SERUA ISLAND, FIJI – As the sun sets over Fiji’s tiny Serua Island, its climate-threatened inhabitants soak in one of the reasons they have rejected attempts to relocate their village — the “$100 million views.” The island looks like a utopia from the mainland, two steep palm-covered knolls sandwiching its low-lying center, flanked by coral reefs and rich fishing grounds. But it is on the island itself that the risk from rising seas becomes clearer, with a concrete sea wall providing the only defense against waves that are already swamping homes. So the waves wash through inside the village,” Serua Island resident Avenai Ranuku.
Dozens of homes are in harm’s way when cyclones hit Fiji, as are vegetable crops and graves. Water laps at the feet of concrete piles where homes and a hospital once stood on the island’s eastern end, and two homes were also moved from the western side where land has been washed away. Despite the risks, most residents say they would rather strengthen the island’s defenses than abandon their ancestral home.
Ranuku remembers when Category 5 Cyclone Winston hit as a child and the island’s population moved up one of the island’s peaks to take shelter. We help everyone, carry everything from the house, food. This is our evacuation plan.” Safe on higher ground, Ranuku could hear “waves going around, and the roof of the houses being washed away.” From that same haven on the hill, Ranuku explained why the threat of cyclones and sea level rise doesn’t deter people from living on the island.
Fresh air, go out fishing every day, that’s why they don’t want to leave. Instead, residents wanted to protect their ancestral home and the culture linked to it. The report found nearly 20% of homes on the island were in critical condition, and just three houses were strong enough to withstand a cyclone.
During a visit in October, dozens of workers were renovating homes along the northern coastline. Flimsy walls and corrugated iron roofing were being removed and taken by boat to the mainland. Some homes had already been raised to mitigate flood risk, and others would soon follow.
The report also recommended improving access to the island by building a more robust path. During low tide, it is possible to walk the 750 meters to the island, guided by a string of power lines protruding from the sea floor. But at high tide, the only access is by boat, and even then the report said work is needed to make docking on the island safer and easier.
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