard center-periphery spatial model and to a spatially antithetical model suggested by the history and political geography of Fiji. The actual distribution of the indicators of well-being used in this study demonstrates that well-being is not evenly distributed spatially in Fiji. The pattern that emerges reflects an interesting polarity which combines elements of both models; levels of well-being greater than the mean are found in a western province where one finds strong economic activity and opportunity. and in provinces in the east that are the source of ‘traditional’ political leadership. More importantly, from the human development standpoint, several provinces consistently exhibited scores below average for those variables associated with a higher standard of living. The roughly 48,000 indigenous Fijians in these provinces have less access to basic amenities than other rural Fijians and may thus be limited in their participation in and contributions to the development process in Fiji.