[Source: Water Authority of Fiji/ Facebook]

British High Commissioner to Fiji Dr Brian Jones, has stressed the importance of working together to advance the Water Sector Strategy in collaboration with the Water Authority of Fiji.

Speaking at the inaugural Saqamoli Talks, Dr. Jones emphasized that collaboration is key to tackling current challenges in the water sector.

These challenges include aging infrastructure and the need for more resilient water sources to withstand natural disasters and the effects of climate change.

Dr. Brian Jones has expressed his commitment to supporting the Water Authority of Fiji in implementing the Water Sector Strategy.

[Source: Water Authority of Fiji/ Facebook]

“People require fresh water the whole year round irrespective of whether there’s a drought or whether the reservoirs are empty so as part of our adaptation and our mitigation to climate change we’ve all got to think differently about how we invest in our infrastructure but also the less obvious part is how we save water because it might not be possible to build reservoirs big enough to store the water as it rains for the whole rest of that year and that season.”

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Sivendra Michael reiterated the need for collaborative efforts to achieve the ambitious goals outlined in the Strategy.

“It’s important that we need to acknowledge that you know everything is done from a lens of protecting and conserving the environment as well so it’s not only you know providing access to clean and safe water but ensuring that you know the environment is not compromised in the process.”

He adds that the Water Sector Strategy outlines a roadmap for improving Fiji’s water infrastructure and ensuring sustainable water management practices.