SENITIKI Naoko from Nawaca Village felt ashamed when people asked him what the tikina (district) of Dama had done for its children.
“As mata ni tikina (district representative to the provincial council) for Dama District, I was often asked who paid for the education of the children in the district. It pained me, because there was nothing the tikina had done for the children,” said Naoko, 54.
Naoko explained some children from the village could not complete their secondary school studies because their parents were unable to pay for their education.
This was back in 2005. Naoko knew income opportunities were few in the village, but he believed the ocean could provide more if they better managed their marine resources. The fish stocks were declining, but in the old days the reefs provided plenty of fish. So he approached the leaders of Dama with an idea.
“I consulted the tikina leaders and suggested that we introduce marine protected areas (or tabu areas) and ban fishing in those areas so marine life could breed and after a few years we could choose a day to harvest and sell the catch,” he recounted. “The idea was that the money we made from selling the harvest would be put into a fund to cater for the educational needs of our children.”
But his big idea was not warmly received by all of the community.
“When I met the tikina leaders and relayed my recommendation for tabu areas in our waters, I could hear the disapproval and disappointment from people who were gathered outside the meeting venue,” he said.
People were worried where they would get food from and how they would earn money if the fishing areas were restricted. “I told them there was a lot of land on which they could plant and explained that only certain portions of the sea would be restricted so they could fish in the other areas,” he said.
Following that meeting, the tikina confirmed Tatava Reef as a tabu area, in addition to the additional tabu areas in the seven villages that make up the tikina.
“There were people who remained sceptical years after the tabu area was established. But just two years into the tabu, women who usually go out fishing or to gather crabs noticed that certain marine life that had disappeared from our fishing areas had returned and were breeding in the tabu area,” he said. “In five years, we’ve only lifted the ban once to accommodate for a funeral.”
Dama is today part of a growing coalition of communities, government and civil society who make up the Fiji Locally-Managed Area Network. The network includes more than 450 villages that are trying to better meet their needs through sustainable resource management.
As stories spread of success of establishing many tabu areas, in addition to other management approaches such as limiting damaging fishing gear, limiting fishing permits, and protecting spawning seasons for fish, more and more communities are taking action.
And today in Dama, when Naoko is asked about what the tikina has done for its children, he has a much better answer.
“We are proud to say that the tikina is now able to cater for the educational needs of our children and that no child from Dama will ever have to drop out of school again just because their parents can’t afford their schooling expenses,” Naoko said.
To get involved in helping communities better manage their natural resources, call FLMMA at 3314593 or email FijiLMMA@gmail.com.
* Samantha Rina is a
freelance writer.
