Threat from farming
ENDANGERED species in Cakaudrove Province are under threat due to unsustainable farming practices, says assistant Roko Tui for Tukavesi Ropate Ramacake.
He said this during the celebration of BIODEV2030 held at Southern Cross Hotel in Suva last week.
“Our farmers would cut down trees, plant yaqona, harvest and then move onto another piece of land to plant more yaqona while not replanting (the trees),” Mr Ramacake said.
“This is the issue that Cakaudrove as a whole is facing.”
“ICUN (International Union of Conservation of Nature) the came at the right time to change the mind-set of the people to conserve Cakaudrove’s biodiversity.
“What ICUN came to do is importantly not only for us but especially for the new generation.
The advocacy that was run by the ICUN in the districts of Natewa and Tunuloa was in collaboration with the ministries of Agriculture and Environment.
According to Mr Ramacake, teachers, churches and even health workers in the area were all invited to the training that ICUN facilitated for the first time in that area.
“Many of our stakeholders and farmers were not aware of how important conserving our biodiversity was. The reps that came to the training took what they learnt and shared it with the villagers.”
He also said the Provincial Council was there to monitor the commitments villagers had set for themselves to address the biodiversity threat to Cakaudrove and also encourage the planting of trees for future generations.
“In addition to monitoring deforestation and encouraging afforestation villagers and farmers, we also want to encourage planting of fruit trees.
“The fruits we enjoy today were planted by our forefathers. If we want our children down the line to also eat the fruits we have today, it is our duty to also plant more fruits trees.”
The event had featured recent biodiversity studies for Fiji and shared reflections on the IUCN project that was conducted on Vanua Levu.