Climate solutions are strongest when they are shaped by the people who have protected and cared for their environment for generations.
This was the message from Minister for Environment and Climate Change Hon. Lynda Tabuya as she opened the Australia Awards Fellowship workshop on Scaling Climate Finance for Indigenous Adaptation Solutions and the APN Project workshop on Climate Micro-mobilities as Adaptive Strategies in Fiji and Samoa, currently underway in Suva (16.07.26).
The two-day workshop has brought together researchers, Indigenous leaders, policymakers, development partners and climate practitioners to explore how climate finance can be made more accessible to Indigenous communities and how locally led adaptation, including Indigenous knowledge and traditional practices, can strengthen climate resilience across the Pacific.
Participants are also examining how climate-related mobility and customary land systems can support communities in adapting to the impacts of climate change.
Hon. Tabuya said Pacific communities have long relied on Indigenous knowledge, customary governance and deep connections to the land and ocean to adapt to environmental change.
βThe Pacific is not defined by vulnerability alone. It is defined by resilience, innovation, and collective strength.β
The Minister stressed that while there is growing global recognition of Indigenous knowledge, greater effort is needed to ensure climate finance reaches the communities it is intended to serve.
βIf we are serious about building climate resilience, we must also be serious about transforming the systems through which adaptation is funded.β
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change appreciates the valuable work of researchers and partners in producing science-based evidence that informs policy, strengthens climate action and supports resilient communities across Fiji and the Pacific.