The Role of the National Government in the Economic Development of Mangroves in Fiji
Mesake Senibulu
Department of Lands & Surveys, Fiji

The coastal zone where mangroves are found represents an important inter-face between the land and the sea. Especially for a comparatively small island economy like the Republic of Fiji, there is an urgent need for the utilisation of its resources in a sustainable manner.

The National Government through its line ministries has the primary responsibility in the effective management of mangroves. Provisions in respective legislation and government policies are means to achieving desired results, that is, the economic development of mangroves.

This paper attempts to briefly highlight responsibilities, consultation and practice carried out in the management of mangroves in Fiji

Fiji is an independent island republic in the South Pacific and lies astride the 180 degrees meridian between longitudes 177 degrees west and 175 degrees east and latitudes 15 degrees south and 22 degrees south.

The land area is approximately 18,300 square kilometers covering some 320 islands with only about one third inhabited. The inherent formation of the group comprise of the high islands of volcanic origin and raised coral islands. The two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu together make up 87% of the total land area.

The island group enjoys a tropical maritime climate which means that there are only two distinctive climate conditions experienced and these are, hot - wet season and cool - dry season. The hot and wet season from November to April is charactirised by variable wind directions and rainfall, as the intertropical convergence zone swings south. Tropical cyclones are usually prevalent during this period. The cool and dry season which occurs from May to October is determined to a large extent by the steady flow of the prevailing winds, the South-East Trades.

The incidence and contrast in vegetation over the main land masses are conditioned mainly by the occurrence of rainfall. There is some marked variations in rainfall both from month to month and year to year averages. Figures obtained over a 68 - year average shows the capital, Suva, located on a peninsula of the windward side of the main island, to have a mean of 321mm/month while Nadi, on the leeward coast, having a mean of 165mm/month. The rainfall factor therefore allows to a great degree the greater occurrence of rainforest in the eastern side of the main islands.

The population of Fiji at the 1996 census stood at 775,077 comprising 51% indigenous Fijians, 44% Indo Fijians, and 5% others made up mainly of Europeans, Chinese and islanders of other Pacific Islands origin. The principal languages are Fijian and Hindi while English is the official language.

The island group is administered into four geographical divisions namely, Central Division, Western Division, Northern Division and Eastern Division.

Mangrove Ecosystems in Fiji, as elsewhere in the world are generally associated with riverine/esturine deltas and sheltered coastline with low energy waves (Chapman, 1977).

The total mangrove area in Fiji has been variably reported as between 19,700ha (Saenger et al 1983) and 49,777ha (Fiji Government as cited in Richmond and Ackerman, 1975). The report by Watling in 'A Mangrove Management Plan for Fiji Phase 1, 1985' estimated 38,543ha for the main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. However, figures obtained from the government Department of Forestry for their 1999 Annual Report, not published for the time being, gave an estimate of 42,464ha covering the five major islands of above and including Kadavu, Ovalau and Gau.

While mangroves are present also in other islands, acreage and extent are minimal comparatively nevertheless, they need attention towards sustainable management. The figure therefore provided by Forestry Department could be relied upon as the technology of remote sensing was used in arriving at its estimate.

Mangroves, being found on the land - water interface form the basis of an ecosystem which comprises of both terrestrial as well as aquatic subsystems and do not constitute a homogeneous ecosystem. In Fiji, detailed scientific information on the fauna and flora associates of the mangrove ecosystem is very scant, with the result that an understanding about the relationships and specific physico - chemical processes within the coastal waters is almost non-existent. However, studies elsewhere in the world have shown that a variety of different communities are found depending on the interaction between factors such as aridity, wave energy, tidal conditions, sedimentation, mineralogy and neotechtonic effects (Jennighs and Bird 1967, Oliver 1982, Thom 1982).

Floristically, Fiji's mangroves are simple being dominated by three species and a putative hybrid, all belonging to the Rhizophoracea family (Richmond and Ackerman, 1975). The mangrove species concerned are Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Rhizophora Stylosa, Rhizophora Samoensis and Rhizophora Selala (putative hybrid in R. Samoences and R. Stylosa).

Principal Species of Fijian Mangrove Vegetation

Note: * Dominant species.

Source: Richmond and Ackerman (1975).

Four other commonly found tree species and a fern which are also associated with mangrove forests are:

Zylocarpus granatum, Lumnitzera littorea, Excoecaria agallocha L; Heritiera Lithoralis, Acrostichum aureum. Please refer to Table 1.

Land tenure in Fiji divides land to three major classifications. Native Land is communally owned by indigenous Fijians and administered on their behalf by Native Land Trust Board make up 83% of the total, State Land administered by the Director of Lands on behalf of the State make up 9% and the remaining 8% is freehold land.

By far, the principal statutory legislations having relevance to the management of mangroves are : Crown Lands Act, Fisheries Act and Forestry Act.

Land in Fiji has a particularly distinctive characteristic in that apart from the three major classifications above, all land below high water mark belong to the State however, with the inclusion of a special rights by natives who have traditional rights to fish over these areas.

Although there is no specific legislation governing the protection of mangroves, the bill which is at present being reviewed by the Parliament of Fiji called the 'Sustainable Management Bill' will address issues of sustainable management of the country's natural resources including mangroves.

The national government recognizes the importance of mangroves to the coastal ecosystems. In 1933, government designated all mangroves as Reserved Forests to be managed by the Department of Forests. However, in 1975 these Reserved Forests were de-reserved and all mangroves were placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Lands & Surveys as an integral part of the foreshore (Scott, 1993).

Post independence saw the increase in incidence of foreshore developments thus government vide a Cabinet Decision of 1974 instructed payment of compensation to traditional fishing rights owners on loss of fishing rights over areas reclaimed for development purposes. While this government action acted to some extent as a restraining factor to would-be foreshore developers, the demand for such locations continued to press for the processing of proposals.

Concerted interests by various authorities in Fiji in the early 1980s regarding sustainable management of mangroves encouraged government to take affirmative action which saw the establishment of the National Mangrove Management Committee in 1983. This Committee's purpose was to review all foreshore proposals coming as applications to the Department of Lands and to provide its recommendations accordingly. One of the highlights of its work was the production of a National Mangrove Management Plan (Phases I and II) in 1986. The work is a comprehensive framework intended to assist decision - makers in Government but its drawback is that it still has no legal status.

A function of the Department is the administration of foreshore land under the provision of Crown Lands Act.

Twelve out of thirteen towns and including the country's two cities are located in the coastal zone. This situation gives rise to the fact that development pressure would invariably target foreshore land more than any other land type as it is generally considered easier to procure State land above others. Reclamation for foreshore developments is mainly utilized for agricultural and various urban purposes.

There is in existence a working system primarily for the processing of foreshore proposals. The consultation made with other government departments ensures that essential comments and information are on hand before decision is taken. This consultation process acts also as a departmental control to regulate foreshore developments.

Up to this stage, beginning from early 1970's, the Department has received more that 1,000 foreshore reclamation proposals however those that are processed to completion represent about 60% of the total. The remainder are either discontinued somewhere in the process or are given development leases but with incomplete developments.

The office dealing with foreshore developments is at present dealing with about 150 applications that have been processed to an advanced stage, that is, between arbitration hearing and issuance of development lease. However, before a lease is granted, a provision in the relevant legislation dealing specially with foreshore requires public to submit objections particularly in relation to infringement of public rights. The Minister responsible has the powers regarding approval of applications.

Seventy five percent of these applications are received from Central and Western Divisions, the locations of the major urban centres of the country.

Apart from processing foreshore developments, the Department also deals with harvesting of mangroves especially bruguiera gymnorhiza ('dogo') for fuelwood. Logging licences are issued by Forestry Department after consultation with District and Provincial Administration.

Consideration of a specific mangrove forest is taken in this report to illustrate the system used in economic development of mangroves.

Mangroves of the Rewa Delta are found around the mouth of the largest river in Fiji, Rewa River. It is located on the southeastern part of Viti Levu and east of Suva. According to Scott (1993), an area of 5,130 ha of mangroves forest is present here, the single largest stand of mangroves and accounting for 12% of the total. Watling (1985) recognises six main vegetation zones, with about 36% of the total areas covered with a uniform closed forest of well developed B. gymnorhiza.

Furthermore, Watling in 'A Mangrove Management Plan Phase I, 1985' identifies:

• Rewa Delta's mangrove as amongst the most productive mangroves in Fiji.

• Primary concern should be to preserve this productivity to sustain subsistence and economic needs.

Primary uses of mangroves apart from commercial fuelwood are: construction material, fishing device, dye and fuelwood for domestic use.

The delta, because of its proximity to industrial sites and more populous locations has been the source for industrial and domestic fuelwood. Watling (1985) reported that approximately 5,000 cubic metres of fuelwood has been extracted annually for domestic use. However, Forestry Department recently recorded returns of 1,700 cubic metres for the 4 year period from 1996 mainly for commercial fuelwood. Fuelwood suppliers have monthly contracts to a few factories which consider this source as cost - effective for their operations.

Set pattern of harvesting ensures regeneration of seedlings. The system used by Forestry Department involves the leaving aside of a mother tree for every 5 metres of harvesting. Over the years, this system has been found practicable and made possible through close supervision and monitoring of operations.

Although there is a potential for sustainable utilisation of mangrove forest for firewood, charcoal or timber, there is very little done to encourage this, mainly because people have not been accustomed to use of mangrove for economic gains. It is quite possible that in future when there would be scarcity of other native timber, there would be a demand for mangrove timber. There is a potential for research in this area.