Vava'u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA)
Conservation – Education – Community – Future
Tag: Tonga
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Team Member Updates…..
Over the last few months and without easy communication access and in between Covid lockdowns the VEPA team has continued to change! Over the coming months we hope to share more stories from the team and especially the work through their lives and words! My name is Talita and I’m 20 years of age. I […]
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Surveys for cultural and traditional knowledge on marine turtles
With the support of the SPREP led By-catch and Integrated Ecosystem Management (BIEM) Initiative, Tonga’s Ministry for the Environment (MEIDECC), Ministry of Fisheries and VEPA are working together to update and collect community information on the cultural uses and traditional knowledge on marine turtles in Tonga. Tonga has four known species of marine turtles: hawksbill, green, […]
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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 of marine resources, especially from our coastal waters. The Ministry of Fisheries and Government of […]
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Youth 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 guide and support the youth team. Malo lahi to Department of Environment and Ministry of […]
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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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News from the field:
Here it is the launch of our new series “News from the field” which highlights our findings from surveys and projects. More detailed information will be posted to our latest news. Let’s make 2019 one of shared experiences and knowledge. vepa_news Koe hokohoko hono tuku atu ‘emau polokalama fo’ou, “Talafungani ‘oe ‘Atakai” ‘oku mau tuku […]
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Reducing the Plastic Footprint in Vava’u Communities
INTRODUCTION The Vava’u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA) is a NGO based in Neiafu, Vava’u dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity, increasing community knowledge of environmental issues and securing sustainable livelihoods for future generations. VEPA operates a range of terrestrial and marine based projects to achieve this goal. VEPA recently collaborated with Ocean Ambassadors, working together […]
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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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Beyond 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 sustainability of our oceans, we need to understand the current uses, issues and threats that […]
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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 […]
Vava'u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA) 