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

Master’s Research Kicks Off at Workshop on Tavea Island

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Tavea Island in the District of Lekutu to attend a Resource Management Planning Workshop facilitated by Wildlife Conservation Society. This workshop was the first of a series, with the same concepts as the ones that have been held in our District and attended by our village environment committee. It was designed to raise awareness about Ridge to Reef management and help community members begin to identify targets and threats to healthy and connected ecosystems.

What was especially great for me was that we had a whole session on the third day for participants to be introduced to basic network concepts, to fill in the SNA questionnaire, and also to discuss barriers to collaboration/communication for effective resource management. While I played a key role in helping design the research methods, two facilitators from WCS carried it out in Fijian. It went over really well, although I have not yet had a chance to begin data entry and analysis.

I’m actually glad now that things didn’t go as planned when we tried to do the first round of sampling last October. It gave us a chance to improve our methods and simplify the questionnaire. Hoping to do some preliminary data entry in the next week to check for anything we may need to improve before our next sampling in late Feb-early March. 

Tavea Island Locator Map

Tavea Island, Lekutu District, Bua Province -- The white in the center is the village (about 30 houses). You can walk from one side to the other in less than a minute!

As we headed to the boat landing we found our fellow facilitators stuck in the mud.

View from Vanua Levu out to Tavea (on right).

Transport out to Tavea.

Kini Koto presenting basic network concepts to workshop participants.

A woman filling out the SNA questionnaire.

Facilitators leading participants through the questionnaire.

The workshop ended by releasing a tagged hawksbill turtle, "Adi Tavea", back to sea.

For an overview of my research see this post from last year: Social Network Research in Bua

Chief Comes to Condone Tabu Areas

On the morning of January 31^st, a special village meeting was called in which our chief, who lives in the next village over, came to give his official consent for our Tabu Fishing Areas. The meeting began with a traditional presentation of yaqona and welcoming, and then we got down to business.

Our chief spoke about how we are all part of the vanua – people, land, sea, animals – and how we must care for the things of which we are a part. He also said something along a more traditional line, about how we must also fear the vanua: “If you make the vanua cry and you don’t listen, you better watch out.” 

He thanked us for the actions we have taken and for calling him here. He said it is up to us, not the government or NGOs, to take care of that on which we depend. He said that he knew before he came that he would say yes and support our initiative. 

He gave a chance for the Yaubula (Environment) Committee to speak. One of our committee presented our basic mission: to sustainably manage that upon which we depend for food/income/supplies and to also seek alternative income generating activities compatible with this mission. And also the general management rules for the three marine managed areas and two water source protection areas. (See this post for details: Proposed Protected Areas Passed by Village Elders )

The chief then opened the session up for questions. It was a really good thing because it gave the chance for anyone to clarify things they were uncertain about. We clarified:  fishing from the shoreline into the protected area (not allowed), the exact boundaries (one buoy will be adjusted), and also about harvesting to sell within the ikanakana (nearshore reefflat – not allowed). The nearshore reefflat is only for harvesting food. If you have a fishing license to sell fish or invertebrates, you need to go off the reefflat to the offshore reefs. 

Our chief likes to run a tight ship and he’s very experienced leading meetings, so all in all it took less than an hour. He ended by saying we need to plan to invite all stakeholders from the government and NGOs to an official launch in which the Tabu Areas will be blessed by the church. The date chosen is Tuesday, February 25^th!

It may have taken a year for this meeting to happen, but in true Fijian fashion it was better to wait than to rush things. With the chief’s official approval witnessed by the village and the upcoming “launch” to be witnessed by local stakeholders, we’re on the right track for our Yaubula Management Plan to be respected and hopefully effective! (Dare I say funded? !)

Our chief and the elders listening to the presentation from the Yaubula Committee

Solo serving kava to our chief during his speech