Sustainable Development in New Caledonia

Abstract

N EWCALEDONIA has been a colony of France since 1853 and, along with French Polynesia, it is a strategic part of France's South Pacific territories. Since the 1970s the native peoples of the territory the Kanaks' have been engaged in a struggle for independence from French rule. In the 1980s this fight led to losses of life for the Kanak community, the French security forces and the European settlers. In an effort to avoid civil war, France's prime minister, Michel Rocard, brought together members of the FLNKS (Front de liberation nationale kanake socialiste a coalition of the Kanak political parties that favours independence from France) and the RPCR (Rassemblement pour la Caledonie dans la Republique the settlerdominated conservative political party which favours retaining a relationship with France) to decide the future of the territory. The results of these negotiations are known as the Matignon accords and they herald a tenyear peace period during which the French government will attempt to redress the socioeconomic inequalities in the territory, particularly by promoting development and training programs in Kanak communities. In 1998, at the end of this ten-year period, New Caledonians will be asked to choose between independence and staying within the French Republic. This paper concerns the issue of sustainable development in New Caledonia and the consequences of this for the future self-determination of