Project news
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© Kiwa Initiative
14 January 2025
Encouraging first steps to restore nature and strengthen climate resilience in Niue
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© Kiwa Initiative
6 June 2024
Eco Tourism Tour on World Environment Day
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© Roxy & Kiwa Initiative
29 March 2024
Climate resilience in the Pacific thanks to young people and vulnerable groups in Niue
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© Oma Tafua
8 March 2024
Oma Tafua celebrates 20 years of whale research and conservation success
Climate resilience in the Pacific thanks to young people and vulnerable groups in Niue
29 March 2024
© Roxy & Kiwa Initiative
🌊 Our Kiwa local project in Niue empowers youth and vulnerable groups to build climate resilience in Niue 🐋
Oma Tafua, meaning “to treasure whales”, marks 20 years of dedicated whale research and conservation in hashtag#Niue. This NGO leads the Kiwa local project “Advancing NbS with Youth and Vulnerable Groups in Niue”.
🌍 Marine mammals are crucial to Niue’s tourism. Enhanced protection and data collection are vital. Recent achievements include documenting 70+ humpback hashtag#whales and recording a Niue whale in Panama, the longest distance recorded for a Niue whale!
➡️Read the IUCN article to learn more about recent achievements of Oma Tafua: https://www.iucn.org/story/202403/oma-tafua-celebrates-20-years-whale-research-and-conservation-success
Eco Tourism Tour on World Environment Day
6 June 2024
© Kiwa Initiative
On world environnment day, the project team is happy to feature this eco tourism tour.
It's taking place in June, Tuesday 25 and, and will help sustain our project into the future. You will discover the newly transplanted Telie trees to plant in our Heritage site.
Anyone who wants to volunteer is welcome !
Encouraging first steps to restore nature and strengthen climate resilience in Niue
14 January 2025
© Kiwa Initiative
In the heart of the Pacific, the initiative by Oma Tafua in Niue exemplifies how local communities can harness Nature based Solutions to address climate adaptation challenges.
Recently, they have cultivated 314 trees, including mango trees, and produced biochar from invasive tree species. This critical endeavor not only enhances the local ecosystem but also promotes climate resilience among Pacific communities.
Oma Tafua has facilitated community meetings that foster discussions on disaster planning and environmental protection. Central to this project is the restoration of coastal habitats that integrate local knowledge and cultural practices, ensuring that the preservation of cultural heritage remains paramount. These actions create a supportive environment for youth and vulnerable groups, further enhancing the region's resilience to climate change.
Oma Tafua celebrates 20 years of whale research and conservation success
8 March 2024
© Oma Tafua
In partnership with the Niue Island Umbrella Association of Non-Government Organisations (NIUANGO), Oma Tafua is leading the project "Advancing Nature-Based Solutions with Youth and Vulnerable Groups in Niue". This project, running from 2023 to 2025, aims to strengthen community engagement and build climate resilience in Niue, with a special focus on youth and vulnerable populations.
Oma Tafua, meaning "to treasure whales," is a non-profit organization based in Niue that has made impressive strides in whale research. Between 2022 and 2023, it documented over 70 individual humpback whales in its catalog, setting a record for the NGO and its team of volunteers.
Additionally, Oma Tafua captured unprecedented footage of a Niue whale sighted in Panama, Central America, marking the longest recorded distance for a Niue whale. The organization, committed to whale conservation, has also recently secured funding for terrestrial Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects.
Fiafia Rex, founder and president of Oma Tafua, explains: "Niue is a large ocean island (1 person = +229 km² of ocean) with a vast marine ecosystem. We are considering assessing the value of our whale-watching industry, including its potential for carbon sequestration."
She emphasized that this data could support efforts to enhance the protection of marine mammals, recognizing their importance as a precious resource.
"Marine mammals hold immense economic value for Niue's tourism sector. Whale-watching alone generates significant income for our country, attracting visitors from around the world," added Ms. Rex.
Recognizing the need for action, she stressed the importance of evaluating the whale-watching industry's worth, considering its carbon value and its capacity to mitigate climate change. Improved data collection and analysis would strengthen the case for increased protection of marine mammals, a priceless resource for Niue's communities.
Celebrating Oma Tafua's 20th Anniversary
Oma Tafua celebrated its 20th anniversary on January 4–5, 2024, in remembrance of the devastation caused by Cyclone Heta. On this occasion, the organization operated an exhibition booth featuring images of the 2004 disaster and distributed plants, cyclone tracking maps, and charcoal sticks made from removed invasive trees.
"The booth was open for both days, offering a space for answering questions and sharing survivor experiences. We are grateful for the support of Delta Sipeni and our two volunteers," said Ms. Rex.
Community Engagement and Nature-Based Solutions
The Oma Tafua Kiwa Initiative project team also acknowledged the valuable support of the Alofi South Women's Group and Explore Niue Tours & Travel during the Cultural Journey tour on December 21, 2023. Guided by the wisdom of the elders, this tour helped identify native tree species suitable for coastal replanting, particularly in Alofi, the village most impacted by cyclones.
Theme
co-benefits
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Project nameAdvancing NbS with Youth and Vulnerable Groups in Niue
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Project LeadOma Tafua
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Project StartAugust 2023
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Estimated termMarch 2027
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Amount of funding€ 224,961
Project locations
The main goal of this project is the restoration of coastal habitats with NbS Incorporating cultural knowledge and practices of greater cultural heritage protection and creating an empowering environment for youth and vulnerable groups in climate resilient action and advocacy. This is in response to the main threats of invasive species such as weeds and trees which is quite prevalent in the area, placing the existing trees under huge threat.
The selection of the project site is due to it’s heritage, historical and ecological significance. It is anticipated and envisioned that this area would serve as an area to increase and raise awareness of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation- and utilizing enabling tools that are aligned with Kiwa’s thematic areas.
The selection of this site is due to its heritage, historical and ecological significance – it was devastated in cyclone Heta in 2004 but had a residential population, Niue’s first hospital, first museum, first hotel, breeding and migratory habitat of species – terrestrial, avian, marine.
Main threats: Invasive species (weeds and trees) are quite prevalent in the area it’s not only an eye sore but it needs to be managed as newly planted and existing trees are put under huge threat by their presence. The grant presents in the first few months huge effort to remove the invasives and plant trees already collected by community volunteer efforts under Aliutu Conservation. The availability of manpower will be necessary to eliminate invasive species.
Project objectives
- Develop an Adaptation Action Plan for Aliluki and Tufukia Area encompassing community-based disaster risk management.
- Coastal Restoration of Habitat, Forestry, Biodiversity in the Aliluki and Tfukia areas, both areas most devastated by the category 5 cyclone.
- Urban Nursery Ecosystem of Native trees (managed by the respective community groups for community benefit) and restoration of area with native trees and biochar.
- Annual forum to empower Youth and Vulnerable Group voices in Climate Resilience (to fall in during climate week and/ or disaster risk reduction).
Social inclusion and gender equity
- Community based disaster risk management training to youth and vulnerable groups - all engaged in the Climate Change forums and workshops.
- First aid & Anticipatory Action training – vulnerable group representatives (women, youth, elders, disabled).
- Contribution to the data and potentially helping in policy development for positive societal change and security/social protection is assisted in this regard.
- Contribution to sex disaggregated data, gender data – agriculture, forestry, covid-19 financial impact data (done over the course of the workshops during breaks).
Info+
The remaining infrastructure following the devastation of the cyclone Heta was completely removed without thorough community consultation such that the grieving process of the area has not been resolved (revealed by Aliutu Conservation commemoration night).
This pathway already commenced by the leader Premier Hon Dalton Tagelagi as with volunteers under Aliutu Conservation/Aliutu ma e Atuhau Anoiha (Aliutu for future generations) commencing to revive the area albeit manpower is warranted to rid of the invasive species.
Currently there are the casuarina trees that have proven to withstand the strong wind and wave actions through these subsequent cyclones since 2004 and these are the trees of focus we want to transplant to help strengthen the coastlines (given new residents have built in the area) restoring and building a resilient coastal habitat here.
To complement these trees of course native trees are also prioritised including variety suited for the area (agroforesty with the casuarina trees even providing canopies). It is anticipated and envisioned this area would serve as an area to increase and raise awareness of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
Native trees have also been planted for coastal restoration but greater manpower is needed to keep this momentum going, to support the school holiday programs to collecting seedlings and allowing such enabling mechanisms to instil a culture of change and strengthen adaptive capacities and education in our young.
Learning also of Niue’s history of which this site presents and our vulnerabilities to cyclones is also intended to help those families that have still not resolved their grief with the area.
This grant also presents opportunity for scaling up of activities previously funded by the UDNP SGP grants for Aliutu Conservation whereby a seedlings calendar was developed to collect seedlings in certain months with a nursery already established.
