Mosese Raqio 
[Photo Credit: Fiji Government]
A small coastal community in Macuata is turning loss into hope after becoming the first in Fiji to receive climate funds directly through the Community Climate Adaptation Fund (C-CAF).
Once home to 20 families, Macuata-i-wai has been reduced to just two households after saltwater intrusion destroyed crops and drinking water, and rising seas swallowed parts of the shoreline.
At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the Global Centre for Climate Mobility presented the first C-CAF grant agreement to Minister for Environment and Climate Change Mosese Bulitavu, officially marking a new way for climate finance to reach Fijian communities.
Bulitavu says the moment is a victory for every community that has been waiting to take charge of its own adaptation story.
He says this is not just funding infrastructure but restoring heritage and belonging, allowing people to decide, plan and lead their own future.
The funds will help restore freshwater systems, rebuild resilient homes, and revive livelihoods, with money flowing directly to the community, not through intermediaries.
The initiative follows years of work by Fiji’s climate negotiators pushing for direct access to climate finance. Similar agreements are being finalised for Narata Village in Nadroga and Vuniudrovu Village in Naitasiri.
For the people of Macuata-i-wai, the grant is more than financial aid — it’s a lifeline to rebuild what the sea has taken.
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