Fiji comprises more than 300 islands and has a total land area of approximately 18 300 km2 and a population of about 926,276 (2018 estimate). Fiji is one of the most economically developed countries in the Pacific Island realm due to abundance of forest, mineral and marine resources. Over 90% of the population, both rural and urban, can be considered coastal dwellers, where the vast majority of services, infrastructure, agricultural production and social centres are located.
Climate change is expected to affect the country’s coastal resources by way of raising temperatures in the marine environment and through sea level rise. (Source: UNDP) Tropical cyclones are predicted to decrease in frequency and increase in intensity. These changing weather patterns have worsened Fiji’s susceptibility to viral disease outbreaks. Fiji recorded a drought-induced outbreak of diarrheal disease in 2011, combatted a post-flood leptospirosis outbreak in 2012 and quelled a Dengue outbreak in 2013. Saltwater intrusion from coastal flooding destroys farmland, disrupting the supply of staples in the Fijian economy and forcing communities to migrate to safer ground. The damages sustained to Viti Levu, Fiji’s most populous island, total some $52 million per year, or 4 per cent of Fiji’s GDP. In 2012, residents of Vunidogoloa became the first to begin relocating due to the impact of rising tides, eroding agricultural lands and intensifying floods. (Source: COP 23)
As per Germanwatch, GLOBAL CLIMATE RISK INDEX 2020, Fiji ranks 13th in climate risk index for the period of 1989-2018.