'We Want Action': Fijian Climate Activist Speaks Up Before Major UN Talks in the Pacific

Lavenia Naivalu grew up on the island of Nacula in Fiji's remote Yasawa islands. She has watched the ocean rise, the reefs weaken, and the wells dry up — all because of climate change. Now, the 44-year-old activist is heading to a major United Nations climate meeting to make sure world leaders hear what her community is going through. She wants leaders to stop just talking and start helping the people who are already suffering.

Naivalu remembers a time when the coral reefs near her village were full of life. Her grandfather used to walk to the shore and come back with fish. Today, that is no longer possible. Young people now have to travel much farther out to sea just to find food for their families. 'The reefs that the older generation of men spearfished in no longer provide what they once did,' she says.

She also worries deeply about her three children. As she looks out at a beach that has been slowly eaten away by rising sea levels, she says it hurts to watch her kids deal with problems they didn't cause. 'I ask myself, what did they do wrong?' she said. That question pushes her to keep fighting for climate justice. She wants the world to understand that Pacific Island people are paying the price for pollution they did not create.

The Pacific Islands produce only 0.02% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations. Yet these islands are among the places most harmed by climate change. This year, the spotlight will shine on the Pacific more than ever before. Fiji will host a gathering of leaders before the big UN climate summit, called Cop31, which will be held in Turkey in November.

Naivalu will attend both meetings as an Indigenous representative, and she has broken many barriers in her life. She was the first woman ever chosen as a mata ni tikina — meaning district representative — in Fiji, a role that had always been held by men. She was also the first Indigenous person chosen for Fiji's tourism board. Her experience makes her a powerful voice for her people.

At past climate summits, Naivalu has noticed a big gap between what leaders talk about and what people actually experience back home. Words like 'climate finance,' 'adaptation,' and 'mitigation' fill the meeting rooms, but in Nacula village, people don't know those terms. They just know their water is running out and the fish are harder to find. 'My people in Nacula don't know what climate finance is; what we want to know is action,' she said.

Back in her village, families are already doing their best to adapt to the changes around them. They store drinking water for dry spells, and women have learned to preserve food to make it last longer. Coral planting and salt-making programs have also been introduced to help the community survive. Village chief Ratu Manasa Naikasowalo credits Naivalu with helping bring these programs to Nacula. 'Her work has helped bring important connections and practical initiatives back to the community,' he said.

Fiji's government is also backing her message at the international level. Sivendra Michael, Fiji's top environment official, said Naivalu 'closes the distance between the negotiating room and the reef.' He explained that Fiji will push for money to go directly to local communities, for Indigenous knowledge to be taken seriously, and for Pacific leaders to have a stronger voice in global decisions. He added that Naivalu's presence at the talks makes that message much more powerful.

Naivalu knows that communities like hers cannot fight climate change alone. She attends climate summits not to argue over the fine print of written agreements, but to build partnerships with groups that can truly help. 'I don't attend Cop to worry about texts and brackets; I attend Cop to forge partnerships with organisations that I believe can help the people of Nacula,' she said. For her, every meeting is a chance to bring real change back home.