Prime Minister and Minister for Environment and Climate Change Sitiveni Rabuka and Fiji Council of Social Services Executive Director Vani Catanasiga

Prime Minister and Minister for Environment and Climate Change Sitiveni Rabuka says he is in favor of the submission made by the Fiji Council of Social Services regarding the review of the carbon draft policy to incorporate natural resource owners in terms of natural resource management relating to land tenure and custodianship of traditional fishing.

Rabuka says that the Ministry is going to break the draft policy down to include resource owners so that they can also benefit from the carbon market.

“Nationally, we could benefit from that carbon credit trading, but what about the actual landowners whose resources are required to be preserved in the interest of climate change so that our profile and emissions are maintained?”

Rabuka believes the whole nation should benefit from carbon trading if we have a good reputation for the preservation of our forest and mangrove plants.

Fiji Council of Social Services Executive Director Vani Catanasiga highlights the need to incorporate natural resource owners in terms of natural resource management relating to land tenure and custodianship of traditional fishing grounds in the draft national carbon market strategy roadmap.

FCOSS is calling for a redraft of the policy to ensure the mainstreaming of the principle of free, prior, and informed consent in all aspects of the strategy.