Villagers take initiative to help clean up streams, rivers

Villagers in Vunikawakawa, Labasa took out a day to clean up the water streams and rivers on Friday.

Village headman Ropate Rawaqa said they had decided to do a clean up after a powerful awareness campaign was made by Fiji Locally Managed Marine Protected Area Network (FLMMA) last week.

“We learned so much about how we are connected to the environment and the importance of managing it well,” Mr Rawaqa said.

“As it is World Rivers Day, we decided to clean up the river as a first step in restoring nature to its glory days.

“We rely on our rivers for our livelihood and we want to maintain its natural resources for our future generations.

“We are custodians of this Earth and we have to take care of it. This is the first time we are cleaning up the rivers and definitely will not be the last,” he said. Mr Rawaqa said that the awareness from FLMMA has made them more knowledgeable about the natural environment and ways in keeping it sustainable. In a statement, Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Mahendra Reddy stated that it becomes too difficult for the waterways to cope with global changes and climate variances, therefore it becomes important to explore options to sustainably transform waterways to become resilient.

Mr Reddy is reminding everyone that our waterways are waiting for your stewardship and to act now to save the foundations of our societies.

Mr Reddy is reminding everyone that our waterways are waiting for your stewardship and to act now to save the foundations of our societies.