The Department of Environment has a Waste Management and Pollution Control Unit which is responsible for waste and pollution control in Fiji Solid Waste, Liquid Waste, Air Pollution, Hazardous and Chemical Waste.
The basic functions of this unit presently are to look after all waste and pollution control matters such as;
To comprehend the situation regarding pollution, the different types of pollution, their causes and effects and remediation that is needed have to be listed down. The potential hot spots of pollution, as in industrial areas and oil companies etc. have to be identified as well.
Pollution affects a number of people and the environment. There can be effects on the various ecosystems, respiratory problems for people as well or other environment and public health issues. Fiji has various types of pollution of the land air and water, hence in general the environment. Some sources of these pollution are:
Looking at the waste and pollution issues and the relevant policies and legal instruments that exist in managing these issues, it is highly important to also note some of the challenges that the WPC Unit at the Department of Environment faces. One of the major challenges is the lack of financial and technical resources; currently there are about 5-6 staff who handle waste and pollution related matters Fiji-wide.
Therefore the Department of Environment would like to appeal to all citizens of this country to take civic pride in Fiji and help the Department to work towards building a cleaner Fiji.
