Naturefiji-Mareqetiviti Newsletter 12 March 2012 Page 2 Project Updates
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NatureFijiNatureFiji--MareqetiVitiMareqetiViti Newsletter 12 March 2012 2012 NFMV Work Plan and Live Projects The NFMV team kicked off 2012 with our annual planning meet at the Raintree Lodge, Colo-i-Suva, from the 4-5th of January. The Strategic planning meet, is an important annual exercise, as each year the team reviews the projects of the year before planning for the year ahead. At the meeting project managers develop sound, resourced, and feasible plans for the live projects, and exit/continuity plans for projects that are ending at some point over the year. The team looks at each staff members individual work plans identifying issues of overloading or under-resourcing, and then revises work plans to suit. In addition, the 2012 Annual Plan also sets out activities for our operations as an organisation, . such as financial processes, staffing policies, and office Tuverea Tuamoto (in the foreground) procedures. New International Volunteer, Joanne Malotaux, joins NFMV to assist with our bat surveys. Joanne, who is from the Netherlands, is a Masters student who intends to devote part of her research to the Fiji bats found on Vanua Levu, Taveuni and Viti Levu. She will be working closely with Kelera Macedru, who has previously surveyed caves on Taveuni Island for cave dwelling bat colonies. Joanne will be investigating the biological and ecological aspects of the bat colonies .These bat surveys are partially funded by the Australian Tropical Research Foundation (AUSTROP), through our collaboration with The NFMV staff: Back row (L-R) Kolinio, Waisale, Dick, Eleazer Dr. Hugh Spencer, one of the directors of AUSTROP. Front row (L-R) Reena, Kelera, Nunia, Anna and Tamara Welcome to Fiji, Joanne! NFMV welcomes into their fold their newest member, Tuverea Tuamoto, as the European Union (EU) Invasives Project Officer. The project is a large-scale collaboration with Birdlife International and the Fiji Invasives Species Task (FIST) force. Mr. Tuamoto comes to us after working for the Birdlife Fiji Programme, where his major achievements were the completion of a literature review to identify priority areas for seabird conservation in Fiji (subsequently followed by seabird field surveys), and the drafting of Fiji’s first IBA Monitoring Framework guideline. Tuverea's appointment as our EU Invasives project officer is well-contrived and bodes well for the community-based Joanne Malotaux components of the project. MareqetiViti is best translated as ‘Caring for Fiji’ NatureFiji-MareqetiViti’s mission is to enhance biodiversity and habitat conservation, endangered species protection and sustainable use of natural resources of the Fiji Islands through the promotion of collaborative conservation action, awareness raising, education, research and biodiversity information exchange. Feature Article NatureFiji-MareqetiViti’s 2012 live projects The Thrigby Hall funded replanting scheme for the Navua listings: Palm are the quarterly visits to the Garrick Reserve, where the insurance population of the endangered Navua Palm is maintained. 1. Sago Palm Restoration (FAO) 2. Crested iguana translocation (Taronga Zoo) Surveys for Fiji Petrel and Collared Petrel burrows will be 3. Navua Palm - Garrick Reserve (Thrigby Hall) comprehensive this year with the help of Bob and Tar, our 4. Arcadia NGO development (BL-I/ Arcadia) two trained wildlife detector dogs. Artificial box nests 5. Fiji Petrel searches (CEPF) have already been put to use, under the Fiji Petrel 6. Kulawai searches and community training (CEPF) project, apparently also with the Petrels, as we recently 7. Vodafone WOD volunteership (Vodafone ATH) recorded a Collared petrel egg on one of the boxes. A 8. Taveuni National Park (CEPF) great surprise! 9. EU Invasives (EU) 10. Yaqaga Iguanas (IIF) One project that will be drawing to an end this year with 11. Rivers Fiji RAMSAR (Rivers Fiji) the last activity planned being the Namenalala Crested Iguana translocation, a collaborative project with the NFMV got straight to work immediately after, beginning National Trust of Fiji. with setting up the NFMV office in Somosomo, Taveuni, from which the Taveuni National Park project will be run. The hunt for the Kulawai continues in 2012 with several The Taveuni National Park community awareness campaign will involve working the Department of Forestry surveys with our community field guides slotted in during to inform landowners of the Ravilevu Nature Reserve, the first three months of 2012. Taveuni Forest Reserve, Bouma National Heritage Park, and the 1995 Taveuni Integrated Development Plan. Anna Sahai's one-year sponsorship by the Vodafone ATH World of Difference (WOD) programme will continue to bring us Anna's valuable contributions to the many projects we implement, particularly with the development and set up of our library and electronic archive. Our collaboration with Rivers Fiji (NFMV Corporate GOLD member) to implement education and awareness activities under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, has reached a formal status with Kelera Macedru working on these activities 40% of her time. Baby Culanuku restoration site, a model for our FAO funded Sago Project. The Yaqaga Iguana project, funded by the International Iguana Foundation (IIF), will be more comprehensive this Our Sago Palm project funded by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) through the Secretariat for the Pacific year as we intensify our efforts to remove cats from the Community (SPC), is a community-based restoration island and widen the search for these unique iguanas. So programme based at two sites: Wainawa in south-east all in all, a very busy year ahead for NFMV! Viti Levu (near Montfort Boys Town) and Savarekareka, north-east of Savusavu in Vanua Levu. NatureFiji-MareqetiViti Newsletter 12 www.naturefiji.org March 2012 Page 2 Project Updates Successful first year breeding of Monuriki Crested necessary for a good record of the bird. With the help of Iguanas The Monuriki Crested Iguana is a distinctive form this data, we know that the bird is almost certainly a of the better known Crested Iguana from Yadua Taba, Bua recently fledged young. but is known only from Monu and Monuriki islands in the The big question is " Did it fledge from a nest on Gau or Mamanuca Group where the population is less than 40. had it fledged from a nest on Taveuni where we know The island itself was very badly degraded with no there is a large colony of Tahiti Petrels ?" The Fiji Petrel regeneration of the forest because of an excessive number of goats running wild. The National Trust for Fiji together with the Kula Eco Park persuaded the landowners to allow a captive breeding programme to be undertaken, the first of its kind in Fiji. In return for removing all the goats and allowing a captive population of 20 individuals to be to be taken to Kula EcoPark. The offspring would be released on Monuriki once the goats are removed. All the goats have now been removed by the Birdlife International, National Trust (NTF), landowners’ team. Iguanas were brought into captivity in mid 2010; after improving their condition, they were paired up and last A young Tahiti Petrel being measured, weighed, year 11 eggs were laid. Kula Eco-Park obtained 100% banded and then released hatching success after a lengthy six month incubation period. This is a wonderful result for Fiji’s first endangered Project found a cat-killed Tahiti Petrel carcass ashore on species captive breeding program. Well done all round! Gau in the mid 1980s but none have been seen since despite many thousands of hours of spotlighting and searching...So it remains a bit of a mystery. Meantime, NatureFiji-MareqetiViti is happy to announce the availability of two very important project reports from the Fiji Petrel Project. The first " Age of 3 Fiji Petrels" is an analysis of the age of the January 2009 specimen, October 2011 and November 2011 landing and released birds. The conclusion is that the 29 October 2011 bird was a fledgling, the 30 November 2011 bird was a sub-adult and the January 2009 bird remains uncertain but may well have been a fledgling. This is a seminal paper for the Fiji Petrel Project because the authors (three of the world's top petrel specialists - Dr. Paul Scofield, Dr. Graeme Taylor and Dr. Alan Baby Monuriki Iguana a few days after hatching Tennyson) have provided an important guide for ageing petrels in the field. We are very grateful for their A Tahiti Petrel landed in Nawaikama, the 2nd ever assistance. The significance of this work is that it enables record from Gau. In mid-December, a young, probably the Fiji Petrel Project to focus its search work in those recently fledged, Tahiti Petrel landed in Nawaikama village months when we know the species is breeding. The other on Gau's west coast. Poasa Qalo and Amania Taukei from important report is by Mark Fraser on his training Gau, undertook all the measurements and photographs assignment with NFMV. Both reports are available from NFMV on request. NatureFiji-MareqetiViti Newsletter 12 www.naturefiji.org March 2012 Page 3 Project Updates Updates from the American iguana project After a full year of awareness campaigns and scientific The final selection for the restoration work will be based research, we now have an American iguana (Iguana on the communities’ responsiveness to the preliminary iguana) activity calendar that allows us to better plan and awareness and training workshops. implement the eradication strategy. The site at Savarekareka is along the main road and must Our findings support international research results that have once had a thriving population of Fiji sago palms. It American iguanas are most visible and vulnerable during has become badly degraded and is almost over-run with their mating and nesting (egg-laying) season. For Fiji, invasive grasses and other weedy species. based on the sightings of gravid (pregnant) females, juveniles and the times at which they have been sighted, The site at Wainawa is close to the village and will be we know that their mating season is from April to August.