"LAMA: We do not want hydro dam", 12 December 2025

More than 100 residents of Navunikabi in the district of Wainikoroiluva, Namosi have signed a petition to stop all feasibility studies and development plans for a new hydroelectric dam.

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The protest was spearheaded by the landowners committee, chaired by Lomani Au Maroroi Au (LAMA), which has called on the Government and the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) to respect their stance and cease all project-related activities in the area.

LAMA chairman Sipiriano Nariva expressed concerns about the environmental and cultural risks posed by the proposed project.

“The method in which they did the consultation, the method that they did in engaging landowners, was not in line with what we wanted,” Mr Nariva said.

“We do not want hydro; we do not want the feasibility studies; we want to be left alone.

“We want to preserve our environment; we want to preserve our heritage sites, so we do not want the feasibility studies at all.”

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