GEOSCIENCE DIVISION
Map Cook Islands Federated Sates of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Nauru Niue Papua New Guinea Republic of Marshall Islands Republic of Palau Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Country
Population
Land Area
Climate
Water resource
Water consumption
Country Cook Islands Cook Islands
Population 21,750 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 236.7 km2
Climate
Water resource
Water consumption
Country Federated Sates of Micronesia Federated Sates of Micronesia
Population 107,862 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 702 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 4,928 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Fiji Fiji
Population 918 675 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 18,270 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2000 - 3000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Kiribati Kiribati
Population 107,817 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 811 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: South of the equator: 1,300 mm Tarawa: 2,000 mm Northernmost islands: over 3,200mm Eastern Line Islands: less than 1,000 mm
Water consumption
Country Nauru Nauru
Population 11,528 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 21 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2,090 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Niue Niue
Population 1,625m(GoN statistics 2006)
Land Area 260 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2,180 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea
Population 5,795,887 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 462,840 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall:1000-80000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Republic of Marshall Islands Republic of Marshall Islands
Population 20,842
Land Area 458 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 3,700 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Republic of Palau Republic of Palau
Population 61,815(July 2007 est.)
Land Area 11,854.3 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: Southern attols: 4,000mm Northern attols:2,000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Samoa Samoa
Population 214,265
Land Area 2,944 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 3,000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Solomon Islands Solomon Islands
Population 566,842
Land Area 28,450 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall:1500-5000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Tonga Tonga
Population 116,921
Land Area 748 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: Varies from north and south of tonga with an estimated average of 2500 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Tuvalu Tuvalu
Population 11.992 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 26 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 3000mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Vanuatu Vanuatu
Population 211,971 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 12,200 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2000 - 4000 mm per annum
Water consumption
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Key Message
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Programme for Water Governance Fiji-Outcomes
Major outputs of the pilot have been: 

Workshop on Water Resources Strategy for Fiji

The two-day workshop was held in Suva in November 2005. Participants attended from government and non-government organisations with an interest in water resources. The workshop considered water governance according to the water governance building blocks (though it not cover participation). The workshop concluded that:
There is strong support for a number of directions for a water strategy in Fiji. These are:
1. water management is already facing problems of demand and protection and these pressure will increase over time, so that more robust management measures are needed for the future;
2. water legislation is required for the management of both groundwater and surface water resources;
3. a water allocation system should be developed to allow water resources to be more explicitly shared and allocated to important water uses;
4. water-related rights and obligations of native land owners in Fiji need to be more clearly defined and commonly understood;
5. the freshwater-marine water relationship should be clearly recognised in policy and law, to ensure that offshore aquatic resources are protected;
6. national coordination of a more permanent and formal nature should be implemented
7. a governmental responsibility for water management should be recognised, distinct from either land management or water supply;
8. the town and country planning system does not cover important aspects of water development and use, and: a facility for related water planning is warranted, although it would be implemented mainly in locations of need;
9. the information base for water management needs strengthening and national responsibilities need to be assigned and supported for the collection and maintaining of data on groundwater occurrence, and for surface water resources;
10. there is a significant need for capacity building in water management and administration, information technology and technical fields including groundwater assessment and surface water monitoring.
It was also agreed that a water reform strategy should be developed for the consideration of the government 

Workshop on water resources legislation

A one-day workshop on Water Resources Legislation was held in May 2006 in Suva. The workshop was attended by representatives of agencies with a direct interest in the development of legislative proposals. An outline of the features of a comprehensive water law was presented, based largely on the outcomes of the Workshop on Water Resources Strategy the previous December.
Conclusions of the workshop were that water resources legislation covering the issues outlined should be developed. The outline suggested the following in broad terms:
• objectives and principles for water resources management to be stated;
• the right to water to be clarified and the State to have the power to manage water and allocate it
• an allocation scheme for surface water and groundwater, which involves the determination of water entitlements and a legal process for resolving disputes and making final determinations of water rights;
• powers enabling a water management authority to control the timing and volumes of water taken fro surface water and groundwater sources form time to time and set priorities among water users if necessary;
• powers controlling the alteration or excavation from rivers, streams, lakes or any other water body, including an interference with an aquifer, in order to protect the physical integrity of the water body such as a river channel and a mechanism for authorising such activities in cases where the impacts are judged to be acceptable;
• provisions enabling the development of plans for water allocation and other water-related
• provisions requiring floodplains and flood-prone areas to be developed consistently with the minimisation of the impacts of flooding and the application of guidelines to ensure such outcomes. 

Project outputs

The project developed a number of reports. These include:
• a report on further development of policy and a detailed policy proposal, for consideration in Fiji, on sustainable rural water supply schemes;
• a report on comprehensive water resources legislation and a policy draft outlining the key elements such legislation could contain;
• a report making recommendations on institutional development, which proposes:
o the creation of a National Water Council of members from the private and public sectors, to advice the Government on water policy and reform and to monitor and report on progress;
o the identification of a minister responsible for water resources management;
o the establishment of an agency responsible for both surface water and groundwater resources and their management, which would administer the water resources law;
• a report on water resources information which recommends that national responsibilities for the key data sets (surface water data, groundwater data, water quality data) be allocated to specific organisations and that a coordination system be developed for data sharing and to ensure data consistency;
• a water resources strategy report which identifies the actions required to implement a comprehensive IWRM regime and the major milestones to be achieved. 

Advancement of IWRM

While there had been general discussion of IWRM and Fiji’s need for a strengthened arrangement, following the pilot, the following has been achieved:
• there is a more widespread acknowledgement that IWRM is a presing issue
• key water management issues have been put on the map
• detailed proposals for policy, legislation and institutional development have been developed and may now be considered by the National Water Committee and the Government.



Draft Policy & Reports:


  • Report on Initial Mission to Fiji
  • Fiji Draft Water Policy
  • Report of Workshop to Develop a Water Strategy for Fiji
  • Draft Final Report
  • Summary & Recommendations