Dr Raijeli Taga serves as the Permanent Secretary for the Fiji Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources.
She led the reform of the Fiji Employment Relations Act to remove Section 88, which prohibited the employment of women in underground mines. The bill passed on International Women’s Day and was a milestone achievement for women. Dr Taga was subsequently awarded the Women in Business ‘Executive Woman of the Year Award’ for the Public Sector in 2018.
As Facilitator for the Informal Working Group (IWG) on the Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment, Dr Taga’s leadership and advocacy on environmental issues has had a profound impact on environmental regulations for Deep Sea Minerals.
Dr Taga has advocated for Indigenous communities to express their concerns with deep sea mining
and the protection of their customs and traditional connections to the ocean. She was also integral to the establishment of the Blue Concrete Initiative which will improve disaster and climate resilience in the Pacific.
If you could change one thing about the world for the next generation, what would it be?
“Encourage more women to enter the mineral sector, especially Fijian Women. I would educate them to be changemakers in Fiji.
“This could lead to a domino effect of improvement in people’s lives, families, communities and beyond.”
