We have to address climate change at all levels, the Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum stressed yesterday. He made the comment during the opening of the United Nations

by lusi banuve nadi

Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (left) in discusssion with participants from Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands on November 27, 2017 in Nadi. Photo: DEPTFO News

We have to address climate change at all levels, the Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum stressed yesterday.

He made the comment during the opening of the United Nations Human Rights Regional Training Workshop on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Human Rights Indicators in Nadi yesterday.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum urged the participants who have come from around the South Pacific region to continue to address climate change because it has been and will be a huge problem for our island nations.

“Climate change has been mentioned and this is a major threat for the Pacific Island countries and its communities. We have countries like Kiribati and Tuvalu, and Federated States of Micronesia who are facing this right now,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

The Attorney-General talked about what Fiji has been doing to protect her people and to help them recover from what climate change has done.

“In Fiji we have actually moved or relocated three villages to higher ground, and we have another 42 to 43 villages earmarked to be moved to higher ground who have been on coastal areas,” the A-G said.

“This has a huge impact on the way these communities will live, because when you are a coastal village you have a particular way of living but when you put them up in the hills, far away from where they used to live, it will have an impact on how they live,” he said.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that this was also why the government was inculcating climate change strongly in all of its development plans.

Edited by Mohammed Zulfikar

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