[Source: Fiji Government/ Facebook]

Fiji has so far relocated six communities due to the rising impacts of climate change around the country.

While officiating at the launch of the Standard Operating Procedures regarding relocation, Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica says we live with climate change on a daily basis and the relocation is a sad reality.

Kamikamica says the decision to move from their current location, which they call home, to a new location due to the rising impacts is hard as Fijians communities are always attached to their homes and their land.

“Significant lessons have been learned from the exercise, which now forms the basis of this SOP. The hope, of course, is that the SOP manual will lead to a more effective coordination of the government’s efforts and, more importantly, make the transition of affected communities to their new homes as smoothly and efficiently as possible.”

[Source: Fiji Government/ Facebook]

Kamikamica says relocation is something Fiji must plan for as we are one of the Small Islands Developing States and are highly vulnerable to climate change, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events that affect our way of life, our homes, and our lives.

[Source: Fiji Government/ Facebook]

He says the reality is that some of our communities will be in habitual situations in years to come, and we should prepare for that.

The SOP launched will be piloted in the relocation of the Bavatu village in Macuata, which was ravaged by Tropical Cyclone Yasa in 2020.