In the news

Wildlife Conservation Society Melanesia is carrying out a gender risk assessment work with communities in the Solomon Islands, as part of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (#FPIC) process of the regional Kiwa WISH+ project. 

This process is part of a global Environmental and Social Impact Assessment to develop gender-sensitive risk monitoring indicators for the project.

The Gender Risk Assessment was enabled thanks to the collaboration of the Kiwa Wish+ partners, The University of Queensland and the University of Sydney.

On Saturday July 1, an eco-citizen worksite in Bourail, New Caledonia, enabled to plant the first 870 trees on the banks of the Néra river. More than 15,000 additional trees will be planted over the next 2 years.

This planting project is helping to develop coastal ecosystems and watersheds, in the sensitive Néra catchment area (Bourail), so that they are more resilient to the global pressures of climate change. This will preserve access to natural resources, contribute to food security and maintain the activities of the Caledonians who depend on them (fishermen, farmers, surrounding communities, etc.).

Well done to all those who took part in this first planting for the benefit of people and nature!

On June 29, Forest Restoration Awareness Day, the Samoa Conservation Society commemorated its tenth anniversary!

For this occasion, the group went to the Togitogiga Nursery, which is used for seedling collection and propagation. Collectively, about 500 Samoan native plants were planted and a trip around the park's coastal path, stopping along the way to view and learn about the many native plants and wildlife.

What were the goals for the day?
- Increase public understanding of the #OLPPNP, forest restoration, and risks to it, particularly invasive species and climate change.

- Inform students in the neighborhood schools on the significance of Samoa's ecology, biodiversity, and geology in the #OLPPNP.

- Encourage awareness of the effects of climate change and ways to lessen risk and vulnerability to it.

- Identify the main sources of emissions in supply chains so that the appropriate parties are aware and may take appropriate action to minimize emissions.

The World Oceans Day was a great opportunity for Sharon Truce, the marine program coordinator, to give us some news of the project.
 
Did you know? Sea cucumbers are a vital component of the ocean ecosystem, providing food for many species, and also a natural vacuum cleaner that keeps the sea floor clean. The Ebiil Society works closely with women and young women from their community, in this restoration work, by ensuring their growing stocks for future generations.

Watch the last updates of the project in this video: https://lnkd.in/eMn2Dhdz: https://lnkd.in/eMn2Dhdz

A two-day Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (#GESI) Workshop was facilitated for twenty-two participants of the Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji and Papua New Guinea programs as well as a partner organisation to equip them with knowledge and skills to implement gender sensitive approaches through Kiwa WISH+ and other projects.

WCS-Fiji Country Director, Paul van Nimwegen said that the workshop was facilitated by GESI Consultant, Ms Anna Cowley who shared her wealth of experience and technical expertise in the area of mainstreaming GESI through awareness and dialogue as foundations for social change.

“Twenty two participants from WCS Fiji, the Fiji National University as well as our colleagues from the WCS Papua New Guinea program are now more aware of gender equity and social inclusion principles in their line of work and will be able to ensure that marginalised groups, including women, children, elderly and persons with disability are not exposed to additional vulnerabilities,” he said. “The interactive space created through the workshop encouraged the team to engage in dialogue and reflect on their experiences in the field,” said van Nimwegen.

“These skills will be useful for the work that WCS Fiji does such as carrying out GESI analysis for beneficiary communities which are critical in addressing equity and inclusion issues in order to ensure that resource management plans are effective and fair for all,” he said.

On May 24, 2023, staff from the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort contributed to the protection of the dunes at the National Park. 

It gave the national park ranger team an opportunity to celebrate (belatedly) International Day of Biodiversity and introduce the project to a new public. 

The Outrigger team and a few of their guests joined the ranger team to contribute to the protection of the sand dunes, by fortifying the park’s new firebreak through the planting of a fire-resistant tree species. This is part of biodiversity conservation and critical to the protection of the park. Together, the team Outrigger and the ranger team planted 75 teak saplings along the park’s Cece Gully. These saplings will complement the role of the firebreak once they reach a good height and help stop the spread of fires into the park. Fire to date is still one of the biggest threats to the National Park.

The Cece Gully is also the site for the agroforestry component of the park’s project, where planting of fruit trees has already begun. This site is part of the resilience building, in terms of food security for the nearby community. Having a good firebreak around the perimeter of this gully is so critical. We are hoping that in two years’ time, this gully will be populated with many fruit trees beneficial to the park’s wildlife and the community.

The Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park hosted the Park’s Heritage In Young Hands Program. The program has been resumed thanks to the great support from the Shangrila’s Yanuca Island, Fiji, the #KiwaInitiative and the National Trust of Fiji.

The program kickstarted with its first 3-day EcoCamp that was held from 9-11 May. 31 students from the Sigatoka region participated in the EcoCamp, which took them on an exploratory environmental education journey. They learned about heritage conservation, civic pride, stewardship, activism and volunteerism. The national park and the broader Sigatoka region, became an outdoor learning classroom.

The children enjoyed the program and took home with them many important eco-lessons to share with family and friends. This is the start of a five-year program "Heritage In Young Hands".

The next EcoCamp will take place during the Term 2 holidays.

On May 15th, the Kiwa Initiative donors representatives of France, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand with PICT representatives from Micronesia and Melanesia, and its partners SPC, SPREP, IUCN, went to Raviravi village, Macuata, Vanua Levu (Fiji).The delegation visited the Kiwa local project "Restoring mangroves for livelihoods in Fiji".

This project aims to develop mangrove rehabilitation and protection as an effective #NbS to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The field mission allows the donors and communities to meet and underlign the importance of mangrove forests rehabilitation and protection, as well as Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) as an effective NbS to address the the challenges of climate change in the area.

We warmly thank the communities for their involvment and warm welcome, Community Centred Conservation (C3) overseeing the project, and IUCN, managing Kiwa Initiative local projects among the Pacific Islands countries.

Dr Alice Latinne, the WISH+ regional project coordinator, is currently working with the WCS PNG field team based on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea. Her role is to develop the #KiwaInitiative WISH+ work plan and assist the team with site selection and field activities on the island.

This Mother Earth Day the Pacific Organic Learning Farms Network POLFN in Fiji, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Tonga urge farmers in the Pacific to be mindful of what they put into their soil.

Organic farming practices discourage burning and promote the return of plant residues to the soil, which helps to feed soil organisms and create Soil Organic Matter (SOM). SOM increases the soil's capacity to store nutrients and improves soil physical properties such as structure, permeability, moisture holding and drainage, and aeration, which are important for plant growth.

Feeding activities of larger soil organisms such as earthworms help to re-distribute organic residues in the soil through their channelling activities as well as increase aeration and drainage through their burrowing activities.Organic farming practices such as retaining residues, just like in a natural forest, helps to activate soil organisms and their interactions, which enhance soil processes that maintain or restore soil productivity. 

 Blue Ventures Timor-Leste, together with Konservasaun Flora no Fauna, have been collecting significant hours of seagrass data in Hera and Atauro using the Remote Underwater Video (RUV) and the Seagrass Watch method with the help from Project Seagrass.

The results will be shared with the communities once the data analysis and interpretation are completed.

: Photo Credits: Alex Bartlett, Ryan Lewis, Nick Poole

Mrs. Sashi Kiran, Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation in the Fijian Government at the National Federation Party in Fiji visited the Organic Learning Farm in Tonga. 

Drew Havea, board member of POETCOM has been providing guidance to the project, aiming at training women and youth in sustainable organic food systems to improve nutrition diversity.

To wrap up the presentation of the WISH+ "Watershed Interventions for Systems Health Plus", Integrated Watershed Management in Melanesia for Biodiversity, Climate Resilience and Community Health Benefits, team members, watch this video to learn more about the project's Regional Coordinator

Alice Latinne works closely with teams on the ground in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to facilitate the implementation of all project activities.

On this International Day of Forests, the Kiwa #POLFN regional project participated in an event organized in Fiji to promote #Agroforestry.

This practice, that combines trees, crops and/or animals on the same agricultural plot and allows a better use of resources and greater biological diversity, is one of technologies that the farms selected in the POLFN project will use in #Fiji, #Nauru, #Tonga and the #Solomon islands."

Organic agriculture can contribute to the health of trees by promoting soil health and biodiversity, reducing the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides, and enhancing nutrient cycling.Trees rely on healthy soil to grow and thrive, and organic agriculture practices focus on building soil health by using natural soil amendments such as compost and cover crops. These practices can improve soil structure, water retention, and nutrient availability, which can promote healthy tree growth and reduce the risk of diseases and pests."

Credit: Pacific Community

In Palau, the Kiwa Initiative is supporting a project to #restore the wild stock of sea cucumbers that includes improving nursing. Margie Olsudong and other women in her community are working with the @Ebiil Society NGO to increase knowledge and use of sustainable harvesting practices.

A source of economic income for the fisherwomen, sea cucumbers are also a valuable food resource that can help families in times of emergency, such as after a natural disaster like a cyclone, when crops are damaged. In addition, the sea cucumber plays a vital role in the maintenance of the sea bed by sucking up and filtering sediments, which improves the quality of the water and helps to restore the biodiversity of the environment.

Discover in this video the transect* method used by Maguy to count the number of sea cucumbers and evaluate their stock!

*Transect: a tool for representing space along an imaginary line that allows observation of the field, without a map or plan

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Pacific-Community-SPC are hosting a #side-event on agroecological transition on March 8 during #PAWF Pacific Week of Agriculture in Fiji.

Timoci Nakavelu, the project manager of our regional Kiwa #POLFN project, will speak about the exchange of experiences with the PROTEGE project as a concrete illustration of regional #cooperation, and present the implementation of a network of #agroecological demonstration farms in the ##Pacific region.

[Component 3: Develop knowledge sharing to initiate regional replication of innovations] 

Throughout the implementation of the project, the WISH+ team will share its approaches, data, and learnings through various communication channels to encourage replication by others in the Pacific.

For instance, the WISH+ team will:

1. Provide opportunities to disseminate lessons learned from this project within the region and globally, including through hosting the second Oceania Planetary Health Forum.

2. Engage in regional and global policy dialogues to work towards embedding the language of systems health approaches into agreements that influence resourcing for #NbS.

3. Facilitate meetings of the National Advisory Groups (NAGs) and cross-sectoral coordinating committees for the project.

4. Host webinar and podcast series to promote systems health approaches that use NbS and improvements to water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure to achieve co-benefits for biodiversity, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and human well-being. 

Through a two-day workshop held at the national park office in Sigatoka, discussions were to help promote and build coastal resilience, forest restoration, and invasive management actions, with the relevant stakeholders.

“The workshop connects us to the community strongly because it enables us mitigate the impacts of climate change on the dunes and work in unity with the community towards the fight against climate change,” Mr Tutani said.

Read the full article: https://fijisun.com.fj/2023/01/22/protect-and-preserve-sigatoka-sand-dunes/

Nicolas Rocle, Coastal and marine specialist at SPREP, is explaining the objectives of the Kiwa Initiative’s PEBACC+ regional project.

Watch his interview: Meet Nicolas Rocle, PEBACC + project leader ! - YouTube

WISH+ Component 2: Create opportunities for scaling up and sustaining funding for Integrated Watershed Management

The WISH+ project team will develop decision support tools** aimed at identifying priorities for investment in Nature-based Solutions (NbS), as well as financing mechanisms to support their long-term implementation in Melanesian countries.

The aim is to provide guidance to the governments and landowners on optimal locations to invest in #NbS and other watershed interventions, as well as what types of actions work best in different contexts to achieve outcomes for biodiversity, climate, health & well-being.

**Examples:

- Maps of watersheds that are high risk for downstream impact to human and environmental health.

- Easy-to-use interactive tools that will allow decision-makers to identify the most appropriate watershed actions given local conditions.

The following solutions will be implemented:

#1 Planning support

- Engage local end-users to contribute to the development of models to identify high risk watersheds.

- Provide training to national and provincial government staff on how to use risk maps and interactive tools to prioritize watershed management action.

#2 Sustainable financing vehicle development

- Build the business case for investing in integrated watershed management to avert future healthcare and environmental rehabilitation costs.

- Develop and expand sustainable financing vehicles, including the PNG national Biodiversity and Climate Fund, tailored to national and local contexts to enable long-term delivery of social, ecological, and climate co-benefits through investments in NbS and water, sanitation and hygiene within high risk watersheds.

[WISH+ Component 1: Targeted, large-scale implementation of watershed interventions to improve systems health]

On-site project implementation will occur in targeted watershed and coral reef areas in the Vatu-i-Ra (Fiji) and Bismarck-Solomon Seascape (PNG, Solomon Islands).

While the headwaters of the watersheds are largely undisturbed, downslope areas are under development pressure from human population growth, logging and agricultural activities, which can disrupt a range of ecological and hydrological services for local people.

To maximize and maintain the benefits of these ecosystem services 🪸, the integration of wetland conservation and wise use through holistic integrated watershed management is essential.

The following solutions will be implemented:

#1 Intervention in critical watersheds

- Work with landowners to integrate their Water and Sanitation Safety Plans into broader sustainable land use management and ensure that the rules are implemented.

- Conduct targeted workshops and trainings to build the governance capacity of traditional leaders, resource management committees, and local committees to coordinate and implement integrated watershed management.

- Work with interested communities to protect biodiversity-rich forests and rehabilitate degraded watersheds through reforestation.

- Install water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure in selected villages and watersheds where there are critical needs to improve water quality and security that cannot be fully addressed with NbS.

#2 Monitoring and surveillance

- Conduct rigorous baseline and endline ecological, biophysical, and socioeconomic monitoring to measure impact and outcome indicators that will allow evaluation of direct and indirect results related to the activity's interventions.

- Collect data on syndromic diseases thanks to key informant surveys.