Emma is a Fijian with Melanesian and Polynesian descendants. Her late mother is Fijian from Viwa, Bau, in Tailevu with maternal links to Namacu, Koro in Lomaiviti. Her father is from Pago Pago in American Samoa, and has maternal links to Sawana, Vanua Balavu in Lau, Fiji. She has lived in Fiji most of her life and spent 3 years in Samoa and a year in New Zealand.
Emma has been involved in development work over the last 25 years supporting national and community level institutional strengthening and capacity building. She has worked in the Pacific region serving in various organizations (UNDP, UNFPA, SPREP, SOPAC) on climate change and environmental matters covering policy development and project implementation. One such project, i.e., the Climate Security in the Pacific Project, inspired her to undertake this PhD research. The topic of her PhD thesis is Climate Crisis and External Mobility: The Nexus between Science, Indigenous Knowledge, and Policy Implementation
The climate crisis has very deep impacts and is affecting communities in the Pacific in so many ways. Low-lying atoll States (such as Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands) are the most vulnerable and severely impacted. Climate change is affecting social cohesion at community, national and regional levels and threatening land, food, and water securities. It is also causing internal displacement that could eventually lead to external displacement. Climate change is also posing challenges to the blue economy, increasing the risks of disasters. The impact of sea level rise may also pose challenges to the statehood of low-lying atoll States.
