‘No one can stop the water’: climate change drowns hopes in Fiji [VIDEO]

The ocean has already swallowed the cemetery of Togoru, a small village on the largest island of the archipelago. Fijiwhose inhabitants fear that due to global warming they will soon be in the water.

Lavenia McGoon, 70, was there when the graves were flooded. Since then, he has been afraid of the day when the waves will come to his door.

An old woman folds her tires under the coconuts on the boardwalk, hoping this impromptu protection will give her a break.

It’s only a matter of time for her changing of the climate and the rising waters make her and her family run. “No one can stop the water,” he explained to AFP.

Togoru is a small town on the south coast of the island of Viti Levu. McGoon, nicknamed “Big Nana” by her neighbors, has lived here on the ocean for nearly 60 years. Their small wooden house has neither electricity nor running water.

The old woman raises her finger to the waves. “We had a plantation right there,” he recalls.

But the mainland is gone. “In 20 or 30 years, we have lost almost 55 meters,” he clarifies.

About 200 graves were flooded in the Togoru cemetery. McGoon says most of the remains were moved on.

“Big Nana” resists and refuses to leave, clinging to her corner of paradise. She explains that moving at her age could make her sick anyway.

Fiji, surrounded by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, is preparing for the day when life in coastal villages becomes impossible. The task is colossal.

The government estimates that more than 600 municipalities will need to be evacuated and that 42 villages are already under serious threat. More than 70% of the 900,000 Fijians live within five kilometers of the coast.

According to Australia’s Monash University, water levels in the Western Pacific are rising two to three times faster than average.

Small countries at sea level, such as Kiribati or Tuvalu, could become completely uninhabitable in 30 years.

In your misfortune Fiji you can rejoice that you have mountains.

There used to be a lot of fish

The village of Vunidogoloa on the island of Vanua Levu moved to higher ground in 2014, one of the first to move due to rising water levels.

For their part, the 200 residents of Weivatuloa, 40 kilometers from the capital Suva, are trying every solution at their disposal.

The flood wall protecting the city is holding up as best it can, and residents regularly demand from the government to strengthen it.

Cyrusi Karanivalu, a local spokesman, said the move is a great anguish for Fijians, where a connection to the land and ancestors is part of the customs.

“This is like a deconstruction of our traditional life,” he emphasizes.

Another problem is that as the ocean approaches, fishermen have to go further and further in search of fish.

Before the water rose, it was enough to walk twenty meters, recalls Leona Nairuvai, an old man from Veivatuloa. “But now you have to travel 1 mile by boat to fish. There is a big difference,” he emphasizes.

Approximately half of the rural population Fiji According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), it survives through fishing.

Abaitia Rosivulavula, a local guide and a living fisherman, says he makes a living selling his catch at the restaurants of Pacific Harbor, the archipelago’s main tourist destination.

On his boat, he goes to the nearest reef. Most of your baits will be eaten by sharks or fish that are too small. “There used to be a lot of fish, but that’s not the case now,” he told AFP before casting his line.

As classified by the Endangered Natural Fish Stocks Conservation Index, Fiji it is 12th out of 143 countries most threatened by fishing due to climate change.

Four other Pacific states – Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga – are in the top ten.

Back in Togora, Big Nana believes small countries like hers are paying the price for those who refuse to cut emissions.

“They only think about making money,” he snaps, “they never think about others, about those who will suffer,” he exclaims.

(According to AFP)

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