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• Past Interventions
• Current Issues for Fiji
• Programme Response

The effective social and economic development of Pacific Communities is dependent on three essential inputs, namely energy, water and information and communication technologies. The Community Lifelines Programme aims to improve the Pacific Communities’ access to these essential inputs.

To achieve this in Fiji, SOPAC has provided assistance in response to specific requests and through a number of general regional initiatives. A summary of these activities and initiatives is provided below:

Past Interventions

Interventions in Fiji that relate to the Community Lifelines Programme involved the development of the Energy, Water and Information and Communications sectors.

Collaborative work with the Fiji’s Department of Energy [DOE] and related energy sectors players over the past decade had been through the assessment and development of alternative energy resources, provision of technical assistance in the areas of power sector development, energy conservation and efficiency programmes, installation of demonstration projects (e.g. a PV Grid Connected Project to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of PV technology in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions), comparative analysis of the efficiency of locally constructed solar water heaters to imported solar water heaters; the evaluation of the Nabouwalu Power Hybrid System [NPHS] and awareness raising in the area of energy conservation programmes through simple practical housekeeping best practices. The development of human resources through capacity building and training programmes and strengthening institutional capacity in energy sector planning and development had also been part of the assistance provided to Fiji over the past years.

Some specific interventions included the review of the 1993 Fiji’s Rural Electrification Policy, the promotion of energy efficiency programmes through appliance labeling and petroleum resource exploration work in Fiji. The review of the Rural Electrification Policy included widespread consultation with rural dwellers on the best cost-effective practices, lifespan of schemes under the policy and possible future directions. The energy efficiency programme focused on the importation and sale of white goods carrying the new energy star rating labels. The petroleum exploration work covered the survey of Fiji’s Economic Exclusive Zone for potential hydrocarbon resources and the setting up of an oil company database. A Fiji Petroleum Data Package was constructed containing all the commercial and scientific research seismic and other geophysical data, exploration well data, maps, and geological reports as provided and approved by the Government of Fiji (Rodda et al, 1997).

Some specific assistance was given to the Public Works Department’s Water and Sewage Section. This involved the training of Fiji’s water engineers in the specific field of hydraulic engineering. Other instances of assistance to Fiji included:

• A village visit made in 1999, to Kadavu in response to requests from the village community regarding scarcity in the surface spring water supply during the last drought experienced in the region. In response, a spring development project of high-island member countries was undertaken to enable techniques for providing an emergency water supply . In the same year, a small-scale water treatment project was conducted for some of the member countries of SOPAC, including Fiji . The project looked at appropriate wastewater treatment technologies for selected villages.
• In 2001, a sanitation demonstration project was completed and most recently in 2003, a project measuring the microbiological quality of the drinking water in Vanua Levu was carried out .
• SOPAC has also been involved in assessing Rotuma’s water supply for quality and providing advice on groundwater protection .
• Assistance in water quality testing was provided to the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Heath Organisation, to test drinking water supply after Cyclone Ami hit Vanua Levu in 2003 .
• Assistance was provided to the National Water Committee in a Strategic Planning exercise for Fiji’s water sector

Further interventions have resulted in the re-sourcing of the various sectors of the Fiji Islands with Information Technology skills and technologies. An example is the MapInfo? and Map Basic workshop conducted for the Mineral Resource Department as well as assistance in the streamlining of it’s operations in Geographical Information Systems [GIS] through staff recruitment, planning and structural change . GIS tools and application were also established for a number of sectors. These were the Fiji Electricity Authority [FEA] for assistance in their asset management and planning ; an environment and risk evaluation system compiled for the Meteorological Department ; an export market system established for the Fiji Forestry Department to provide readily available and timely information on the export of timber . Assistance was also provided for the Native Land Trust Board in the preparation of land maps to establish boundaries that would assist the various landowning units by clearly defining ownership by area and a squatter settlement in Nasinu was mapped for ESCAP , who was conducting an urban migration study and required assistance in quantifying land cover change using remote sensing.

The Fiji Internet Group was formed, which provides non-profit organisations, government departments, regional organisations and diplomatic missions cost effective Internet connections . Some examples of assistance given to such groups included the United Kingdom – DFID Regional Rights Resource Team, the French Embassy based in Suva, Fiji, the Regional Office of the United Nations Development Programme [UNDP].

Current Issues for Fiji

Within the context of the three pillars of sustainable development, there are a number of critical issues that have been identified by Fiji through national and regional mechanisms. Many of these issues are critical in relation to the achievement of Fiji’s longer-term vision and fall within the work programme component areas of the Community Lifelines Programme. The issues were extracted from the National Assessment Reports and Country Briefing papers in the areas of water, energy and Information and Communication Technologies and identified the following as key issues and concerns:

• Barriers to the adoption of renewable energy systems.
• Need for greater self-reliance in the energy sector.
• Lack of community awareness about energy conservation technologies.
• Absence of basic infrastructure and services in rural areas [electricity, road access, reliable and safe water supply, sanitation, telecommunications, jetties].
• Increased attention is required in the operation and maintenance of water supply and sewerage systems for increased reliability and efficiency
• Lack of hydrological and geo hydrological monitoring with an active national water resources assessment policy for planning and management.
• Need to standardize rural water supply design and construction, centralize its administration and train local villagers to operate and maintain their own schemes.
• The need to establish a workable catchment protection policy based on sound watershed management practice with effective policing and monitoring and ensure activities in catchments such as logging and cultivation are organized, planned and carried out with best practices.
• Need to draw up and enact appropriate and practical legislation in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
• Need for intensive training programmes for engineers, hydrologists, hydro-geologists, technicians and community stakeholders to build endogenous capacity and self reliance
• Need for access to information and communication technology services, especially in rural areas.
• Skill shortage, particularly in use of technology.

Programme Response

Tackling these issues requires a pragmatic approach from Fiji’s partners, such as SOPAC. The Community Lifelines Programme provides assistance through both regional projects and specific activities that respond to individual country requests.

Specifically to Fiji’s requests, SOPAC is assisting the Fiji Internet Group in the promotion and successful negotiation of cost effective Internet access for local communities and organisations. As also highlighted above, SOPAC is providing assistance to Fiji in relation to the development of a regulatory framework for appliance labelling and a minimum energy performance standard. The current work focuses on refrigerators and freezers and the plan is to expand this work to cover other white goods and equipment. This project is being jointly implemented by the Fiji Department of Energy, the Australian Greenhouse Office, the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and SOPAC. The project also has linkages to the Regional Demand Side Management (DSM) project, implemented by SOPAC , for the power utilities.

Regionally, Fiji’s needs are being addressed along with other South Pacific member countries through:

• The continual assessment of wind and other renewable energy resources such as wave and pico- / micro- / mini-hydro, the provision of technical assistance and training of staff in this area (e.g. through the Regional Wind Energy Education Programme that is jointly implemented by SOPAC, USP and UNEP; the Regional Biomass Assessment Programme that provides training in biomass resources assessment and also quantifies the biomass resources in participating countries; the Institutional Capacity Building on Renewable Energy Training in Pacific Islands which focuses on improving the capacity of PICs on renewable energy technologies, resource assessment and project development) and the provision and maintenance of an energy supply and demand database to facilitate decision making and the overall energy sector development planning.
• The development of energy resources that incorporate new and related technologies, the improvement of community access to and awareness of these energy resources, in order to ensure sustainable management;
• The Pacific Islands Energy Policy and Strategic Action Planning project which focuses on building the capacity in the PICs to develop practical national energy policies, plans and practical mechanisms to guide energy sector development in PICs.
• The Regional DSM project, which has the primary objective of promoting energy conservation and efficiency programmes through the power utilities.
• The development of cost effective and suitable technology such as GIS and Remote Sensing on spatial data for the region that is accessible for relevant stakeholders, regionally and internationally; the development of intranet and internet technologies; relevant support to the government departments concerned, and ensuring the accuracy of available data;
• The provision of technical advice on water and sanitation in the region, its proper management and awareness of waste management; the development of strategies that will reduce member islands’ vulnerability to drought;

The review of existing policy and legislation in water, energy and relevant information and communication technologies that relate to SOPAC work programmes; representation of Pacific concerns at global forums, and the coordination of regional action plans in these areas .