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TheInternationalEcotourismSociety(TIES),
 DigitalTraveler~AsiaPacific
eNewsletter,December2006www.ecotourism.org
1
EcotourismSupportsFiji’sFirstLeaseforConservation
ByKellyandNateBricker,RiversFijiImagineaplaceabundantintropicalbiodiversitywhereasmallgoby(Figure1)wasdiscoveredforthefirsttime;whereiguanas,oncethoughtextremelyrareontheislandofVitiLevu,werefoundinthehighlands;andwherewaterfallsarecountless…noneedtoimagineanymore,thisplaceexistsdeepinthehighlandsofSeruaProvince,ontheislandofVitiLevuintheRepublicofFiji—andecotourismdollarsarecontributingtoprotectingthisuniqueriverresource,theUpperNavuaGorge.
Figure1-NewSpeciesofGoby
TheUpperNavuaGorgeislocatedintheRepublicofFiji.FijiisaSouthPacificIslandnationofover330islandslyingnearly1,900milesnorthofSydneyandjustover3,000milessouthwestofHonolulu.ThetotallandareaofFijiisapproximately7,061squaremiles,whichisslightlylargerthanHawaii.Nearlyone-thirdofFiji’sislandsareinhabitedandSuva,thecapital,isonthelargestislandofVitiLevu,whichaccountsfor59%ofthelandand70%ofFiji’spopulation,whichisestimatedatnearly800,000.
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TheInternationalEcotourismSociety(TIES),
 DigitalTraveler~AsiaPacific
eNewsletter,December2006www.ecotourism.org
2
EcotourismSupportsConservation:TheUpperNavuaConservationArea(UNCA)
RiversFijireceivedpermissiontobeginitswhitewateroperationsin1997andestablisheditsmissionto“enhancevisitorsandindigenouspeoples'awarenessof,andappreciationforthecultureandenvironmentbyprovidingactivitiesthatpromoteconservationandpreservationthroughsociallyresponsibleandenvironmentallysensitiveinteractionwiththepeople,landscapeandecosystemswhichmaketheFijianHighlandssodistinctandunique”.

Theecotourismproductproposedfortheriverwaswhitewaterraftingandkayaking.DuetothepristinenatureoftheUpperNavuaGorge,werecognizedourresponsibilitytoconservetherivercorridoranditsuniqueattributes—foralltooften,wehavebeenwitnesstoexamplesofpristineplacesopentotourism,andultimatelydestroyedastheresultofpoorplanningandlittletonoconsiderationgiventoconservation.Therefore,wesoughtcontinuedsupportfromnotonlythelocallandowninggroups,butfromgovernmentandconservationgroupsaswell.InalandmarkmeetingwiththeFijiVisitorsBureauinJuly1998,withseveralMinistersandDirectorsfromtheDepartmentsofEnvironment,TourismandTransport,FijianAffairs,andWomenandCulture,weoutlinedaproposalfordevelopingFiji’secotourisminthehighlandsofVitiLevu,anareanotincludedinthe“sun,sand,andsea”tourismdevelopmentinitiativesforwhichFijitendstobebetterknown.Atthemeeting,weexplainedtheneedforaconservationareaontheUpperNavuaRiver.ThismeetingwasaturningpointinRiversFiji’sattemptstofindawaytoprotecttheUpperNavuaGorge.Toobtainaleaseforconservation,weneededthesupportofeveryMataqaliwithlandalongtheUpperNavuarivercorridor.Itwasalsonecessarytosecurepermissionfromthecurrentleaseholder(theloggingandgravelextractioncompany)inordertoextendtheprotectedarea200metersoneithersideoftheriver.Hence,RiversFijiembarkedonaconservationcampaignwhichincludedformalagreementsthroughtheNativeLandTrustBoard(NLTB)
1
withnineMataqali
2
andanagreementwiththeloggingcompanytorelinquishaportionoftheirleasetosupportconservation.Thistypeoflegalagreement,itwasfelt,wastheonlywaytoprotectRiversFiji’slong-terminvestmentandprovidelong-termconservationeffortstothisuniquegorgeinthehighlandsofFiji.Theestablishmentoftheleaseforconservationtooknearly3years—eventhoughRiversFijihadthefullsupportofallMataqali,theloggingcompany,thevillages,andtheNLTB.Wewantedanequitablepartnershipwithgovernmentandlocallandownerstoenablethebusinesstoremainviableandproductiveformanyyears.ThusbeganthestruggletoprotectwhatwouldlaterbecometheUpperNavuaConservationArea(UNCA).WiththedawnofthenewmillenniumcametheconfirmationthatthechallengesofestablishingaleaseforconservationwouldfinallyresultinFiji’sfirstprotected,ecotourism-funded,conservationarea.Todate,weareunawareofanyotherfreshwaterresource
intheworld 
beingprotectedandconservedsolelybythebenefitsofasustainablewhitewatertourism-based
1
“NLTBwasestablishedinFijiin1940forthepurposeofsecuring,protectingandmanaginglandownershiprightsassignedtolocalindigenousownershipandtofacilitatethecommercialtransactionsthatrevolvearounditsuse.”(NLTBwebsite:www.nltb.com.fj)
2
AMataqalimayhaveanywherefrom200orgreatermembers.
 
TheInternationalEcotourismSociety(TIES),
 DigitalTraveler~AsiaPacific
eNewsletter,December2006www.ecotourism.org
3operation.ThiscommitmentbytheMataqali,theGreatCouncilofChiefs,theNativeLandTrustBoard,andRiversFijitoprotectandconservethisareaofthehighlandshasresultedinoneofthemostuniqueconservationcooperativesintheworld.Sinceitsinception,scientificdiscoveriesintheUNCAhaverevealedtwonewendemicspeciesoffreshwaterfish,sightingsofthegloballyendangeredPink-billedParrotfinch,andacapturedbandediguanaalsonowconsideredrareinFiji’sforests.Inadditiontotheuniqueanimallifefound,asurprisinglyhealthypopulationofMetroxylonvitienseorsagopalmhasbeennoted.ThesagopalmhasbeensignificantlyreducedoreliminatedonmanyofFiji’sfreshwaterriverdrainages.
FurtherProtectionfortheUNCA
Thefruitsoftheselaborsnotonlycreatedauniquebusiness-for-conservationparadigmbuttheyalsolaidthegroundworknecessarytohelpFijiestablishitsfirstinternationallydesignatedwetlandofimportanceviatheRamsarConvention
3
.WiththehelpofadedicatedgroupofeducatorsandscientistsfromtheUniversityoftheSouthPacific,otherspecialistsfromvariousgovernmententities,andassistancefromtheWorldWildlifeFundforNature,UNCAbecameFiji’sfirst,officiallydesignatedRamsarsite,allowingFijitobecomethe152
nd
partytotheConventiononApril11,2006.UNCAhostsimportantfloraandfaunacriticaltothehealthofthisunusualfreshwaterresourceaswellasthehumancommunities.UNCAisnowpartofmorethan1280wetlandsaroundtheworlddesignatedasareasofinternationalimportance.Theseprotectedareasnowencompassnearlytwomillionsquarekilometersofsurfacearea,anarealargerthanFrance,GermanyandSwitzerlandcombined.Protectingourfragilewetlandsisextremelycriticalforthepreservationofbiodiversityandsubsequentlythehealthandwellbeingofourownhumanpopulations,bothlocallyandglobally.RiversFijiishonoredtobeapartofanefforttoconserveasmallsegmentofFiji’swildplaces.However,thelong-termprotectionofwildplacescanonlyhappenwhenpeopledecidetoworktogethertoconservethenaturecapitalthatiscriticaltoanysustainabletourismendeavor.RiversFijiwasfortunatetobeapartofalargeconsortiumofpeoplewhoalsobelievedthattherivercorridorwasofimportancenotonlytotourism,buttothebiologicaldiversityofthecountry.Thissmallwhitewaterraftingoperationhighlightstheimpactecotourismcanhave—fromasmallconservationeffort,tothecountry’sfirstwetlandofinternationalimportance,UCNAissupportedbytourism,throughcooperationandcollaborationofbusiness,localcommunities,andconservationentities.Thefollowingquotewebelievecapturesthisprojectandhopefullymanyecotourismprojectstocome:
3
“TheConventiononWetlands,signedinRamsar,Iran,in1971,isanintergovernmentaltreatywhichprovidestheframeworkfornationalactionandinternationalcooperationfortheconservationandwiseuseofwetlandsandtheirresources.”(TheRamsarConventiononWetlands:www.ramsar.org
 
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