Serua Provincial Council Chair Tevita Boseiwaqa is calling for water and airspace to be included in constitutional provisions relating to natural resources.
Speaking during the Constitutional Amendment Public Consultations, Boseiwaqa says the proposed provisions should provide greater clarity on natural resource ownership, particularly as new economic opportunities emerge.
Boseiwaqa also raised questions about the ownership of carbon associated with forests,
The Serua Provincial Chair says that the constitutional review should consider how rights over these resources are recognized.
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“We have the list of natural resources. A colleague has mentioned water is absent, and we also want to add the airspace. Airspace is missing there.”
Boseiwaqa also proposed joint ownership of mineral resources between indigenous landowners and the State, suggesting this could provide a fairer distribution of financial benefits.
“I think we have been talking about carbon, carbon from the forest. Who owns that, if it comes up? I know at the national level, we have our airspace zones, and we have every right to that. What about at the ground level, and then the airspace, the air, and so on.”
Civil Engineer Taitusi Naicolakia says that land and water are closely connected and should be given equal consideration under the law.
“Water and land have got a scientific relationship; we all understand that. Water needs land and natural resources. In order for water to be available and to be surviving, it needs land that is owned by the people of Fiji. And I think that the committee will seriously look into how water is being defined and how water can be sort of brought out”
His submission highlights questions surrounding resource ownership and how Fiji’s constitutional framework could address both traditional rights and emerging economic opportunities.