Regions and Countries

	Table of Contents
p. 4 of 18 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment A. Economic Performance Assessment B. Poverty Assessment C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance D. Governance: Sound Development Management E. Implementation Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Tonga : I. Country Performance Assessment

---

C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance

1. Gender Issues

7. The Human Development Index (HDI) for females in Tonga is six percent higher than that for males.³ This largely reflects a higher life expectancy of 71 years, compared with 65 years for males. Women’s status as measured by the Human Poverty Index (HPI) is also slightly higher than men’s. The primary and secondary enrolment ratios for females are 91 and 71, respectively; while total and teenage fertility rates are relatively low by Pacific standards, at 4.3 and 22, respectively. Women constitute 32 percent of the workforce, and 39 percent are in paid employment. There are no women in parliament.

8. Women in Tonga have traditionally had a nominal status generally superior to that of men, based on the cultural obligation of men to their sisters. This status however is gradually declining as a result of demographic and social changes. Rapid urbanization has resulted in a decline in traditional values, emerging pockets of urban poverty, and landlessness. One consequence of large-scale international migration is that women are often left behind to manage as single parents.

9. In spite of the difficulties in obtaining access to credit, women are key players in agricultural work, including commercial agriculture. Access to credit is more difficult for women because of their negligible land rights. Despite better repayment rates and overall creditworthiness than men, few women are able to access loans for commercial crops, even though their role in these sectors has become increasingly important.

10. Due in part to data shortage, women’s economic activity remains largely undervalued in national accounts and sectoral reporting. As a result, the mainstreaming of gender into national planning and macroeconomic policy is seriously inhibited. Gender biases in the definition of work for example, mean that official statistics show as much as 58 percent of women over 15 years old as not economically active. According to national statistics, only 119 women were employed in agriculture and fisheries in 1996. Even in areas of employment where women are better represented formally and where non-discriminatory human resource management policies apply, gender biases persist. For instance, about 46 percent of civil service employees are women. Yet almost 85 percent of these women are in lower level positions. There is only one woman employed at the most senior level in the civil service.

11. Unlike those of other Pacific countries, the Tongan Constitution carries no general affirmative action provision that could be invoked in favor of women. Tonga has yet to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Ratification is by no means assured in the near future either, as it would require the Tongan Government to guarantee, through legal and other measures, the equality of women in national law and policy. In this regard, discrimination in the area of land law is one of the most politically sensitive issues.

2. Human Development

12. The Pacific Human Development Report 1999 presents an HDI score for Tonga of 0.647, which places the country in third place among PDMCs. The ranking is the result of a high adult literacy rate (99 percent), a high gross enrolment rate in primary and secondary school (83.3 percent), high life expectancy (68 years), and relatively high GDP per capita ($1,868).

13. Primary education is free and compulsory in Tonga. Participation is high throughout primary and secondary levels. Expenditure on education as a percentage of total public expenditure is 17.8 percent, a high level by Pacific Island standards. Tonga’s main challenge in the future is to address the problem that many young people are over- or inappropriately-trained, and provide employment to use their skills for personal and national development. Making education more relevant will remain a consideration of the Government in the beginning of the 21st century.

14. By international standards, Tonga enjoys a high standard of health. Life expectancy at birth is one of the highest in the Pacific, the infant mortality rate is amongst the lowest, and virtually 100 percent of the population has access to health services and safe water supply. Infectious and communicable diseases are largely under control. However, in addition to the challenge of further improving income levels, there is an associated challenge of improving the quality of life. As a result of high fat diets, high cigarette and alcohol consumption, and more sedentary lifestyles, non-communicable diseases are increasing in Tonga. It is estimated, for example, that 15-20 percent of the adult population in Tonga is diabetic. The Government of Tonga spends about 12 percent of its total budget on health, which is around the level of other PDMCs. Health service provision is likely to have larger demands placed on it in the future within a tighter overall budget constraint, so that ways of improving efficiency of service delivery will have to be sought.

3. Environment

15. Tonga’s limited land resources in conjunction with high population growth rates in urban centers have put considerable pressure on the country’s natural resources and worsened its environmental problems. Due to limited land resources, mangrove forests have been cleared and filled to make home sites. Conversion of forest land for agriculture purposes in the past has virtually destroyed Tonga’s entire indigenous forest resources with the remaining area of natural hardwood forest being estimated at about 4,000 hectares, most of which is located on steep and inaccessible areas of ‘Eua island.

16. As a result of unregulated fishing by an increasing number of artisanal and commercial fishermen as well as the introduction of more efficient fishing technology, coastal and near coastal fisheries has suffered from over-exploitation of traditional marine species and much of the near shore fisheries show signs of being over-fished. As a consequence, the Government introduced a complete ban on the export of sea cucumber, a closed season for turtle and mullet fishing, and introduced minimum sizes for the harvest of certain marine species.

17. Environmental administration is vested with the Environmental Planning Section (EPS) of the Ministry of Lands, Surveys and Natural Resources. Although environmental impact assessment (EIA) policy is in place, few in-house EIAs have been carried out. There is a large body of legislation related to environmental issues but most of this is outdated (50 years and older). Given the difficulties in administering environmental controls in a cohesive and coordinated manner, discussions are underway to introduce comprehensive environmental legislation.

____________________

Back B. Poverty Assessment	Next D. Governance: Sound Development Management