Adapting in Fiji, more stressful than you'd expect

So we have established that climate change is threatening Fiji and adaptation is necessary.

Tourist accommodation is now built with cyclone-proofing; however issues have been raised, interviews conducted on the island found

'It's much easier to build cyclone proofing in new developments but expensive and difficult to incorporate this in old, established buildings' (Becken 2005).

New resorts are built around 2.6m above the average sea level to avoid the issues of sea level rise (Becken 2005). The loss of sand as a result of cyclones, changing wind patterns and sea level rise is a major problem, especially in low sandy islands such as Beachcomber Island (Becken 2005).

Despite knowing the importance of mangroves for coastal protection, people are still cutting them down in order to free up space for further developments (Becken 2005). The sedimentation has put stress on the coral reefs. Therefore there has been action to plant more mangroves and coconut trees, however this has been moving the erosion elsewhere (Becken 2005).

Coral reefs have been damaged, and Fijians are focusing on reducing human effects such as pollution rather than focusing on ocean acidification. Fijian resorts have designated areas of the reefs for tourist use, so that not all the reef is disturbed (Becken 2005). Tourists are told not to touch or take whilst snorkeling or scuba diving. Fishing boats have been instructed not to set anchor on reefs, and people are not to walk on reefs (Becken 2005). Reefs that are not already under pressure from pollution and sedimentation are more likely to cope with increases in water temperature than stressed reefs. Therefore an important adaptive measure is to protect the coral reefs around tourist resorts (Becken 2005).

Sea level rise has increased the incidence of salt water intrusion. Adaptive strategies have been to encourage the use garden waste and shredded paper, cardboard or coconut shells to retain soil moisture so that salt water and flooding doesn’t affect agriculture as much as it could, and keep tourists connected to a plentiful water supply (Becken 2005). The use of grey water or recycled water can be used for irrigation. Grey water reservoirs can be used for fire fighting, and run toilets with saltwater or recycled water for flushing (Becken 2005). There are also technological solutions for water-conserving showers and toilets (e.g dual flush). Rainwater collection is possible, but this adaptation measure is problematic in that considerable space is required for water storage (Becken 2005). Underground tanks are a solution for newly designed resorts. However septic tanks can be expensive to buy and run for communities and some resorts (Becken 2005).

How could we improve adaptation strategies?

Social capital has been discussed in order to improve adaptation strategies (Adger 2003). It is seen to improve democracy and reduce the gap of winners and losers. Marginalised groups can often be ignored by governments, so it is important to incorporate civil society in decision making. When reading about the adaptive strategies in Fiji talked about in Beckens paper, I felt not enough was being done for people employed in other sectors not involved in tourism. Of course protecting the tourist industry is important as it's a major part of Fijis economy, but it is risky having such great independence on one export. The government to some extent have tried to encourage other areas of the economy. They have reinvested in the sugar cane industry with the creation of the Sugar Research Unit in 2005 (SRIF 2010). The government have also focused some attention to their coconut industry, coconut oil can be used as a biofuel, and when crude oil is becoming more expensive, biofuels can help costs internally and be a useful export (Islands Business International 2007).