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Waitabu fun! Full Size » Waitabu Workshop Waitabu fun! | Coral Reef Alliance

Home » Welcome to the Photobank » CORAL at Work Waitabu Workshop October 2003 CORAL funded a mooring buoy project in Waitabu to demarcate the Waitabu protected area. CORAL visited the community to view the moorings and discuss... Full Size » Waitabu Workshop | Coral Reef Alliance

Sherry and Sala Full Size » Waitabu Workshop Sherry and Sala | Coral Reef Alliance

Tuesday, July 01, 2008 THE only international organisation working exclusively mainly to protect coral reefs from the effects of global climate change has taken a bold step to promote local culture and richness.    The Coral Reef Alliance has launched two community-driven tourist websites for marine protected areas in Fiji. The dedicated websites are for Namena Marine Reserve situated at Kubulau in Bua and the Waitabu Marine Park on Taveuni in the biodiversity waters of Fiji. The websites: www.namena.org and www.waitabu.org was launched in America last Friday. It features details such as visitor information, local community profiles and facts about park operations, providing an essential resource for tourists, conservationists, members of the local government and communities, and non-government organisations. Made possible by the generous support of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation , the two websites were designed with extensive participation by local community ...

This year the Waitabu Village celebrates 10 years of managing the Waitabu Marine Park .  In 1998 the community worked to stop all fishing and poaching by protecting their coral reefs for future generations.  Along with the New Zealand Overseas Development Agency (now NZAID) Waitabu Village , Wai and Vurevure settlements set aside the fragile reef habitat and became founding members of the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas network (FLMMA).   The Coral Reef Alliance and Resort Support Fiji have worked to support the community of Waitabu to protect this pristine coral reef ecosystem.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 ALUMECI NAKEKE Elia (right) with CORAL 's Heidi Williams after receiving snorkelling equipment Elia Gasaiwai still reminisces about the days when men and women from his village would go to the reef in front of the village and return with their catch in just a few hours. They would return from fishing every day with enough for the whole family and there was not a day they would come back home empty-handed. He is now 64-years-old and said those were the good old days when everything was in abundance, especially fish. They never used fishing lines but women would go out to the reefs with their small nets and the men with their spears. The spears were often made of a long thin bamboo stick with several sharp, short iron rods tied with a wire at one end. "It was also fun to go with other boys and look for fish. When we see a school of fish gathered we would take a stone and throw it towards them and they would swim towards their own fish holes wher...

The Short Story Since beginning our work in Fiji in 2003, CORAL is now seeing real and measurable progress from our Coral Reef Sustainable Destination ( CRSD ) approach. We have designed a business plan and are developing sustainable financing projects for the Namena Marine Reserve, and we provide technical support to the Kubulau Management Resource Committee (KMRC)—a community-based body charged with managing the region’s marine resources—in its operation of the marine reserve. We facilitate close working relationships between marine recreation providers and members of the local community on issues of marine area management and decision-making. And on the nearby island of Taveuni, we assist the Waitabu Marine Park with improvements to its local management of the reef. In addition to a dedicated Indo-Pacific program manager located at CORAL ’s San Francisco headquarters, we employ two Fiji-based field staff to aid in all program execution. More Progress in Fiji CORAL ’s work in Fij...

Help Protect Waitabu Reef We need your help to protect a beautiful reef in Fiji! And you can do it with a click of your mouse each day. Moreover, it will cost you nothing to sign up for the Waitabu Reef Protection drive. CORAL 's new fundraising partner, EarthAIDE, lets you support CORAL 's effort to protect Waitabu Reef from overfishing and anchor damage, for free. All you have to do is subscribe to an email newsletter. When you receive the email, open it and click on the "Donate FREE" button. Our sponsor for this event, Care2.com , will make a contribution to CORAL for each click you make until this goal is funded. You pay nothing, but Waitabu Reef gets the funding it needs. Located on Fiji's Taveuni Island, Waitabu Marine Park is a vibrant reef set aside for the benefit of snorkel tourism and environmental education. CORAL is partnering with the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network and Resort Support to set up boundary markers and mooring buoys ...