Fiji relocates coastal village as sea levels rise, sparking climate-migration concerns

Sailosi Ramatu, the former head of Vunidogoloa, oversaw the evacuation of roughly 150 villagers from their low-lying coastal home on Vanua Levu after repeated storm surges left half of his house underwater. The community built temporary sea walls and raised houses on stilts, but the encroaching water eventually turned the settlement into an island, prompting a government-funded move to a hilltop location now called Kenani.

Vunidogoloa was Fiji’s first village relocated for climate reasons in 2014, and dozens of other Pacific island settlements are now undergoing similar migrations. Sea-level measurements at Suva show an increase of about 29 centimetres between 1993 and 2024, driven by global warming and local subsidence. At a pre-COP meeting in Fiji, Vice-Premier Manoa Kamikamica stressed the need for stronger international action, though only a handful of non-Pacific leaders have confirmed attendance. Residents like 33-year-old Adi Sivo Yabakitolu mourn the loss of ancestral ties and the ocean that once defined daily life, while the new village still lacks basic infrastructure such as kitchens, paved roads, and a community church.