Addressing environment management and local livelihoods in Fiji’s coastal communities

Since 1997, interested coastal communities in Fiji together with a network of conservation practitioners, the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas, have been working in partnership to collectively address threats to their natural resources, especially in Fiji's inshore waters. A major driving force for this movement is the need to conserve marine biodiversity for use by future generations and to ensure human wellbeing in these communities. Achieving wellbeing in this context encompasses a whole range of social dynamics such as income, human development, empowerment, governance and social relations which in turn, are also key indicators for poverty reduction assessment. This study strives to understand the impacts of these conservation programs on the livelihood of these coastal communities and also the driving force within these communities that can determine the achievement of conservation and poverty reduction goals. The results imply that conservation of resources not only improves biodiversity but more importantly, it improves the social elements and dynamics that make a community function. It is recommended to encourage resource conservation in-order to improve productivity and reduce poverty. Also, it is recommended that these two issues should be addressed in parallel by practitioners to ensure the long term success of these initiatives.