Following participation in a regional workshop in Nadi in February 2009 to assess progress against PoWPA for Pacific Island countries, information on important marine and estuarine species and habitats was collated during a national planning workshop in June 2009 to develop marine and estuarine conservation targets for the national-scale ecological gap analysis. Invited stakeholders and experts included representatives from Fiji government, non-governmental organizations, the University of the South Pacific and private-sector.

The workshop findings indicated that although some diversity surveys and prioritization exercises have been performed for certain taxa (e.g. seabirds), data on aquatic habitat condition and species distributions are currently too deficient to: (a) determine quantitative targets for protection; (b) establish gaps in current aquatic conservation efforts; and (c) prioritize regions for protection to maximize biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, most currently available data is decentralized and not spatially located within a geographic information system (GIS) for ready analysis.

This project seeks additional funding to fulfil two main recommendations from the workshop:

1. Collate existing freshwater and marine information into a centralized, spatially referenced database;
2. Collect new biodiversity and biogeographic information from data deficient taxa and habitats (e.g. seagrass, marine algae, marine and freshwater invertebrates, cetaceans).

As a supporting objective, we propose to raise the technical capacity of members of the national Protected Area Committee (PAC) in conservation planning skills to improve the quality of products resulting from the ecological gap analysis. The PAC is a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral technical advisory committee to the National Environment Council (NEC) who is tasked to lead on work under PoWPA. As few members have had prior training in conservation planning and GIS, we seek to build expertise through skills-development workshops.

Anticipated outcomes from additional funding to complete a comprehensive ecological gap analysis for Fiji include:
• Zoning scheme established for marine and coastal areas in conjunction with the Integrated Coastal Management Committee, a second technical arm of the NEC;
• Priority areas for aquatic biodiversity protection in rivers, estuaries, and inshore and offshore waters identified across the defined zones through conservation planning tools (e.g. MARXAN software) that emphasize connectivity between terrestrial and marine systems; and
• Feasibility assessment of scaling up biodiversity protection through the existing Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area (FLMMA) network, through which currently 3% of exposed reefs and 0.7% of submerged reefs mapped for Fiji (within traditional fishing grounds that have been legally demarcated by the Native Lands and Fisheries Commission) are protected under no-take closures;

There is a strong desire to build on the success of the FLMMA network given that the sustainability of aquatic resources in Fiji is increasingly threatened as a result of increased pollution and overfishing. National catch per unit effort data indicate that  greater than 70% of catch from common food fish families (snapper and emperor) are below minimum reproductive size, therefore reducing the potential for population replenishment. Of this “subsistence” catch, more than 70% is sold, thus greatly underestimating the value of the fisheries sector, which is already the third largest contributor to gross domestic product (GDP) from natural resources.

Meanwhile, areas with poor land management practices have recently experienced massive flooding, resulting in enormous damage to infrastructure (~FJD$300 million spent on damages from January 2009 floods) and untold impacts to freshwater, coastal and marine habitats and species. Given the risk of increased frequency of extreme climate disturbance associated with global climate change, Fiji urgently needs to develop conservation plans which include both no-take areas preserve connectivity between terrestrial and marine systems and also other types of resource management (e.g. best practices for land management) to reduce threats from multiple use zones. << Read less

Collate existing freshwater and marine information into a centralized, spatially referenced database, Collect new biodiversity and biogeographic information from data deficient taxa and habitats and Raise the technical capacity of members of the national Protected Area Committee (PAC) in conservation planning skills to improve the quality of products resulting from the ecological gap analysis. Timeframe: 3 years.

<< Read less

The Fijian marine ecoregion lies adjacent to the global hotspot for tropical marine biodiversity and provides livelihoods for thousands of people. The diversity of freshwater and marine flora and fauna across the Fiji Islands is exceptional. Expansive coral reef habitat (almost 4% of the world’s total reef area) supports over 340 species of reef-building corals and greater than 1200 species of reef fish (including 15 known endemics to the Fiji-Tonga region). Deep passages and high current areas form important migratory passages for the 17 species of cetaceans sighted in Fijian waters, while lush seagrass beds form important fish nurseries and foods sources for 5 species of marine turtle.

These marine habitats are highly connected to island rivers and streams through extensive mangrove estuaries, through which >98% of the 164 species of freshwater and estuarine fish in Fiji make contact with the sea during their life cycles. The freshwater wetlands occupy up to 0.3% of Fiji’s land area most of which are peat swamps, rivers and streams and few freshwater lakes. Only few peat swamps remain undisturbed due to reclamation of peat swamps for agriculture and development. In recent years surveys and documentation of freshwater fishes and freshwater biodiversity has contributed towards better understanding of freshwater and brackish systems.

Almost all of these species counts, however, are likely to be underestimates of the true diversity within Fiji’s waters as many islands, regions and taxa are still unstudied. Research on Fiji’s invertebrate remains lacking and this is due in part to a focus of research on invertebrate species of agricultural importance. Furthermore, the biogeographic distributions across the 332 islands of the Fijian archipelago are unknown for most species.

With specific reference to marine turtles, the Fiji islands are thought to be a ‘hot spot’ in terms of feeding grounds. This has been illustrated through flipper and satellite tagging activities conducted over the past 15 years in the region, that show post-nesting turtles migrating to Fiji (Ref. Fig. 1a, 1b). << Read less

A recent report by Dan Laffoley highlights the marine contributions to carbon sequestration
ref: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6323),

A recent publication Natural Solutions highlights the role of many biomes in carbon sequestration
Ref:  http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/patools/documents/natural-solutions/view.html)

USP Biology – staff time, equipment, resources
Wetlands International – staff time, equipment, resources
WCS – staff time, equipment, GIS facility, resources, technical expertise
USP Marine – staff time, equipment, resources
WWF – staff time, equipment, resources

The information generated out of this research project, will assist local communities by providing them with key information to make better informed decisions on the management of aquatic and marine areas in Fiji.

The recognition of priority aquatic and marine areas in Fiji, and the information generated regarding these areas enables all stakeholders to develop a better mechanism for equitable sharing of costs and benefits arising from the protection of these newly identified areas.

Fiji’s National Biodiversity Action Plan, recently revised in December 2009 prioritises the need for action in the completion of Fiji’s marine gap analysis by the end of 2011.

Fiji’s National Strategic Development Plan 2007-2011 prioritises the need to establish Marine Protected Areas in Fiji in support of the actions proposed by the Fiji National Biodiversity Action Plan.

Goal 1.1: To establish and strengthen national and regional systems of protected areas integrated into a global network as a contribution to globally agreed goals
Goal 1.2: To integrate protected areas into broader land- and seascapes and sectors so as to maintain ecological structure and function
Goal 1.3: To establish and strengthen regional networks, transboundary protected areas (TBPAs) and collaboration between neighbouring protected areas across national boundaries
Goal 1.5: To prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of key threats to protected areas
Goal 2.2: To enhance and secure involvement of indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders
Goal 3.1: To provide an enabling policy, institutional and socio-economic environment for protected areas
Goal 3.2: To build capacity for the planning, establishment and management of protected areas
Goal 3.5: To strengthen communication, education and public awareness
Goal 4.3: To assess and monitor protected area status and trends
<< Read less