About
Vatuvara Foundation is committed to protect Fiji’s ocean, empower local communities and inspire young ocean advocates.
Our Vision
We envision healthy, resilient and protected oceans with empowered and sustainable communities as responsible stewards of their marine resources.
Our Mission
Protect Fiji’s ocean against devastating human impact
Revive Fiji’s ocean through a significant network of marine managed areas and safe havens for marine wildlife
Preserve the rich biodiversity of Fiji’s marine ecosystems through innovative conservation solutions that promote awareness for local communities in order to sustain livelihoods from marine resources
Educate and engage individual responsibility for their healthy environs and ocean mindfulness
Encourage partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders, partners and communities through a participatory consultative approach.
Our Story
Vatuvara Foundation is a local charitable organisation under the Fiji Charitable Trusts Act.
Vatuvara Foundation has embarked on a journey to protect Fiji's northern Lau group through conservation and the empowerment of local communities as stewards of their natural resources.
“ Our goal is to establish sustainable approaches to marine resource management for Fiji’s Northern Lau Group that supports biodiversity conservation, building community resilience and sustainable community livelihoods. ”
Our conservation efforts include education, awareness, monitoring, vulnerable species protection, poaching surveillance and restoration programmes.
Tourism & Conservation
We have joined together with Vatuvara Private Islands in Ridge to Reef conservation. Vatuvara Private Islands is a remote island resort located on Kaibu Island and its associated private islands of Vatuvara, Kanacea and Adavaci in northern Lau. The resort’s land-based operations are carbon negative, running on Tesla solar power and follow organic standards. Our partnership demonstrates a sustainable model for how conservation and tourism can unite to support scientific research, community development, and ensure environmental protection. We believe that we have the responsibility to treat our islands and surrounding water with the highest level of care and respect. All our land-based community efforts are for naught, if we do not protect and preserve our oceans and enjoy their natural resources.
The Lau Group
THE ISLANDS
Our ocean covers more than 70% of the earth’s surface and yet currently, less than 4% of our ocean is fully protected. Oceans are climate regulators, supporting thriving coastal economies providing food and a network of livelihoods. Fiji is a nation of color, culture and remarkable biodiversity and the Fijian Archipelago encompasses one of the most extensive coral reef systems in the world.
The Lau Group, made up of unspoiled islands in Fiji’s far east, is filled with a diversity of wildlife, including the threatened and vulnerable Coconut Crab, endangered Humphead Wrasse, Giant Grouper and Bumphead Parrotfish, along with Giant Clams. The island’s beaches provide nesting sites for endangered Hawksbill and Green sea turtles.
CHALLENGES
Fiji faces complicated issues, where life is influenced by and dependent on the ocean. Profound changes are underway in the oceans, with coastal island communities at the greatest risk. Climate change in Fiji is already having a big impact on coastal ecosystems by stronger weather events, raising sea levels, ocean acidification and warming.
By creating safe havens for marine life, protected areas can restore habitats and indigenous species resulting in more resilient oceans to provide sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities and to mitigate against effects of climate change and natural disasters.
LAU SEASCAPE
The Lau Seascape initiative aims to build a coalition among government, the private sector, civil societies and local communities to improve natural resource governance in the Province of Lau and its surrounding waters. It focuses on both terrestrial and marine resource management and highlights the importance of achieving effective governance across all sectors and at all levels. Lau Province is an area of exceptional biological diversity and abundant fisheries, defined as one of Fiji’s priority marine ecoregions with multiple sites identified in the ‘Biophysically Special’ in the Unique Marine Areas of Fiji report. The islands and surrounding marine environment of the Lau Group support diverse native flora and fauna of notable and vulnerable conservation significance, with several globally endangered and endemic species.
Vatuvara Foundation works in close collaboration with partners to advance the Lau Seascape Conservation Initiative, improve marine and terrestrial biodiversity conservation across 335, 895 squared kilometers. The Lau Seascape Conservation Initiative partners include teams from Conservation International Fiji, Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area, University of the South Pacific, Pacific Blue Foundation, Loving Islands and Coral Reef Alliance. The Lau Partners are collectively supporting the development and implementation of Fiji’s Lau Seascape and its strategic vision.
