FIJI COUNTRY PROGRAM 2015

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Understanding the links between local ecological knowledge, ecosystem services, and resilience to climate change in Pacific Islands STATUS: In progress FUNDING: U.S. National Science Foundation (Coastal SEES # 1325874) PARTNER ORGANISATIONS: University of Hawaii, Natural Capital Project - Stanford University, University of the South Pacific (USP) OUTPUTS: • Conference presentation: Ticktin T, Dacks R, Quazi S, Jupiter S (2015). Assessing resilience in ridge-to-reef landscapes in Fiji. 52 nd Annual Meeting, Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Honolulu, HI, July 12-16. • Conference presentation: Dacks R, Ticktin T, Jupiter S (2015). Social drivers of ecological resilience in Fijian coral reef systems. Social drivers of ecological resilience in Fijian coral reef systems. 52 nd Annual Meeting, Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Honolulu, HI, July 12-16. • Conference presentation: Dacks R, Ticktin T, Jupiter S (2015). Investigating drivers of ecological resilience in Fijian coastal communities. 23 rd Hawaii Conservation Conference, HI, August 3-6. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This collaborative project with University of Hawaii focuses on social-ecological systems and resilience theory, and ethnobiology theory and methods related to local ecological knowledge (LEK), to model and test the relationships among LEK systems and indicators of adaptive capacity and social-ecological resilience to climate change in coastal Fijian communities. The project will also develop spatially explicit ecosystem service models that significantly advance the integration of cultural values as well as linked terrestrial and marine components to explore the effects of different land/ocean use and climate change scenarios on ecosystem services and indicators of resilience in selected Hawaiian and Fijian watersheds. Rachel with her research team in Natokalau Village. WCS and University of Hawaii researchers, along with USP students, conducted over 4 months of fieldwork (August to December 2014) in 20 villages across five regions on four islands of Fiji. The team completed: botanical/ecological surveys in 100 agroforests involving transects and plots to record species, cultivars and indices of ecological resilience; 100 interviews with agroforesters on forest and agroforest management and preparation for, and response to, natural disasters; 325 household interviews on livelihoods, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), social networks, and socioeconomics; 100 interviews with fishers on Page | 17
fishing effort, species and patterns of fishing; and focus group discussions, participatory mapping and interviews with village leaders in each of the 20 villages on management of villages resources, land-use history, connection to place, TEK, response to disasters, etc. The team also compiled the ecological data from coral reef surveys across the 20 villages collected by co-PI Jupiter and others. Dr. Stacy Jupiter (co-PI) and local staff from WCS trained community members to carry out CPUE (catch-per-unit-effort) surveys, which were carried out over a period of 6 months in four of the five study regions. All the data were entered and coded by members of the team and are presently being analysed using structural equation models to investigation relationships between factors that may influence social-ecological resilience. Preliminary analyses have been presented at two major conferences (see Outputs above). Preliminary results were also presented back to each of the communities in September and October 2015 and each village was given a poster showing important characteristics of social-ecological resilience. A local artist has been commissioned to develop colouring books that feature local knowledge associated with natural resources that have particular cultural relevance during each calendar month of the year. WCS has been providing consistent advice and data to modelers from the Natural Capital Project and University of Hawaii to undertake working modeling how future land and climate scenarios will affect the provision of terrestrial and marine ecosystem services in Kubulau District, Fiji. The terrestrial and marine scenarios have been defined, data have been collated, and work is presently underway to carry out the modeling. NEXT STEPS: • Finalize colouring book and distribute to each of the 20 Fijian study villages along with summaries of the final data analyses • Complete ecosystem service mapping for Kubulau District • Develop publications to share the results from this project LINKS TO NATIONAL PRIORITIES: National Climate Change Policy, Objective 5 (Adaptation) Strategy 2: Include vulnerability assessment and climate change impact projections into resource management planning, such as integrated coastal and watershed management plans; Strategy 4: Develop adaptation technologies that take traditional knowledge into account and are culturally acceptable; and Strategy 5: Support the ecosystem-based approach throughout Fiji, recognising that ecosystem services, such as food security, natural hazard mitigation and physical coastal buffer zones, increase resilience. NBSAP Implementation Plan Thematic Area 1 (Forest Conversion), Action 3.1b: Integrate appropriate traditional knowledge and skills into training courses, Action 3.2m: Encourage and assist landowning and TFRO communities to document their traditional knowledge of biodiversity and its uses and develop their own local strategies. NBSAP Implementation Plan Thematic Area 3 (Inshore Fisheries), Action 6.1a: Collate marine traditional and local knowledge and make available upon request to traditional owners for management and educators to aid in curriculum development. Page | 18
Page 1 and 2: WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY FIJI
Page 3 and 4: THE WCS TEAM Sangeeta Mangubhai, Di
Page 5 and 6: Sirilo Dulunaqio, Community Liaison
Page 7 and 8: COLLABORATING STUDENTS WITH WCS-FIJ
Page 9 and 10: TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE DIRECTOR
Page 11 and 12: • supported local communities and
Page 13 and 14: • What are the appropriate indica
Page 15 and 16: Investigating links between environ
Page 17: • Assessment of typhoid susceptib
Page 21 and 22: We applied a new analytical framewo
Page 23 and 24: Monitoring the impact of the MacArt
Page 25 and 26: Sixth Expedition to the Phoenix Isl
Page 27 and 28: HIGHLIGHTS: Three districts have co
Page 29 and 30: LINKS TO NATIONAL PRIORITIES: NBSAP
Page 31 and 32: Improving Effectiveness of Inshore
Page 33 and 34: fish wardens; (iii) discuss enforce
Page 35 and 36: Supporting livelihoods and income g
Page 37 and 38: Offshore Marine Managed Areas: camp
Page 39 and 40: Kilaka Forest Conservation Area STA
Page 41 and 42: environmental issues that are relev
Page 43 and 44: FIJI RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS AND RESO

FIJI COUNTRY PROGRAM 2015

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