Fiji’s Agriculture Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy says his ministry is working tirelessly to ensure that coastal community lives and properties are safeguarded from the encroaching sea because of climate change.
He said they were implementing nature-based sea walls to protect communities vulnerable to sea level rise.
Dr Reddy said the model included planting rows of mangroves seaward as a first line of defence, followed by a boulder protective wall of approximately six metres.
“Behind the boulders, we have erected a soapstone raised wall with at least three rows of vetiver grass planted as the third line of defence,” he said.
Dr Reddy said the ministry funded the nature-based sea wall from its environmental trust funds.
He said apart from the existing portfolio of sea wall exemplars, 19 other communities had been identified as most vulnerable and would require immediate intervention this fiscal year alone.
“Going forward, we can boldly state that several of these 19 communities have been saved from potential relocation in the future. As we speak, there are around 90 other communities who have requested for similar nature-based sea walls to be erected to protect them from coastal erosion.”
