Credit: Na Teci Roaroa
The iTaukei people of Votua, Nawaqarua, and Natutu in Ba district share a deep connection with the river and ocean ecosystem. Situated along the Ba River that connects to the seas of the Yasawa Islands –an archipelago of about 20 volcanic islands off the coast of Western Viti Levu,– these fishing villages face climate-related challenges: cyclones, droughts, floods, and coastal erosion.
iTAUKEI PEOPLE
iTaukei people account for more than half of the total population of Fiji. The studied villages are located on the drier leeward side of the main Island of Viti-Levu with a distinct hot and wet season and a cool and dry season.
Credit: Na Teci Roaroa
ACTIVITIES
Fishing and reef gleaning: Coral trouts & groupers in the open ocean (men). Invertebrates & fish up to the coral reefs (women).
Subsistence farming: Yam dalo, cassava. Pig, cattle and goat.
Mixed economies: Handicrafts and small businesses (women). Fish catch selling in local markets (men).
TERRITORY AND CLIMATE
Credit: Priyatma Singh
Tropical
CLIMATE
Changes in the climate
Maximum and minimum air temperatures have increased 0.04°C/decade and 0.13°C/decade, respectively since the 1980s.
Warmer sea surface temperatures, between +0.5°C to +1.5°C recorded. Sea-level rise: 3-4 mm per year since the early 1990s.
*Small air temperature range which varies only 2–4 °C between the coolest and warmest months.
ACCESS TO NATURAL RESOURCES
Changes in the territory
River and mangrove areas provide shellfish, crabs, prawns, and fish.
Changes in temperature affect planting seasons and yield as well as fishing sites and breeding patterns.
Villagers have customary fishing rights within the inshore areas.
More severe cyclones & frequent flooding. Saltwater intrusion contaminates soil affecting productivity.
Agricultural land for root crops and vegetables for household consumption.
Riverbank erosion damages villages, ancestral burial sites, homesteads and farmlands.
VOICES OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
The iTaukei people have rich, temporal, place-based knowledge about their environment. This knowledge allows them to observe change and deduce drivers of these changes. Their way of talking about changes reflects their understanding of the processes leading to change.
Drivers of change
We can not monitor 24-7 so pouching and overfishing is happening in our ocean space.
Black Sand Mining is happening at the Ba River and we don’t really know what all they are taking from our River.
Cyclones are stronger now, it is damaging our crops and houses and we have to use our savings to recover.
Marine fish breeding seasons are not how they used to be 20 years ago. We find less fish now.
Our soil is salty and not as good as before and crop yield is low.
There more flash floods and flood water levels are higher than before.
Dredging of the Ba River is disturbing the fish spawning grounds, fish breeding patterns are changing.
Credit: Priyatma Singh
Credit: Na Teci Roaroa
Credit: Kinisimere Ratu Qera
IMPACTS ON LIVELIHOODS AND CULTURE
Credit: Kinisimere Ratu Qera
New livelihoods for the iTaukei people
As climate change intensifies, villagers diversify income sources. Women engage in handicrafts, bakery and food sales. Men and young women also opt for paid employment in nearby towns.
Credit: Na Teci Roaroa
More disruptive cyclones and floods
More frequent, severe floods and cyclones reduce crop and fishing yields, and damage buildings. They also increase the incidence of infectious diseases, such as diarrhoea, leptospirosis, dengue fever and typhoid fever.
Credit: Na Teci Roaroa
Women lead climate change adaptation
iTaukei women rehabilitate mangroves and plant trees along the riverbank to enhance their adaptive capacity, protect ancestral lands, and prevent displacement. The community also established traditional no-take or taboo zones in their fishing grounds.
ENVISIONING A CLIMATE CHANGE-PROOF FUTURE
All griefs with bread are less
Autonomous adaptation strategies focus on improving food and nutrition security as well livelihoods practice through initiatives ranging from changes in crop-livestock systems, fishing times and storage of food.
It all adds up
Several autonomous adaptation measures are oriented to income diversification, as communities move away from reliance on resources that are being threatened by climate change impacts and towards non-natural resource-based jobs and remittances.
Harnessing traditional knowledge for climate resilience
Traditional knowledge and practices hold the potential to enhance resilience, yet there are concerns about their potential loss in areas like cultivation, pest management, food preservation, and fish harvesting. Globalization disrupts intergenerational transmission and may be exacerbating this threat.
AN OPEN CALL FOR COLLABORATION
Village leaders and community representatives are urging for greater integration and inclusion in decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods. Emphasizing a participatory approach is vital to acknowledge the traditional knowledge and local relationships that underpin community-level adaptation strategies.
ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE TAKE LOCAL ROOTS
The formulation of sub-national adaptation plans offers practical approaches to assess local responses to climate change and address the opportunities and challenges they face. These plans play a crucial role in integrating adaptive measures into local planning, bridging the gap between local and national adaptation efforts. Moreover, they encourage communities to embrace multi-scalar adaptation measures, fostering a harmonious balance between autonomous and planned adaptation strategies.
Credit: Priyatma Singh
FIELDWORK CONDUCTED BY
Priyatma Singh and Dhrishna Charan, The University of Fiji
