Sainiani Boila 
Eroding shoreline threatens Ekubu village.[PHOTO: SAINIANI BOILA]
The effects of climate change are increasingly visible in Ekubu village on Vatulele Island, where residents say rising seas, stronger currents and changing weather patterns threaten their homes, food security and livelihoods.
Village Headman Ratu Kinivuwai Nanovo says the community’s location leaves them highly vulnerable to climate change.
Nanovo says the village has no mountains or higher ground to protect if a tidal wave strikes the island.
He adds strong currents and powerful waves have pushed back the village seawall, steadily eroding the shoreline and swallowing beaches that were once covered in white sand.
“We used to have a seawall, but it’s now moving inward toward the shore. A significant portion of our shoreline has been swept away by strong currents and increasingly rising tides. This has greatly affected the plants that once guarded our shoreline, allowing the rising tides to reach our homes. Approximately five meters of our shoreline have been lost to these encroaching tides.”
Nanovo says the impacts are also being felt on land, with cassava harvests shrinking as changing weather patterns affect crop growth and Fishing, once carried out close to shore, has also become more difficult.
Ekubu is one of four villages on Taunovo Island that continue to experience the daily impacts of climate change, highlighting the growing challenges faced by Fiji’s low-lying coastal communities as sea levels rise and weather events become more extreme.
