Current Projects
Nature Based Solutions In The Pacific
Starting in June 2022 we are working across the Pacific including Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. Supporting the work of the Keeyma Foundation and Corals for Conservation (C4C). The aim of this project is to support, inspire and empower communities looking into community led nature-based solutions to facilitate coral conservation, sustainable fishing practices and permaculture.
Coral reefs are under threat from rising sea temperatures due to climate change. With predictions that many reefs in risk areas could die out by 2050; our goal is to support active actions and change led by communities to conserve there ocean environments. Coral reefs provide a critical food source and natural storm barrier for lots of Pacific coastal communities proving an invaluable resource for communities adapting to a changing world.
The project aims to teach current marine scientist within Pacific communities how to start their own coral nurseries, which locations are best suited for the practice and some of the science behind coral nurseries. We will be examining the thermal tolerance of corals on these nurseries in order to inform the outplanting stage of these coral fragments.
C4C in conjunction with Keeyma, DFAT and the WWF, have already run one successful two week training session for marine scientists across the pacific with another one on the horizon we are excited to see the construction of our nature based solution coral nurseries.
Through your kind donations, we sponsored travel to the training sessions for 6 marine scientists from Papua New Guinea, who will now begin work on 3 new and 1 established coral nursery sites in PNG. We will update all of our donors on all of our sponsored trainees and their coral nurseries as the project develops.
If you would like to help sponsor our next set of trainees, please donate below just £5 per month can make a huge difference in assisting the Pacific communities implementing nature-based solutions to climate change.
Sigatoka, Fiji
In Fiji, chicken farming in the villages has mostly died out since the introduction of the mongoose, which kills all the babies and sometimes the adult chickens. Fiji imports over 20 million fertile eggs and baby chicks per year, but these imported chicks do poorly in the village conditions and do not breed well. At the Sustainable & Environmental Livelihoods Farm (SELF), Sigatoka, they have crossed local chickens with imported breeds to create a very productive cross breed of chickens. The new ‘Happy Chickens’ breed can be over twice as big as the local breeds, and the hens lay very well.
SELF began producing and distributing these village-adapted chickens in order to ensure local fishing communities would have an alternative protein and income source in order to have successful no-fish zones and locally-managed marine areas (LMMA’s). This has been a successful strategy for SELF and they have now produced over 30,000 so far and have distributed them throughout Fiji. SELF continues to strive to find the most successful island-adapted chicken breeds, as well as research in to chicken feed from locally-grown plant species.
Every pound donated will go directly towards the running of the project and in to the continued research in to village-adapted chicken breeds and locally-grown chicken feeds.
