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A Culture of Conservation in Fiji

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A Culture of Conservation in Fiji Fiji’s coastal ecosystems boast some of the highest biodiversity in the world. Three men went out fishing one night in Fiji; two returned. They A CULTURE OF had been heading to Cakaulevu, the third-longest reef system in the world. Known as the Great Sea Reef, its ecosystem teemed with sharks, CONSERVATION fish, and turtles. But the men’s boat sprung a leak and capsized. That April night in 2013, the third man IN FIJI tragically died in the waters of Macuata province, the territory for Fijian villages, nonprofits and government which he served as tribal chief. Aisea Katonivere was 57 years old. officials have built a lasting movement to protect During three days of funeral rites, ecosystems and fisheries across their archipelago. men in traditional dress stood guard with Fijian war axes as mourners Now, as two decades of support for that effort by brought traditional colored mats, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation comes pigs, fish, and turtles to Katonivere’s village of Naduri. The nation’s prime to an end, the community looks back at its minister and military leaders gath- accomplishments — and ahead to the ered along with hundreds from the conservation challenges that loom. province’s roughly 100 villages and beyond. Days later, Katonivere’s By Eli Kintisch Fiji Profile 1 mourning brother Wiliame was monitor and defend the nation’s coastal fisheries and biodiversity. named as the provincial Tui, or chief. coastlines and biodiversity. But Fiji’s Agencies responsible for that task At the ceremony for his selection as local leaders like Wiliame have just are underfunded compared to chief, Wiliame spoke humbly. “Lord as much influence, if not more. They higher priorities like economic make me an instrument of your exert local control over fishing in development. desire,” he told a reporter. Inside, Fiji’s traditional fishing areas, or he felt shock and the weight of qoliqoli (pronounced “nghol-ee To improve its conservation gover- expectations given the wide respect ngohl-ee”). In that role, they oversee nance, can Fiji make partnerships Aisea had enjoyed. “I never had the applications for fishing licenses, work between local and national, slightest idea I would be here,” he determine where and when fishing traditional and modern? How should said. Suddenly, 70,000 residents is allowed, and coordinate volunteer this rapidly developing island were relying on him to lead. fish wardens to monitor the qoliqoli nation of more than 900,000 people For Fiji’s conservation community, and fight poaching. protect its ecosystems while growing the transition to a new chief pro- its economy? And what is the role of voked particular anxiety. Known The task of balancing these two the civic sector, and its international as the “fish basket of Fiji,” Macuata forms of control over land and funders, in that effort? provides around 60 percent of the coastline lies at the core of Fiji’s For two decades, these questions seafood consumed in the South Pa- conservation challenge. “The have faced both Fijian coastal com- cific nation, whose habitats feature local communities and the govern- munities and the international con- some of the greatest marine biodi- ment have to work together to servation groups that have sought to versity in the world. It’s a fish basket make progress on restoring our protect the nation’s threatened reefs. in decline: a survey of Cakaulevu Since 1998, the Packard Founda- in 2004 found commercial fish tion has given roughly $12 million species in “very low numbers to conservation efforts in Fiji. Most and small sizes,”1 echoing stud- Macuata provides around 60 percent of that funding has supported the ies across Fiji that have identi- of the seafood consumed in the nonprofit organizations, described fied coastal ecosystems at risk. in this article, who have sought Over his 12 years as chief, Aisea South Pacific nation, whose habitats over the last 20 years to work at had sought to safeguard that feature some of the greatest marine various levels of governance to biodiversity against overfishing, sustain coastal ecosystems. But earning a reputation as a “great biodiversity in the world. in 2020, the Foundation’s fund- conservation partner,” as the ing to Fiji will end, providing an World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) ecosystems,” says Kiniviliame opportunity now to evaluate how called him. Ravonoloa, a community represen- tative in a Fijian village called Votua. the conservation community there Would Wiliame forge his own repu- has evolved over two decades of tation as a protector of Macuata’s “The two systems are very comple- philanthropy. (This article, funded by natural richness? The question mentary,” says James Sloan, an the Foundation, is part of that evalu- mattered because of Fiji’s evolving attorney in Fiji whose law firm has ation.) environmental governance system. received grants from the David In recent years, Fiji has emerged That arrangement, which has its and Lucile Packard Foundation, a as a global conservation leader, roots in agreements and laws made California-based philanthropy. “But influencing its regional neighbors, before and during British colonial at the moment, they’re not aligned.” winning international acclaim, and- rule, balances local and national Fiji’s conservation system is not yet showing leadership on major issues government control of natural ready to meet the country’s mod- like climate change. But at home, it resources. It links decisions made ern challenges. Local communities, faces a mounting set of threats to its in Suva, the island nation’s capital, whose conservation efforts have conservation goals. Communities with its 1,200 villages, led by Fijian been funded through philanthropi- have steadily increased their reliance chiefs like Wiliame. The national cally supported nonprofits, have on fish not only for food but as a government’s Fisheries and Justice struggled to protect dwindling cash source for daily needs like cloth- ministries are legally responsible for resources as the nation’s population ing, medical costs, and education. executing the country’s laws relating and economy have grown. The to fishing and conservation. Their national government has only A growing population’s appetite for police and fish wardens are spread recently emphasized protecting fish, an expanding tourist economy, out over the sprawling archipelago, empowered by national law to 1 Jenkins, A., H. Sykes, P. Skelton, M. Fiu and E. Lovell. “Fiji’s Great Sea Reef: the first marine biodiversity survey of Cakaulevu and associated coastal habitats.” 2005. JUNE 2019 2 and natural resource exports to Asia all contribute to overfishing, while pollution and climate change put ad- ditional stress on reefs. “Sometimes I think what I’ve been doing the last couple [years] is actually futile,” says Kesaia Marama Tabunakawai, a longtime conservationist in Fiji who serves as Pacific Representative for WWF, a key Foundation partner there. She’s not ready to give up on the country’s rich biodiversity, she says, but the environmental threats Fiji faces can feel overwhelming. “I tend to still carry out the sense of plentiful, but I know that’s not the situation.” The challenges that Wiliame Katoni- vere must confront are a microcosm of the larger issues at play in rapidly growing Fiji. So as the chief consid- ered his stance, all eyes among Fiji’s conservationists were on Macuata. Given the low income of his citizens, it’s understandable that Katonivere’s Photo: © Laniana Dibe courtesy of James Sloan early moves focused on improving the economy of his region, populated Fishers like Laniana Dibe can provide food and some income for their families by catching mud crabs. largely by subsistence fishers and farmers. “My first focus is develop- dynamic relationship that coastal with a metallic twang, a silvery bar- ment,” he said after taking over. That villages in Fiji have with the sea. The racuda is trapped, flopping around included jobs, building educational sunlight sparkles off the waves as we helplessly. Laniana Dibe, meanwhile, facilities, and, in the coastal realm, approach the reef, which lies a few enters the mangrove thicket and developing more facilities like ice miles from the coconut trees that begins climbing over one low branch plants that would encourage more line Macuata’s shore here. Wearing a after another until she spots a distur- fishing as opposed to less. “When snorkel and mask, Laitia Tamata Jr., bance in the wet sand. With a knife, he took the job he had a number with WWF, inspects the reef in a se- she extracts a bakera, or mud crab, of competing priorities,” says Sandy ries of dives. Lifeless white corals dot from the muck and binds the crab’s Thompson, whose organization, the seascape, evidence of a bleach- arms with bark peeled from a tree. the LEAD Centre for Not for Profit ing event probably caused by recent She stores it in her long red tradi- Leadership, has conducted leader- typhoons, which dump hot water on tional skirt, called a sulu, folded into ship training in Fiji, funded by the Fiji’s shores. Tamata grew up see- a basket. If she doesn’t feed them to Foundation. On conservation, in ing teeming, frenzied sea life in Fiji’s her family, the crabs will fetch about contrast to his brother, he was cir- coastal waters. Once topside, he $10 per kilogram. Locals and tourists cumspect, leading Fiji’s conservation shakes his head. “The reef is in trou- alike enjoy this species in spicy community to wonder whether they ble,” he says. Josateki Manatua, from curries in the closest city, Labasa. would have a partner in the new nearby Raviravi village, remembers The group gathers in a clearing within Tui Macuata. when big fish used to come right to the beach.
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