Importance of Keeping our Environment clean

The current weather system now affecting the country is testament of the reality of climate change. When it was raining heavily in the Suva and Nausori corridor, the West was enjoying a fine sunny day. A weather forecast talked of a heavy rain warning for the whole of the Fiji Group.

We rely on the forecast by the meteorological office in Nadi but we know that even with the latest technology Mother Nature can be unpredictable at times.

We get baffled when weather patterns change suddenly.

Suva’s high rainfall means that our roads, drains, gardens and farms have been pounded by heavy rain. It puts pressure on the Fiji Roads Authority to repair those many potholes that have appeared. Yesterday, traffic crawled between Lami and Suva as motorists tried to manoeuvre around potholes. A number of accidents have been recorded highlighting the fact that some drivers are not heeding the warning to take extra precautions during this wet weather. Even more disturbing is the irresponsible action of some people to go out and have fun in the rain and flooded areas, despite the warning by the Police and relevant authorities to stay away.

So far we have been fortunate that there has been no weather-related tragedy.

Some have suffered some damage to homes and properties because of floodwaters. But there has been no loss of life.

In one evacuation centre, some residents of a flooded settlement only went there after being told by Police. People should not wait to be told to evacuate when floodwaters threaten their homes.

All Fijians have had enough experience from the past to do the sensible thing.

We all need to be climate sensitive as the AttorneyGeneral, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said at the Asia-Pacific Judicial Conference on Climate Change Adjudication at the Sheraton Fiji Resort.

He was referring to the legal implications. Climate change has definitely entered the legal space of a nation.

The science of climate change suggests that nature has its own way of handling its issues. A proper balance is required for nature to hum in harmony. When this balance is upset, nature responds in its own unique way and there is not much we can do about it. We can do everything to engage in mitigation and adaptation to build climate resilience in our national development. But when nature unleashes its fury we can only hope that our seawalls, our homes, our infrastructure and our economy can weather the storm. In other words we are at the mercy of climate change. We can lessen the impact by addressing how we can stop global warming. Reducing carbon emissions is a sure way of slowing it down. The wild weather patterns are linked to climate change.

Our drains and rivers can only handle a certain amount of rainfall. Beyond that, they overflow or break their banks and flooding happens.

It does not help when we indiscriminately throw our rubbish anywhere, particularly for non-biodegradable items like plastics. They clog our drains, rivers and oceans.

The message is: Let’s all do our bit. Let’s keep our environment clean.