Hydro power
I believe we all have our responsibilities and roles to play with the government and all stakeholders to find a solution to such problems.
More so, for parents.
The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.
Education is the key to success, so let it be free and compulsory.
TAHIR ALI
Hamilton, New Zealand
WOW! After reading Nacanieli Tuilevuka’s article about the intentions of Hydro Taveuni Pte Ltd, I am convinced that Dr Philip van der Riet must be a magician!
Not only has his company discovered two creeks in eastern Taveuni “unknown to Energy Fiji Ltd or the Government” (even though both creeks are clearly marked on the Lands Dept 1:50,000 topographic map for Tavueni), but even more miraculously, his hydropower project will generate “18 gigawatts per hour in a year from a 2500 kiloWatts power plant at Lavena”.
Apparently the powerplant will source its energy from Wainisairi Creek “a catchment fed by a lake and receiving 10 millimetres of rainfall annually”.
If Dr van der Riet’s power plant can even generate just 18 watts per hour from a catchment receiving only 10 millimetres of rainfall annually then that’s already a miracle! But I think he will have a hard time finding such a catchment in Fiji. Even the Sahara Desert gets more rain than this!
The other creek for his powerplant is identified as Drekeniwailevu Creek on Salialevu Estate in South Taveuni.
I was also impressed to read that he is going to transmit this power across the Somosomo Strait to the Viani area of Vanua Levu, and also across the Koro Sea to neighbouring islands including Qamea. Remarkable! No one has ever taken power under the sea in Fiji as far as I’m aware. Hopefully no local fishermen will drag up one of those high-energy electric cables by mistake!
I was also intrigued to read that he is going to build a road into Viani Bay, something that Viani locals have dreamed about and talked about for years, but no government roading engineer has been willing or able to do it. Dr van der Riet’s hydropower company must have a very good civil construction division indeed!
However, all joking aside, I hope that the acting Director of Environment and her outspoken permanent secretary, Dr Sivendra Michael, will do their job well in scrutinising these ambitious development proposals, as the two “unknown” creeks mentioned in the article are located in a very special unlogged pristine rainforest area containing numerous rare and endemic flora and fauna species including rare endemic palms, endemic doves and pigeons and one of the rarest bats in the world, the Fijian Monkey-faced Bat, Mirimiri acrodonta (or just plain “manumanu vuka” as Paul Geraghty would call it). It should be noted that unlike the acting director’s sperm whales, these species are truly endemic and unique to Fiji.
The headwaters of the named primary creek arises just below Lake Tagimaucia, situated in the famous crater on the high central ridge of Taveuni. The other creek also rises in the high central ridge and flows down along the northern edge of Salialevu Estate just beside this unique highvalue rainforest ecosystem. The high cloud-forest of this area is the home of the endemic Fijian Monkey-faced Bat, of which only six individuals have ever been observed, and which species is considered to be in danger of imminent extinction. The Environment Department should be extremley vigilant to ensure the protection of this special ecosystem.
While hydropower dams produce “clean” energy, their construction and associated infrastructure (roads, transmission towers, power lines, etc.) come at great cost to their immediate environment. Fiji and Taveuni should very carefully consider whether to allow such development into this specialised and pristine forest habitat. The upstream environment of hydrodams are generally flooded and destroyed as witnessed at numerous hydrodams around the world eg. in Tasmania, and at the Three Gorges Dam in China. The construction phase of these hydropower projects also causes huge destruction to the local environment.
Dr van der Riet mentioned that stage two of his project would provide “7500 kilowatts renewable energy for the North of Fiji, with long term impact matching that of Monsavu..”. I think it’s exactly that “long-term impact” that we should be afraid of!
Hydro dams need roads, and roads bring people and machinery. The unique cloud-forest ecosystem in Taveuni where this miraculous power project is planned to be built cannot afford such risk to its environment. AREN NUNNINK
Hooper St, Savusavu
Considering the existing teacher resignations and their shortage, if the Ministry of Education continues treating teachers in this manner, it’s reasonable to expect more teachers may choose to resign and explore other opportunities. The Human Resources Department of the ministry should, at the very least, make a phone call to the affected teachers and update them on their employment status.
It’s important to recognise the emotional impact such situations can have on teachers.
Finding themselves in such circumstances could be very embarrassing and demoralising for these teachers. It seems that the ministry may not be showing due respect to these dedicated professionals who play a significant role in the education system.
This scenario could have been easily avoided with proper communication from the Human Resources Department. SANJEET PRASAD
Mani Rd, Bulileka, Labasa