Fire and water go hand in hand on Robinson Crusoe Island:

A pioneering story of sustainable tourism.

Helen Sykes, Resort Support 20 June 2004 

           

Fire Dancer extraordinaire Ziggy wields a flaming torch while JICA volunteer Yuko enjoys the underwater attractions at Robinson Crusoe Resort on Likuri Island.

 Robinson Crusoe Island Resort on the small island of Likuri on the Coral Coast of Viti Levu, has become famous for its amazing Fire Dancing performers. Now these people are learning how to handle the opposite element, the ocean, in an effort to protect the marine environment that is vital to both the local communities and snorkeling and diving tourists. 

Fiji is famous for tourism that depends largely on the beautiful condition of the coastline and underwater life. However, it can be difficult to find the balance between using the reefs for tourism and fishing, and conserving the very life that this all depends on. 

In the past, some projects have concentrated mostly on increasing jobs without asking whether resorts and other coastal developments are having any harmful effects on the marine environment, or how such developments could actively contribute towards improving the marine resources for the communities. In some areas, the unfortunate results of this have been water pollution and reef damage.  

However, the tide is changing, and there are new attitudes in resort development in Fiji, from people who believe that tourism should go hand in hand with environmental conservation. When it was proposed that a resort be built on uninhabited Likuri Island, the developers were very concerned that their resort should be environmentally sustainable and not add pollution or extra fresh water to the sea.  

                  

Aerial photograph of the island and marine environment          Resort from the air

The resort uses designs such as salt-water septic systems, composting toilets, unique water-saving showers, and methods of rubbish separation and recycling. This helps to keep the amount of sewage and other pollution that could come from a resort development down to a minimum, so that the beauty and health of the environment around it is preserved.

 

                             

                    Simple water-saving shower design           Separation of glass and plastic rubbish for recycling

Initial environmental impact surveys showed that these methods were successful in keeping the water around the resort clean and healthy for the marine life in the area. The community also agreed to form a no-fishing protected (Tabu) area in front of the resort that could act as a breeding ground for fish.

However, there was the question of how to check to make sure that all these conservation methods kept working as time went along. Instead of using expensive techniques that could only be carried out by outside consultants, a monitoring schedule was designed that could be carried out economically by a team of local USP students and resort staff members.

JICA (The Japanese International Cooperation Agency), working with the Department of Environment, provided assistance to engage Resort Support, a Fiji-based marine environment training company, to develop a monitoring program that could be used to continue to measure the environmental impacts of the resort on the reef health in the area.

Monitoring team at Robinson Crusoe Island Resort

Participants, left to right:

Jack Panapasa, Moape Qere, Uraia Nawalu, Mekatoa Parker, Zaidy Khan, Frances Ling,

Akuila Sivo, Naushad Yakub, Helen Sykes (Resort Support trainer)

Mr Sinichi Isoda of JICA addresses the team

The local resort staff team was trained in survey techniques that will enable them to carry out checks every three months to identify any sewage pollution problems, or signs of fishing in protected areas, and students from the USP to carry out a more detailed annual monitoring to provide information about reef health in the area. If any problems are identified by these techniques, more detailed survey and analysis methods will be used to locate the source of the problem. In this way, the resort can keep a close eye on the efficiency of the systems it uses and make any modifications as needed.

 

Survey methods used:

 

Frames 1m square with 10cm smaller squares were used to count the amount of seaweed covering the mudflats behind the resort. If the amount of sea weed cover close to the resort were to suddenly increase close to the sewage treatment areas, and not at sites further away from the resort, it could indicate that the sewage plant was not working efficiently, and so corrections could be made.

 

Quadrat frame being used to estimate amount of seaweed cover

 

Mudflats were walked at low tide, and invertebrate animals such as sea cucumbers and shellfish counted to assess the effects of community food collection on the marine populations. This technique is used to measure whether fishing pressures on the environment are too heavy, or to find areas where breeding populations could be protected. This information can be used to help manage the marine resources available to the community.

Team studying mudflats at low tide

 In deeper water areas, the team went into the water using snorkelling equipment to count fish and animals on reefs and sea grass beds that are fished, and those that are protected from fishing. Using these techniques, the team will be able to measure how quickly the fish populations improve in the protected areas. 

  

                     Team with fish surveying equipment                               Fish on survey site

Data entry: 

At the end of each day the resort staff write their data onto record sheets, and work out totals and averages. Graduate staff then assist them to produce graphs to show what had been measured during the monitoring sessions. These records are kept and will be used to show changes and progressions over the years. 

Resort staff and USP students working together to understand the survey results

So far the monitoring has shown that Robinson Crusoe Island Resort is running successfully without polluting the surrounding waters, and that the marine protected areas that they began last year are starting to provide breeding grounds for over fished species.

The resort staff involved in the training were so inspired by the programme that they formed a committee and acquired copies of the conservation information in the Fijian Language with the aim of running their own conservation education projects in the four communities in the area: Navisabasaba, Vusama, Batiri and Togobula. They are also intending to start mangrove replanting and no-fishing areas to assist in restocking and repairing their marine resources. 

Resort staff sevusevu at the end of the survey work 

 Staff members from the local communities receive certificates of participation 

This programme was a pioneer in showing that effective marine measurement can be carried out by non-scientifically trained personnel given methods devised for them and backed up by locally trained personnel. The staff at Robinson Crusoe Island Resort showed exceptional enthusiasm and dedication to this training and everyone involved felt they had benefited from the exchange of ideas and information provided.  

It was only possible with the support and commitment of the owners and directors of Robinson Crusoe Island Resort, who showed that it is both necessary and possible for resort developers to establish their businesses with consideration for environmental sustainability. 

Team members, trainers and resort owners celebrate the completion of the training

 

This project was initiated and supported by JICA (The Japanese International Cooperation Agency), for the Department of Environment, and designed and carried out by Resort Support.

For more information, contact resortsupport@connect.com.fj

or robinsoncrusoe@connect.com.fj

This project was initiated and supported by JICA (The Japanese International Cooperation Agency), for the Department of Environment, and designed and carried out by Resort Support.

For more information, contact resortsupport@connect.com.fj

or robinsoncrusoe@connect.com.fj