Fijian village Vunidogoloa relocates inland under climate relocation plan
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
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.
- Vunidogoloa village — Gave up sea fishing and timber from its own forest as its share of the cost KTH blog (G. Borsa)
- Women of Vunidogoloa — Lost their fishing livelihood after the move KTH blog (G. Borsa)
What happened
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
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What we don't know
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
Press and investigations
- Homes lacked basic facilityFiji Times · 2026-09-03
Researchers
- Vunidogoloa: what can we learn from climate change relocation?KTH blog (G. Borsa) · 2020-01-27