Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has officially launched a $35 million programme aimed at reducing flood risk in Nadi, unveiling the Fiji Climate Adaptation Program at the Fiji Culture Village in Nadi yesterday. The Australian government will fund the investment, which is scheduled to run between 2026 and 2029, and will pilot new approaches to protecting the Nadi River catchment from increasingly destructive floods.
“Nadi holds a special place in Fiji’s economic and social landscape,” Mr Rabuka said at the launch. “It is a gateway to our nation, a hub for tourism, for aviation and commerce, and a vibrant home to thousands of families and businesses. Yet, it is also one of the region’s most vulnerable to flooding.” He warned that climate change was no longer a distant threat but a reality Fiji is already living with, adding: “More severe cyclones, rising sea levels, and increasingly intense rainfall patterns continue to test the resilience of our infrastructure and our communities. Floods and cyclones account for the majority of disasters affecting Fiji every year, bringing with them significant economic losses and social disruptions.”
The programme will concentrate initially on the Nadi River catchment, using nature-based solutions and upstream revegetation to reduce flood risk and protect communities downstream. Officials described these measures as a pilot that, if successful, will be expanded to other flood-prone areas across the country. Nature-based approaches typically involve restoring wetlands, replanting native vegetation along riverbanks and headwaters, and other ecosystem-management measures that slow runoff, stabilise soils and reduce peak river flows—complementing more conventional hard infrastructure such as embankments and drainage improvements.
This announcement comes as part of a broader government push to shore up the nation’s resilience to climate extremes. Earlier planning and infrastructure commitments include river embankment work elsewhere in the Western Division: a separate project to build an embankment along the Nasivi River in Tavua is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026, reflecting a mixture of engineered and ecological responses to recurrent flooding across Fiji. The new Nadi-focused programme signals a shift toward blending those approaches, prioritising upstream interventions that can deliver long-term benefits for river health and community safety.
Australian funding of $35 million for 2026–2029 marks one of the larger bilateral investments announced recently in Fijian adaptation. Officials at the launch emphasised the programme’s potential to protect Nadi’s critical infrastructure—particularly the international airport and tourism hubs—while also safeguarding homes, businesses and agricultural land that have borne the brunt of past flood events. Details on the precise mix of interventions, timelines for on-the-ground works, and local stakeholder involvement are expected to be released as project planning progresses toward the 2026 start date.
As Fiji faces a pattern of more frequent and intense weather events, the Nadi pilot will be watched closely by communities and policymakers alike. If upstream revegetation and nature-based measures reduce flood peaks and provide co-benefits for biodiversity and livelihoods, they could become a central part of Fiji’s adaptation toolkit and a model for other Pacific island nations confronting similar climate-driven flood risks.
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