NGO helps fix erosion-prone village foreshore
Amarine conservation non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) celebrated International Day of Forests by revegetating the erosion-prone waterfront at Naividamu Village in Macuata.
Community Centred Conservation (C3) Fiji staff members organised a coastal plant re-establishment programme to help replant coastal trees that had fallen victim to coastal erosion. “This has been quite a challenge and a threat to the village of Naividamu. Over the years, Naividamu villagers have watched helplessly as native coastal plants along their foreshore have been washed away by large waves, especially during storms and cyclones,” said village headman Tomu Moli.
He also pointed out that coastal erosion at Naividamu was not a joke anymore.
‘’I remember ten years ago when a big Banyan tree used to stand right where the boats are tethered now,” Mr Moli said.
He estimated that the erosion rate for the village foreshore was 50 metres every 15 years. C3 Fiji, with a project funded by the AusAID Direct Aid Programme (DAP) last year, started a climate change mitigation programme with the revegetation of their mangroves.
Part of the programme looked into sustainability, with an activity targeting replanting of lost coastal plants.
With assistance from Ministry of Forests and the local community of Naividamu, C3 Fiji collected 100 saplings of local coastal plants such as Tavola (TermanaliaCatappa), Dilo (CalophyllumInophyllum), Vesi (Intsiabijuga), Nawanawa (Cordiasubcordata), Vuturakaraka (Baringtoniaasiatica) and Mulomulo (Thespesiapopulnea) for the project.