This was a small presentation our group did on the village of Waiqanake in Lami, Fiji. Exploring the village really opened our eyes to the lifestyle of the people in the community and the challenges they faced everyday particularly because they were so close to the sea.
6. Waiqanake village is one among the four villages in
the Vanua Navakavu area.
It is accessible by land and by the sea.
The village is situated uphill from the coast near the
Suva Harbour.
There are more than 710 (from 2007 census) people
in the village.
A great place to experience Fijian way of living.
6
8. Village Vegetation
The village is mostly dominated
by ornamental plants and
flowers.
Most of which are used in
making garlands, such as the
sinu.
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Rose Cotton Rose
Mellow
Sinu
sp.
Logologo
9. Alot of medicinal plants also
exist in the village. Important
because there are no health
centres. Some examples are
basil (tamole), frangipani (bua
ni Viti) and vasa damu (Fiji
Spurge).
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11. Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and
shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create
environmental, economic, and social benefits.
Agroforestry is derived from ecology and is one of the
three principal land-use sciences, the other two being
agriculture and forestry. Agroforestry differs from the latter
two principals by placing an emphasis on integration of
and interactions among a combination of elements rather
than just focusing on each element individually.
It has a lot in common with intercropping (the practice of
planting two or more crops on the same plot) with both
practices placing an emphasis on interaction between
different plant species. Generally, both agrofrestry and
intercropping can result in higher overall yields and
reduced operational costs.
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15. 15
Trees in this ecosystem are very
important to the people of
Waiqanake.
Not only is it used for timber to be
exported or sold to outside
markets.
It is also a source of building
materials for the villagers.
16. 16
Forests are important for soil
erosion control.
It is a form of habitat to many
organisms.
And also contains food source
for birds and animals alike.
Yalu
Dilo
Soni
18. Early this year TC Winston
struck Fiji.
Many homes were
destroyed and lives were
devastated.
The TC severity did not fully
cause that much destruction
in Waiqanake but it did
damage three houses and
most of the ‘ba ni ilava’.
The coastline was also
riddled with rubbish and
debris and this directly
affected marine and land
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19. 19
Coastal vegetation is very important to villages along
the coast
Mangroves and other coastal trees serve as a break
for flooding and during high tide
They also are habitat for many marine organisms
22. 22
• Mudflats are basically a stretch of muddy land left uncovered at
low tide.
• They are also known as tidal flats and are coastal wetlands that
form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers.
23. Most sediments within intertidal
zone
Mudflats may be viewed
geologically as exposed layers of
bay mud, resulting from deposition
of estuarine silts, clays and marine
animal detritus
Provide important ecological uses
23
24. Tidal flats along with mangrove
forests are important ecosystems.
They support a large population of
wildlife and are key habitat to
migrating birds, crabs, mollusks and
fish.
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26. The area where shallow salty
and brackish waters.
One of the most productive
ecosystems as it form dense
sea grass meadows that
provide shelter and food to an
incredibly diverse community
of animals
Provide important services to
people (insulate houses,
weave furniture, thatch roofs,
fertilize fields)
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27. 27
• Tide pools where
seagrass beds are is a
famous area where
women clean their
gleaned products.
• Sea urchins is one that
was often gleaned on a
daily a basis by the
women of Waiqanake.
• But due to the
implementation of the
MPA in 2002, sea
urchins (cawaki) and
sandfish (dairo) are
recovering in numbers.
28. SEAGRASS BEDS OF WAIQANAKE
Habitat for many marine invertebrate
e.g. sea stars, brittle star community, different sea
cucumber species, sea urchins, small crabs and other
crustaceans, burrowing animals
Algae and pollution
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38. What is a Ba ni Ilava?
How it is made?
Mechanics of fish trap to trap fish
38
Te Ma in Kiribati
Looking
from above
Taken from land
39. 39
What is a Ba ni Ilava?
It is a traditional fishing trap method in Fiji.
Three raw materials to needed to construct it
are: Dogo (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza) giant
reed or sword grass, gasau (Arundo donax
and Miscanthus floridulus) climbing swamp
fern, wa midri (Stenochlaena palustris)
40. Black mangrove / Dogo
(Bruguiera gymbnorrhiza)
One of the three types of
Mangrove
Usually found along the
coastlines
It is used like a rope to hold
the reeds together
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41. Climbing swamp fern/ wa midri
(Stenochlaena palustris)
Used for lashing and
binding the giant reeds
together so that it does not
break easily.
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42. Giant Reed and Sword Grass
(Arundo donax & Miscanthus
floridulus)
Used as a fishing gear
(spear fishing)
Flowering-indicates
many octopus
Used as posts for the
fish trap
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44. The Mechanics of the Ba ni Ilava
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1) The fish moves toward the handle
of the Bai ni lava
2) Fish guided by the handle
portion toward the head (entrance)
3) The head or Entrance of fish
trap
4) Once tide goes down the fish
is trapped
45. Lighthouse
45
o Located along the coast
o 1948 Pacific War, Malaya
Campaign
o The lighthouse was used to
protect and defend Suva harbor.
o The normal lighthouses were
switched off and the ones in
Waiqanake took over to confuse
and trap enemy ships on the
reefs
o When trapped these stranded
ships would be fired upon by
the battery gun in Bilo halting
any enemy advancement.
http://www.nzhistory.net
.nz/war/the-malayan-
emergency
Members of the Fiji
Infantry Regiment
46. 46
Ratu Edward Cakobau was the
commander of the Fijian Battalion.
He later went on to become a
Deputy PM and his son Ratu Epeli
Nailatikau was the previous
president of Fiji.
47. Reef ecosystem
Provides fish habitat as a
nursery, feeding and shelter
area.
Support secondary production
such as commercial activities,
recreational fishing, tourist
acitivties, etc
Study on East Coast of Puerto
Rico- estimated its economic
value- $1.853 billion from reef
ecosystem
47
48. Snorkeling
provided a good
insight into a
healthy coral reef
system.
48
Staghorn Coral
http://www.fishchannel.com/fish
-news/2012/02/16/fl-corals-to-
get-infusion-of-frags.aspx
Brain Coral
https://mrsredmondclass.wi
kispaces.com/Brain+Coral
Blue Star fish
49. During high tide shark species
move into the reef area, especially
the juveniles, eg. Hammerhead
shark, White and Black Tip
sharks.
Known as top predator
Preys on weak and sick fish to
avoid spread of disease
Role- balance or control the
health of the ecosystem
Threat-Human- commercial
In Kiribati- Aus$7.00 a kilo-2
large fins for a kilo.
49
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Blacktip_reef_shark
http://galapagosconser
vation.org.uk/tag/ham
merhead-sharks/
http://www.shar
ksider.com/white
tip-reef-shark/
53. 53
• For example, sea urchins are sold in
containers worth $30 each.
54. 54
• Due to high dependency on marine
organisms for livelihood, there
arrives the need for sustainable
management of these resources.
• Objective: to promote
environmental and economical
sustainability measures in the
Waiqanake village.
60. RECOMMENDATIONS
Elect a village council for efficient and
smooth running of village duties.
Encourage the need to get educated and
look for jobs outside the village for a more
stable source of income.
Have efficient participation in awareness
campaigns and make the best use of it to
promote and engage in sustainability
measures.
Create more evacuation centres other
than the village hall and the cave.
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