$1,085,302 for Lamini Seawall Project, Taveuni

The Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Devel­opment, Waterways and En­vironment Mahendra Reddy com­missioned the project for a stone masonry seawall at Lamini Village, Taveuni on Wednesday.

Through its contractor they will retrofit the deteriorating seawall by constructing a stone masonry sea­wall in front of the existing seawall.

“The existing seawall at Lamini Village was built in 1995 with a boul­der masonry wall,” Mr Reddy said.

“Over the years, the seawall has been affected by the waves causing damage to it.

Moreover, the height of the exist­ing seawall was approximately the same level of the village ground, tides and waves during cyclones led to the inundation of the village ground and homes.”

“To address the above, the proposed coastal protection works consists of 315 metres long stone masonry sea­wall,” he said.

“Furthermore, the height of the new seawall has been designed 2.5 metres to cater for waves associ­ated with extreme events such as cyclones.

“Also included in this project are drainage systems, boat landing, cul­vert crossing, and footpaths.

“The work will be undertaken by Viti Vanua Holding at a cost of $1,085,302 for the period of 180 calen­dar days.”

“We live in a part of the world where sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and cyclones are occurring at an increasing frequency, an inevitable force that we haven’t experienced before,” he said.

“It is obvious that despite all our efforts, we have a long way to go to keep the sea at bay and our liveli­hood intact.

“While this intervention would re­duce the exposure of the community and increase your adaptive capacity, this measure would keep you safe of events within its design capacity.

“As such I humbly request all of you to also invest in ecosystem-based approaches to further in­crease your resilience.

“We need to learn to co-exist with nature.”

Edited by Susana Tuilau

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