Impact of climate change at home inspires Ratu Fili’s work
first-hand the devastation in Fiji caused by climate change has always been the motivational factor that drives the work Ratu Filimone Tuivanualevu does. COP27 in Sharm ElSheikh in Egypt, was a special one for the Bua, Vanua Levu native.
Not only was he part of the Fijian delegation, negotiating on loss and damage, he also graduated as an AOSIS (Alliance of Small Islands States) fellow, a fellowship he was part of for a year. Mr Tuivanualevu, 30, is the Senior Adaptation Officer of the Climate Change Division under the Ministry of Economy. In 2021, he was chosen by the United Nations Fiji Mission in New York to be one of the recipients of the AOSIS fellowship.
Mr Tuivanualevu graduated among nine other recipients from Small island states around the world.
The AOSIS Fellowship Programme provides young professionals with the unique opportunity to gain real-world UN experience while participating in a world-class training programme.
The curriculum covers climate change, environmental protection, oceans, and sustainable development. For 2022–2024, 10 Fellows are annually chosen from the three regions of AOSIS. the University of the South Pacific where he graduated with a Bachelor of Law in 2017.
In 2018, he pursued his Masters in oil, gas, renewable energy and environment law in Texas after securing a Fulbright scholarship.
“It was during my time in USP that’s when I started getting interested in the environment and what was happening in our climate,” he said.
“At USP, I got exposed to a lot of what was actually happening. So, yeah, from there on I developed the interest, I did further studies on environmental law. I managed to practice law in Fiji but only for a little time after returning to Fiji with my Masters.”
INSPIRATION
Mr Tuivanualevu has seen the devastating impacts of climate change at his mother’s village in Solevu, Bua.
“We have experienced two very strong cyclones and when I went back to visit the village after the cyclone all I could see was the face of despair. My relatives have felt the full brunt of it,” he said.
“They plant yaqona for six years, harvest to build their house and it is all taken down by a cyclone which makes them start again.
“I have also seen the sea encroaching the land and it keeps moving inward into the village.
“This is why I wanted to make use of my qualifications in this area so that it is impactful, I am involved in making policies that will help relocate communities in a more humane way.”
CONFERENCE OF PARTIES (COP) EXPERIENCE
Since joining the Department of Climate Change, he attended his first COP in Glasgow last year.
“It felt like I was put into the deep end. The negotiations were something that was very new to me, and I wanted to be trained on it.
“So, I saw the opportunity with the AOSIS fellowship, and I thought it was just what I wanted. It focused on that, on trying to build capacity for small Island developing states especially in the field of climate negotiations, climate diplomacy.
“So last year I applied for it through the ministry, then they sent it to the Fiji Mission who received all applications and chose one nominee for Fiji.”
Luckily for them, he said they were the first lot to have 10 people chosen to be part of the fellowship.
“I was lucky enough to get a spot, other pacific countries that had reps were Kiribati, Cook Islands and Federated States of Micronesia.”
THE FELLOWSHIP
He said during their one year in New York, they were exposed to all the enormous meetings hosted by the U.N.
“When we came in, we had the BBNJ (Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdictions) negotiations, we were part of that process as well with the delegations that came from different countries
“Some have been exposed to it and most of us hadn’t so it was really a great experience going through the process and all the politics that were happening in it, international law, the relevance of it so yeah.
“We went to Lisbourne for the Oceans Conference then we went to Bonn. We also participated in the UNGA assisting our delegations, it’s basically a hands-on experience.
“You work in your mission; work was given to you whether you had to give legal opinions, committee works and just being exposed has really helped me a lot compared to the last COP.”
NEGOTIATION ON LOSS AND DAMAGE
He said having loss and damage on the agenda was a big step.
“Right now, political leaders are pushing for the entity to be operationlised. For it to be established in this COP and have a process for it to be operationalised.”
“The negotiations have been fairly good; I was quite surprised at how things are but it’s the reality we are facing in the world. Loss and damage as a direct cause of climate change.”
ENCOURAGEMENT
He has encouraged those working in the space of climate negotiation to apply to be part of the fellowship next year.
“It is very impactful on young professionals, it’s a life changing opportunity, you learn so much. Your horizon is limitless,” he said.
“I encourage people to apply especially if you’re working in Government, in the climate change space, in meteorology, in international relations, this is a great opportunity.
“I really encourage young people from Fiji and the Pacific, we need a lot of young climate negotiators to fill in the shoes of most climate negotiators that have been doing this for most of their lives.”
Mr Tuivanualevu said he looks forward to returning to Fiji in January next year to re-join his team at the Climate Change Division.
“I work in the Climate Adaptation team, we do a lot of work which includes Climate relocation, nature-based solutions for things like seawalls, and just making policy and connecting our development partners with the right implementing agencies in government. That’s the main part of my work back at home.”