The Prince's Visit to the Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project
Added to website: 10 May 2005
On the 11th March 2005, Coral Cay Conservation was delighted and honoured to receive His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to our project base on Qalito Island, situated in the Mamanuca Island group of Fiji.
During the visit, Prince Charles observed from a glass-bottom boat a team of CCC divers surveying a section of reef before transferring to Qalito island where he was introduced to the CCC expedition team and given a tour of CCC’s expedition base. His Royal Highness was also briefed on the conservation and community work being undertaken by CCC in Fiji since 2000 and participated in a marine life identification training course.
Prince Charles wished to visit the CCC project during His official visit to Fiji as He is known to take a keen interest in biodiversity conservation. During His visit, His Royal Highness shared with us His views and concerns for the environment and congratulated CCC in our endevours to help protect coral reefs and tropical forests and thus the livelihoods of communities dependant upon a healthy environment. Peter Raines MBE, Founder and Managing Director of CCC, who greeted His Royal Highness on behalf of CCC, commented afterwards that: “Prince Charles has a remarkable in-depth knowledge, awareness and concern for the environmental and social issues facing the plight of coral reefs and the communities dependant upon them. It was a delight to have had the opportunity to share views with His Royal Highness”.
The visit was very relaxed and informal and was immensely appreciated and enjoyed by the 35-strong CCC team. As Myriam Evans, CCC’s Expedition Leader commented: “A fantastic experience! I can’t deny that our nerves were jangling a bit when He first arrived but Prince Charles has the unique ability to immediately connect with and effortlessly put at ease those around him. He was interested in all aspects of CCC’s expedition life, ranging from our cutting-edge conservation science right through to how we manage and mitigate our own environmental impacts through waste management and water conservation. But undoubtedly the highlight was simply to spend a bit of time together and share a few laughs!”
Following His visit to CCC, Prince Charles took a short boat trip around to the other side of Qalito Island to visit Castaway Island Resort, where He met with children from Solevu Village, one of many local community and stakeholder groups now benefiting from the pioneering conservation education and training programmes being conducted by the Mamanuca Environment Society.
Project History- The Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project
CCC’s presence in Fiji stemmed from the severe coral bleaching event of 2000. In March 2000, the coral reefs within the Mamanucas Group suffered a sudden and serious ‘bleaching event’ caused by higher than normal seawater temperatures. Within the space of a few weeks, over 50% of the corals within the Mamanucas Group were affected.
At the time, resort managers and dive operators, in consultation with the Government and other stakeholders, contacted CCC to express their concern over this event and seek any advice and guidance that CCC might be able to offer. Instrumental throughout these discussions was the Fiji Visitors Bureau (FVB), who lent weight and credence to the concerns expressed on behalf of Fiji’s important tourism industry.
At the invitation of the FVB and other stakeholders, a small delegation from CCC visited Fiji in December 2000 to attend the annual Fiji Tourism Forum. As a result, the Forum passed a resolution enlisting the services of CCC. In March 2001, the FVB, Air New Zealand and other project partners generously sponsored a CCC mission to visit Fiji to follow up on the initial meetings from the previous year. This delegation included Prof. David Bellamy OBE, President of CCC. David’s visit helped to highlight both nationally and internationally the unique partnerships forged between Government, local communities, the tourism industry, other stakeholders, and CCC.
A key output from this mission was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Tourism and CCC. This formalised arrangements for the Mamanuca Coral Reef Conservation Project - Fiji 2001, a three-month pilot project aimed at initiating a programme for the protection and sustainable use of Fiji’s reefs in the Mamanuca region. This pilot project, which was successfully completed between June and August 2001, focused on a rapid assessment of key reefs within the Mamanucas and the preparation of initial recommendations for the management and protection of these reefs. Surveys were based upon methods developed by CCC and those used globally for monitoring the status of coral reefs. The project also initiated conservation education and training aimed at the local communities and stakeholders.
The findings of this initial pilot project were presented to the Government of Fiji, local communities and stakeholders, at a public forum in Nadi, during September 2001. A series of recommendations were made relating to the conservation and sustainable management of the reefs in the Mamanuca Islands. It was concluded that many of these recommendations could be achieved with a longer-term commitment from CCC.
Since 2001, hundreds of CCC Volunteers have participated on the ‘CCC Fiji Coral Reef Conservation Project’. Hundreds of kilometers of reefs in the Mamanucas, the Yasawa Island Group and the Coral Coast of Viti Levu have been successfully surveyed. Based on the vast quantity of data gathered, significant progress has now been made towards the conservation of the coral reef resources of Fiji, including the identification of the most biologically suitable areas for the creation of Marine Protected Areas and traditional Fijian ‘tabu’ (no-take) zones.
CCC would like to pay gratitude to the Fijian Government, the British High Commission Suva, Air New Zealand , local communities, the Mamanuca Fiji Hoteliers Association, the Mamanuca Environment Society and other groups for their continued support of the Project.
