PROFITABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (PEP) PROJECT ANNUAL SUMMARY Q UAR TERL Y REPORT t a I ii3,tla t, p rLt i b 0 1,, I19)1 Table of Contents Report for the Quarter July, August, September 1994 ANNUAL SUMMARY, FISCAL YEAR 1994 ...................... 1 SUMMARY ............................................... 6 PROGRAM ACTIVITIES .................................... 8 ADMINISTRATION ......................... ............... 40 TRAVEL AND TRAINING ................................... 40 Appendix I - Report: Asian Foundation.............. 41 Environmental Fellowship Appendix II - Report: First Aid Training ............ 44 Workshop Appendix III - Report: Ambrym Adventure Tours ....... 45 Appendix IV - Report: Tour Guide Workshop .......... 49 Appendix V - Survey: Bush Clearing and ............. 75 Gardening Practices Appendix VI - Survey: Knowledge, Attitudes ......... 82 and Practices (KAP) Appendix VII - Report: Lolihor ........................ 87 Appendix VIII - Report: Conservation and Tree ........ 92 Planting Workshop Appendix IX - Trip Report: Maskelynes Islands ...... 101 Appendix X - Report: Monitoring of Reef ........... 105 Fish, Santo Appendix X1 - Report: PRA Workshop (J. Bronson) .... 107 Appendix XII - Report: PRA Workhsop (W. Bakeo) ...... 130 Appendix XIII - Report: PRA Workhsop (A. van Breda)..143 Appendix XIV - Trip Report: Traditional Marine ...... 149 Tenure Workshop (A. van Breda) Appendix XV - Trip Report: Traditional Marine ...... 152 Tenure Workshop (D. Kalfatak) Appendix XVI - Trip Report: Aegis Oil ............... 154 Western Samoa PROFITABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (PEP) PROJECT ANNUAL SUMMARY Fiscal Yeur, 1994 PROFITABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (PEP) PROJECT ANNUAL SUMMARY Fiscal Year, 1994 PROJECT ADMIN ISTR ATION The new fiscal year opened with a PEP Advisory Committee meeting held in Tonga. Because of the uncertainties surrounding the future .f the Suva USAID mission and the life of the PEP Project, it was agreed that activity outside Vanuatu would be curtailed until the situation was clarified. All proposed interventions were reviewed and ranked, with eight subsequently approved for continuing activity. Five were considered to have a low probability of success and placed on inactive status with no plan for subsequent action. Two of the approved eight were located outside Vanuatu, and placed on hold. The Committee determined that the approved interentions were of sufficient scope and diversity to test the PEP hypothesis: no new interventions were to be sought. Decisions regarding the Suva USAID mission and the Project were handed down early in the second quarter. The mission was to be closed at the end of September 1994, and liaison with FSP for PEP was transferred to USAID/Manila. The original PEP Project completion date of September 1995 remained unchanged. Project funding was reduced, with a concurrent reduction in the Project's geographic scope. It was confirmed that future Project activity would be limited to Vanuatu: initiatives in Papua New Guinea and Tonga were discontinued. USAID and FSP agreed to shift program emphasis to greame_p otion o-icommunity-participation, buildinglocal skills, institutional streng-thcning_ and docun!1 ntation of lessons ieaned for sharing with ( fh-erNGOs. With PEP staffgeographicailly dispersed in stations in Santo. Ainbrym and Port Vila. formal quarterly staff meetings were instituted to facilitate planning and communication. These mcctings have also served as a vehicle to quickly acquaint new staff members vith the broad purposes of the PEP Project, as well as familiarize them with clay-to-day ongoing activity. 1 PERSON INEL In January 1995, Marine Conservation Specialist Anita van Breda arrived to assure on-sitc direction of the Elephant Island intervention. February saw George Bumseng, a resident of N. Ambrym, join the Project as Local Facilitator to assist Liaison Officer, John Salong. Two other new staff memb-,rs were recruited during this quarter. Ms. Donna Kalfatak assumed the post of Environmental Coordinator Assistant, based in Santo. Stanley Womack joined the staff on a six months contract to develop environental education. programs appropriate to the various PEP initiatives. PEP lost a capable and fine scientist when Project Manager, Dr. Nora Devoe, resigned irn May. Upon her departure, the Project management was reorganized in response to an USID/FSP agreemeiv for more participatory management. Some management responsibilities were assumed by FSP Regional Director, Ms. Kathy Fry, and the rest vested in the Project Coordinator, Siiliana Siwatibau, who joined the staff on May 30th. Ms. Siwatibau is a botanist with wide ranging development experience in the South Pacific. In July, another Lolihor resident, Matu Bongranli was recruited to serve as Liaison Officer for Women. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES As previously noted, the retrenchment of USAID activities in the Pacific resulted in a contraction of PEP's activities from a regional project to one confined to Vanuatu. Through to the end of the Project, the focus will be on two EMUs at Lolihor, N. Ambrym and Hog Harbour, Santo; and on two other activities, design of a species recovery program and enterprise development for the endemic palm species Carpoylon macrospermum; and upon producing a report on viable alternative ways of handling waste lubricating oil in Vanuatu. Lolihor: A program to (re)introduce acid resistant varieties of wild yams into the dark bush on the upper slopes of Lolihor is progressing with 3000 kgs. of seed tubers sown by approximately 100 participating farmers. In August, PEP signed an agreement with Vanuatu's Farm Support Association (FSA) to eskiblish several demonstration or "wuhuran" farms to demonstrate technicues for site-stable agriculture. The objective of this program is to introduce practices to increase the productivity of existing gardens. Workshops conducted by PEP's Environmental Education Specialist reinforce this prograiu. Community monitoring of the effect of community activities was 2 encouraged through the design of two surveys which were conducted by the local school. These gathered information on people's current practices with regard to clearing bush for gardens and their attitudes towards land conservation. Following a positive report from PEP's tourism consultant and support from the people of Lolihor, a five day trek from Lolihor to Ambrym's volcanos, across the ash plain and back to the airport in N. Ambrym was designed. To prepare the community to understand and meet the expectations of tourists, two workshops were held to train guides. A food pieparation workshop was conducted to teach Lolihor cooks to prepare nutritiorial menus using local foods with greater appeal to tourists. With the cooperation of the Red Cross o( Vanuatu, a five day first aid workshop was organized for tour guides. Nvo trial treks were run under the superision of the consultant followed by more training to correct deficiencies. Subsequently, several treks were conducted by the inembers of the tourism project with no PE . staff assistance. Tourists universally report that the experience was enjoyable, but uneven. It is clear that people involved in the tour have the skills bi A do not always einploy them. In par;ffell with the advancement of specific intervcnLions, community development activities have been facilitated throughout the year. Lolihor-based PEP staff hve worked with the UNDP's Equitable and Sustainable Human Qevelo ine i-t Programme (ESI-IDP). a th-j-e -11-ram-toat p-o -b l iate-­ their rces- c--teninearidprioritizc their needs, and develo-i a program to meet these needs. To facilitate the establishment of a commiunity wide­ group to assurne responsibility for management of development activities, FSP's Community Dcv,lopment Specialist visited Lolihor where he consulted with leaders of the sLx villages within the EMU. The result of this effort was the establishment of the Lolihor Development Council (LDC) in Janu-ary 1994. This body meets regularly and has assumed the lead in providing guidance for development activities within the community. Early in the year, PEP staff assisted in the formation of the Wuhuran Theatre Group, a community theatre troupe serving as a vehicle to heighten awareness of social and conservation issues, and to provide education relative to these matters. In January, Wuhuran attended a workshop conducted by Vanuatu's profession troupe, Wan Stool Bag. The group has given numerous performances in Lolihor, and has )rovcn to be effective in promoting conmunity development activities. 3 Hog Harbour. Santo: Marine Conservation Specialist Anita Van Breda joined PEP in January, establishing residence and an office in Santo, where she will provide onsite direction of the Hog Harbour intervention. Environmental Education Assistant Donna Kalfatak, also based in Santo. augmented the PEP staff in May. The initial emphasis Hog Harbour has been to assure that activity is community based, and that social and economic factors are considered in formulating a PEP's goals. Ongoing liaison with the Local Government Council, Hog Harbour village leaders and all other stakeholders has been maintained. With the support of Clark University consultants, PEP expanded its knowledge of the conmunity through conduct of a joint Participatory Rural Appraisal training exercise that produced a village action plan to serve as a guide for PEP activities. Acquisition of base line ecological data has included a marine resource assessment by a University of the S. Pacific marine scientist