Communities embarking on restoration sites planting

Towards the end of March, the communities were mobilized to complete their planting targets in their respective community sites. The C3 Fiji team partnered with the Ministry of Forestry and joined the communities in planting saplings that were raised in community-built nurseries.

The Ministry of Forestry committed themselves to the activity of visiting all of the reforested sites to map their boundaries. This has allowed the restoration sites to be recognized at the national level through formal integration within the Ministry of Forestry GIS mapping system.

With a target of 10 hectares, the effort shown by the respective community members was overwhelming. By the end of June, a total of 16,990 saplings were planted by the 11 communities with a total area of 12.7hectares which is just over 20 football pitches; and 2.7 hectares more than the initial target. 

The activity is still underway and set to be the greatest native reforestation initiative for a single NGO in northern Fiji.

Vanua-based Forest Rangers to lead communities in safeguarding forest restoration sites

C3 Fiji in partnership with the Ministry of Forestry organized a Forest Rangers Training for a group of 23 community youth representatives who will be assisting their respective project communities in managing their forest restoration sites. 

The training focused on equipping the youths, four females and 19 males, with the basic knowledge of forest management and harvesting procedures, in line with government legislation. 

The three-day training also allowed the group to visit the Ministry of Forestry Korotari Nursery where they were able to witness firsthand the operation of a large-scale nursery from potting seedlings through to planting out the grown saplings.

The Valebasoga Tropic Board was also visited by the group where they saw the process of sawmilling, timber treatment, and sorting for the market. An interesting find for the group was when they discovered that there were different levels of timber treatment. One of the representatives from Naividamu village, Mr. Taione Ramaibuka, remarked that it was something the communities were unaware of. Now, the Vanua-based Forest Rangers will be able to advise the carpenters in their respective communities to purchase timber with the appropriate treatment levels for the specific construction work they require.

An eye-opening activity was when part of the group was tasked to visit the local municipal market and supermarkets to obtain the selling prices of local fruits. The Ministry of Forestry facilitators, together with the forest rangers, then calculated the future productivity values of the fruit trees that were planted in their respective community restoration sites. This has enabled the community reps to understand the potential value of their young saplings in the coming years, motivating them to nurture the young trees to the best of their ability and ensure they reach maturity. 

An outcome of the training was the development of the ‘Community Restoration Site Maintenance Plan’ which will be the guiding document for the rangers to ensure that the planted saplings within the restoration sites are nurtured to reach maturity. 

C3 Fiji Team restores Mangrove forests

The coming months will see the C3 Fiji team focusing their work on mangrove restoration in the 4 selected communities of Naividamu, Raviravi, and Lakeba [Macuata Province] and Sese [Cakaudrove Province].

The target is to plant a minimum of 3,000 mangrove propagules in these four community sites. Coastal erosion from waves and current intensity in the 4 communities prompted this action for a nature-based solution. The communities  have already confirmed the issue of turning the restored sites into Locally Managed Marine Areas eventually.

The support from the communities has been overwhelming, as well as the support from the government ministries. All stakeholders are well-versed in the need for a ridge-to-reef approach when protecting our natural resources, especially in the context of small islands.

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