[Photo: JOSEFA SIGAVOLAVOLA]

Climate-impacted communities across Fiji stand to benefit from a new financing mechanism aimed at helping them adapt, build resilience, and reduce the risk of displacement as climate impacts intensify.

The Fiji Climate Catalytic Fund was officially launched today by the Permanent Secretary for Climate Change, Dr Sivendra Michael, who said the Fund reflects the government’s commitment to keeping communities rooted in their land wherever possible.

Dr Michael emphasised that under Fiji’s Climate Change Act, it remains a measure of last resort, guided by a careful, people-centred approach that respects identity, heritage, and belonging.

He explains that community consultations conducted across climate-affected areas have shown strong determination among residents to adapt in place and minimise displacement, provided they are supported with timely resources and practical solutions.

“Complimentary initiatives such as nature-based sea-walls, reef and mangrove restoration further scale up community-led adaptation and safeguard ecosystems that are part of the activities that it will prioritise.”
The Climate Catalytic Fund is designed to respond to this need by enabling early interventions before climate risks escalate into irreversible loss.

A key component of the Fund is its use of a Climate Displacement Risk Index, which will help identify high-risk communities, prioritise investments, and create space for communities to test adaptation solutions.

This approach ensures that funding decisions are informed by data while remaining grounded in community realities.

“We acknowledge that climate induced displacement is amongst the greatest challenges of our time and in Fiji where land is tied deeply to our identity, our heritage and our belonging relocation is never an easy choice, that is why it remains a measure of last resort that the climate change act and why our standard operating procedure or planned relocation ensure a careful people centred approach whenever relocation becomes necessary.”

The Permanent Secretary further said that the Climate Catalytic Fund is expected to play a vital role in safeguarding Fiji’s most vulnerable communities while supporting long-term, community-driven climate resilience.

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