Pacific CIRCLE puts vulnerable groups at heart of climate action

The Kiwa Pacific Community Inclusion for Resilient Climate and Ecosystems (CIRCLE) project was launched at the Ramada Hotel in Labasa today, with women, young people and people with disabilities to take leading roles in climate adaptation initiatives.

Macuata Provincial Administrator Revoni Rakasalu, speaking as chief guest, thanked the Kiwa Initiative, Transcend Oceania, Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation and ActionAid Australia for including communities that have already relocated, those in the process of relocating and those living with the possibility of future relocation.

“This launch marks groundbreaking program that will engage women, young people and people with disabilities in Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and Kiribati to lead nature-based solutions that help communities adapt to climate change,” Ms Rakasalu said.

“This three and half year project will support ecosystem restoration and resilient livelihoods through activities ranging from regeneration of mangroves to sustainable fisheries.”

The project will be implemented in partnership with five Pacific-led organisations – Transcend Oceania, Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation, ActionAid Vanuatu, Tonga Community Development Trust and the Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific Kiribati.

It will be led by ActionAid Australia and the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction.

Vanua Levu communities targeted

In Fiji, Transcend Oceania and the Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation will lead the programme across three provinces in Vanua Levu.

The communities are Tavea and Cogea in Bua Province; Nabavatu and Mali in Macuata Province; and Vunidogoloa, Vunisavisavi, Naviavia, Saqani, Wainiika and Tawake in Cakaudrove Province.

The project aims to strengthen the capacity of women, young people and people with disabilities to lead climate change adaptation strategies in their communities.

It will also seek to influence gender and disability-inclusive climate policies that enhance climate resilience and promote nature-based solutions.

Kiwa Pacific CIRCLE at Transcend Oceania senior project officer lead Justine Maravu said: “By placing women, youth, and persons with disabilities at the heart of climate adaptation, they are building resilience that is rooted in inclusivity, driven by local leadership and destined to protect our islands for generations to come.”

‘Inclusive by design’

Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation programme coordinator Jay Nasilasila said Pacific CIRCLE was an opportunity to demonstrate that climate resilience and nature-based solutions must be inclusive by design.

“For us this means ensuring that persons with disabilities are not only beneficiaries, but are actively involved in shaping, implementing and leading solutions within their communities,” Mr Nasilasila said.

“As we launch this work in Labasa and across Vanua Levu, we want to ensure that local knowledge, lived experience and the voices of those most at risk of being left behind are at the centre of climate action.”