Coastal communities in Fiji are increasingly being forced to abandon ancestral land as rising sea levels erode shorelines and overwhelm defences.
In Muani, a village on Fiji’s southern island of Kadavu, residents are preparing to move uphill after seawalls and culverts failed to stop the encroaching ocean. The decision follows years of flooding, saltwater intrusion, and storm damage that have made life on the coast increasingly untenable.
Fiji was among the first countries to formalize a climate relocation policy, beginning with the 2014 move of Vunidogoloa village on Vanua Levu. Since then, other communities have followed, but the pace has slowed due to financial constraints, reduced international aid and political hurdles. In some cases, villages have turned to logging or other local initiatives to raise funds, though poorly planned relocations have led to new risks such as landslides.
For many, the move inland is not just a logistical challenge but an emotional one. Villagers face the loss of burial grounds, cultural sites, and a way of life tied to the sea. Climate advocates warn that Fiji’s experience is a sign of what lies ahead for other low-lying nations, where the choice between staying and leaving will become more pressing as global temperatures rise.
