Fiji

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Fiji is an archipelago of over 332 islands in the western Pacific Ocean. The two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 85% of the total land area and are inhabited by over 90% of the total population. Around 56% of the land is forested and 23% is farmed. Fiji has a tropical maritime climate with highly variable rainfall, a wet season from November to April and a dry season from May to October. The country is a key biodiversity crossroads in Polynesia-Micronesia, ranking among the world's top 36 biodiversity hotspots. Much of this biodiversity is endemic to Fiji: over 50% of plants and birds, over 90% of certain insect groups such as cicadas and marine insects, and almost 2,600 vascular plants, 1,600 of which are indigenous.

Fiji also offers a significant diversity of marine habitats, including estuaries, seagrass beds, macroalgae, protected and exposed soft shores, lagoons, coral reefs... In addition, the country boasts the third largest area of mangroves in the Pacific Islands region (517 km²). Researchers have so far identified more than 2,000 species of fish, over 1,000 marine invertebrates and around 1,000 coral reefs. While many of these species are widespread throughout the Pacific region, resulting in relatively low endemism, they are an important component of Fiji's national biodiversity and a major resource for local communities, but are currently threatened by overexploitation and agricultural and forestry externalities.

Almost half of Fiji's total surface area is forested, while dry grasslands in the western areas of the larger islands balance the ecosystem. Forest cover has increased in recent decades with the development of plantations. Fiji's forest comprises 526,453 ha of native forest, 76,171 ha of pine forest and 54,000 ha of mahogany forest. The rate of conversion of natural forests to exotic monospecific plantations and other agricultural uses needs to be monitored and regulated, with emphasis on the role of the forest in protecting watersheds, watercourses, soil resources and biodiversity. The decline, reduction in quality and fragmentation of native forest habitats due to human activities represent a major threat to Fiji's endemic biodiversity.

Access to the IBAT sheet

In Fiji, the multi-stakeholder dialogue took place in the province of Cakaudrove and was structured differently depending on the sector.

For the kava sector, the dialogue was marked by four key events.

A high-level meeting was held with the permanent secretaries of the Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Two sectoral dialogue workshops bringing together representatives of the public sector at national, provincial and district levels, the private sector (farmers, businesses), civil society and traditional chiefs, and the financial sector, led to visits to "model farms". Finally, a workshop to celebrate voluntary commitments brought together the players involved in the process, alongside the media.

For inshore fishing, information and awareness-raising missions have been carried out, but dialogue has not been formally structured. Two workshops with local financial institutions were organized.

Options chosen and scenarios discussed

Solutions identified by stakeholders

Find out more about the Fiji volunteer tracks below.

Country profiles IPPS

Notes de politiques publiques

After supporting the 15 countries in the identification of priority sectors, and facilitating the commitment of private-sector players to biodiversity, BIODEV2030 will build on the momentum created to roll out the voluntary commitments on a pilot territory scale, and to strengthen the integration of biodiversity into countries' sectoral public policies.

The sectors targeted for Phase II are coastal fishing and the kava industry, on the Natewa/Tunuola Peninsula, Taveuni Island and Qamea Island. In order to identify the most relevant sectoral public policy instruments (IPPS) to be created, abolished or modified, BIODEV2030 has called on Altai Consulting. This support is intended to contribute to the coherence of economic, sectoral (agriculture, mining, fisheries, forestry, etc.) and environmental (particularly biodiversity-related) policies, a key aspect of the mainstreaming approach. This global integration of biodiversity helps to prevent economic and sectoral policies from encouraging actors (producers) to adopt production practices that are harmful to nature, in contradiction with a country's biodiversity commitments.

Altai has developedIPPS sheets for each country. The Fiji sheet is available via the button above.

Les Ministères de l’Environnement, des Pêcheries, des Forêts ainsi que le Ministère de l’Environnement et celui des Affaires iTaukei ont participé au cadrage des ateliers nationaux pour la phase II du projet. Les réformes identifiées par le dialogue vont permettre d’alimenter la révision de la Stratégie Biodiversité des Fidji, notamment via une analyse des besoins en termes de réformes politiques pour l’intégration de la biodiversité dans les secteurs de l’agriculture et de la pêche. Les pistes d’action mises en avant incluent le renforcement de la gestion des Aires Marines Protégées et l’augmentation de la certification des filières kava par des incitations fiscales.

Concept Notes

With the aim of helping stakeholders in pilot areas (private, public, CSOs) to collectively define actions to reduce pressures on biodiversity, transition projects towards nature-positive practices, or even nature-based solutions, will be developed on the basis of the change actions identified during the multi-stakeholder dialogue, and then brought to the attention of potential funders.

Deux projets pilotes ont été développés aux Fidji : un pour la filière kava, et un pour la filière aquaculture, avec une forte implication des communautés locales.