Coral Gardens
Location: Cuvu Tikina (Coral Coast), Fiji.
Objective/Purpose of site: development and testing of a
community-based marine resource management model with widespread regional
applicability, and including the following components:
- Working with island communities, village chiefs, and government
officials in a process of participatory environmental education and
consultation.
- Assisting communities and local leaders to develop and implement
their own marine resource management plans.
- Coral reef restoration and resource recovery activities.
- Sustainable local income generation including ecotourism promotion
and coral aquaculture.
- Biological and socio-economic monitoring of project sites.
Major Threats: Crown-of-Thorns starfishes infestation, freshwater
flooding, coral bleaching, piggery wastes, sewage and waste inputs,
conflict between the resource owners and the resort, and little flow-on
benefits from tourism reaching the communities.
Management structure: The project is run by a Program manager,
assisted by program scientist. A district-level environment committee was
established in Cevu by the Tikina (District) Council to oversee the
project.
Activities:
Ecotourism and MPAs
Establishment of a no-fishing marine park adjacent to the resort, both as
a fisheries management measure and as an ecotourism resource for the
resort and the community. The community will be involved as reef guides
and fisheries wardens. Two others community MPAs will be set up in the
same district. These communities are also planning to reinstate a
traditional six-month tabu (closure) on a larger reef area.
Workshops
An initial series of community workshops was held to identify
environmental and other issues of concern. These were followed up with a
series of workshops to explore solutions to the issues raised. The nest
step in the process will be the development of comprehensive
community-based management plans for coral reef fisheries and land-based
waste problems. The local resort in now part funding these activities, as
well as providing accommodation and logistic for workshops and project
field staff. Relationships with the community are vastly improves.
Experimental Coral Reef Restoration
Several experiments were initiated in Cuvu Bay, including test coral
plantings for habitat enhancement, tide pool enhancement with UV and
temperature tolerant corals, and coral aquaculture trials. Unfortunately,
despite initial success, a COTs outbreak and bleaching event have killed
the tests plantings.
Stakeholder Involvement and participation: the project is allied
with the MacArthur Foundation-sponsored “Learning Portfolio” on
community-managed marine protected areas, which includes FSP Fiji, as well
as the University of the South Pacific and WWF South Pacific. At the
community-level, this project involves the community participation with
the establishment of an Environment Committee.
Financing Mechanism: Packard, Mac Arthur and Homeland Foundation,
NZODA and the Shangri-La Resort fund this three-year program.
Major successes:
- Multiple collaborations
- Better relations between the community and the resort
- Community involvement
- Demonstrated improvement in local fisheries.
- Replication – Project is being replicated in other parts of Fiji.
