DEEP ROOTS FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
A nature-based solution helping Fiji adapt to climate change
Climate change poses major risks for Fiji’s communities, ecosystems and economy. Vetiver grass is playing a key role in the island nation’s climate adaptation plan—and its wide-ranging benefits are already having a positive effect.
In 2012, the village of Vunidogoloa in Fiji gained notoriety as the first in the world to be relocated due to climate change.
Sailosi Ramatu, its headman, told Al Jazeera some years later: “Where we were living, we hoped it would be our home forever. We had to leave our beautiful village. It’s painful.”
Communities in #Fiji have been forced to relocate due to the effects of #ClimateChange. Read Sailosi Ramatu's story via @AJENews https://t.co/KCD9N7xAC8 pic.twitter.com/d3lXl33kFv
— COP23 (@COP23) February 16, 2018
Fijians have been feeling the effects of climate change—erosion, flooding, severe weather, and rising sea levels—for years. With 90 percent of residents living in coastal areas, many communities are at risk.
There are also concerns at the prospect of facing a repeat of the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016, which took 44 lives and left thousands homeless.
Climate change poses major risks for Fiji’s communities, ecosystems and economy. Vetiver grass is playing a key role in the island nation’s climate adaptation plan—and its wide-ranging benefits are already having a positive effect.
In 2012, the village of Vunidogoloa in Fiji gained notoriety as the first in the world to be relocated due to climate change.
Sailosi Ramatu, its headman, told Al Jazeera some years later: “Where we were living, we hoped it would be our home forever. We had to leave our beautiful village. It’s painful.”
Fijians have been feeling the effects of climate change—erosion, flooding, severe weather, and rising sea levels—for years. With 90 percent of residents living in coastal areas, many more communities are at risk.
There are also concerns at the prospect of facing a repeat of the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016, which took 44 lives and left thousands homeless.
Communities in #Fiji have been forced to relocate due to the effects of #ClimateChange. Read Sailosi Ramatu's story via @AJENews https://t.co/KCD9N7xAC8 pic.twitter.com/d3lXl33kFv
— COP23 (@COP23) February 16, 2018
Fiji, however, is among the vanguard of countries taking action to build their resilience to climate change by creating a national adaptation plan (NAP).
The plan, developed with support from the NAP Global Network, outlines how the government, private sector and local citizens can work together to solve a myriad of challenges and safeguard their health, wellbeing and livelihoods.
A wide range of actions are being implemented under Fiji’s national adaptation plan, but what's remarkable is the extent to which the country is relying on nature-based solutions to help adapt to climate risks, making the most of benefits that ecosystems provide for human well-being and biodiversity.
Vetiver Grass:
A stabilizing force
Vetiver grass is a resilient species of grass with a deep root system that helps to stabilize the soil in which it grows.
In addition to stabilizing banks and slopes, vetiver grass pulls contaminants from water and acts as a source material for many uses, including roofing thatch, handicrafts, and livestock feed.
Fijians have been using vetiver grass as a soil conservation measure since the 1950s, but are now investing in it as a solution to protect against climate hazards.
How vetiver grass can be a tool for slope stabilization and for soil and water conservation. Graphic credit: The Vetiver Network West Indies (TNVWI)
How vetiver grass can be a tool for slope stabilization and for soil and water conservation. Graphic credit: The Vetiver Network West Indies (TNVWI)
Demonstration of vetiver grass' boulder-stopping abilities. Video source: The Vetiver Institute
Demonstration of vetiver grass' boulder-stopping abilities. Video source: The Vetiver Institute
Vetiver grass is a resilient species of grass with a deep root system that helps to stabilize the soil in which it grows.
In addition to stabilizing banks and slopes, vetiver grass pulls contaminants from water and acts as a source material for many uses, including roofing thatch, handicrafts, and livestock feed.
Fijians have been using vetiver grass as a soil conservation measure since the 1950s, but are now investing in it as a solution to climate hazards.
Demonstration of vetiver grass' boulder-stopping abilities. Video source: The Vetiver Institute
Demonstration of vetiver grass' boulder-stopping abilities. Video source: The Vetiver Institute
A Natural Defence for Fijian Communities
The Fijian Ministry of Waterways and Environment unveiled its third vetiver grass nursery in July 2020, in Labasa, with financial support from the Republic of Korea.
Fijian Prime Minister H.E. Voreqe Bainimarama remarked that the vetiver grass will provide "a natural frontline defence system between Fijians and raging river waters.” In fact, recently planted fields of vetiver grass are already helping more than 30 communities deal with flooding.
Though vetiver grass is primarily meant for inland slopes and riverbanks, the Fijian government is also looking to use it in building coastal resilience. Vetiver grass is one part of a “nature-based seawall”—a boulder wall with mangroves planted in front and vetiver grass behind—built in Vanua Levu in September.
Taken together, these projects are part of a broader suite of actions helping Fijians to achieve the objectives set out in their National Adaptation Plan, which prioritizes nature-based solutions.
"Fiji's National Adaptation Plan has provided a strong mandate and policy to scale up nature-based solutions, which protect communities from the impacts of climate change. Momentum around such solutions has grown since we launched our NAP as it has set out a clear plan of action for building our medium- and long-term resilience, and made nature-based solutions a core part of that commitment."
Photo Source: Fijian Government via Facebook
Photo Source: Fijian Government via Facebook
Nature-based seawall in Macuata, Vanua Levu, which combines mangroves, boulders, and vetiver grass. Source: Fijian Government via Facebook
Nature-based seawall in Macuata, Vanua Levu, which combines mangroves, boulders, and vetiver grass. Source: Fijian Government via Facebook
Taking Inspiration from Fiji’s Leadership
Fiji's leadership on implementing nature-based solutions can hopefully serve as inspiration for others globally to act on climate change.
Tackling the climate crisis requires urgent action on both mitigation and adaptation—it’s not an either/or choice. Even if we raise ambition and achieve much-needed progress on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions around the world, we will still need ambitious adaptation efforts to prepare for climate change impacts that are already taking place today and that emissions to date have locked in to worsen in coming years.
"Even if we succeed in our global campaign to limit global temperature rise, climate impacts will grow far worse before they ever begin to get better. By adapting communities now, we save lives, we create jobs and we spare future suffering for our people."
Fiji's implementation of nature-based solutions like vetiver grass shows how adaptation action grounded in solid national planning processes can build the climate resilience of communities and ecosystems.
Sayed-Khaiyum at the 2019 launch event of the Global Commission on Adaptation's flagship report, at which vetiver grass was planted at Naveicovatu village to help manage landslides (via Facebook).
Sayed-Khaiyum at the 2019 launch event of the Global Commission on Adaptation's flagship report, at which vetiver grass was planted at Naveicovatu village to help manage landslides (via Facebook).
Fiji's National Adaptation Plan was developed through technical support from the NAP Global Network, hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), with funding from the governments of Canada and the United States.
Learn more about nature-based solutions in national adaptation planning and action.
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