Nature can help lessen flood impacts

International Union for the Conservation of Nature: While flooding in the western division of Vitilevu in Fiji cannot be avoided or prevented, its impacts can be minimized if nature’s health is kept intact says IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

"Nature itself can help control the destruction caused by natural disasters such as flooding," says Taholo Kami, Regional Director of IUCN Oceania Regional Office. “Ecosystems such as forests, floodplains, wetlands including mangroves provide the natural infrastructure needed to lessen the impacts of flooding".

Previously affected by the floods of 2009, Nadi and its neighboring towns in the west are once again left with a trail of destruction affecting people, infrastructure and the environment.

The flooding has caused the death of six people, destroyed more than 100 homes and is estimated to have affected half the crops and livestock in western Viti Levu. The economic losses are estimated to be above FJD$17 million.

“We urge the government of Fiji and the town councils of Nadi, Ba and Rakiraki to strengthen their investment in proper management of forests, mangroves and other wetland areas,” says Dr. Milika Sobey, Water and Wetlands Programme Coordinator at IUCN Oceania Regional Office. “If we continue to give way to unsustainable land-use practises we risk losing nature’s ability to protect us against large floods.”...

The streets of Nadi in Fiji in 2007, after a heavy rain, shot by Cometstyles, Wikimedia Commons, public domain