Engaging Local Communities to Manage Waste in Fiji

Singh SK¹*

1. International Waters Program, Ministry of Local Government, Housing, Squatter Se, Suva, Fiji

Inappropriate waste disposal practices are common to all communities in Fiji and the Pacific. This has been of great concern over the last decade but little has transpired at regional, national and local levels to address this problem.

In Fiji most of the local communities have no proper waste disposal mechanisms in place. All types of organic and inorganic rubbish are directly thrown in the rivers, mangroves and the sea. The coastal communities are located near major rubbish dumps in the country and rely on the coastal resources for livelihood.

Very little resources are provided by the government to support local level activities to manage waste. With increasing environmental degradation, government has been challenged to increase their focus on engaging communities in natural resource management. The International Waters Program through the Department of Environment is engaging line government ministries, non-government and inter-government organizations and community members to curb the growing inappropriate waste disposal practices in the country. IWP is a 7-year Global Environment Facility funded regional project piloting activities in the focal areas of waste reduction, protection of freshwater resources and sustainable coastal fisheries in the 14 Pacific Island Countries.
This paper presents the experience of the International waters Program in addressing the issue of solid and liquid waste management in two rural communities of the Rewa province in Fiji. Lessons learned from the pilot activities will be replicated at district, provincial and national level which hopefully will address solid and liquid waste concerns.