New Zealand Aid Programme Helps Nature Tourism

Forest and Bird, Issue 302, 1 November 2001, Page 12

New Zealand Aid Programme Helps Nature Tourism

—KATHY OMBLER

New Zealand overseas id programme has helped four small, neighbouring villages on Taveuni Island in Fiji to establish a ‘profitable sustainable tourism product’. The villagers have supported the concept and the money they are now making from tourism is going back into their communities for needs such as schooling. In the process, the intrinsic values of Fiji’s largest remaining tract of indigenous rainforest have become recognised and protected. Bouma rainforest is a tangled, lush, jungle where great specimens of dakua (Fijian kauri) flourish. A host of wildlife species long since gone from other, more developed Fijian islands remain safe here. There are no introduced

mongeese. It is also a forest important to the local people who still rely on its fruit, nuts, flowers, gum and bark for a

host of traditional needs. In the 1960s the Fiji Government offered monetary incentives for villagers to fell this forest and plant coconut plantations. As a young man, Isake Dale toiled hard to clear 3 hectares, then realised the birds and game had disappeared, and the new coconut trees weren't even productive because they were too far from the coast. He has since replanted hundreds of native trees and plants, including fruit-bearing species for the birds. He now guides trekking visitors into the heart of the rainforest. Isake explains the meaning of sustainable tourism thus: ‘I can take a dozen sacks of taro to the market and exchange them for money. Once! I can bring visitors here today and show them the giant kauri, the birds, the waterfalls — and they will pay me money. Tomorrow, I can bring another group and show them the kauri, the birds, the waterfalls — and they will pay me money. Or we can say yes to the overseas companies who want to log our kauri and pay us big money...once. The four coastal villages of Bouma rely on the sea as well as

the forest to provide their staple food, which makes it even more significant that a key aspect of their tourism development has been the creation of a marine reserve. For three years now the villagers themselves have declared an area of coral reef and lagoon ‘off limits’ from fishing and reef walking. Already, villagers report an increase in fish numbers — and better fishing in adjacent areas. There are four tourism ventures: Waitabu Marine Reserve: tourists are poled and paddled on bilibili (traditional bamboo rafts) to snorkel in the reserve. Village hospitality follows — tea and cake, kava, singing and meke (dancing) all delivered with an abundance of friendliness and humour. Vidawa Rainforest Hike: village guides lead a full day hike through gardens and historic village sites high into the heart of the Bouma rainforest. Giant Fiji kauri, sightings of rare birdlife and demonstrations of the traditional uses of the forest are all features. Tavoro Falls: a popular attraction for years. Lavena: offers a backpacker’s lodge, with fresh fish and village garden produce available on request, plus a seakayaking/walking expedition, taking in the stunning beauty of coral reefs, rivers, rainforest and waterfalls. It was a beauty the Bouma people barely knew they had, prior to their tourism development. "We’ve lived here all our lives. We didn’t know what we had was so beautiful until people from other countries came here and told us, says Tino, fisherman and now kayak guide, of Lavena.