A Relocation Trust Fund will be set up by the Fiji government to help villages facing the threat of climate change.

Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the fund would be announced in the upcoming budget, reports FBC News.

Speaking at the Ministerial Finance Dialogue at the United Nations in New York, Sayed-Khaiyum said a small percentage of money would be taken from the Environment and Climate Adaptation levy to set up the fund.

WATCH VIDEO: Banabans of Rabi – climate change documentary

He said 43 Fijian villages were under threat from sea level rise and might need to be moved to higher ground.

The fund would also be used to develop adaptive measures as an alternative to relocation.

If relocations were necessary, however, he stressed the need for a “holistic approach”.

“If we do relocate, then we have to build in the holistic approach too, for example sustainable livelihood, new way of livelihood – that they need to develop.”

The announcement comes a week after the University of the South Pacific (USP) journalism programme received a US$20,000 grant to boost climate change reporting.

A leading academic on peace research issues has called for increased policy making efforts to face up to the challenges of Pacific “relocation” at a weekend conference of global climate and conflict researchers.

“A major conflict-creating component of climate change in the Pacific is the forced reallocation of people,” said Professor Kevin Clements, founding director of Otago University’s National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (NCPACS) and also secretary-general of the Tokyo-based Toda Peace Institute.

“Pacific nations only have three choices – adaptation, mitigation and relocation,” he said.

READ MORE: Climate change and security big focus for Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru

Climate change scholars from around the world gathered at the University of Otago’s Auckland Centre over the weekend to discuss interrelationships between climate change and conflict.

Pacific Island nations are in the front line of global climate change crises, raising sea level and “drowning” lands are forcing thousands of islanders to relocate far away from their homelands and atolls.

This forced reallocation created a fertile ground for conflict in the other Pacific nations, Professor Clements said.

Existential challenge
Failure to make the needed changes in time would impose an “inevitable existential challenge to us all”.

Failure to adapt or mitigate the negative effects of climate change would ultimately result in forced relocations, “forcing people from your own land unto other people’s land and so that’s really beginning to be a major conflict creator in Fiji.”

“Climate change is a major existential challenge for everybody,” Professor Clements said.

Policy makers still had no solid plan to deal with conflict created by climate change.

Dealing with the issues of climate change and conflict was one of the questions which were difficult to answer.

“How do states and peoples create spaces of inevitable migration of people of these countries,” asked Professor Clements.

“Every Pacific nation has been challenged by a combination of elevated sea level and king tides.”

Significant challenge
Having these two combinations posed a significant challenge to the local environment.

“Arable land diminishes, and water quality diminishes as it becomes more saline, and with global warming is also challenging and declining fish resources,” he said.

“Pacific Island countries need to ask themselves, what do they need to adapt these new challenges How can they mitigate their effects and, if they can’t do that, where will they go?” Professor Clements said.

Dr Bob Lloyd, a climate change consultant for Pacific countries, said it was “extremely difficult” to make the public aware of the gravity of climate change.

This was because “people don’t listen” and people complained that there was a disconnect between the scientists and prejudiced knowledge that local communities had.

“When you talk to communities about the problem and give them the solutions and they don’t want to listen because solutions involve considerable social and economic deprivation,” he said.

One way climate change could be minimised was through reduced use of short and long-distance transportation as the Pacific used an enormous amount of air transport for commuting, he said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed during her United Nations diplomacy mission last week that the government was looking into tweaking the recently announced increase of refugees quota from 1500 from 1000 by 2020 to focus on climate refugees, reports Newshub.

Rahul Bhattarai is a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student journalist who is a reporter on the Pacific Media Centre’s Pacific Media Watch freedom project.

Vunidogoloa was the first village in Fiji to be relocated – barely three years ago – due to sea level rise.

The village was in the Cakaudrove province and had backyard views of beautiful Natewa Bay on Vanua Levu Island.

The relaxing life for these villagers was, however, dampened by the impact of sea level rise.

Flooding was common for the villagers and so they needed to be relocated.

Their new village is 2 kilometres inland and was renamed by the villagers as Kenani (“Promised Land”).

The whole village of Vunidogoloa (pop. 130) moved to their new settlement in January 2014 and now have solar lighting.

We stopped by the old “ghost” village to see where the people once lived and also took some photos of where they are now settled.

• In Fiji, villages need to move due to climate change

From Vunidogoloa to Kenani

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Vanuatu is still pressing ahead with its plan to evacuate Ambae island for the second time in six months in the face of rumbling and ash-spewing from Mt Lombenden volcano.

A government delegation comprising the Director-General of the Ministry of Climate Change, Deputy Police Commissioner, Director National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Director Department of Local Authorities (DLA), Acting Director Vanuatu Meteorology and Geology Department and other officials flew to Ambae yesterday.

They consulted with the Penama Provincial Council and witnessed firsthand the impact of the ash fall over the island from the volcano.

About 11,000 people live on the island.

The mission to Ambae has followed the Council of Minister’s declaration of a state of emergency for the island in preparation of an operations plan by the government.

Deliberations with the PENAMA Provincial Council resolved to adhere to the decision of the Council of Ministers under the special circumstances of the state of emergency and the operation plan developed by government shall guide the emergency operations on Ambae.

“This will entail the preparation and implementation of the on island relocation of affected communities to safe zones in phase one, preparation and implementation of off-island relocation to selected sites in phase two and finally phase three will look at permanent sites acquired and properly serviced for permanent settlement,” the Director-General said.

He also assured the victims that relief assistance would be provided to ensure water and food is distributed to the displaced.

‘Learning lessons’
Director-General Benjamin said: “Learning from the lessons of the previous relocation of the population, this time we are doing our level best to ensure evacuees are well looked after and that the whole operation runs as smooth as possible.

“We will not move to phase two until the off-island sites are assessed and resourced to cater for the displaced. The Council of Minister’s has spoken and we intend to deliver accordingly.”

RVS Tukoro has arrived on Ambae with assessment teams and relief items to support and progress phase one of the operations plan while the chiefs of Ambae, Maewo and Pentecost are expected to be mobilised in the next few days to finalise the off-island relocation sites before phase two is triggered.

The Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs has also been requested through the Ministry of Internal Affairs to consult with the Sanma support the efforts of the Government and all members gave assurances that they will consult with Tapumele Council of Chiefs this week to identify off-island sites on the island of Santo.

The Vanuatu Council of Churches was also formally approached earlier this week to stand with the government to assist.

Visits by the delegation to impacted areas in North Ambae clearly reflect the urgency to act. The NDMO, under the oversight of the National Disaster Committee will work towards completion of phase two of the Operations Plan by May 15.

A special taskforce led by the Office of the Prime Minister will then facilitate all necessary activities under phase three to permanently host the displaced.

Len Garae is a senior Vanuatu Daily Post journalist. This article is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

After more than five years of living in temporary housing, the community of Tukuraki in the highlands of Fiji are this weekend celebrating as they move into their newly built, disaster resilient village.

The Tukuraki community – featured by the Pacific Media Centre’s Bearing Witness climate project in May – was devastated in 2012 as a landslide buried 80 percent of their village and tragically took the lives of a young family including a toddler and young baby.

The community were forced to relocate to temporary homes as they were at risk of further landslides and in the midst of recovering from the landslide, the community was hit by Cyclone Evan only 10 months later.

In February last year, the community was again forced to flee to nearby caves as Tropical Cyclone Winston hit – the community’s third major disaster in four years.

As a result, the Fiji government deemed relocation for the inland community an urgent priority and approached the Pacific Community (SPC) to support in this work.

On Friday, 11 homes and a community hall built to category five cyclone standards were officially opened.

The F$756,000 relocation of the Tukuraki village to a safer and less disaster prone site was made possible through the European Union and the ACP Group of States-funded Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific Project (BSRP) implemented by the Pacific Community.

Reducing vulnerability
The BSRP Project is committed to reducing the vulnerability for the Pacific to disaster and climate change.

Inia Seruiratu, High Level Climate Change Champion for COP23 and Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, and National Disaster Management and Meteorology said:

“Today as we celebrate the critical milestone for Tukuraki, we also remember Anare Taliga (38 years), Mereoni Robe (23 years), Losena Nai (18 months) and Makelesi Matalau (6 months), who lost their lives to the devastating landslide that altered the lives of everyone in the Tukuraki community.

“The achievement of creating a disaster resilient community that has been led by the community itself is testament to the resilience of the Tukuraki community.”

In addition to the buildings, the project also provided the community with access to a reliable water sources. The Ba area is known for enduring long term droughts and to counter this issue, the project built a dam nearby and have strategically placed water tanks that connect to each household, ensuring the community will never run out of water.

Pacific Community Deputy Director-General Dr Audrey Aumua said: “This community knows and understands disaster but what makes this relocation remarkable is the partnership led by Fiji government with SPC and the European Union to achieve real, measureable disaster resilience at the community level.

“We know this new community will protect not only the lives but the livelihoods of the Tukuraki community and we are immensely proud to be a key partner in this work.”

Community assisted
Along with the 11 homes and the evacuation centre, the Tukuraki community has also been assisted with a retaining wall (to prevent soil erosion), road access, site levelling and a playground.

The new location is closer to Nalotawa District School which means the community will have easier access to schools as well as health services.

European Union head of cooperation Christoph Wagner said: “We are proud to partner up with the Fiji government and the Pacific Community on this project as it not only has helped the people of this community, it has also established for the nation what a resilient rural community looks like.

“With the effects of climate change and rising tides threatening coastal communities all over the Pacific, Tukuraki stands as a great example of how effective partnerships can sustain development.”

Tukuraki is the first inland community to be relocated, a unique feature as the other 46 key priority communities for relocation are all coastal.

• Destruction and construction – Tukuraki’s lonely story of survival
• Other Bearing Witness project stories

After six years in limbo, the villagers of Tukuraki in the Fiji highlands of Ba on Viti Levu are three months shy of moving into their new village in July.

Located 10km from their former village, which was hard-hit by a landslide in early 2012, Cyclone Evan in the same year and Cyclone Winston in 2016, the villagers can now look forward to 10 new homes, a community hall which doubles as an evacuation centre, and a Methodist church.

The new village is located around 60km north of the self-proclaimed “sugarcane capital of the world” Lautoka, and allows the villagers to have access to clean, running water, flush toilets, and showers.

The project is funded by the European Union and costs F$600,000 (NZ$415,000). An additional F$200,000 (NZ$138,000) is needed for the village to gain access to power.

When complete, the relocation will see the villagers of Tukuraki, who have been scattered far and wide across the Fijian province of Ba, come together as a community again.

For Vilimaina Botitu, the mother of one of three families currently living in the relocated village, she is looking forward to being around her neighbours again.

‘Lonely up here’
“It gets very lonely up here, with just your family and construction workers around.”

George Dregaso, the project manager for the relocation, said he was motivated to see the villagers return to their normal way of life.

“I just want to see them become a community again. That’s what really drives me.”

The relocation also includes retaining walls that surround the village. Dregaso said this was to avoid another catastrophic landslide like one in 2012, which killed Botitu’s uncle, Anare Taligo and his family while they slept.

The new village also features a fish pond with 2500 fish, beehives and a poultry farm, intended to ensure the villagers future and survival.

Julie Cleaver and Kendall Hutt are in Fiji for the Bearing Witness project. A collaborative venture between the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme, the Pacific Centre for the Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD), the Auckland University of Technology’s Pacific Media Centre and documentary collective Te Ara Motuhenga, Bearing Witness seeks to provide an alternative framing of climate change, focusing on resilience and human rights.