(March 18, 2021) On 17 March 2021, the Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Program (WCS Fiji) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture to collectively advance and promote the sustainable agricultural practices and wise land-use planning as integral components of social and economic development in Fiji. The agreement was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ritesh Dass and the WCS Fiji Country Program Director Dr Sangeeta Mangubhai at the Ministry o...

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(February 03, 2021) Access to clean drinking water is critical to public health. Natural disasters such as flooding and cyclones often reduce the ​quality of drinking water. Heavy rain and flooding can cause contamination of water from livestock waste, human sewage, harmful chemicals and fertilisers. Once contaminated, drinking water can become a hazard to human health and efficiently transmit deadly waterborne diseases such as typhoid fever and leptospirosis, and also cause diarrhea. Standing water that ...

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(February 01, 2021) A newly constructed dam in Bureta District in Ovalau Island in the Province of Lomaiviti will improve the quality and supply of water for at least 350 people. The new dam will serve fresh water to three villages, a settlement, the Bureta Airstrip, the local health center and a primary school. For past three years, the water supplied from an existing old dam that served the villages through the reservoir was insufficient. This was mainly due to a leakage in the dam and the use of single distribut...

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(February 01, 2021) The repairing of a borehole in Tavulomo Village in the district of Dama in Bua Province has brought water to more than 180 people. In April 2020, the solar pump was damaged and stopped delivering water from the borehole to the 37 households in Tavulomo Village. Since then, the villages relied on the limited and restricted water supply from the neighbouring village in the district.In November, the villagers with support from the Watershed Interventions for Systems Health in Fiji (WISH Fiji) proje...

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(September 03, 2020) The sea cucumber fishery is an important source of income for the people of Natuvu village in the District of Wailevu in Cakaudrove Province on Vanua Levu. Of the 30 sea cucumber species present in Fiji, 14 are most valuable to the fishers of Natuvu. However, the rapidly declining fishery and its inconsistent prices have concerned the villagers over time. Therefore, to ensure the continuity of their livelihood for generations, the people of Natuvu village have committed to putting the right man...

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(July 30, 2020) Four staff with the Watershed Interventions for Systems Health in Fiji (WISH Fiji) project are among the pioneers to undertake a Higher Education Degree by Research (HDR) at the Fiji National University (FNU). FNU’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) officially launched its HDR programme in July this year. As part of the capacity building and development program, the staff are awarded the scholarship through WISH Fiji project funded by Australian Government Departme...

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(May 28, 2020) The staff of Watershed Interventions for Systems Health in Fiji (WISH Fiji) project joined the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MoHMS) to clean the premises of St. Giles Hospital in Reservoir Road, Suva, yesterday.                                                                               ...

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(March 11, 2020) Outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as dengue fever, typhoid and leptospirosis are common in Fiji. Since 2005, there has been at least 20 reported cases of typhoid, a 27,000 case dengue outbreak between 2013 to 2014 and a three-fold increase in leptospirosis cases since Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016. The Watershed Interventions for System Health in Fiji (WISH Fiji) project is helping to better understand drivers of these diseases within Fiji’s watersheds, and working with local commun...

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(March 09, 2020) Women play a myriad of roles on a daily basis, taking care of family, performing domestic duties, financially and emotionally supporting the household, contributing to professional sectors, building community and supporting the national economy.  In Fiji, women in coastal communities have engaged in the fisheries sector for decades. Their contributions towards household and economy, however, have often been undervalued. A national report on ‘The critical contribution of women fis...

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(November 20, 2019) “There is a growing interest in ensuring that the approaches used in fisheries and conservation, incorporate gender equity and social inclusion to ensure outcomes are fair, just and sustainable.” Speaking as a panelist at a Session at the 2019 FAO International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability in Rome, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Fiji Country Program Director, Dr. Sangeeta Mangubhai shared her views on how gender and social inclusion could enhance food security and biodiv...

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