Fiji - Yasawa Islands

How local communities have become part and parcel of tourism in Fiji's Yasawa islands (Sunset Beach Resort, Waya island)

The Yasawa islands are one of Fiji's tourist hotspots due to the easy access by the "Yasawa Flyer", an ultra modern catamaran. People of all ages, though mainly the younger travelers like to go island hopping on the so called 'Bula (=welcome) Pass", a 1-3 weeks "travel as much as you like" ticket.

People in the islands live from subsistence agriculture and fishing and there are no shops. Beside tourist resorts that are run by foreigners or Fijians from the mainland on leasehold land I have come across an interesting and inspiring example of community business.

Sunset Beach Resort on Waya island (as some other resorts in the region) is owned by one clan of the nearby village. Management functions of the resort rotate on an annual basis between the families of this clan. The resort trains and employs people from the village from their and other clans. In order to give nearly everyone an opportunity to earn and learn resort staff rotates on a weekly basis.

Christina Röhrer,
Fiji Islands

Fiji - where nature is plentiful and abundant & where worrying about tomorrow has never been part of the culture

I want to buy fruits in a village, but people explain to me that fruits had always been for free. "Can I get you one?" - and I get the most wonderful papaya.

We, tourists and locals sit around a campfire. It is quite late already and our hosts are about to put in a huge log, big enough to keep the fire going all night. I sort of suggest that a smaller log would easily be good enough. But no - "We care for today, tomorrow we worry about tomorrow. There is always enough."

The feeling of life in abundance gives me the impression of being in paradise, the South Pacific paradise as you would expect it. This now makes me understand better why the paradise feeling makes it hard for e.g. resort employees to understand the need for conserving energy or water. And why worry about climate change as this is not happening "today"?

However, looking at the country in more depth makes me see the slums emerging around the capital city Suva, get some understanding of a politically non satisfactory situation (since the recent coup the army has been ruling the country) and feel the tensions between the indigenous Fiji population and the Indo-fijians.

Indian workers who had arrived in the first quarter of this century, a time when Fiji was a British Colony, nowadays account for about half of the country's population. As they are not indigenous Fijian they have remained without land rights. About 87% of the land in Fiji is under the National Land Trust and community owned. Therefore only the remaining % of land can be bought as freehold land and indigenous land can be leased. And in times of crisis there is always the threat that leases will not be extended.

Christina Röhrer,
Fiji Islands

Unexpected and interesting - some observations

Fiji, 11. Sep. 2007

I am writing this note after having spent about three weeks in Taveuni, the smallest of the four major islands of Fiji. Taveuni, which as many other islands of Fiji is of vulcanic origin, still counts with 80% rainforest cover and is surrounded by pristine, unbleached reefs with an immense diversity of ecosystem.

Climate change - more questions than answers

"Climate change" - hmmm - can you tell me more?"

Walking along the beach I met Ida Shankaran (4 Jan - fotos - coastal erosion 1 and 2 please choose the better one), a primary school teacher. "We used to cross 40 meters of grass in our garden to reach the seashore". The sea has swallowed the land in front of her house. The family has now put a stone barrier to protect the house a bit from the waves. "We may need to another place, but we like living on the shore. Everybody here just comes to the beach and takes out sand for construction. We do not let people do this any more on our beach!" In her view there was far too little advice for local people available.

In Drekety village on Quamea, a small island near Taveuni I had the honor to be invited to the regional chief's home. He said "Climate change has affected our weather pattern. Before we had seasons, now you cannot predict. Everything has changed."

By boat I passed by a surfcamp resort under construction, an overseas investment on a remote beach. Noticing the power of the waves and erosion on the beach I happened to say to the builders that this investment might be taken away by the sea even before the first guests arrive. Days later I met them again. "You were so right. Can you imagine, we stored coconuts just next to the huts we are building and last night the sea took all the coconuts"

Passing through Suva, Fiji's capital city, I met Prof. William Aalbersberg who heads the Institute for Applied Sciences http://ias.fst.usp.ac.fj/ at the University of the South Pacific, the major information and training hub for the Pacific region. He has been working on adaptation to climate change for over a a decade. I was impressed by his experience and the way how the institute works in a people-centered and participatory way with local communities, e.g. and among many other activities within the ongoing Integrated Coastal Management Programme using vetiver grass http://www.vetiver.com/ which has about 1m long roots for soil erosion management. Climate change in Fiji as much as elsewhere in the world is just one overlying problem, one that aggreavates existing problems people have. Therefore listening to and starting from where the people stand is key to the Institute's work.

However, how to best factor adaptation to climate change into planning and investments remains a big challenge ...

Christine Röhrer

First Impressions

klimalog

The first impressions from Christine from the Fiji Islands (please click on photo to see all pictures).

Exploring the limits of a debate – perceptions and perspectives from the South Pacific

Christine Röhrer has spent fifteen years of her career working on environment and development, about half of the time being posted to developing countries in Central America and Africa. She is now employed as Environment Adviser by the UK government Department for International Development (DFID).

Whilst small islands, sustainable tourism and climate change have been part and parcel of her diverse portfolio of work (e.g. negotiations of the sustainable development plan for Small Island Developing States), she is now about to fulfil her life-time dream. She will take a three months break to travel to the South Pacific. From mid August onwards she will be out on islands in Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Being passionate about water she is likely to spend most of her time in the ocean admiring and enjoying the natural beauty and wildlife of coral reefs, her favourite ecosystem.

But she also wants to use her time there for listening, learning and looking beyond: Due to climate change part of the paradise, some of the islands, island groups, even whole nations are literally going to drown soon. For a few of them emigration and resettlement plans exist already. But how do people think and feel about it? Are there any messages we should listen to more carefully, thoughts missing in our intellectual and political debates in the North?

respect is happy to announce that following our request she has agreed to occasionally share pieces of thoughts with us.

Pease, visit also our web-page at www.respect.at