$7.5m Climate Resilience Project Launched

A £3 million ($F7.5million) climate resilience project targeting 24 communities across three Pacific Island nations was officially launched at the Tanoa Plaza Hotel in Suva yesterday.

The Kiwa Empower project, funded through the Kiwa Initiative, will implement nature-based solutions to address pressing climate challenges in Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

Live & Learn Fiji country director Doris Susau said the project would focus on food security, water management, and restoration of degraded coastal and inland areas.

“Nature-based solutions will be the approach to climate change issues that communities are facing,” Ms Susau told this masthead.

“The key climate change issues we have identified together with our government partners are to do with food security and livelihoods, water and watershed management issues, as well as degraded coastal and inland areas.”

The target communities - 20 in total - are located in the Northern Division on Vanua Levu, with 14 in Cakaudrove Province, three in Bua Province, and three in Macuata Province.

The remaining four communities include two remote atoll island communities in Tuvalu (Nanumea and Niutao) and two remote communities in Solomon Islands (Sikaiana Village in Temotu Province and Nifiloli Village in Malaita Province).

Ms Susau highlighted the inclusive approach of the project, stressing that women and young people would be actively engaged in program activities.

“We ensure that our people, our communities, they remain centre in our initiatives,” she said.

The project received funding from five donor partners through the Kiwa Initiative: the European Union, French government, Australian government, New Zealand government, and Canadian government.

Implementation is expected to begin immediately following the current regional workshop, with national stakeholder engagement in Fiji scheduled for late March and early April 2025.

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