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SeaWeb Helps Fijian Communities Deliver Powerful Conservation Messages

Fijian village leaders explain the importance of coral reefs during a practice presentation. Participants later gave these presentations in their home villages. Daria Siciliano

Maria Dimara is a fisherman, from a family of fishermen in the village of Nakorovou on the coast on Vanua Levu, Fiji. Dimara is also a women’s group representative from Kubulau District in Fiji and active in community affairs. That’s why it came as a surprise to her to learn that her family’s fishing activities might be impacting the health of fish populations.

“I didn’t know that we might be a part of the problem,” said Dimara after participating in a communications and science workshop in June that aimed to give her and 40 other community representatives the tools to drive community dialogue about conservation issues. The workshop was held by SeaWeb in partnership with Coral Reef Alliance and with the support of Wildlife Conservation Society.

Participants help put together a poster on the effects of poor land management after honing their messages with SeaWeb communications tools. Alumeci Nakeke

Dimara and 40 community representatives from the 10 villages that make up the Kubulau District received guidance on how to keep an audience engaged, to facilitate discussion and to craft audience-focused conservation messages. The group also learned how to use storytelling to illustrate their messages.

SeaWeb workshop leaders then shared presentations for the community representatives to give back home in their villages. The presentations were designed like a PowerPoint but printed out on flipcharts that were laminated and bound. That way, groups could present the material in village settings without the need of a computer or projector.

Their subsequent community presentations had some positive results. One village immediately moved all its pig pens inland to reduce nutrient runoff. Another village picked up all the litter and debris from its beaches and created a new system to dispose of its trash. Once the community leaders became the leading voice for conservation, action followed.

To give the presentations effectively, the community representatives also had to master communicating about the science behind coral reef ecology and about threats to the ecosystem. So SeaWeb held sessions about these topics, as well as the life history and overall health of important marine species to the community.

Throughout the workshop, SeaWeb encouraged the participants to draw upon their rich ocean traditions as coastal people and the community impacts of changes in the ocean, such as declining fish populations or a coral bleaching. This helped build confidence in the speakers, as they are the most qualified to talk about their communities’ history and outlook. Framing the conservation presentations this way, in local perspectives, also helped ensure the conservation messages were relevant and meaningful to their audiences.

During one moving part of the workshop, participants spontaneously shared their village totem stories with each other. These traditional stories are based on Fijian mythology. The totems themselves are often sea creatures, such as sharks or turtles, and remain important to each community’s identity. The powerful connection the participants were making was that the ocean is part of their cultural heritage and its health was connected to their people’s health.

The ultimate goal of the workshop was to empower community representatives to lead the dialogue on conservation challenges in Kubulau and in turn, spearhead action on critical issues. An outcome of the workshop was the launching of a one-year pilot program called the Community Educators Network. Once this program is perfected, its curriculum and process will be shared with communities throughout Fiji and beyond.

Dimara and the other participants gave the program a strong early review. “With what we have learned, we will be able to take the right messages and share [them] with our people,” she said.

Chiefs, clan heads, village spokespeople, women’s group representatives and youth from all 10 villages of Kubulau District attended the workshop. As it came to a close, the chief of Kubulau, Ratu Apenisa Vuki, said the training was a milestone for Kubulau as it was fostering greater cohesiveness between the villages. “This is first time that we have all come together—chiefs, qoliqoli (fishing grounds) committee members and village spokesmen,” he said.

The chief gave his critical endorsement of the project and expressed his desire for immediate action. “When we return to our villages we will start working straight away,” he said. Then, sending the strongest message of all, he challenged his people: “Because if we lose what we have learned here ... then our people will gain nothing.”

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