Vava'u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA)
Conservation – Education – Community – Future
Tag: coral reefs
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An interns insight: Coral bleaching
Blog post by Kirstie Corals are a beautifying agent of the ocean that connects you and me. These marine invertebrates that vary in color accommodates our marine wildlife, although it is mistaken at times as plants but are instead a fascinating marine animal. Corals have a mutually beneficial relationship with a specific type of microscopic…
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Coral 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 the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP). Coral reefs worldwide are under immense threats and pressures…
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Part 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 and health of the marine habitats, fish and invertebrate resources, that the communities heavily rely…
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Cultural 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; in part due to limited electricity sources to freeze or refrigerate produce especially on the…
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Exploring the marine resources of Tonga
In May of 2017, a team of international and national marine researchers joined together on board the Yacht Plan b, through the Waitt Institute, to survey the near-shore marine habitats of Ha’apai and Vava’u for the Vava’u Ocean Initiative. The marine surveys included coral cover, fish diversity and biomass and mobile invertebrates such as sea…
Vava'u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA) 