Community Experiences Melanesia

1
Community ExperiencesMelanesia

• Outline of Presentation
• - Current Issues
• - What are we doing
• - Challenges

2
Current Issues

• Growing population, more mouths to feed
• We have around 70-80 of the Pacifics population
• Reef/land area remains the same, its doesn't grow
  like our populations
• Our people need income, school fees
• Day to day basic needs
• Weak governance systems

3
Current Issues

• Poachers (mainly from outside our villages)
• Poachers using destructive methods,
• e.g. small mesh net, dynamites, UBA, herbs, sea
  cucumber used for fishing (poisons)
• Fishing of undersize fish
• Poachers know where MPAs are
• Fish getting smaller

4
Current Issues

• Traders selling undersize mesh nets even if
  there is a ban on certain mesh size
• Weak to no enforcement
• Enforcement of rules should apply to traders, as
  well as fishers
• Limited alternative livelihoods for communities
• We are to religious sometimes, replenish earth
  with people

5
Current Issues

• Marine tenure systems
• Land dispute issues can cause resource management
  problems (burning of forest, logging)
• Climate change, beach errosion

6
What are we doing

• Establish management committees (YMST committee)
• Develop management plans
• Workshops, blow of kava, chew beetle nut
• Setting MPAS
• In open areas, there are controls on some fishing
  gears
• Management ridge to reef concept
• Address land and lagoon/reef management

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What are we doing

• Adaptive management, trial and error, change
  management actions as were learn (CBAM)
• Church ministers/chiefs bless the MPA/Plan
• This helps with compliance, feeling good

8
What are we doing

• Restocking some species (clams)
• Turtle conservation
• Replanting trees, mangrove (looking after the
  habitat)
• Cleaning up rubbish, waste management, composting
  
• Organic farming

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What are we doing

• Alternative activities e.g. sea weed farming,
• Tourism ()
• Diving, swimming
• Researchers studying environment, they give
  information to back community ()

10
What are we doing

• Church can be strong with managing resources
• Sometimes the church can put big burden on
  community to harvest resources, fund raising

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What's needed in future

• Clear government regulations/laws are needed
• Regulations, laws to empower community's to
  manage resources (e.g. empower fish wardens)
• Support in enforcing our rules provide
  equipment, (boats) to help with enforcement

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What's needed in future

• Capacity building (should be continuous)
• Awareness of environment, resources,
  sustainability
• Continue and improve school education/curriculum
  on resources and management