Salt Intake in Ogea, Sea Level Rise in Suvavou Impacts Rights of Residents
Villagers on Ogea in Southern Lau are used to drinking salty water everyday.
But this was not always the case for the 83 villagers. They used to have fresh drinking water. Most of it sourced from the rain.
Their right to adequate drinking water was affected when the village started experiencing extreme rise in sea level.
“When there is rise in sea level, the sea water somehow enters the water system of the village and it mixes up with the freshwater in the water tank,” village headman Lolohea Naapua said.
But this phenomenon only became real for the villagers 10 years ago. The village has a total of 63 water tanks. At least 20 homes have two water tanks. The rest have one each.
“This affects our right to drinking clean water. Some of the water tanks in our village are placed on the ground and when there is a rise in sea level, somehow the sea water goes into the freshwater tank.
“We have no other option but to boil and drink that water,” he said. Ogea villagers make a living through copra production.
Coconut trees are also damaged because of the rise in sea level. Mr Naapua said there was a steep decline in copra production on the island after Tropical Cyclones Harold, Yasa and Ana.
“Before, we used to produce one tone of copra every month. Now, we only produce half a tonne.”
The coming months look bleak as copra production takes a nose dive. Villagers are also getting used to flooding after a heavy rain. Previously, flooding occurred only during the cyclone season. Now, it happens six to seven times a month when there is heavy rainfall, Mr Naapua said.
What used to be white sandy beaches and the village playground during Mr Naapua’s younger days, Mr Naapua said half of the white sandy beach, which was also the village playground, was now under seawater.
“When the sea water enters our houses, it destroys our belongings too.”
This is a clear violation of right to property. one’s
Ogea villagers tried to build a seawall several times before burying rubbish in the sand with stones on top. It only lasted a few months, Mr Naapua said.
Villagers have also stopped cutting mangrove as part of their efforts to save their village from the inundation of sea water.
SUVAVOU VILLAGE, LAMI
Located near the sea and perhaps the closest village to one of Suva’s industrial areas, villagers in Suvavou, Lami, see rubbish get washed up on their shoreline everyday.
For years, they’ve collected rubbish disposed of into the Suva Harbour and from streams along Wailada and further up in Qauia.
Village headman Vereti Dumaru claims industries in the industrial area dump their waste into the river and the sea and when it’s high tide. The rubbish ends up on their shore line.
“We do not have rights to our own Qoliqoli because when the industries dump their waste into the sea, it damages our fishing grounds. When we walk on the beach, it stinks. Our elders told us that they never faced anything like this,” he
said.
Mr Dumaru recalls that the shoreline along his village had less rubbish compared to what he witnesses today.
Like Mr Dumaru, previous village headmans have tried to solve the same issue. Their efforts proved futile. Now eight years in the role, Mr Dumaru is working hard to address this issue.
Divers have informed him of the waste materials sitting on the seabed in the Suva Harbour.
Suvavou women used to sell kaikoso (seashells) at the Suva Market. They’ve stopped for a number of years now.
The latest village poll showed that 919 people lived within the village boundary. Those near the sea are the most affected by the rise in sea level.
“There are some houses only five metres away from the sea and when there is rise in sea level, the houses are affected,” he said.
Permanent Secretary for Environment Joshua Wycliffe said they were notified of the issue last week. They will work with the Ministry of Waterways and Environment to ensure that coastal protection and the waste issue were addressed. The ministry will meet the villagers next week and come up with an action plan
UDU VILLAGE, TOTOYA, LAU
Like Ogea Village, villagers in Udu also experience rising sea level. The impact is similar.
Coconut trees are dying and copra production is fast declining.
Village headman Pasaumi Muri said they started to experience sea level rise in 2012.
“Previously we used to produce two to three tonnes of copra per month. Now, we can only produce one tonne.