Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has told the people of Raviravi Village in Macuata that he made a promise that they will build a seawall to keep them safe from the rising sea and that promise has been delivered.
While commissioning the Raviravi Village nature-based eco-seawall, Bainimarama says the 146-metre long seawall is an ingenious combination of human-made and nature-based solutions to provide protection that is more effective and less expensive than a concrete wall.
He says the use of boulders reduced construction costs, and the mangroves planted in front of the wall and vetiver planted behind the wall provide extra protection for their ability to absorb and contain tidal flows.
Bainimarama says the mangroves are the first line of defence, as they have always been in Fiji, and the vetiver is the last line. He says three homes are lost to the rising seas but this new seawall will now form a powerful buffer between the villagers and the continued heartbreak of watching the community they have built be washed away.
Bainimarama adds Raviravi is a special community with a special relationship with the natural world as many villagers make a living by sustainably cultivating pearls.
Bainimarama says Raviravi is not alone in needing such protection.
He says across Fiji, sea-level rise is eroding shorelines, threatening communities which have thrived on the coasts for generations.
He adds depending on the area, seawalls can sometimes suffice and in other instances, the entire communities must be relocated.
Bainimarama says this is the sad reality of climate change which is a crisis Fijians have done next to nothing to cause but is hitting the people extremely hard.
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