RESICO: Biodiversity conservation to strengthen the resilience of rural communities

Facing the intensification of climate risks and other natural threats, the Loyalty Islands and Vanuatu are at a crossroads. Their agroforestry systems, once protective, are being impacted by socio-cultural shifts and the preference for imported products, leading to health issues, reduced self-sufficiency and weakened resilience. Population growth and unsustainable farming practices further strain resources.

The ResiCo project aims to empower these communities, especially women, by rehabilitating agroforestry through the introduction and propagation of ‘improved’ crop varieties, that are more tolerant/resistant to specific conditions, within better managed rural areas.

The project will directly work with one beneficiary community in each of the nine most populated islands in Vanuatu's (Vanua Lava, Santo, Malo, Mallicolo, Pentecost, Ambrym, Epi, Efaté and Tanna) and in the three Loyalty islands (Lifou, Maré and Ouvéa).

After a baseline and need assessment phase, infrastructures like quarantine greenhouses and propagation plots will be established, and plant material distributed to farmers, along with improved crop pest management. For an enhanced and sustainable management of natural spaces and resources (including agroforestry areas), local participatory maps will also be created.

The project, led by IAC, is implemented by a consortium of many stakeholders working on their field of expertise :

• Scientific partners: CIRAD works in the areas of biosecurity, pest control, and plant propagation, while IRD and the University of New-Caledonia are in charge of the geographic database to analyze biodiversity changes and support pest control efforts.
• National authorities: In Vanuatu, the Minisitry of Agriculture is in charge of project coordination at the national level, Department of Forest manages participatory mapping within the communities, Biosecurity accomodates quarantine greenhouses. Loyalty Islands Province brings support to the technical institute.
• Technical institutes: VARTC, as key sub-grantee, implements activities in Vanuatu, focusing on infrastructure (greenhouses) improvements and agrobiodiversity distribution; Vanuatu Cultural Center inventories traditional knowledge and leads food promotion; CADRL in the Loyalty Islands handles local food promotion, infrastructure, and biodiversity tasks.
• Grassroots organisations: Farm Support Association deploys technicians for implementation in the ground.
• The French international voluntary network: Volunteers supports stakeholders in both Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands.

Objectives of the project

The ResiCo project aims to encourage biodiversity conservation and increase the communities’ resilience by maintaining, promoting and developing agroforestry systems, within better managed rural areas. It is structured around five complementary tasks, all of which are interdependent:

1. Collecting traditional knowledge, assessing gender and food links : This task includes an analysis of current dietary practices and the promotion of local foods.
2. Strengthening quarantine, biosecurity, and propagation infrastructures to accommodate (new) agroforestry plant material : Two quarantine greenhouses will be constructed in Vanuatu, within the Ministry of Agriculture and the technical institute (VARTC); propagation and demonstration agroforestry plots will be established.
3. Enhancing agroforestry et biodiversity : Fruit and nut trees will be propagated, as well as root tubers and banana plants. Plant materials will then be distributed to farmers, trained and supported in agroforestry.
4. Participatory mapping for the management of natural spaces and resources : Participatory maps will include various data such as population, soils, leases, topography, forests, plantations. The maps will be produced for communities, decision-makers and schools, along with debates/training on land-use planning.
5. Managing crop diseases and pests : Main insect pests will be identified and their impact assessed, and pest control methods disseminated, in line with traditional knowledge.

Social inclusion and gender equity

Women play a central role in food crop production and food security in Melanesia, yet they are under-recognized, and existing projects do not always meet their needs (FAO 2020). In Vanuatu, the situation is exacerbated by government policies that encourage temporary male labor abroad to New Zealand and Australia. In the Loyalty Islands, men are involved in other activities (fishing, employment in the public sector or industry in Nouméa), and food crop production is largely undertaken by women.

Climate change adaptation could disproportionately affect women by undermining food crop production, but can also reinforce their skills and role. Through a social and women inclusion plan and targetes activities, ResiCo will help reduce existing inequalities by identifying the needs and capacities of women and by offering them tailored solutions in terms of varietal distribution and training.

By addressing nutritional activities, the project will particularly benefit women, as they are at the heart of the choices and constraints related to food and nutritional security.