Addressing Water Shortages: A catalyst for more resilient development in Fiji

Abstract

What can we learn about resilience by examining completed resilience, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation projects? Oxfam conducted three such case studies in Bolivia, Colombia, and Fiji, looking at the conditions required for successful resilient development as well as issues around timing and duration. This synthesis report presents a summary of the three projects and distills the findings that were common to our analysis of them as well as a related climate change adaptation project in Vanuatu. Cabildos: indigenous political and social authorities; they are the political leaders of resguardos and communities. With assistance from the Margaret A. Cargill PhilanthropiesCosmology: in its anthropological sense, the body of knowledge, practices, and beliefs of a society or culture.Caucan Indigenous Regional Council (CRIC): the oldest and most influential indigenous organization in Colombia; the CRIC is an alliance of 10 regional indigenous organizations.Lahar: a landslide of volcanic debris and water.Minga: indigenous collective physical, intellectual, spiritual, social, and community work. According to our findings, collective mingas are key elements of resilient living in Nasa indigenous communities in Cauca, Colombia.Nasa: ethnolinguistic indigenous group inhabiting most of the Cauca Department in Colombia.Nasa Çxhaçxha: indigenous organization in Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia, founded in 1994, in the aftermath of the deadly Páez earthquake and mudflow; Nasa Çxhaçxha is one of the 10 organizations that make up the CRIC.Quechua: second-largest ethnolinguistic group in Bolivia.Resguardo: collective land governed by one or more indigenous communities according to autochthonous customs and laws, based on Articles 63 and 329 of Colombia's 1991 Constitution; a resguardo is a protected collective property, inalienable and immune from seizure.Social capital: a set of values, such as the norms of reciprocity, and social relations embedded in the social structure of a society that enable people to act collectively to achieve their desired goals (SPC, 2008).Learning from Hindsight: Synthesis report on Oxfam resilience research EXECUTIVE SUMMARYOxfam defines resilience as "the ability of women and men to realize their rights and improve their well-being despite shocks, stresses, and uncertainty" (Jeans et al., 2016, 6). Although the field of development has been implementing programs that contain the elements of resilience for decades, there is still much learning to be done (Webb, 2017). Through this research project, which is part of a much larger program in Central America and the Pacific implementing resilient development programming, Oxfam has sought to learn with the advantage of hindsight, examining projects completed a few years earlier, so that the "dust has settled" and the sustainability is apparent. Since funding in the area of resilience is still fairly recent, however, it is difficult to find programs that were framed as resilience projects and ended five years ago, so we decided to expand ...

Climate change and coastal resiliency of Suva, Fiji: a holistic approach for measuring climate risk using the climate and ocean risk vulnerability index (CORVI)

“…The majority of GSUA’s downtown area and shoreline is built on reclaimed land, which when combined with projections of sea-level rise around Fiji to be 0.63 m (0.28–0.98 m) by 2100 may result in approximately 6.2 percent of the shoreline infrastructure in Fiji being inundated (Merschroth et al 2020 ). Since 1993, sea-level rise in Fiji has been at a rate of approximately 6 mm per year, which is greater than the global average (Gingerich 2017 ). Gravelle and Mimura ( 2008 ) identified areas where sea-level rise would cause flooding and inundation, with GSUA being one of the high-risk areas.…”

“…For instance, extreme rainfall events will lead to inundation of the sewer pumping system. The sea-level rise will raise water tables as well as worsen storm surges, thereby contributing to coastal flood risks (Gingerich 2017 ). Lata and Nunn ( 2012 ) state that climate change impacts are resulting in several environmental stressors in the Rewa River Delta, located east of Suva.…”

“…In 2000, bleaching caused the Suva barrier reef to lose approximately 30 percent of coral cover and 45 percent of coral colonies (Cumming et al 2002 ). With increased temperatures projected for the Fiji Islands, bleaching thresholds are likely to be exceeded more frequently, resulting in an increasing number of bleaching events (Gingerich 2017 ). Mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs act as important natural coastal defenses that protect coastlines from violent storm surges and floods (Guannel et al 2016 ), as such the continued loss of these environments can intensify the vulnerability of these coastal communities.…”