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The Potential of Fijian Traditional Housing to Cope with Title Natural Disasters in Rural Fiji Author(s) Fujieda, Ayako; Kobayashi, Hirohide Citation Journal of Disaster Research (2013), 8(1): 18-27 Issue Date 2013-02 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/173637 (C) 2013 Fuji Technology Press Co, . Ltd.; この論文は出版社 版でありません。引用の際には出版社版をご確認ご利用 Right ください。; This is not the published version. Please cite only the published version. Type Journal Article Textversion author Kyoto University The Potential of Fijian Traditional Housing to Cope with Natural Disasters in Rural Fiji Paper: Dr8-1-5700; 2013/1/25 The Potential of Fijian Traditional Housing to Cope with Natural Disasters in Rural Fiji Ayako Fujieda and Hirohide Kobayashi Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan E-mail: {fujieda.ayako.8r@, kobahiro@archi.}kyoto-u.ac.jp [Received October 10, 2012; accepted January 21, 2013] Fiji is, as an island country in the Pacific Ocean widely they can do for themselves with little or no external assis- recognized to be vulnerable to natural disasters due to tance [3]. Over the hundreds of years, prior to European its location and characteristics. Recent studies show contact the Pacific communities had survived recurrent the increasing emphasis on a capacity of disaster af- natural hazards on their own and their extensive knowl- fected people and communities rather than their vul- edge and experience have molded their lifestyle to cope nerability and on what they can do for themselves. In with the natural hazards [4, 5]. In a recent study, Mercer the light of resilience, indigenous knowledge that has emphasizes on the potential of the indigenous knowledge been generated and accumulated over years in adapt- for the disaster risk reduction in the small island states [6]. ing to the local environment has the potential to en- The Republic of Fiji (Fiji) is one of the Melanesian hance the capacity of the local people to cope with nat- countries located in the South Pacific. It is prone to vari- ural disasters. Despite the increasing recognition of ous natural hazards, including cyclones that are consid- the advantages of such indigenous knowledge, its po- ered the most hazardous kinds of disaster in terms of tential use in present day is little known. This paper frequency and damage. Cyclones cause extensive dam- explores the potential use of Fijian traditional housing age, especially to housing, and the provision of tempo- as an alternative in restoring the living environment in rary housing and the support of reconstruction are major rural Fiji where housing reconstruction depends heav- challenges, especially in rural villages, due to their lim- ily on the external assistance. Field study was carried ited access. In order for disaster-affected people to restore out to understand current conditions and the poten- their living environment, alternative solutions that do not tial of traditional housing construction in the modern depend on external assistance need to be explored. context. Although traditional housings hardly exists In order to address issues of housing in the face of cy- in Fiji, field study results show the availability of nat- clones, this paper examines the potential of Fijian tradi- ural resources, skills and knowledge, communal work tional housing which has developed over years by the lo- and challenges in knowledge transfer and challenges cal people with their extensive knowledge. This paper be- brought by the life-style changes. gins with a review of the cyclone impacts on housing and identifies the needs for a locally based alternative solution. This leads to the assumption that adaptation of Fijian tra- Keywords: Fijian traditional housing, coping capacity, ditional housing can be one solution. Then the potential indigenous knowledge cyclone, Fiji, Pacific islands of Fijian traditional housing construction are examined based on the field studies. Finally, this paper discusses the 1. Introduction future direction to promote the Fijian traditional housings to enhance the capacity of people to cope with cyclones. Fiji is as a Pacific island, is widely recognized to be vul- nerable to natural hazards due to its location and charac- teristics as a small island state. In addition to frequent ex- 2. Research Background posure to the meteorological and geological hazards, such island states they are likely to be adversely affected by the 2.1. Focus on Local Capacity impact of climate change [1]. Their smallness and geo- In the light of failure in development after World graphical isolation as the special disadvantages of small War II, researchers and practitioners have recognized the island states contribute to their vulnerability to the natu- insufficiency of externally introduced initiatives mainly ral hazards. Moreover, contemporary global changes and with technological fixes and have begun to emphasize on local dynamic pressure play a key role in shaping local a participatory and decentralized development. There is a vulnerability [2]. need not only to learn from the local people and respect Over the past ten years, some researchers and practi- their realities and priorities [7] but also to facilitate their tioners have shifted their focus more from the vulnera- original development by highlighting their capacity. In bility to the capacity of affected communities, i.e., what the course of a change in perspectives on development, a Journal of Disaster Research Vol.8 No.1, 2013 1 Fujieda, A. and Kobayashi, H. number of reports in the literatures pays attention to in- digenous knowledge, and highly detailed and complex in- formation on the local environment, and advocates its ap- plicability, especially in marginal environments [8]. 2.2. Nature of Indigenous Knowledge Although there is no single definition of indigenous knowledge, relevant literatures indicate several interre- lated aspects which characterize the nature of indigenous knowledge. The indigenous (traditional) knowledge is the body of knowledge that is essential for the survival of the local people [9] and is developed to respond to everyday demands of life [10], adapt to the biophysical environ- ment [11] and to achieve the sustainable livelihood in the physical, economical, and environmental constrains. 100 km Indigenous knowledge is holistic and very complex: 60 mi generated by local people to adapt to their environment, unique in a given society and context-dependent, dy- Fig. 1. Map of Fiji. namic and influenced by internal and external factors, and stored and transferred in traditional ways. Indigenous knowledge reflects the complexity of reality and there- largest social unit for Fijians is the yavusa (tribe) which fore should be considered to have a potential to provide reside often in one or a few villages. Yavusa is composed local solutions. As local people use a particular piece of two or more mataqali (clan) which is generally the land of knowledge only when it makes economic and socio- owning unit and has the kin-group origin with traditional cultural sense to them, it is characterized as pragmatic and roles and functions in yavusa. utilitarian [12]. 3. Issues with Rural Housings in the Face of 2.3. Overview of Fijian Village Tropical Cyclones The Fiji has an area of 18,333 km2 and a population of 837,271, consists of approximately 330 islands, of which 3.1. Characteristics of Cyclones about 110 are inhabited. Two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 80 percent of the nation land Tropical cyclones are the most common natural disas- and have 87 percent of the total population. The rest of ters in Fiji. Since 1840, nearly 200 cyclones have been the population are scattered in smaller islands. While the reported. They occurred most frequently between Decem- urban population continues to increase, a nearly half of ber and April, but the recognized season extends from Oc- the population still lives based on subsistence farming in tober to May, taking account of the possibility of early and rural areas [13]. late events such as Tropical Cyclone Bebe, which heavily Fiji is a nation made up of diverse races and culture. impacted entire Fiji in October 1972. Two thirds origi- The traditional housings addressed in this paper are the nated north-west of and the others tend to strike from the parts of the culture of the Indigenous Fijians which con- north with southern and eastern parts of the island group sists of 56.8 percent of the population. The rest include most likely to be affected. The incidence of cyclones is Indians (37.5 percent), Europeans, Rotumans, and other 1.2 per season but this figure conceals variations from sea- Pacific islanders. The 87.9 percent of the land is registered son to season. In 1985, four occurred in four months. by the land owning unit (mataqali / clan) of Indigenous They included Tropical Cyclones Eric and Nigel which Fijians while the others include State Hold (3.9 percent), struck densely populated area. Tropical cyclones develop Freehold land (7.9 percent) and Rotuman land (0.3 per- destructive winds and heavy rains, and have hit Fiji, with cent) [13]. some of them causing extensive damage mainly to agri- In Fiji, ‘village’ refers to koro which based on the Fijian culture, housing, and infrastructures. administration while “settlement” refers to place of resi- dence on lease, owned land, or at will apart from villages. 3.2. Cyclone Impacts and Vulnerability of Rural In Fijian administration, Fiji is divided into provinces which consists of several tikina (districts). Each tikina is Housing made of several koro or villages. There are 14 provinces, The recurrence cyclones have placed an enormous bur- 189 tikinas, and 1171 koro in Fiji. den on the country and the people. They have caused ex- There is a distinctive social structure in the Fijian vil- tensive damages mainly on agriculture, housings, and in- lages.

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