Shania Shayal Prasad 
There’s a growing call for a cleaner and safer environment to protect Fiji’s tourism and public health.
Assistant Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Sakiusa Tubuna, made the plea during the Eco Guardians’ cleanup at Mosquito Island, a joint effort with the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Canterbury.
More than 50 bags of rubbish were collected in under an hour.
Tubuna warns that pollution poses serious risks to both visitors and locals.
“We can witness today there’s quite a lot of rubbish on this island – beer bottles, cans, plastic bottles. There has to be a major reawakening of people to be aware that throwing rubbish is an offence.”
Royal New Zealand Navy officer Makuini Robust says their goal was simple hands-on action for a cleaner future.
“This is my first time doing anything like this. I hope what we do here makes a difference, and I’m really grateful to be a part of it.”
Eco Guardians founder Rainer Hoehn says while clean-ups help, change needs to be long-term.
“We did cleanups like this, everybody was happy, celebrating, and we come back four weeks later – same thing, and no change.”
He adds that preserving Fiji’s natural beauty is crucial for the environment and the economy.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
