MINISTER REDDY'S OPENING REMARKS FOR THE LAMINI VILLAGE SEAWALL PROJECT

21/03/2019


The Commissioner Northern Division, Provincial Administrator, District Officer, Invited Distinguished Guests, Relevant Stakeholders, Media Personnel, Ministry Staff, Ladies, and Gentleman.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I am pleased to be in your midst to commission the Lamini Village Seawall Project. This further adds to the list of Coastal Rehabilitation and Protection works we are undertaking for this financial year. In recent decades, beach erosion in most of Fiji is significantly threatening the existence of the coastal communities. The causes of beach/coastal erosion are considered to be a combination of human-induced development and global sea-level rise. Our coastline is too important to the nation and the lifestyle of Fijians, as we cannot leave it to erode and invade our homes, our livelihoods and our sense of security. We can’t abandon our ancestral homes and traditional grounds. As such we need to try our best to keep the encroaching sea at bay.

Ladies & Gentlemen, coastal erosion and inundation aren't new, however, what makes it worse is its magnitude and the fact that it is happening more often and is expected to become increasingly common. Coastal/beach erosion is a function of rising sea level, degradation of the reef systems, anthropogenic activities along the coasts, and other associated climate change impacts. Tackling issues around coastal erosion are an enormous undertaking. It’s our efforts versus nature. Impacts associated with climate change further exacerbates the problem. I understand like many other coastal communities in Fiji, this community has been fighting coastal erosion through appropriate means and locally available materials. I commend you all for your efforts, and I’m pleased that we are getting this project to increase your resilience. 

While the implementation of infrastructural measures to protect against encroaching seas is expensive, given our situation we have to resort to it to protect our vulnerable communities. This commissioning today marks our efforts to keep the “ocean at bay” and empowering vulnerable communities. This project shall provide the much-needed relief and an increased the sense of safety and security to the community of Lamini.


Ladies & Gentlemen, to ensure the well-being of the Lamini community Ministry of Waterways and Environment through its contractor will retrofit the deteriorating seawall by constructing a stone masonry seawall in front of the existing seawall. The existing seawall at Lamini Village was built in 1995 with a boulder masonry wall. Over the years, the seawall has been affected by the waves causing, causing damage to the seawall. Moreover, the height of the existing seawall was approximately the same level the village ground, often tides and wave during cyclones led to inundation village ground and homes. 

Ladies & Gentlemen, to address the above, the proposed coastal protection works consists of 315m long stone masonry seawall. Furthermore, the height of new seawall has been designed 2.50m to cater for waves associated with extreme events such as cyclones. Also included in this project are drainage system, boat landing, culvert crossing, and footpath. The work will be undertaken by Viti Vanua Holding at a cost of $1,085,302 VIP for the period of 180 calendar days.

The following has been proposed for the coastal protection works at Lamini:-
i. Mobilization/De-mobilization of equipment
ii. Earthworks for site preparation
iii. Construction of Reinforced Concrete Seawall
iv. Construction of Stone Masonry Wall

The coastal protection works will benefit the Lamini Village Community as follows:
i. Protection of infrastructure from coastal flooding during the storm surge. 
ii. Address longshore drift and associated erosion and accretion
iii. Allow for the restoration of the beach, and;
iv. More importantly, providing that peace of mind and sense of safety to the Lamini Village Community. 

Ladies & Gentlemen, we live in a part of the world where sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and cyclones are occurring at an increasing frequency, an inevitable force that we haven’t experienced before. It is obvious that despite all our efforts, we have a long way to go to keep the sea at bay and our livelihood intact. While this intervention would reduce the exposure of the community and increase your adaptive capacity, this measure would keep you safe of events within its design capacity. As such I humbly request all of you to also invest in ecosystem-based approaches to further increase your resilience. We need to learn to co-exist with nature. 

Thank you for your attention.