The cost of relocating a community can range anywhere from one to three million Fijian dollars depending on the size of the community and the distance to the new site.
This was revealed by Assistant Minister for Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics, Esrom Immanuel as he called on developed countries and partners to step up with their climate financing commitments.
While launching the Financial Management Policy Guidelines and Information Briefs of the Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund in Suva, Immanuel said Fiji, together with other Pacific Island Countries are in a state of emergency and the lives and livelihoods of communities are increasingly endangered as these events increase in severity.
He said communities are no longer safe, and some see relocation as there only option. However, a well-planned relocation exercise is costly as indicated by past relocation projects undertaken in Fiji.
Immanuel said with more communities being affected, Fiji would need more support, more financing and more technical expertise and added that the Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund would provide an avenue to invest in the relocation processes of vulnerable communities in the country.
