Fiji: A Small Country With a Big Climate Standing

Made up of more than 300 islands, it’s estimated that Fiji has around 900,000 people, in a country a bit larger than Kuwait in total area. The 2016 GDP was estimated at FJD$8.374 billion (per the CIA’s World Factbook), while in 2009, about 31 percent of the population was below the poverty line. Small though it may be, this South Pacific island nation has taken a leadership position in the climate community. After being the first country to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement, Fiji’s prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, will act as the president of COP23, the 23rd Conference of Parties, in Bonn, Germany.

Not surprisingly, as a low-lying island nation, Fiji has been severely affected by climate change. From 1961 to 2010, according to the Republic of Fiji National Climate Change Policy, the country’s minimum temperature has increased approximately 0.6˚C, while the maximum temperature has increased approximately 1.1˚C. As a comparison, the average global temperature in the last 200-plus years has risen a bit more than 1˚C. Meanwhile, from 1993, sea level has increased 6 millimeters per year, with the equatorial Pacific region noted as one prone to more sea level rise.

Considering these changes, the Fijian government isn’t sitting idly by, having allocated nearly $320 million for projects related to climate this past June, with 49 projects tackling either climate adaptation or mitigation in 2017/18.

 

International Adaptation, Mitigation and Resilience Reports

The nation’s Second National Communication to the UNFCCC in 2014 features a mitigation section that discusses a planned reduction in GHG emissions. Opportunities exist in the grid-based power supply, where over 50 percent of electricity already comes from hydropower. Underdeveloped hydro sites, along with wind, solar and geothermal sources, could offer further green options. Then, for 2015’s COP21 in Paris, its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) focused on a target “for the renewable energy share in electricity generation to approach 100% by 2030 from around 60% in 2013.”

Courtesy of the Global Environment Facility, 50 projects involving Fiji have either been completed or are in various stages of approval, including climate change-related ones like Fiji “Ridge to Reef” and a Technology Needs Assessment.

And Fiji was one of three countries studied between 2006-10 in a UNDP-UNEP GEF project about coastal resilience to climate change regarding mangroves, the goal being “improved management of mangrove ecosystems to climate change impacts.” The country’s results were graded as satisfactory, with tangible steps taken in multiple project sites to “reduce threats of sea-level rise and coastal development on mangroves,” while villagers were instructed to “monitor ecosystem health.”

 

Learning From Fiji

With many island nations looking toward sustainable development along with conserving resources and ecosystems, the importance of educating the community and setting targets can’t be overstated, something Fiji is well aware of.

The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change, a program within the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme, focuses on food security and food production in Fiji. Working at two pilot sites at Viti Levu, it aims to improve agriculture, targeting drainage systems and crop varieties, and also developing a “rainfall calculator” to take future rainfall into account. Additionally, those on the project work with members of the community, including community leaders, on climate change education and adaptation needs.

Meanwhile, the Fijian government has established the Green Growth Framework (GGF) for Fiji, with one of the targets being to “build resilience to the anticipated adverse affects (sic) of climate change.” Along those lines, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is helping Fiji to work the GGF into its National Development Plan (NDP), with GGGI focused on supporting Fiji’s plan to get to 100 percent renewable energy-based electricity generation by 2035.

 

Fiji as Role Model

A country well aware of its climate future, as well as the future of other SIDS (Small Island Developing States), Fiji is taking steps for itself that can serve as models for other nations, including those in the Indian Ocean region.

In February of 2014, the villagers of Vunidogoloa on the island of Vanua Levu relocated two kilometers inland, making Fiji the first country in the Pacific to move its residents because of climate change. Meanwhile, in June of that year, the country of Kiribati purchased 20 square kilometers on Vanua Levu for the eventuality of relocation due to climate change. Relocation, whether inland or to another location, is a reality SIDS are facing.

In November 2015, the Green Climate Fund approved a grant of US$31 million to Fiji for its US$221 million water supply and wastewater system project, one described as “a ‘precedent’ for other climate vulnerable countries that will seek funding support for water related projects.” Fiji was able to get the grant by proving the project was climate related, since a new water source for Suva, the country’s capital, needed to be climate-proofed. This highlights the importance of noting the relation to climate should funding be needed, for projects like marine conservation and fisheries management, among others.

And on the one-year anniversary of Cyclone Winston, the most intense cyclone on record in the Southern Hemisphere, Fiji called for global action on climate change. Fijian President Maj-Gen (ret’d) Jioji Konrote said, “As president I make the following undertaking to you, Fiji intends to do whatever is in its power to persuade the global community about the root cause of extreme weather events such as Winston, that are causing so pain for our people and other vulnerable nations around the world.” He added, “We must get the community of nations to continue reducing carbon emissions, this is a fight we must win – our entire way of life is at stake.” As of March 2016, having gone through more than 50 natural catastrophic events in the prior two decades, IOC member countries should follow the lead of Fiji and use these catastrophic events to intensify the call for global climate action.

 

Conclusion

Having already endured the Southern Hemisphere’s most intense cyclone (Cyclone Winston in February of 2016) and, two years earlier, becoming the first country in the Pacific to actually relocate some of its residents because of climate change, Fiji is well aware of the challenges it faces as a small island nation. That’s why the government is investing in a variety of adaptation and mitigation projects, and taking a leadership role in this year’s COP23, serving as an example for other SIDS in similar situations.