https://fiji.wcs.org RSS feeds for WCS Fiji 60 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/24225/Coral-Reef-Rescue-National-Hub-Launch.aspx#Comments 0 https://fiji.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=20413&ModuleID=42303&ArticleID=24225 https://fiji.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=24225&PortalID=82&TabID=20413 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/24225/Coral-Reef-Rescue-National-Hub-Launch.aspx Fiji Launches Fiji National Hub for Coral Reef Conservation On 21 June, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), took a significant step forward in safeguarding the country's coral reefs with the official launch of the Fiji National Hub for Coral Reef Conservation or NHCRC. The event was held at the Peninsula International Hotel in Suva. Fiji boasts a wide variety of coral reef systems – including fringing, platform, pinnacles, submerged, barrier, oceanic ribbon, atolls, near-atoll, and drowned reefs covering 4,550 km2. These reefs are vital for underpinning food security and our economy – supporting both inshore fisheries and tourism. Fiji's reefs teem with life, with over 1075 species of fish calling them home. Despite their importance, these ecosystems face constant threats from climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Dr. Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, who officially launched the NHCRC, emphasized the urgent need for coordinated and comprehensive action to protect these vulnerable ecosystems. "The NHCRC represents a dynamic ecosystem of collaboration, innovation, and knowledge-sharing that will guide conservation decisions across all levels," he stated. The hub will serve as a national coordination and advisory committee consisting of experts, decision-makers, and community representatives. Dr. Michael underscored the Hub's strategic alignment with Fiji's national strategies, including the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), National Ocean Policy (NOP) 2020-2030, and the National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan (NBSAP) 2020-2025. “The Fiji National Hub will play a crucial role in operationalizing these policies by facilitating knowledge exchange, building technical expertise, and supporting community-led adaptation initiatives," he explained. The NHCRC will be positioned under the National Ocean Policy Steering Committee (NOPSC) and report to the National Climate Change Coordination Committee (NCCCC). The NHCRC ensures seamless alignment with Fiji's national sustainability and climate action goals. This integrated approach ensures the Hub's activities are directly relevant to Fiji's broader development objectives. The launch event drew a diverse group of stakeholders representing various sectors. Community representatives shared their vision for the Hub as a tool for empowering local communities, emphasizing the importance of knowledge sharing, raising awareness, and providing guidance on effective management strategies. They advocated for inclusive governance that respects and integrates traditional knowledge. Dr. Michael stressed the importance of inclusivity, gender balance, and representation from diverse sectors in the Hub’s operations. "This is a Hub for all of Fiji. The Hub will comprise of representatives from every sector: CSOs, NGOs, academia, the private sector, government bodies, local communities, indigenous groups, and our international partners," he added. The NHCRC is an outcome of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Coral Reef Rescue (CRR) Project: Resilient Coral Reefs, Resilient Communities. The CRR project is aimed at strengthening capacity for the long-term survival of climate refuge coral reef ecosystems. By Neelam Bhan -ENDS-   admin_jpalmer Fri, 21 Jun 2024 03:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:24225 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/16057/Tropical-cyclone-Winston-damages-coral-reef-habitat-but-spares-most-fish-species.aspx#Comments 0 https://fiji.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=20413&ModuleID=42303&ArticleID=16057 https://fiji.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=16057&PortalID=82&TabID=20413 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/16057/Tropical-cyclone-Winston-damages-coral-reef-habitat-but-spares-most-fish-species.aspx Tropical cyclones are one of the most destructive natural disturbances to coral reef ecosystems. Severe cyclones can have serious implications for the food availability, security and income of coastal communities in tropical regions. A study titled “Responses of benthic habitat and fish to severe tropical cyclone Winston in Fiji” has revealed that despite the large amount of damage caused to corals, minimal impacts were observed on fish communities. The study by researchers from Curtin University, Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) appears in the latest edition of the journal Coral Reefs. Cyclones commonly occur throughout the tropical regions and have historically been a natural regulator for coral diversity on reef ecosystems. However, with climate change more cyclones are expected to reach the highest categories, which has the potential to cause greater damage to coral reef ecosystems, impacting coastal communities which rely on reef resources for food and livelihoods. Cyclone Winston passed through Fiji on the 20 February 2016 and at the time was one of the most severe and devasting cyclones to occur in the Southern Hemisphere. To find out the extent of damage caused by cyclone Winston coral reef surveys were done on reefs in Kubulau and Levuka districts in Fiji. Researchers used specialised underwater camera systems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGb_kfeGqI&ab_channel=MethodsEcolEvol) to count, measure and identify fish and coral communities after cyclone Winston and compare it to fish and coral data collected pre-cyclone.  Lead author Brae Price explains “The results showed that damage to coral communities was much worse in Levuka compared to Kubulau, due to cyclone generated waves being larger and lasting longer in Levuka. Waves in Levuka reached a massive 14.37 m and were greater than 9 m high for ~8 hours compared to 9.39 m which lasted for ~1 hour in Kubulau.”  He further added “Despite the severe damage to live coral, fish communities were not impacted heavily. Only corallivorous fish which rely on live coral for food showed some declines, and this was limited to survey sites where the most coral damage occurred. However, a number of the reefs we surveyed were relatively healthy, which may have buffered from the effects of the cyclones compared to other locations”.  Cyclones are unpredictable and devastating natural disturbances which makes it hard to predict where or how much damage a cyclone will cause. Through research on cyclones of different categories occurring in different areas, scientists are starting to unravel the true impacts that these disturbances are having on coral reef ecosystems.  WCS Fiji Country Director Dr Sangeeta Mangubhai added “we have managed to return to Kubulau in 2020 and are delighted to report that coral communities have bounced back in community tabu areas, like the Namena Marine Reserve, and were spared damage from the more recent 2020 Cyclone Yasa. The work by Brae is critical for us to understand the impacts to coral reef systems – it is important more than ever that we look after our coral reefs so that can resist or bounce back quickly from cyclones and other disturbances.”* * *  The authors of the study are: Brae Price, Euan Harvey and Benjamin Saunders of Curtin University, Sangeeta Mangubhai of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Maji Puotinen of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and Jordan Goetze of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.  This research was supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Curtin University, and funded by a National Geographic Society early career grant (Grant No. EC-183C-18) to the lead author. admin_jpalmer Thu, 15 Apr 2021 21:24:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:16057 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/15868/Women-must-be-counted.aspx#Comments 0 https://fiji.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=20413&ModuleID=42303&ArticleID=15868 https://fiji.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15868&PortalID=82&TabID=20413 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/15868/Women-must-be-counted.aspx -Study finds that counting women fishers’ contributions is critical to sustainable fisheries management -Addressing gaps in accounting on these contributions is crucial to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-A largely Fijian research team published core findings on women in fisheries in Fiji, within Ocean and Coastal Management Ocean and Coastal Management in Women’s History MonthWomen fishing. ©Sangeeta Mangubhai/WCS A new study highlights that women fishers’ contributions to small scale fisheries have been undercounted leading to uninformed small-scale fisheries (SSF) policies and management. Reversing these shortcomings will be crucial to meeting the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 14 (conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development) and Goal 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls).Publishing their results in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management, a largely Fijian research team of authors include: Alyssa Thomas, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Waisea Naisilisili, and Margaret Fox of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS); Semisi Meo of Conservation International; Katy Miller of the Vatuvara Foundation; Joeli Veitayaki of the University of the South Pacific, Alafua Campus; Salote Waqairatu of Conservation International and the University of the Sunshine Coast.The authors looked at the role of indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) women in small-scale fisheries. They found that women fishers provide critical contributions to their household food security via three pathways: (1) the direct nutritional value of fish; (2) increased purchasing power (and thus a source of income) from selling fish and invertebrates; and (3) an improved economic status.However, their substantial contributions from harvesting both fish and invertebrates are not included in most official statistics, and therefore are overlooked and continue to be invisible, ignored and unrecognized in fisheries management and policy development.According to the study’s second lead author Sangeeta Mangubhai of WCS: “Empowering women for full participation in fisheries and lifting them out of poverty requires a re-consideration of traditional gender norms in rural communities, which are already shifting and evolving. These changes can help ensure that women fishers and their contributions are visible, acknowledged and recognized.”The authors say that sustainable management of SSF will require the collection of sex-disaggregated data, in order for women's catches to be counted and included in all statistics. More information about the volume and sizes of fish and invertebrates harvested by the women would assist in the sustainable management of key species. Women fishers also need greater participation in management decisions and policies, especially for the habitats where they are the main users (e.g. mangroves and mudflats).Globally, women account for an annual catch of ~2.9 million tons of seafood a year and an estimated 2.1 million women participate in SSF. However, women fishers’ contributions to national economies have routinely been overlooked due to their dominance in the informal economy, which is normally unrecorded and missing from official statistics.The long-term sustainable management of fisheries is necessary for food security, livelihoods and poverty alleviation. admin_jpalmer Wed, 03 Mar 2021 23:32:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15868 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/15026/Research-Expedition-to-Assess-Coral-Reef-Health-and-Recovery-from-Tropical-Cyclone-Winston.aspx#Comments 0 https://fiji.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=20413&ModuleID=42303&ArticleID=15026 https://fiji.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15026&PortalID=82&TabID=20413 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/15026/Research-Expedition-to-Assess-Coral-Reef-Health-and-Recovery-from-Tropical-Cyclone-Winston.aspx A week long mission aboard the Nai’a Fiji Cruises to survey coral reef ecosystems in the Namena Marine Reserve and Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park. A recent expedition to Fiji’s largest two community protected areas, Namena Marine Reserve (88 km2) and Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park (110.5 km2), shows that they are making an incredible recovery from the impact of a tropical cyclone in 2016.                    Coral recruits ©Tom Vierus/WCSThe Namena Marine Reserve and Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park are exceptional places, as they cover full reef ecosystems including small islands, passages, deep reefs and ocean and shallow reefs and slopes. Collectively, both make up almost 80 percent of the area in Fiji protected by local communities in partnership with the tourism industry, and supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Fiji Country Program (WCS Fiji). On 21 September 2020, a team of 10 Fiji-based marine scientists, led by WCS Fiji, set sail for a five-day expedition to assess the overall health of coral reefs. The team assessed 28 sites in and around the two marine parks, as well as within and adjacent to a number of tabu areas closer to villages that have been established by communities for food security and local livelihoods.                    Team of marine scientists pose for a photo underwater.  ©Tom Vierus/WCS The focus of the expedition was to record any changes to the reefs since arrival of Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston in February 2016. The cyclone’s 233 kilometer per hour winds and storm-surge induced waves damaged the two reef systems and communities that depend on them for food and livelihoods. The reefs surveyed during the recent 2020 expedition were then compared with rapid assessments that WCS Fiji scientists conducted shortly after the cyclone in 2016. WCS Fiji Country Program Director and expedition leader Dr. Sangeeta Mangubhai said, “We saw large areas of reef covered by branching corals all roughly the same size and likely to be around four years in age. These new corals are covering surfaces and are providing new habitat for fish.” Yashika Nand, the WCS Fiji Science Coordinator, explained, “This new coral re-growth shows how quickly many of the reefs have healed since 2016 when we recorded extensive coral breakage, coral abrasion, overturned coral colonies, structural damage to the reef framework and high sedimentation.” Though she noted that other reef areas that were flattened to rubble fields will take much longer to recover.                     WCS marine scientist Yashika Nand surveys the health of corals. ©Tom Vierus/WCS  WCS Melanesia Director, Dr. Stacy Jupiter, said, “At a period in history where every day we are seeing bad news in the papers and on television, this is a good news story. Our Fiji reefs are showing that they are stronger than Winston. That said, it is important not to take reef management for granted, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, as such areas need continuing protection to encourage their recovery.” WCS Fiji has been monitoring the Namena Marine Reserve since 2009 and the Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park since 2013. The results of the expedition will be shared with the Kubulau Resource Management Committee and the Vatu-i-Ra Management Committee that oversee the management of these two areas. The data from this work will help policy-makers and local resource managers to make informed decisions about the sustainable use and management of coral reefs in Fiji.                         admin_jpalmer Thu, 08 Oct 2020 02:50:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15026 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/14211/Strong-sharing-networks-can-help-communities-rebound-from-crises.aspx#Comments 0 https://fiji.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=20413&ModuleID=42303&ArticleID=14211 https://fiji.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=14211&PortalID=82&TabID=20413 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/14211/Strong-sharing-networks-can-help-communities-rebound-from-crises.aspx Of the top five countries in the world most at risk to disasters, three are Pacific Island nations. Yet, Pacific Islanders time and again exhibit marked abilities to quickly recover. Part of the reason may be due to strong social networks that help to distribute resources to those most in need. A new study published in the journal Coastal Management by researchers from the University of Hawaiʿi, National Geographic Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society has found that sharing is stronger in more remote communities in Fiji. These communities were also associated with greater levels of fishing. By contrast, communities on the main island, with greater infrastructure and markets, had more fractured social networks and were more likely to share cash and purchased goods than natural resources.Fishermen with their fishing gears. ©Emily Darling  Says Dr. Rachel Dacks, lead author of the study, “One important finding was that use of gillnets and spearfishing at night were the two fishing practices most associated with sharing marine resources. These practices have the potential to bring in large volumes of catch very efficiently, which enables the sharing practices that bring Pacific Island communities together. However, excessive use of these gears is causing concern for coral reef fish populations due to overexploitation and habitat damage.” These results are timely given that many Pacific Island nations, including Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Tonga, have just been hit by a double-whammy of severe economic shocks brought on by national restrictions associated with COVID-19 and then large-scale destruction from the late season, category five Tropical Cyclone Harold. “We are already hearing anecdotal reports of poaching within nationally recognized marine protected areas and lifting of local management rules in customary fishing grounds that were put in place to improve sustainability of fish stocks,” reports Dr. Stacy Jupiter, Melanesia Regional Director with the Wildlife Conservation Society, based in Fiji. “With few other alternatives, people are harvesting what they can from the reef and sharing it with their family and neighbours, as is custom, to ensure community survival.”        Fishers prepare for fishing. ©Rachel Dacks  So, what does this mean for community and coral reef resilience in the face of such turbulent times?Dr. Alan Friedlander, Chief Scientist for National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Project, explains, “In the short-term, harvest and distribution of fisheries resources is going to be essential to enable people who have lost their homes and jobs to survive, and this needs to be a priority. However, getting information out to communities to fish sustainably and avoid using small-mesh gillnets and target larger reproductively mature fishes will be key to ensure that the current fishing free-for-all does not do irreversible harm to fish populations, which ultimately would will leave people hungry in the future.” The authors of the study are: Rachel Dacks and Tamara Ticktin of University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, Stacy Jupiter of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Alan Friedlander of the National Geographic Society. This study was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation and a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Research Award to the lead author. admin_jpalmer Sun, 17 May 2020 23:30:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:14211 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/13161/Besides-Hot-Water-Coral-Bleaching-Also-About-Location-Location-Location.aspx#Comments 0 https://fiji.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=20413&ModuleID=42303&ArticleID=13161 https://fiji.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=13161&PortalID=82&TabID=20413 https://fiji.wcs.org/News-Room/ID/13161/Besides-Hot-Water-Coral-Bleaching-Also-About-Location-Location-Location.aspx As conservationists grapple with unprecedented levels of coral reef bleaching in the world’s warming oceans, scientists in the Indian and Pacific Oceans used the most recent El Nino of 2016 (the warmest year on record) to evaluate the role of excess heat as the leading driver of coral bleaching. A study titled “Temperature patterns and mechanisms influencing coral bleaching during the 2016 El Niño” has revealed that coral bleaching is not only a result of heat stress but a variety of stressors, which varies between geographies. The study which was led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) appears in the latest edition of Nature Climate Change. Coral bleaching generally occurs when corals expel their algae (found within their tissues) when under stress from water temperatures significantly above normal. Reefs closer to the warmer equator have also bleached more in the past and expected to degrade further in 2016. To find out the extent of bleaching during the 2014-2016 El Nino, 226 sites were assessed from Fiji to East Africa. The study found that different geographic regions responded differently to warm water temperatures, with some reefs suffering bleaching levels of up to 60 percent and others surviving with no impact. The results suggest that coral responses to global climate change may be changing as corals have different past experiences and tolerances to heat and stress. To determine what other mechanisms lead to coral bleaching, the study evaluated 26 variables and more than 2000 models that were solved by a supercomputer to test the effects of factors such as thermal exposure, depth, habitat, coral community composition, and the types of management used in reef systems. In terms of geography, the researchers found that bleaching depended greatly on where the corals lived along the longitudinal gradient from East Africa to Fiji, with the strongest bleaching observed in East Africa. Consequently, some regions, it seems, will be affected earliest and worse than other regions. Examining seawater temperatures 90 days before the bleaching, the researchers found that the best predictors of coral bleaching were highest average temperatures, how long cool water endured prior to peak temperatures, and the existence of two peaks in temperature. However, this depended on where the reefs were located, and Fiji and Indonesia’s reefs were less stressed than those in East Africa. “We know that the Earth’s systems’ responses to climate change are not always straightforward,” said Dr. Stacy Jupiter, WCS Melanesia Regional Director. “These new findings help us untangle some of that complexity so that we can design more effective management to protect coral reefs.” The widespread coral bleaching in the Indo-Pacific during the most recent El Niño event (2014-2017) was the latest in a series of thermal stresses to impact corals in the region, preceded by events in 1983, 1988, 1998, 2005, 2010, and 2013. The year 2016 brought about the most severe bleaching episodes, including extensive mortality in the Great Barrier Reef. “The study findings give us hope because Fijian reefs fared better than those in other parts of the world,” said Dr. Sangeeta Mangubhai, WCS Fiji Country Director. “But this does not mean we become complacent. To ensure our reefs have the best chance against future climate change induced bleaching events, we need to make sure that growing human threats such as land based sources of pollution and overfishing are addressed. So let’s all continue to do our part to keep Fiji’s coral reefs as healthy and productive as possible, to give them a fighting chance against climate change.” The paper is available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0576-8 The authors of the study are: Tim R. McClanahan; Emily S. Darling; Joseph M. Maina; Nyawira A. Muthiga; Stéphanie D’agata; Stacy D. Jupiter; Rohan Arthur; Shaun K. Wilson; Sangeeta Mangubhai; Yashika Nand; Ali M. Ussi; Austin T. Humphries; Vardhan J. Patankar; Mireille M.M. Guillaume; Sally A. Keith; George Shedrawi; Pagu Julius; Gabriel Grimsditch; January Ndagala; and Julien Leblond.   admin_jpalmer Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:23:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:13161