Mr. Pallawish Kumar, GWCN’s Oceania Membership Manager, was present at Brisbane on 21 September 2022 to speak at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference On Disaster Risk Reduction.

Mr. Kumar brought to light the adversities of constant changing weather patterns and climate change in countries like Fiji: From rising sea levels that force low lying communities to move inland – leaving behind their traditional land and places they’ve called home through many generations – to high frequency category 5 cyclones that reverse decades of development progress in a matter of hours and push many Pacific islanders into very difficult situations exacerbating the already devastating effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies such as the Pandemic and other socio-economic issues.

Mr. Kumar also noted, “The actions of larger nations such as fossil fuel based consumption hunger of the developed world continue to have devastating effects on us the small island developing states who remain at the forefront of climate change. Rising global temperatures are decreasing food security and eroding livelihoods as changing weather patterns negate traditional farming and fishing practices.”