Official Launch of Marine Managed Areas and Management Plan

From behind the scenes:

Whoooeeee.... it has been busy around here! The preparation for our big launch may have been super stressful, but the big event went off without a hitch (well, any major hitches!). 

Pulling off an event and preparing a major document in a rural village with limited communication and no electricity is no easy feat! There were many trips back and forth to Nabouwalu and many late nights translating and editing on the floor of my house with committee members. 

Even after three years here, I still find it difficult to not be stressed out by they way preparations happen at the very last minute. At the same time I have developed faith in the way things always seem to work out in the end. 

The village really came through on their part. This event, after all, was theirs. While I was busy on the phone and computer, the community was harvesting food for the feast, decorating the community hall, building a temporary outdoor kitchen, practicing for the traditional kava ceremony, setting the program,  and getting word out through the "coconut wireless".

 Our program began with a traditional ceremony: sevusevu, yaqona vakaturaga (kava served for the chief), and presentation of a whale's tooth as a gift of thanks from the community to the chief. Next there was prayer from a local church leader, followed by tea time. After tea, a few church leaders, gov't and community reps took a boat ride out to one of the marine managed areas where a buoy was placed and another blessing said. Upon return there was a presentation from our Yaubula Committee, another formal thanks, and then the feast/ grog drinking began. 

Our printed plans arrived late, but we we still managed to circulate them and have an official copy signed by the leaders from each clan before the grogging got to strong and people began to disperse.

I was in bed by 9pm, but songs and guitar were coming through my window well into the night!

From our press release:

On Tuesday, 25 February 2014, the village officially launched their locally-managed marine areas (sometimes referred to as “tabu fishing areas”) and their natural resource management plan. This special event began with a traditional kava ceremony for the district chief, Tui Vuya, and was followed by prayer and blessings from the church. The community has designated three different marine managed areas to protect fish and invertebrates and to help generate income for the community.

The village has been working together for the past two years on environmental and resource management issues. They face the challenge of a growing population in a rural location where their economy and livelihoods are very dependent on the health of land and sea resources. For this reason, the village created both development and natural resource management plans which focus on ways they themselves can improve the status and well-being of their community. They feel that it is their duty as the “vanua” and as Christians to take care of the land and sea, and that they shouldn’t have to always rely on outside resources to do so.

Their marine managed areas are not designated to be “tabu” forever but to help the community use their resources more wisely so there will always be enough now and for the children of the future. While fishing or harvesting is not allowed in these areas, they will help the community generate income in other ways. In one area the community has established pearl oyster collection lines and in another, they plan to farm beche-de-mer. They have also been planting mangroves to improve degraded habitat and protect the coastline.

The village's natural resource management plan uses a “ridge to reef” approach. This means that it recognizes that activities on the land have an effect on the downstream environment.  For example, farming along river banks increases soil erosion and pollution from the village travels downstream to affect the marine environment.

Because of this, the community has also designated two forest protected areas surrounding their drinking water sources and created by-laws that do not allow farming or cutting trees within 10 meters of streams.

The biggest challenge for their plans to be successful, however, is ensuring that everyone works together. There are about 570 people in the community including seven settlements and six religions. They try to focus on good governance as the foundation for any work they do. In the past two years they have been working to try to bring the different community groups closer together and respect each other in spite of any differences. Utilizing both their traditional iTaukei community structure alongside an administrative structure has helped them do this.

This event was attended by member of surrounding communities in Vuya and Solevu Districts, as well as by representatives from the government and NGOs. The village invited all these people in hopes of raising awareness and gaining support for their program.

From behind the camera:

Banner drawn by a man in our village with permanent marker and crayon :)

The men waiting in the shed for the chief to arrive

Women preparing tea

Extracting the taro root form the lovo (earthen oven)

Large kava plant for sevusevu

Solo had a special role in the ceremony for the first time! Important honor and lesson for a Fijian male!

Men waiting to go in the hall

Our Marama ni Yavusa and the Marama Vunivalu from another community (important traditional leaders)

Bringing in the sevusevu

Pouring water from hollowed out bamboo into the tanoa, or kava basin

Serving kava to the district Chief, Turaga Tui Vuya

An elder from our village presents a whale's tooth as a token of thanks to the chief

Tui Vuya accepts the tabua, or sperm whale tooth on a cord of coconut fiber

Waiting for the weather to clear to go out on the boat

Preparing the buoy and anchor

Church leader saying a prayer of blessing

Myself, with my very yellow accessory, very happy for us all to have reached this special day

The crew returning from touring and blessing the marine managed areas