Lost to the waves: climate impacts on sacred places in three coastal communities in Fiji
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Lost to the waves: climate impacts on sacred places in three coastal communities in Fiji
In
the three study sites in Fiji, burial grounds (Togoru settlement and Sese
village in particular) and foundation stones (Vunisavisavi village) have been
devastated by sea level rise and coastal inundation: “the sea has drowned the
graves of our forefathers” (Participant #2, Togoru settlement).
1. These sacred places are critically important for people’s wellbeing, the
maintenance of cultural practices, families and traditions, and social
cohesion, as they provide a connection to ancestors and their former
chiefs.
2. The losses to these sacred places have affected people’s spirituality,
sense of place and identity.
3. Participants in all three study locations deem these cultural sites
critically important, and consider it essential to protect them. One
community is building a new burial site within the community boundary, but
the seawater continues to reach it as there is limited land in the village
that is not affected by sea level rise.
4. Future funding to address these
losses is needed to protect these sacred places through either relocation or
protection through physical structures, depending on the wishes of the local
community.
