If anyone doubts that climate change is real, tell them to come to Togoru.
This was the word from Marama Dunn, a resident of the seaside settlement located along coastal Navua. She said her ancestors settled there in the 1800s and rising sea levels had claimed about five acres of their property so far.
“We now have an underwater cemetery because of sand erosion and coastal erosion,” she said while speaking at a COP26 side event in Suva recently. Ms Dunn said from when she was a little girl, the sea had slowly but surely crept in inch by inch and taken over an area she and others in the settlement used to play on.
“It’s so sad to see this happen, but we remain hopeful that things will get better or something will happen.
“I think the best thing we can do right now is to get a sea wall because we have had a number of youths that came and planted mangroves, but its all disappeared.” Fanny Qaqa, a representative of neighbouring Wainivedio settlement, shared similar sentiments.
She said climate change had “very badly affected” their beachfront. Ms Qaqa said rising sea levels had washed sand from the beach and significantly changed the marine landscape over the past 20 years.
“Over the years, we have managed to find ways or means to try and control it, we planted mangroves, we tried putting coral along our beachfront, but everything we have done is not working,” she said.
“Because we are facing the East, we have very strong tidal waves coming in so mangrove seedling that were planted did not grow at all — we have about 10 or 11 left.
“I hope Government and those who have gone for COP26 will come back with a solution on how to address these issues.”
The side event was hosted by the Fiji Council of Churches, the Pacific Conference of Churches and Transcend Oceania.
