Relocation of Communities Becoming an Increasing Burden, says PM
HE LAUNCHES WORLD’S FIRST RELOCATION FUND
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says relocating communities in Fiji because of climate change has become an increasing burden.
He said that burden seemed certain to worsen as the impacts of climate change became more intense.
Mr Bainimarama was speaking at the launch of Fiji’s Climate Relocation and Displaced Peoples Trust Fund for Communities and Infrastructure in New York, United States. The fund is a world first.
He said it was not only the rising seas and the impacts on our agricultural practices, but also the extreme weather events that posed an ever present and worsening danger to our people and our infrastructure.
“Of course, it isn’t just the monetary cost of relocation that is a burden on nations like Fiji. Even more incalculable is the trauma of moving, of leaving your ancestor’s burial grounds behind or seeing the land or foreshore area you have farmed or harvested for generations no longer being able to feed you and your family. “So moving a community is more than just moving a group of houses. It is about rebuilding a community and sense of community. It is about ensuring access to jobs, schools, medical services and sustainable living – all of which requires detailed and co-ordinated planning between a wide range of government agencies and other organisations.
“And the process must inspire a sense of ownership from the community members, giving them a sense of purpose through the relocation and a sense of pride once they claim their new home.”
He said Fiji had already addressed these factors in another world first – Fiji’s Planned Relocation Guidelines – that it launched at COP24 last year.
These guidelines provided Fiji with a blueprint for engaging our communities in the process of relocation, ensuring proper coordination between our various agencies, sensitising the process along the lines of gender, and taking into account how marginalised groups, such as children, the elderly and those living with disabilities should be catered for.