Nature-based climate solutions in Fiji confront a public mindset problem

In Fiji, mangrove planting, coral restoration and climate-smart agriculture are winning over communities that once doubted whether nature-based solutions could work.

The change follows two and a half years of work under the Promoting Pacific Islands Nature-Based Solutions project. The initiative began in September 2023 and was led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature with regional partners. New Zealand funded the project.

Vinay Singh, the IUCN’s regional nature-based solutions programme coordinator, said communities initially viewed the approaches as unfamiliar and were reluctant to adopt them. “When we started, for example, building nature-based solutions around Fiji, there was a stigma, and there was a bit of reluctance in people to adopt this,” he said.

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When we started, for example, building nature-based solutions around Fiji, there was a stigma, and there was a bit of reluctance in people to adopt this. Communities were like, will this work? What is this? This is a new concept altogether.

That response has shifted as projects were implemented on the ground and produced visible evidence, Singh said. “As cases were built, projects developed, the evidence came forth, and multiple other synergies were binding together, establishing a stronger base for nature-based solutions. And so the communities can see that nature-based solutions, in essence, do work.”

The IUCN says acceptance at the community level has improved, but changing broader public mindsets remains a challenge for advancing other climate initiatives.

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As cases were built, projects developed, the evidence came forth, and multiple other synergies were binding together, establishing a stronger base for nature-based solutions. And so the communities can see that nature-based solutions, in essence, do work.