Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Protected area / relocation · Fiji · 2014–2026

Fijian village Vunidogoloa relocates inland under climate relocation plan

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Vunidogoloa moved two kilometres inland in January 2014 and gave up sea fishing, according to a 2020 blog post. In September 2026 its headman told the Fiji Times that some new homes lacked kitchens.

What?
Fiji's government relocated Vunidogoloa village inland in 2014 at a combined cost of about 980,000 US dollars. KTH blog (G. Borsa)
Where?
Vunidogoloa, Fiji; moved two kilometres inland KTH blog (G. Borsa)
When?
Moved January 2014; kitchen shortfall reported 3 September 2026 Fiji Times
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Vunidogoloa village — Gave up sea fishing and timber from its own forest as its share of the cost KTH blog (G. Borsa)
Harmed
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Government-run relocation in which the village paid part of the cost in timber from its own forest. KTH blog (G. Borsa)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The relocation cost about 980,000 US dollars: 740,000 from government and 240,000 in timber from the village's own forest (KTH blog, 27 January 2020).

The village moved two kilometres inland in January 2014 and gave up sea fishing; women lost their fishing livelihood and graves were moved.

In September 2026 the headman told the Fiji Times that some homes were handed over without kitchens (3 September 2026).

Fiji's relocation guidelines of 2018 call relocation a last resort and require community participation.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a trust fund fed by a yearly levy of about 5 million US dollars, which the prime minister called insufficient (marked H).
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: New Zealand gave a further 5 million dollars at the end of 2025; the Fiji government page could not be opened.
    • None on record Al Jazeera reported government and village shares of 345,000 and 100,000 with no currency unit; these do not match the 980,000 total and are not reconciled.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give the total size of the relocation fund or the cost per village.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say what replaced the lost sea fishing.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. Homes lacked basic facility
      Fiji Times · 2026-09-03

    Researchers