MAINTAINING GAIA

So…

Six months on and my time as a voluntary communications officer for WWF South Pacific is very sadly over.

It has been extraordinary from start to finish and I will never forget the things I’ve see, the places I’ve visited, or the people I’ve met.

Here’s a summary PDF photo essay…

You can download a copy HERE

I aim to continue photographing conservationism in the future – I start a masters degree in photojournalism shortly and it will be my focus – so this site won’t remain stagnant for too long.

An article I wrote for an In-Flight Magazine recently (the pictures were different though).

For those who venture up the Tailevu coast, about 90km north-east of Suva (the last 40km of which is rough unpaved track) there awaits a very special and remote resort, the Natalei Eco-lodge.

The community run tourism project at the village of Natalei-ra was set up in 2002 in order to fund the area’s marine conservation activities and still remains unrivaled in Fiji as a truly genuine, community run, sustainably managed, tourism experience.

Natalei Ecolodge is ideally suited to those looking for an ultimately laid back retreat – one with its own unspoilt beach, one of Viti Levu’s most beautiful waterfalls, and a coral reef populated by large schools of energetic Spinner Dolphins.

The six bures available at Natalei sleep two, six or eight and all are priced at $75 per person per night with three meals. Rooms are clean but basic – toilets and showers (which are cold) are outdoors and shared, while electricity is by generator and only reserved for the evenings.

Reservations a few days ahead of arrival at Natalei is recommended as the villagers must prepare and collect food in advance of your stay, but in return expect the food to be truly Fijian and absolutely delicious! You should bring with you everything you’ll need for your stay including bottled water or other drinks (alcohol if desired) and snacks, as there is no shop or bar nearby. Transport can be chartered for you from Suva or Nadi, you can organize a taxi, or a local bus can be caught from Suva – the guys at Natalei will be happy to help you arrange any of these.

Natalei-ra has recently received recognition for its approach to conservation funding. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) South Pacific team, based in Suva, visited the community to show their support for the project earlier in May 2010.

In 1992 Fiji signed the Convention on Biodiversity and made the commitment to “establish a network of Marine Protected Areas in 20% of its marine areas by 2012”. Incredibly, Fiji is set to be the first country to achieve this goal and it has been the work or organisations like Fiji Locally Managed Marine Protected Areas (FLMMA), and its members like Natalei-ra, that have contributed to this success.

While funding from FLMMA has been instrumental at setting up protected areas in places like Natalei-ra, their funding is not limitless and the challenge of financing these projects into the future has forced communities and Fiji’s environment stakeholders to consider new approaches.

If you’re looking for a sedate, relaxed, uniquely Fijian getaway, while also knowing that your stay is directly contributing to the conservation of Fiji’s spectacular environment and do not mind skipping on the luxuries,  then the Natalei Ecolodge will not let you down.

To make a booking at Natalei contact Vili: (679) 949 7460 or koyamaibole_v@usp.ac.fj

A good pal of mine back in London has just started his own blog; he’s a music journalist and DJ.

If you’re into bass heavy music I would definitely recommend it, he’s like a bloody encyclopedia of new London music trends – it’s ridiculous!

This is him…

See you at Sonar bruv!

HOPPER PUBLISHED

This is an article I wrote for the Fijian magazine, Mai Life.

In January a group of twenty-five community representatives were being trained as turtle monitors when by chance, a local fisherman caught a meter long Green turtle and the story of Lady Nakalou began.

The workshop, which was being held in the village of Nakalougata in the northern Vanua Levu province of Macuata, was providing participants with the knowledge and practical skills needed to perform the role of a turtle monitor in their communities. This included ways to identify and differentiate between the species of sea turtles found in Fiji, how to record data on turtles, and how to flipper tag them for future research.

Just as the workshop team were packing up and getting ready to head back to Suva the very same fisherman came running up from the beach with news of another catch. The workshop participants, and most of the village, headed down to see what the fishermen had discovered but few expected to be greeted by a huge Green turtle.

Turtles the size of Lady Nakalou are not often caught in these areas and it is even rarer that scientists have the opportunity to satellite tag them. Satellite tagging provides the best opportunity to collect much needed information on feeding habits, migratory routes and nesting sites, all of which helps contribute to their conservation.

There is still a great deal about the activities and movements of sea turtles that are not well understood and the information provided by satellite transmissions remain the best method of bridging this knowledge gap.

In order for Lady Nakalou to be fitted with a satellite tag she was transported across to Nadi where another turtle conservation workshop was already in progress. This also provided the perfect opportunity to showcase tagging techniques to the regional South Pacific audience that was present.

Six months on from releasing Lady Nakalou on Wailoaloa beach in Nadi, the data she has been transmitting back has been plotted onto a map which shows that she has returned to the area where she was first found in Macuata.

This return so soon after her release successfully supports the theory that turtles feed and nest in specific areas and provides vital confirmation needed for the continuing support of marine protected areas in Fiji – a key goal of the satellite tagging programme.

In 1998 WWF South Pacific started a project with the community of Navakosobu village on Vanua Levu island in Fiji and last week I visited the village to see the project 12 years later.

The project was to revive a traditional mat weaving technique that is unique to Fiji. More specifically, to revive the material used in the weaving – Kuta reeds.

WWF South Pacific worked with the community to restore the ponds where Kuta grows which took FOUR years to complete!

The result of which is that the community of Navakosobu is now one of only four places in the world (I think) that still make Kuta mats. As I learnt last week, this has now meant that it provides the village with a very healthy income and great amount pride.