Monika Singh
SUVA: A climate vigil was held at the St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Suva on Saturday night to celebrate Fiji Day and to reflect on the impacts of development on environment.
The vigil was organised by the Pacific Conference of Churches and World Wildlife Fund, the Suva Environment Group and Indyact.
Fiji Media Watch director Agatha Ferei, who was chief guest at the event, said people should take an active role in becoming part of the solution to fight challenges posed by climate change.
Ferei said people could play an active role by being mindful of the type of goods and services they used.
She said the media played an important role in raising awareness on climate change and how people could minimise its impact.
However, she said media reports tend to focus on the negative effects of climate change rather than "what we can do to alleviate the problem".
She said media reports should focus their climate change reports on mass audiences instead of just focussing on a specific audience.
"If there is going to be a change, the change must begin within oneself. And the media have a responsibility to enable this to happen," she said.
Pacific Conference of Churches climate officer Peter Emberson said the event was timely in that it offered "us all with the opportunity to celebrate Fiji Day in prayer but to also call to mind the actions which have led to the destruction of our environment and eco-systems due to our consumption patterns and development priorities".
At the climate vigil, 10 traditional symbols were presented on the altar of which two were an outrigger canoe and a finely woven mat.
"The outrigger symbolised the great wind powered ocean craft that indigenous peoples used to cross the Pacific. Vigil participants were reminded of the opportunities that could be had from harnessing sources of renewable energy and advocating this with our leaders," he said. - The Fiji Times/Pacific Media Watch
Pacific Media Watch
