“Vanuatu is blessed with a diverse and productive marine environment, and our marine species, such as fish, turtles and seabirds are part of our cultural heritage,” said Esline Garaebiti, Director General, Ministry of Climate Change, Meteorology and Geo-hazard, Environment, Energy and Disaster Ma
This paper is concerned with integrating adaptation to climate change with local development in the context of a climate change mitigation project for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. It is argued that integration will enhance locally appropriate and sustainable outcomes necessary for effective forest conservation in the context of rural Vanuatu.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Quarantine, Forestry and Fisheries (MAQFF) is mandated to manage resources that are vital to the well-being of Vanuatu people and the economy. The structure of the Ministry is shown in Attachment 1. Government is mindful that where there are no sustainable management practices, resources are overexploited and much to the disadvantage of local communities and the environment. This is witnessed the world over and is becoming evident with some resources in the islands of Vanuatu.
Much of the marine related traditional knowledge held by fishers in Vanuatu relates to increasing catches while managing resources of cultural, social and subsistence value. Traditional beliefs and practices associated with fisheries and their management follow natural cycles of resource abundance, accessibility, and respect for customary rules enshrined in oral traditions. Many management related rules that control fishers' behaviours are associated with the fabrication and deployment of traditional fishing gear.
The Fisheries Department is the sole agency responsible for the control (regulation), development and management of the fisheries resources within Vanuatu. However, consideration of the impacts from developments on the environment is the responsibility of the Environment Unit of the Ministry of Natural Resources. There is a possible overlap of responsibilities between the two agencies in certain areas like assessment work and conservation of species.Available online|Fisheres Dept. version include graphics (2007; 117 mb).
Coral reef is a rich but fragile ecosystem. It is very important to the marine biodiversity as well as to the global economy. Coral reefs rival that of the great communities such as the tropical rain forest in terms of richness, beauty, complexity and diversity. It provides habitats, feeding and breeding grounds of many marine lives including some important commercial species. Coral reefs contribute to the rural and national economy, nutrition, shoreline protection and more importantly the self- reliance of the people, particularly the coastal communities.
This report presents the result of the marine stock assessment survey conducted in Vanuatu from the period between 1998- 2000 on the status, abundance, distribution and diversity of beche-de-mer, giant clam, rock lobster and Coconut crab (Birgus latro) resources in the Vanuatu archipelago.
This report is the project preparation document (PPD) for the S.P.B.C.P. It revises the draft PPD prepared in July 1994 The object of the project is to assist the landowners to protect the biodiversity values of the Big Bay Forests,on the island of Santo, and to generate income by forming enterprises which enable the forest to be protected. The concept is for the Environment Unit to form a partnership with the landowners and village residents to provide technical support, training and funding assistance to assist them to develop a land use plan to protect their forest as a C.A.
In 1993 a study of coastal villages in Vanuatu revealed that within the previous three years there had been a rapid increase in marine resource management (MRM) activities. The initial impetus for these events was the Vanuatu Fisheries Department's promotion of a voluntary, village-based trochus management programme. Initially the programme involved only a few fishing villages out of a total of several hundred.
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 80 volcanic islands in the Western Pacific ocean with a population of 192,000, the majority of which are Melanesian. Approximately 79% of the population live in the rural areas, and depending on subsistence lifestyle of gardening, fishing and animal keeping. The islands are geologically young with narrow fringing reefs that support a limited marine and fisheries resources. These marine resources are important source of protein and a source of income from local sale of products such as fish, crabs, shellfish and lobsters. Trochus shell (T.
