Belém, Brazil – The people of Macuata-i-wai, once a thriving island community in Fiji’s Northern Division, are today writing a new chapter of hope. At the COP30 Climate Mobility Pavilion, the Global Centre for Climate Mobility (GCCM) proudly presented to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Mosese Bulitavu, the first Community Climate Adaptation Fund (C-CAF) grant agreement for Fiji signed directly with the Macuata-i-wai community.
Two decades ago, Macuata-i-wai had twenty households. Today, only two households remains. Families were forced to move after saltwater intrusion contaminated their wells and farmland, and coastal erosion swept away their shoreline.
The new C-CAF grant will help the community restore its freshwater systems, rebuild resilient homes, and restore livelihood systems. The allocated funds will be going directly to the community itself, not through intermediaries.
Minister Bulitavu described the moment as “a victory for every community that has been waiting to take charge of its own adaptation story.”
“Macuata-i-wai stands as a symbol of what we have been fighting for at COP that climate finance must reach the people first,” the Minister said. “This is not just about funding infrastructure; it is about restoring heritage, and belonging. The people of Macuata-i-wai will now decide, plan, and lead their own future.”
This milestone is the result of years of lobbying by Fiji’s negotiators, who have worked tirelessly across COPs to establish direct community access to climate finance. The signing of the first C-CAF grant is a tangible outcome of that effort and a breakthrough that turns negotiation gains into real change for people on the ground.
The Macuata-i-wai agreement marks the first of several such partnerships under Fiji’s C-CAF initiative. Two other communities, Narata Village in Nadroga and Vuniudrovu Village in Naitasiri, have also been selected to receive similar grants, with final signing arrangements now underway. These communities, like Macuata-i-wai, face growing climate pressures and will soon be able to access funds directly to implement their own adaptation priorities.
Together, these three communities represent the start of a new era in climate action, one where financing flows directly to those living the daily realities of the climate crisis. For the people of Macuata-i-wai, the grant is more than assistance, it is a chance to rebuild what they have lost due to the impacts of climate change