Page 31 - IB October 2024

Climate Change Climate Change

Barney believes the community can begin rehabilitation “The waves have taken the sand and deposited it on the far
work and regain some of the land with minimal help. side of our property,” Barney said.
“We can start with 600 tyres and bury them using sand and “What was once part of the river mouth is closed because
rocks from the foreshore,’’ Barney said. the sand from the front of the property has filled that gap. If
“The current here runs from the west to the east. If we lay we put a series of walls perpendicular to the shore, we will
the tyres in a north-south direction, the waves should pile the regain our land.’’
sand around this artificial wall. When the sand builds up, we This is where the Presbyterian Church USA has decided to
plant coconut trees and start fighting back.’’ join the fight and help carry the burden of the Togoru people.
Barney may not have an engineering degree, but 50 years A grant of US$2000 will help Barney and the community
of observation and local knowledge US$2000 him to believe begin the initial phase of reclamation by buying used tyres,
that reclamation using nature and a helping hand from tyres, transporting them to Togoru, and hiring local labour.
boulders and fallen trees, will do the trick.

WHERE DOES CLIMATE CHANGE

FINANCE GO?

By Netani Rika There are eight homes in the settlement, but the two
nearest the shore have been abandoned. Their owners can no
IN 2020, the New Zealand government pledged NZ$150 longer face the constant battering of waves and wind.
million for Pacific-focused climate change projects. In Fiji, five villages have been relocated due to climate
Then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the change. The Togoru Settlement may also face relocation.
announcement at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Summit But community leader, Barney Dunn, will not give up
in Tuvalu. without a fight.
Of that money, NZ$2 million was earmarked for a project to “We have to survive, we cannot live here and let the water
help Fijian communities displaced by climate change relocate come up under our home and wash us away,” he said.
to a safer area. “If we leave this place, will the Government give us land to
None of that money has reached Togoru, 45 minutes by car call our own? We can’t live as guests of another landowning
from Fiji’s capital, Suva. unit. Our people need security. We don’t want a situation
The tiny seaside community, made up of three families of where our children are chased away by the landowners some
mixed Fijian and Irish heritage, has watched for 50 years as years from now.’’
waves have slowly eaten away at the coastline. For Barney, the best option is to reclaim the land, no
Surveyors reported 10 years ago that Togoru loses 1.5 matter how difficult it may seem.
metres of coastline each year, and only five acres of land Some of that NZ$2 million given by New Zealand for climate
remains of the 10 acres which existed at the time of the last change work in Fiji might be handy in Togoru right about
survey. now.

SCIENCE BACKS BARNEY’S CLAIMS

Scientific review of Togoru by Dr Tony Weir, Senior which is a flat, low-lying area, with an extensive mudflat
Research Consultant and postgraduate teacher at offshore. Thus, a small vertical change in sea level can
the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable make a large horizontal change.
Development at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji. Although some research is under way to assess the
Coastal erosion continues to occur in many parts of Fiji. extent of coast-line movement, using comparisons of old
There are many contributing causes, including natural aerial photos with new satellite images, there is not yet a
currents, storm surges (especially from cyclones), and systematic mapping of coastal change in Fiji. But Barney’s
removal of mangroves (which tend to anchor the coast and observations are somewhat consistent with scientific
beach). The slow rise in sea level due to climate change reports about climate impacts at other particular sites in
will make these problems worse. Fiji.
A horizontal movement of 200 meters is larger than
usual. But Togoru is in the floodplain of the Navua River, Source: WWF Pacific

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