2013-2014 Oceanswatch Worked

Easygrants ID: 38693 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation NFWF Project ID: 0302.13.038693 Coral Reef Conservation Fund 2013 - Submit Final Programmatic Report (New Metrics) Grantee Organization: OceansWatch Project Title: Implementing Locally Managed Marine Area Practices in the Solomon Islands Project Period 6/01/2013 - 10/31/2014 Project Location The southeast corner of the Coral Triangle. Fenualoa and Nifololi islands in the Reef Islands, Temotu Description Province, Solomon Islands. (from Proposal) Project Implement a network of local community stewards of coral reefs to monitor and manage resources. Summary (from Project will incorporate customary fishing rights to build a more sustainable management regime. Proposal) Summary of 2013-2014 OceansWatch worked with seven communities to develop marine management Accomplishments plans, implement locally managed marine protected areas and to train Reef Guardians to manage, monitor and enforce these areas. These areas are included in and make up a larger marine management area. To provide a conservation incentive we introduced a sustainable livelihood project to five communities by setting up of women's co-operatives. These small scale enterprises extracted cold-pressed coconut oil which OceansWatch bought and sold in New Zealand. To support the marine protection we increased awareness in all the communities and in the local High School by providing films, powerpoint presentations and workshops on coral reef ecosystems and the benefits of protected areas. We surveyed the coral reefs and the seagrass to monitor the effects of the management program and we carried out in depth socio-economic monitoring in one village to understand more about their needs. To determine the benefits to the community of the marine management we trained several families in fish catch rate monitoring. The overall outcome has been to empower the local communities in this remote area of the Solomon Islands about the value of creating no-take fishing areas and restricting certain fishing methods to ensure that there are fish for their future generations. They now have access to a small income through selling coconut oil and this will take the pressure off the diminishing fish resources. Lessons Learned We have learnt many lessons during this project and incorporate that learning as we go forward. We learnt during the last two years of engagement was that although the Reef Guardians are enthusiastic when we are there in the communities, when we are absent they sometimes may forget or do not take responsibility for collecting data so frequently. We have learnt that better community outcomes are achieved through putting more time into meetings with the local stakeholders than through surveying. Surveying takes a lot of time and effort and although it is important to have baseline surveys to underlie what we are doing, time with the locals building their capacity is of more value. We also found that it is of benefit when there is standardised management between communities so that they understand each others situations and work together. We have learnt that the government system of Protecting Areas the Protected Area Act set up in 2010 is very slow and laborious and may still not have registered anyone. To support the Solomon Islands environment department we need to put more effort into our relationships with the people in the Provincial and National government. We also think we need to be more hard hitting in our awareness program to prevent the deterioration of reefs and we need to prepare more towards future problems with crown of thorn starfish. We explored using vibrio sampling as a measure of coral health and determined it was too underdeveloped for our needs. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Activities and Outcomes Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: Coral - Building institutional capacity - # FTE with sufficient training Description: Enter the number of staff or full-time equivalents with sufficient training and skills engaged in conservation activities Required: Recommended # FTE with sufficient training - Current: 0.25 # FTE with sufficient training - Grant Completion: 1.25 Notes: In one village - Tuo on the island of Fenualoa, we have been training 8-10 Reef Guardians for three years and they have had sufficient capacity to: 1. Say no to government decision to open their beche de mere harvest. 2. To send monthly reports to us via our Solomon Islands, Honiara directors. 3. To challenge and evict boats from their MPA. They are not working full time as there is not the need. We have worked on the basis of four people working for one day per month or one weeks work per annum, or a quarter FTE per month per village. At the end of the current proposal five other villages will also have had this level of training. Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: Coral - Outreach/ Education/ Technical Assistance - # people reached Description: Enter the number of people reached by outreach, training, or technical assistance activities Required: Recommended # people reached - Current: 800.00 # people reached - Grant Completion: 1400.00 Notes: This relates to 90% of the population of Fenualoa and Nifololi. Funding Strategy: Planning, Research, Monitoring Activity / Outcome: Coral - Management or Governance Planning - # plan activities implemented Description: Enter the number of management plan activities being implemented Required: Recommended # plan activities implemented - Current: 27.00 # plan activities implemented - Grant Completion: 60.00 Notes: In 2012 we held 14 Conservation Film nights, Held 5 Reef Guardian Training programs, held at least 7 meetings and one full day workshop. In 2013 and 2014 We are spending longer in five of the communities and have a goal of holding at least 60 of these activities. Funding Strategy: Planning, Research, Monitoring Activity / Outcome: Coral - Tool development for decision-making - # tools developed Description: Enter the number of tools developed Required: Recommended # tools developed - Current: 0.00 # tools developed - Grant Completion: 2.00 Notes: We are developing a "Reef Guardian" Training program using Free Choice Profiling as a qualitative tool for assessing reef health that is easily applied by people in the local communities in the Solomon Islands. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. We will develop a methodlogy to measure Fishing effort. By monitoring time a boat is away from village and number of fish on return. Funding Strategy: Species-specific Strategies Activity / Outcome: Coral - Fishing effort - Catch per unit effort Description: Enter the catch per unit effort Required: Recommended Catch per unit effort - Current: 4 Catch per unit effort - Grant Completion: 5 Notes: This figure is four fish per hour as the estimated catch per hour from the household surveys conducted in the villages. Funding Strategy: Capacity, Outreach, Incentives Activity / Outcome: Coral - Enforcement / Compliance with existing regs - Miles with enforcement presence Description: Enter the number of miles with a minimum level of enforcement presence Required: Recommended Miles with enforcement presence - Current: 30 Miles with enforcement presence - Grant Completion: 117 Notes: These figures are square miles and refer to the entire managed areas not just the MPAs. Funding Strategy: Habitat Management Activity / Outcome: Coral - improved management practices - Acres under improved management Description: Enter the number of acres under improved management Required: Recommended Acres under improved management - Current: 19000.00 Acres under improved management - Grant Completion: 75000.00 Notes: Funding Strategy: Planning, Research, Monitoring Activity / Outcome: Coral - Management or Governance Planning - # plans developed Description: Enter the number of plans developed that had input from multiple stakeholders Required: Recommended # plans developed - Current: 0 # plans developed - Grant Completion: 1 Notes: The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The following pages contain the uploaded documents, in the order shown below, as provided by the grantee: Final Report Narrative - Marine Photos - Jpeg Other Documents Other Documents Other Documents Other Documents Other Documents Other Documents Other Documents The following uploads do not have the same headers and footers as the previous sections of this document in order to preserve the integrity of the actual files uploaded. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

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