Major outputs of the pilot have been: 

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 

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. 

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. 

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