Vava'u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA)
Conservation – Education – Community – Future
Category: Latest News
Field Blog: Partnerships for community fisheries
Blog by Sesimani Loni, SMA Project Manager, Vava’u Ocean Initiative Fisheries is one vital part of food security for all human being and here in Tonga most people rely on fisheries for daily consumptions and income however due to depletion…
Read MoreYouth Field Report: Monitoring Red List Ecosystems with Department of Environment and Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
The first in a series of reports from the youth team, as they learn and explore working in the field and office. Grateful as always to the assistance of Lisa Fanua, Susana Ika and Sesimani Loni for their efforts to…
Read MoreField Notes: Hot sands and endangered species
Beaches are an ecological wonder, home to a wide variety of species that live within the beach or migrate to the beach as part of their lifecycle, yet beaches are facing increasing changes and environmental impacts from human uses, erosion,…
Read MoreCoral Reef Monitoring: finding hope
In October, project activities included monitoring the coral reef habitats within the Vava’u Archipelago, with this the 5th consecutive year following on from the “Rapid Assessment of Biodiversity of Vava’u (BioRAP)” in 2014 through Government of Tonga and Secretariat of…
Read MoreS.E.A Program Coming Soon……
Under the Vava’u Ocean Initiative in partnership with the Waitt Institute and Ministry of Fisheries, we are excited and delighted for the upcoming launch of the Special Management Area (SMA) Environmental Ambassador Program (S.E.A). Special Management Areas (SMAs) are a…
Read MoreThorn in our Side….
Well actually the thorns mostly hit our fingers and for many of us the memories of the week stay in the tingling tips of our fingers. What were we up to? Removing those nasty, spine heavy starfish called Crown of…
Read MorePart 1: Overview – Near-shore, Vava’u
Up until the 1990’s, ocean areas within Tonga were declared as open access for all Tongans, in the hopes of allowing everyone equal and fair sharing of its resources. Over the years this caused a serious downfall in the status…
Read MoreBeyond the Reef: Ocean Areas
Malo e lelei we are excited to introduce a new Ocean themed awareness campaign that will be soothing the radio waves over the next few months as well as being posted on bogs and websites. In order to ensure the…
Read MoreFakamuna- An interview with nQako Concepts.
Story and photos by Aneira Hasson…. “I chose this design based on what Tongan’s call ‘tauhi vā’, which is the idea of special awareness. The coconut leaves of the structure are bound – similar to how a traditional Tongan house…
Read MoreCultural Food Preperation
Coastal fisheries are critically important to community livelihoods and reef habitat health. Programs such as community managed reefs (SMAs) are being developed to provide benefits to both biodiversity and livelihoods. In Tonga, many communities still practice traditional food preservation methods;…
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