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Coral reefs are under threat from a wide range of anthropogenic disturbances, including overfishing, habitat degradation and climate change. Beqa lagoon, Fiji, is a coral ecosystem that is currently facing a range of significant threats that will impact the structure and functioning of these coral reef communities. Changes to the catchment, river and lagoon have significantly altered the environment and resilience to further disturbance. Furthermore, decades of land degradation in the Navua Catchment results in excess sediment delivery to the river, which is impacting the coral reefs in the lagoon. Here we assessed fish community structure across inshore and offshore reefs and mangrove forests of Beqa lagoon. We used remote underwater video stations (RUVS) to sample fish communities at 40 sites throughout Beqa lagoon.

The purpose of this report is to outline the development and prioritisation of high-level EbA options to address key pressures and threats for the study area, with consideration of a range of different impacts of these options. This builds on the ESRAM and will inform the development of the Integrated Ecosystem Management Plan.

This report presents the Ecosystem and Socioeconomic Resilience Analysis and Mapping (ESRAM) prepared as part of Objective 4. ESRAM is a framework employed globally to evaluate and strengthen the resilience of both, natural ecosystems and the socioeconomic systems closely linked to them. ESRAM provides an integrated approach that considers both ecological and social dimensions, providing decision-makers with a systematic tool to analyse relationships between ecosystems and the communities they support. By mapping vulnerabilities and strengths using GIS software, ESRAM helps identify and enable the design of adaptive strategies for sustainable development. The identification of ecosystem‐based adaptation options is critical in dynamic environmental and socioeconomic landscapes such as those found in Fiji. Resilience through adaptive strategies is required to combat challenges like climate change, natural disasters and increases in human activities. Much of the broader evidence base is documented in other sections of the detailed project documents. This is deliberate to ensure that the reader of this report is able to focus on the key information and points.

This report presents a situational analysis prepared as part of Objective 3. The situational analysis provides an overview of local governance and stakeholders; the socio-economic circumstances of communities and stakeholders in the focal area; past, existing and planned initiatives; and key risks and issues. The aim of the situational analysis is to establish a baseline understanding so that gender, human rights and poverty alleviation considerations can be made central to the IEMP development.

Located in the Central Division of Fiji, the Navua River and Beqa lagoon support high social, ecological and economic values. The river floodplains support subsistence farming and commercial agriculture, and the river and tributaries provide an important transport route to villages that are difficult to reach. The catchment includes the Upper Navua Gorge, which is a designated conservation area due to its high ecological significance and the forests containing traditional foods and medicines. The lagoon has been endorsed as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) through the International Maritime Organization. An abundance of sea life including coral, fish, sharks and turtles resides in the lagoon. Local communities have deep cultural and spiritual connections to the lagoon, and many rely upon it as a traditional fishing ground for subsistence and commercial fishing. The river and lagoon support an extensive tourism industry including river tubing, white water rafting and the Namosi Eco Retreat within the catchment, as well as shark diving, surfing, scuba diving and snorkelling, with resorts located on and around Beqa Island.

Na Navua Catchment e wili ena vanua vakaturaga ko Serua kei na Beqa Lagoon e wili ena qoliqoli ni vanua ko Serua kei Rewa. Na Navua Catchment kei na Beqa Lagoon edua na vanua ka i vurevureu ni bula vakailavo, bula vakaveiwekani vakavanua, ka vutuniyau ena veimataqali veikabula. E dua na vanua ka vutuniau kina na veimataqali vurevure ni lavo kei na bula ni veisiga me vaka na teitei kei na susu manumanu ena vanua bucabuca ena yasa ni uciwai. E vakayagataki tale ga me nodra sala ni veitosoyaki na lewenivanua, na uciwai levu, kei kena vei uciwai lalai, vakabibi vei ira na koro era tu vakayawa. E toka mai na uluniwai e dua na barisavu, vakatokai na Upper Navua Gorge, e sa okati me vanua taqomaki nira bula tu kina na veimataqali kau kei na manumanu era sega ni kune ena dua tale na vanua, se era sa voleka ni kawaboko (endangered). Na veika bula e kune ena vanua qori e yaga tale ga me kakana se wainimate. E vakatalega kina na Beqa Lagoon sa wili me wasawasa e taqomaki, vakatokai na ‘Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) ka ratou a mai vakadeitaka na isoqosoqo na International Maritime Organization. Era bula tu na Beqa Lagoon e levu sara na veimataqali veikabula, me vaka na lase, qio, ika kei na vonu. E vanua ka kaukauwa sara nai nodra sema vakavanua kei na nodra bula vakayalo na lewenivanua. Era dau qoliva kina na kedr, na lewenikoro qai cicivaki rawa tale ga kina eso na bisinisi ni volitaki ika. Era gade tale ga mai vakalevu na saravanua ena Navua Catchment kei na Beqa Lagoon. E vakayacori talega kina eso na ka ni veivakamarautaki me vaka na vakasisisi ena delaniwai (river tubing and white-water rafting

Seabirds, sharks and marine turtles are important apex species in the marine food-chain, and they maintain marine ecosystem health. These resources are caught as bycatch of commercial fisheries and some species are a source of food security and livelihoods with cultural values to some coastal communities in Vanuatu.

The Turtle Research and monitoring Database System (TREDS) was developed in 1993, to allow members of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to store, collate, and organise their data for research, monitoring and reporting. This tool is intended to assist members in making informed decisions regarding turtle conservation in the region. The dataset extracted from TREDS is from 1970 to 2018 and has been manipulated for the chapters covered in this report. The difference in dates for the establishment of TREDS in 1993 and the beginning of the date of the dataset of 1970 is simply due to users submitting their existing turtle data from 1970 once the database was launched in 1993, since many users saw the importance of TREDS as a lepository for storing their historical turtle data that was probably stored in paper format or on computers that would be susceptible to corruption or crashes. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the data contained within TREDS since its development up until its upgrade to a web-based online database platform. The last TREDS Annual Report was published in 2009 with subsequent Country reports published until 2015.

Reduce the risk of crocodile attack on people, while ensuring the long-term conservation and management of the species based on science, culture, and traditional knowledge for sustainable utilisation

Reduce the risk of crocodile attack on people, while ensuring the long-term conservation and management of the species based on science, culture, and traditional knowledge for sustainable utilisation