TUI Macuata Ratu Wiliame Katonivere is leading chiefs in the province find ways to control increasing activities on natural resources in the province.
They want to save their natural resources for the future generation.
The issue was also made known at the recent UNFCCC COP 25, when Ratu Wiliame’s speech was delivered at an event themed: Coral Reef Rescue: Resilient people and their future in a 1.5 C World.
“I’m a traditional leader of a province and I am being bestowed the responsibility of not only the livelihood of the community but I’m bestowed the responsibility and upkeep of all the resources,” he said.
“It’s my responsibility to protect the flora and fauna of the reef and the ridge and everything that falls within my province.
“It’s my responsibility to ensure that it is protected and enjoyed and my job is to have that continuity of what my forefathers have done.”
He said the chiefs should be beacons of hope for a sustainable future for the communities.
“I have been telling my fellow chiefs that we are going to change the way we do things,” he said.
“We will change how we give our consent for the utilisation of resources, we are going to change the way we deal with our fishing issues.”
“I just feel that this is something we are responsible for. When I was a kid growing up in Naduri village, our people would just go and fish just enough for each day and money was not a big thing then.”
