RETREATING shorelines, saltwater intrusion, droughts, cyclones, and flooding are no longer distant concerns but a daily reality for communities in Macuata.
Provincial administrator Revoni Rakasalu said the Northern Division was home to about 132,000 people, about 66,000 of whom lived in Macuata.
“Our people are farmers and fishers. Our economy rests on sugar cane, copra, dalo and yaqona, on the sea and, increasingly, on tourism,” he said.
Mr Rakasalu said most lived in rural, coastal, and maritime communities and depended heavily on healthy ecosystems.
“Everyone depends directly on the health of our ecosystems, and those ecosystems are under strain.”
He said communities had watched shorelines retreat, and burial grounds come under threat, while saltwater seeped through gardens that had fed families for generations.
“Droughts had emptied water tanks, forcing water to be delivered by trucks and barges to communities in the cane belt and interior.”
He said communities had also endured severe tropical cyclones, flooding, landslips, and land instability.
“These are not statistics to us. They are the standing agenda of our district advisory councils, our district forums, and our divisional development forums.”
He said nature-based solutions offered practical and durable protection for rural and maritime communities.
