Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has highlighted in Parliament that they have already relocated three villages to higher ground due to rising sea levels.
He says that according to assessments, there are another 42 to 43 villages that are subject to being inundated by rising sea levels.
Sayed-Khaiyum says it’s not about relocating the village itself but it’s about sustaining livelihoods and if they are going to be relocated to higher ground then access to water and electricity is very much an implication they need to consider.
He highlighted that there are places in Vanua Levu where certain areas of the arable land that were farmland are no longer farmable because of the fact that salination has increased in those soils so the farmers livelihoods get affected.
Sayed-Khaiyum says according to the assessment carried out by the World Bank, Fiji needs about $9.3 billion over the next 10 years to be able to keep up with the climatic changes that have an impact on our economy.
He says there are enormous financial implications in order to build resilience in the infrastructure, resilience in the people and of course using the right technology to be able to ensure that they are able to withstand the increase in frequency of climatic events.
Sayed-Khaiyum was responding to questions asked by FijiFirst MP Mataiasi Niumataiwalu regarding the results of the Climate Vulnerability Assessment of Fiji which was released in Bonn during COP23.
