27 communities seek assistance to tackle the effects of climate change

More than 180 people living in 27 communities along the coastal, maritime and rural areas are seeking for assistance to tackle the effects of climate change.

This comes after the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission undertook a climate change project earlier this year to determine the impacts that climate change has had on the communities which was facilitated by the Asia Pacific Forum and funded by the European Union.

In a statement, the Commission says they interviewed 185 people from 27 communities from the Provinces of Rewa, Tailevu, Serua, Nadroga-Navosa, Ba, Ra, Macuata, and Bua and the residents identified a few issues they faced.

They say the issues include erosion of foundations of their homes, community halls and schools, erosion of bridges and roads, their burial grounds being affected, source of livelihood and subsistence farming greatly affected by the infiltration of seawater into their plantations, their drinking water and sanitation were affected, fishing habitats had been affected and catches were of poor quality and in deforested regions, heavy rains were causing landslides whereby mud was being washed into villages and homes.

The Commission says the residents that they interviewed are seeking assistance in building seawalls or sandbags to be placed to prevent the seawater from coming onto their compounds, financial assistance with relocation to higher ground, replanting of trees in deforested areas, mangrove seedlings to be planted along the coastline and more climate change and environmental awareness. The Commission is requesting the government that the plight of the 27 communities and their residents be included in their Standard Operating Procedure for relocation of villages which was launched on 18th April 2023.

They say they intend to present its findings to the Government soon.

They say section 40 of the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji states that every person has the right to a clean and healthy environment, which includes the right to have the natural world protected for the benefit of present and future generations through legislative and other measures. They further say that addressing climate change and its adverse impact on the human rights of vulnerable communities and their environment in Fiji is one of the priorities in their strategic plan.