Case study: Resilience and Social Cohesion in Fiji’s Climate-Affected Informal Settlements

This case study investigates climate-related environmental vulnerabilities and their interaction with conflict dynamics in three informal urban settlements, Qauia, Maravu, and Nanuku, in Suva, Fiji. This study is part of a larger applied participatory research project that investigates the environment- fragility-peace nexus through at least fifteen comparative global case studies conducted by CDA Collaborative Learning Projects (CDA) in partnership with local, national, and international entities.

The Fiji case study was developed in collaboration with the Pacific Center for Peacebuilding (PCP), Conciliation Resources (CR), and the communities of the settlements in question. Findings are in part based on community research conducted by PCP with these communities and were substantiated by community visits by representatives of CDA and PCP, during which the community discussed its concerns in an open community forum (talanoa). Findings were then analyzed in a day-long workshop with community members, researchers, and PCP staff to elaborate on the links between climate impacts, conflict, capacities for social cohesion, and climate resilience. The in-country collaboration took place in July and August 2022.