Climate Change Front of Mind in Fiji (March E-news)

I have just returned from spending a week in Fiji talking with local and national government leaders and community groups. Our aim was to wrap up our work supporting Fiji towns and cities to assess their disaster preparedness and lay plans for assisting them to build climate resilience.  And I was struck by the number of times the daily newspapers highlight disaster and climate stories.  Some samples from the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun, Tuesday 26 February:

“Schools to reopen across Micronesia after Typhoon Wutip” 
“Marshall Islands plans to raise islands to escape sea level rise” 
“Chief: vital to adapt to climate change impacts” 
“Govt invests $896K for weather data storage” 

And almost every day, articles in the newspapers urging the community to stop dumping waste in the waterways, to start recycling and composting.  This is the Front Line of climate change! 

Steve Gawler, Regional Director, ICLEI Oceania

Image (by ICLEI Oceania): Special Administrator and Nadi Council staff mulling over the Nadi 1:100 year flood map

Editorial from March 2019 E-newsletter