Work Together To Cultivate More Climate-Secure Fiji: PM

Climate change threatens us all, and we must work together to respond to this greatest of tests to our national security, appealed the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.

Mr Bainimarama made the comment in his opening address at the first Climate Induced Security Workshop at the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort, Coral Coast yesterday.

The aim of the workshop is for stakeholders to work in unity to help address the impacts of climate change.

A determined Prime Minister said a collaborative effort was warranted for Fijians to cultivate a more climate-secure Fiji.

He said in order to protect our progress and pave the way to a more climate-secure future it was mandatory to look far beyond.

“There must be co-ordination and collaboration between the nation’s policy-makers, policy implementers, and our communities to ensure that the most inclusive policy options are both openly discussed and effectively implemented,” he said.

“In order to control –– and ultimately defeat –– the security threat that climate change poses to Fiji, a ‘whole nation’s response is absolutely crucial. This means Government, the private sector, and civil society working hand-in-hand, including civil-military coordination, to devise activities to mitigate against these threats.

“No one workshop, let alone one person, can possibly hold all the answers when it comes to an issue so complex –– one that is simultaneously so collective, yet so personal. Climate change threatens us all, and we must work together to respond to this greatest of tests to our national security. Only then can we be proud of handing Fijian children and grandchildren a safer and more resilient nation than we were born into.”

He added the four-day forum would build upon the progress that was already made at the September Maritime Domain Awareness workshop.

“These lasting repercussions, both direct and indirect, will be disastrous for Fiji if plans and strategies are not put in place to respond to them.”

He added a more climate-secure future for Fiji had been at the core of a number of strategic roadmaps that are guiding our pro-active approach to resilient development –– our Green Growth Framework, Fiji’s five and 20-Year National Development Plans, and the National Climate Change Policy, which is currently in its second round of consultations.

Australian High Commissioner John Feakes said the workshop was hosted through the Australian Pacific Security College which was set up in November last year to support security officials from the region to build capacity and help implement the priorities of the Boe Declaration.

“I encourage you to reach out and leverage the expertise of the college in the course of your work, whether it is to seek training in strategic analysis, the provision in technical assistance for implementation of security measures or advisory support,” he said.

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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