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

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

Electrification and Oyster Update

ELECTRICITY

The official quotation to extend the electricity grid to our village arrived in my mailbox this week!

This is how it breaks down:

Total cost:                                                             $696,295.00
The government will cover 95% of the cost:       $661,480.00
The community contribution will be 5%:            $  34,815.00
Divide by 129 households:                                   $      266.00/house

This includes overhead power lines and internal wiring in 129 households.

The fundraising will be discussed in the February village meeting. It will be a major committment by community members to raise the money. The quotation expires at the end of the year. The quicker we can raise the money, the quicker the project can happen. (Especially crucial since there are elections for the first time in ages this year).


PEARL OYSTERS

We went out to check the pearl oyster lines this week. They are suspended about 5 meters below the surface. The lines were in good shape with no buoys missing. There was an awful lot of algae though, so we're waiting for feedback from Department of Fisheries as to whether or not we need to clean the line. Cleaning will either require the use of SCUBA or a lot of strong lunged free-divers.

When Worlds Collide, Embrace Them Both

It’s a week before Christmas and hotter than Hades in the village. It’s the time of year when everything comes to a standstill as folks are preparing for the holidays, cleaning houses and yards, and pounding enough grog to last a month.  Instead of being frustrated with the slow pace, I’m trying to embrace it; take time to reflect on the past year and return to doing the little things I love about living in the village. 

Solo was admonishing me for planting some mangrove seeds by myself the other day in the hot, hot sun. “Can’t you just stay at home and relax for once? It’s a week until Christmas! It is not the time to work. Read a bunch of books.” 

So here I am sitting in my kitchen/office with a fresh batch of roasted cacao beans cooling on the counter courtesy of the pods we picked yesterday when we went to swim in the creek, and I’m slowly picking apart my current thoughts on village life. 

Sometimes I get frustrated with it, even after over two years of acclimating. Sometimes I wish we could do more, or that things would move along more quickly. But it is useless to get frustrated, it’s wasted energy, and it’s better to just accept the pace of village life. It seems I periodically re-learn the lesson that there is beauty in slowing life down, in caring more about family and friends than work, in making food from scratch, in doing small things that make you happy, in taking time to notice how elegantly a banana leaf unfurls itself from the stalk and how the vivid passionfruit flower opens in the evening. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about how American and Fijian cultures compare and contrast, and also about the current state of traditional Fijian culture. In the words of a friend, the culture seems “confused”. How do you keep traditions alive but develop at the same time?

The other week Solo brought over a book, Bula Vakavanua by Semi B. Seruvakula. It is written in Fijian. As much as I can understand, it was an effort by the Ministry of iTaukei (Indigenous) Affairs and the University of the South Pacific, amongst others, to document Fijian traditions as they have begun to slowly be lost. This book is a gold mine for someone who wants to learn about Fijian culture. Solo nabbed it from one of the school kids. As he never took Fijian in school, and since he spent most of his life outside the village, he’s just now being properly educated in the “ways of the village”. While we might not be able to stop things from changing, the least we can do is remember where we’ve come from. 

We’ve been going through parts of the book together. It explains everything about the ways of the vanua, or the responsibilities of the different people and clans in the village, how to conduct ceremonies of all levels, and how the land/sea is to be regarded. It also talks about the changes Fijian culture has faced and is still facing since the time of colonization. Fijians are great story tellers, and I love hearing Solo’s explanations and asking questions about it all. 

Solo: Isa, it’s not like this anymore.

Buna: Why?

S: Where is your wallet?

B: What?... In my room.

S: (Returning with my wallet, pulls out two bills.) This is why it’s not like that anymore. (Points at the Queen on the old bill.) This changed everything. But it’s starting to change again, we’re taking Fiji back. (Points at the new bill where the Queen has been replaced with some endemic Fijian wildlife species.)

This simple explanation makes me smile. I ask about the church, because didn’t that change a lot of things too? What did Fijians believe before the church?

S: There were only two churches, Catholic and Methodist in the beginning.

B: No before that.

S: Huh?

B: Before the churches came, did people believe in the vanua or what?

S: Yes, they believed in the landlords. But everyone was warring, warring all the time. Eating each other. When they won a war, they won the land and their landlord stayed there.

B: Landlord?..... You mean like a spirit?

S: Yeah, I mean like a land spirit.

B: Like the vu?

S: (Very hushed) Yes…

He then told me quietly about the vu of our village, his name, where he lives, and how he looks after the village. How he comes to speak thru people at certain times when the village is not working well together. How he did this just last year. He said all this very quietly and I knew it was kind of a sacred topic. There are certain things us outsiders aren’t supposed to talk about or question, so I just listened, appreciating what he was willing to share. I think traditional knowledge is a beautiful and interesting thing. But it is not my place to share it here; it is a story that is not mine.

However, in my story I do find myself amidst the convergence of the traditional and the modern. This is the setting in which I live and work. I sit here typing on my laptop in my house with no electricity. Sometimes it is a very confused place indeed; but it is a privilege to experience another way of life and experience real challenges much of the world is facing.

I know that in the coming year I will have a lot of choices to make about what to do next and where to go. Maybe it isn’t about choosing one or the other, but embracing the best of both.

Oyster Spat Collections Lines

Yesterday was a blessed Thanksgiving Day in the village! Nevermind that no one has ever heard of that holiday! We had a team from Department of Fisheries in Savusavu bring us an early Christmas present:

OYSTER SPAT COLLECTIONS LINES! 

In August a few people from the village attended a workshop to learn about small business ideas involving the marine environment. There was talk that Fisheries was looking to support communities to establish some sustainable income generating projects, so we submitted a request letter to Fisheries to help us determine if we were a suitable site for oyster spat collection. They didn't turn up to just survey, they turned up with two 100m lines to place in our fishing grounds.

After finding a boat to hire in Nabouwalu, we prepared the lines and waited for the boat to come at high tide.

Preparing the buoys

Unrolling the spat collections lines

Lines packed and ready to go!

At high tide and in a sudden burst of heavy rain, we headed offshore just a little ways to place the lines. We used flour sacks full of sand as anchors and tied tied large stones to the middle of the line for it to sink. In two weeks time we will cut away the stones, as the line will become heavy. The line rests about 5m below the surface, so passing boats will not disturb it. Four buoys mark each 100m line.

Checking the depth

Tying off the sandbag anchors

Placing the first buoy

Stringing out the first line

Buoys marking the submerged line

Fisheries Team Member and my trusty Environment Committee Members

Line in the water. The spat collectors (black, dangley things) will fall down in time.

Stone weight.

Myself and one of my many Fijian fathers checking out the line underwater

The line will remain in place for about a year, after which the team will return to see how many oysters we were able to collect. A good line can collect anywhere from 2000-4000 oysters. At a year and a few months time the oysters will be seeding size. Then they can be sold to pearl farmers for around $2 per oyster.

There are a few pearl farms in Fiji. The most notable is J. Hunter Pearls in Savusavu who sells gorgeous jewelry no one in Fiji can afford (http://www.fijipearls.com/)

We don't have a proper site to farm the pearls in the village. A farm requires a quiet bay or lagoon, and we have an intertidal reef flat. The good current coming off the Bligh Waters, however, may be filled with oyster spat. Oyster eggs and sperm meet in the water and drift on currents until finding a proper place to call home. Hopefully they will find a good home on our lines!

The lines were placed in the area we have proposed as a Marine Protected Area (awaiting formal approval of the chief). We hope they will give additional incentive to the community to protect these waters and help create a sustainable fund for management of this and other village projects. Furthermore, the lines will act as FADs (fish aggregating devices) around which fish may group or swim.

A great reason to give thanks, indeed!

I am thankful for this and all my experiences here in Fiji, for the wonderful people who help make projects like this happen, and friends and family both near and far.

Thankful today, thankful for every day.