In a bid to advance climate resilience in Fiji’s most vulnerable communities, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in collaboration with the Coalition Government has come up with a project called Mainstreaming Adaptation Planning at the Local Level in Fiji to help the country take bold steps in strengthening this initiative.
In a statement, the GGGI says they are working alongside the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, the iTaukei Affairs Board, and the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management to embed climate adaptation into local development planning frameworks.
They say from March to this month, they have led two technical diagnostic missions across 12 climate-affected villages in the provinces of Ba, Nadroga-Navosa, Rewa, Lau, Lomaiviti, and Tailevu, and these missions brought together a multidisciplinary team of national and international experts who carried out marine ecosystem surveys, GIS and drone-based mapping, habitat transects, and water and soil sampling.
They add that they also engaged in participatory mapping and extensive community consultations through talanoa sessions to ensure that the voices of local people shaped the outcomes.
The GGGI says the field assessments helped identify the root causes of environmental degradation and climate vulnerability, such as coastal erosion, sedimentation, the declining health of coral reefs and mangroves, and shifts in traditional livelihood practices.
They say in response to these issues, the team is developing site-specific nature-based solutions to help communities adapt, and these include mangrove and coral reef restoration to protect coastlines, living shorelines and riverbank stabilization to manage erosion, and the promotion of climate-smart agriculture and forest conservation to enhance food and water security.
The organisation says community-based monitoring systems are also being introduced to support long-term adaptation.
They add that the insights gathered from these missions will inform the development of adaptation concept notes and full funding proposals, and these proposals aim to unlock climate finance for locally led solutions that are aligned with Fiji’s National Adaptation Plan.
The Institute says by connecting scientific diagnostics with traditional knowledge and institutional collaboration, the initiative is paving the way for meaningful and lasting resilience.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
