The International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM) says integrated, ridge-to-reef management will be critical to safeguarding the future of Fiji’s Nasivi River Basin, where around 30,000 people depend on the health of land, rivers, coastlines and reefs for their livelihoods.
In a statement, ICEM said decades of land clearing, monoculture plantations and mining have significantly reduced natural vegetation and riparian buffers across the basin, weakening its ability to manage floods and maintain water quality.
“As climate change intensifies, these pressures are converging into serious ridge-to-reef challenges,” ICEM said, citing more frequent flooding, declining water security, growing risks to biodiversity, damage to infrastructure and increasing livelihood insecurity.
In early November, a multidisciplinary team from ICEM, C2O and eCoast carried out extensive field surveys and community consultations across the basin.
The work forms part of a Feasibility Study on Ridge-to-Reef (R2R) Management.
“The social, ecological and biophysical data collected will feed into detailed diagnostics, advanced hydrological modelling and technical assessments of nature-based solutions,” ICEM said.
“This will help identify practical, evidence-based recommendations for basin-wide, multi-stakeholder action.”
ICEM said early findings already point to the need for a coordinated approach that links upland, river and coastal management.
“Safeguarding the future of the Nasivi Basin will require integrated catchment management, nature-based solutions and diversified, climate-resilient livelihoods,” the organisation said.
“Actions must be connected from the ridges all the way to the reef.”
The study aims to support decision-makers, communities and partners in designing solutions that strengthen flood resilience, protect ecosystems and improve long-term livelihoods, while ensuring development across the basin remains sustainable in the face of climate change.
