Stop The Talk, Take Action
Climate change has been a hot-button issue for years.
Many global leaders have had their say about climate change at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP27 at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt from November 6 to 18.
But little action has been taken to address the greatest challenges small island states like Fiji are facing. Severe cyclones continue to batter the country, almost every year. In February 2016, Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Fiji, killing 44 people and causing $1.4 billion of damage, a third of Fiji’s gross domestic product.
Two to three cyclones are likely to pass through the country’s exclusive economic zone during the season. Fiji’s cyclone season is from November to April.
Minister for Meteorological Services Jone Usamate, while urging the public to prepare, said one to two severe tropical cyclones were likely to affect Fiji during the cyclone season.
Mr Usamate said five to seven Tropical cyclones were likely to affect the regional specialised meteorological region.
“In Fiji, flooding alone continues to be one of the leading causes of death during any cyclonic events,” the minister said.
“Data released by the Fiji Police Force revealed that between 2017 and August 2021, 17 people had drowned during an event of natural disasters.
“Majority of these incidents involved people being swept away by strong currents while trying to cross flooded rivers, creeks, and areas.”
The rise in sea level is also one of the greatest challenges Fiji is facing. According to the climate change index, Fiji is amongst the five of the 15 countries most at risk from weather-related events in the Pacific. Fiji is number 14.
For years, politicians and scientists have been talking about the prospect of climate migration. In Fiji, this migration has already begun.
At present, 42 Fijian villages have been earmarked for potential relocation in the next five to 10 years, owing to the impacts of the climate crisis.
Six have already been moved. Every new cyclone or disaster brings with it the risk of yet more villages being added to the list.
Moving a village across Fiji’s lush mountainous terrain is an astonishingly complex task.
VILLAGES FRUSTRATED
Inia Tukuna is worried the Waisomo and Vabewa villages in Kadavu will be underwater in the next five years, as global leaders are not taking drastic measures to address the issue of climate change.
Climate change and rising sea levels was something that many villages in Kadavu have had to contend with but even more so with his village over the last few years.
The rise in sea level has also been a cause for concern for adults of Waisomo and Vabewa, as near drowning situations continue to keep them on their guard when it comes to their children.
Mr Tukana said he was frustrated with the outcome of the COP27. He said global leaders were not making decisive actions and were not listening to our prayers.
“The waves are hitting the church wall at the moment when it’s high tide,” he said.
“Now, every time children from the village play on the beach or at the back of a house, an adult is asked to strictly supervise them. “Our children are used to the way of life here but after that neardrowning incident, we never take the risk.
“A lot of places are now flooded during high tide and bad weather. During high tide, the sea comes in and surrounds a few homes, which live near the shore,” he said.
The effects of climate change and global warming have not spared Waisomo and Vabewa villages with eroding shorelines.