Fiji

From WaterWiki.net

Fiji is part of:
Asia & Pacific · Pacific Islands ·
Water Basins of Fiji:
No results

Facts & Figures

edit

Capital

Suva

Neighbouring Countries

Vanuatu

Total Area

18,270 km²

- Water

0 km² (0.00%) / 0 m²/ha

- Land

18,270 km²

Coastline

1,129 km

Population

847,706 (46 inhab./km²)

HDI^A

0.743 (2007)

Gini Coefficient^A

n/a (1995)

Nominal GDP^B

$3,783 million

GDP (PPP) Per Capita^B

$3,700

National UN Presence

FAO, UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO

Land Use^C

- Cultivated Land

2,851 km² (15.6%)

- Arable

2,001 km² (10.95%)

- Permanent Crops

850 km² (4.65%)

- Irrigated

30 km²

- Non cultivated

23,736 km² (84.4%)

Average Annual Rainfall^D

2592 mm

Renewable Water Resources^E

28.6 km³

Water Withdrawals^F	0.07 km³/yr
- For Agricultural Use	71%
- For Domestic Use	14%
- For Industrial Use	14%
- Per Capita	86 m³

Population with safe access to
- Improved Water Source	47%
- Urban population	43%
- Rural population	51%
- Improved Sanitation	72%
- Urban population	87%
- Rural population	55%

References & Remarks

^A UNDP Human Development Report

^B CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia

^C CIA World Factbook Country Profiles

^D Aquastat - FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture

^E CIA World Factbook

^F Earthtrends

Latest 4 maps for / including Fiji (more..):

No maps (yet -> Upload some!)

1 News
2 Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context
3 Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources
4 Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment
5 Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination
6 Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation
7 Country Profile: Challenges and Opportunities
8 Articles
9 Projects and Case Studies
10 Publications
11 Who is Who
12 References
13 See also
14 External Resources
15 Attachments

News

Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context

Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources

Surface water is used as the main source of supply for all major towns on the larger, high islands of Fiji. Some small, low lying islands rely excusively on groundwater and may also harness rainwater. Contamination of the wells in the the small islands may happen due to lack of sanitation and awareness.

A considerable amount of potable water is lost in the reticulation system as a result of background leakage and frequent bursts. Several areas face problems with either too high or too low pressure. The Public Works Department is in need of updated equipment and training.

Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment

Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination

See Sector coordination sub-page for detailed description

Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation

Country Profile: Challenges and Opportunities

Fiji has numerous small islands, some of which are low in elevation and also inhabited. Surface water availability is a problem in some islands, which rely exclusively on groundwater and may or may not attempt to use rainwater. Rainwater harvesting using roof systems is widespread in Fiji but the psychology of rural people may fail to take into account the possibility of extreme climate events and drought when there is relatively abundant water for most of the time (for instance providing small capacity storage instead of larger capacity).

Some conflicts have occurred over surface water availability. In particular, there are conflicts between water for irrigation and water for other purposes in one or two cases.

Groundwater occurs on both the large islands and small low-lying islands, but the groundwater issues and challenges in these different physical environments differ. Groundwater is found in superficial and medium-depth strata on the larger islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu and some large islands, in either fractured rock or sedimentary formations.

Significant groundwater deposits, such as the Nadi Valley coastal aquifer, on the large islands are available and are under pressure for devleopment.

Groundwater resources on small islands play a very different role. There are cases in Fiji of islands with superficial groundwater lenses in sandbeds or coral formations, which lie on marine water and can be readily exhausted. The fragility of superficial groundwater lenses means that they need to be carefully managed.