The Commissioner Central Division, Provincial Administrator, District Officer, invited distinguished guests, relevant stakeholders, media personnel, ministry staff, ladies and gentleman.

Riverbank erosion is a growing problem for local communities in Fiji today. Since most of the towns and rural communities in Fiji are situated along riverbanks, they are vulnerable to potential climate change impacts of increasing sea levels, cyclones, and more frequent and intense rainfall. These impacts are threatening the very existence of local communities situated along riverbanks in Fiji.
The significant threats, affecting most rural communities resulted from the increase in the severity of riverbank erosion and flooding. As the riverbanks erode, fixed structures near the river, such houses and roads, are increasingly exposed to the direct impact of flood waters, and will ultimately be damaged or destroyed unless protection measures are taken. Investments in riverbank protection is necessary to improve communities’ resilience towards climate change which is accelerating the impact of riverbank erosion on local communities along riverbanks.
The Navua catchment is Fiji’s third largest river system. Its drainage area covers 1,070 km with the river extending some 91 km. At the highest point, the catchment is 1,084m above sea level. Navua town and its surrounding areas are subject to flooding almost every year now. Flooding is also an initiator of soil erosion, especially along the Navua river banks. As a result of this, the riverbanks near Navua River mouth are constantly eroding and if not protected immediately will cause irreversible damages to the chiefly village of Vunibau.

Riverbank erosion along Navua River has been an issue for the last two decades, but have exacerbated recently due to factors such as climate change, unsustainable farming practices and deforestation. The previous river bank protection near Vunibau village was the first river engineering construction works initiated by the LWRM Division with assistance from Dutch Experts in 1986. Stone boulders laid on geotextile was used for the protection of the river bank upstream of the village.
Additional land reclamation was also conducted downstream of Vunibau village, during the 2006 Navua River dredging work to cater for future population growth at Vunibau village. However, due the continuous wave action at the Navua River mouth and flooding of Navua River on many occasions, soil erosion has worsened along the riverbank near Vunibau Village. Therefore, the Ministry of Waterways sees an urgent need for river bank protection works to prevent further erosion and also protect future generations of Vunibau villagers settling in these areas.
The Construction of Navua Riverbank Protection Works, near Vunibau Village was submitted for this financial year as an investment aligned to disaster risk reduction initiatives to protect assets and the livelihoods of the rural population threatened by climate change induced disasters.
The Ministry of Waterways has embarked on a journey to mitigate flooding using various mechanisms, some of which include dredging works, effective soil erosion control measures and riverbank protection. The proposed river bank protection works consist of the construction of a combination of boulder armoring and Reno-mattress works.

The following has been proposed for the rivebank protection works:-
(i) Mobilization of plant and equipments;
(ii) Site clearing and levelling;
(iii) Excavation and compacted soil back fill works;
(iv) Placing of boulder amouring and toe protection for the riverbank protection structure;
(v) Driving of 2m long treated pine posts (200 mm dia.) at the toe of Reno-mattresses;
(vi) Installation of rock filled Reno-mattresses on top of geotextile filters cloth.

The 408m long riverbank protection works will be constructed by Yandra Viti Investment Ltd at a cost of $561,292.23 VIP and the construction period will be 150 Calendar Days.

The Ministry of Waterways is now examining and mapping all our waterways and over the next 4 years, we will undertake a number of measures not only to protect our waterways but to also ensure it contributes to social and economic development of Fiji. We wish to assure all communities and stakeholders that we will soon begin a process of identifying the challenges they face and will develop responses to address them.

Vinaka!
Dr. Mahendra Reddy.