Legal Review Workshop Explores Coastal Protection

20th October, 2023 - In collaboration with the Fiji’s Department of Environment, a legal review workshop was conducted today at the Greenhouse Coworking in Suva.

The workshop included a presentation of the legal review by Legal Consultant Mr James Sloan of Siwatibau & Sloan Lawyers and joint reflection of the preliminary findings with institutional stakeholders.

The legal review considers how to implement Fiji's international commitments for protection and sustainable management in the national legal context and explores the question of how to address the most common threats legally and institutionally to these ecosystems.

Additionally, the review applies an environmental Rule of Law analysis to this question, provides analysis of Fiji's common law context and traditional/customary rights and discusses opportunities that Fiji's plural legal system provides to better implement legal protection for coastal ecosystems.

Key discussions included environmental law issues, right to a healthy environment and Fiji’s international commitments.

Hosted by the MACBLUE project, key attendees included stakeholders from government agencies and conservation NGOs.