Case Studies UNDP: SISI INITIATIVE SITE SUPPORT GROUP, Fiji

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: SISI INITIATIVE SITE SUPPORT GROUP, Fiji

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Fiji

SISI INITIATIVE SITESUPPORT GROUP

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIESLocal and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years

the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver Hughes

Contributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Sean Cox, Larissa Currado, David Godrey, Sarah Gordon,

Oliver Hughes, Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma

Mary McGraw, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding

DesignSean Cox, Oliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen,

Lorena de la Parra, Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude Sisi Initiative Site Support Group, and the guidance and inputs o Ms. Miliana Ravuso

BirdLie International. All photo credits courtesy o Sisi Initiative Site Support Group. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikiped

excpet or map o Community-Declared Protected Area in Natewa Tunuloa IBA (p. 5), courtesy o Sisi Initiative Site Support Group.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2013. Sisi Initiative Site Support Group, Fiji. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-events


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PROJECT SUMMARYSisi Initiative Site Support Group manages naturalresources around the periphery o the Natewa TunuloaImportant Bird Area. The organization has established a600-hectare community protected orest and developedalternative livelihood options or the areas indigenouslandowners. Developed in response to illegal logging,orest res, overgrazing, agricultural encroachment andinvasive species, the organization uses an innovativeincentive scheme to protect the globally important birdand wildlie species in Natewa Tunuloa. Communitiessigned a Memorandum o Understanding in which theyagreed to protect the community orest and reuse loggingconcessions.

In return, the initiative provides alternative livelihoodtraining and projects in beekeeping, poultry, handicrat andjewelry-making, bakery and pastry-making, and sustainableagricultural. The groups model arm and tree nursery alsohelp to reduce deorestation. The initiative has been usedas a learning model or community-based conservation andorest management across Fiji.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2012

FOUNDED: 2005

LOCATION: Island of Vanua Levu in Fijis Northern Division

BENEFICIARIES: Traditional clans mataqalis of Natewa

BIODIVERSITY: Natewa Tunuloa Important Bird Area (IBA

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SISI INITIATIVE SITE SUPPORT GROUPFiji

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 8

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 10

Partners 11


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isi Initiative Site Support Group was established in late 2005 toonserve the Natewa Tunuloa Important Bird Area (IBA) on the island

Vanua Levu in Fijis Northern Division. It is a community-based

olunteer group that works with a range o stakeholders to develop

ustainable, environmentally riendly initiatives or communities

ving in and around the IBA. These initiatives which have included

ustainable agriculture projects, ecotourism, and bee-keeping

ave aorded community members a means by which to live in

reater harmony with their natural environment, reducing threats to

he orest and securing it or uture generations.

Natewa Tunuloa Important Bird Area

he Natewa Tunuloa IBA contains within it most o the remainingracts o native orest on the Natewa Tunuloa Peninsula. Communities

ving in the vicinity o the IBA have traditionally depended on

griculture or their subsistence and income, and rely heavily on

orest resources or rewood, hunting, timber, medicinal plants and

wild oods. In recent years, however, the rate at which resources

ave been extracted rom the orest grew to unsustainable levels,

hreatening the integrity and biodiversity o the orest.

Natewa Peninsula houses a unique array o birdlie, including a number

threatened and endemic species. Seven o the nine subspecies

ndemic to the island o Vanua Levu are ound on the peninsula.

he peninsula is home to the Shy Ground Dove (Gallicolumba stairi),

lassied as a vulnerable species, and the near-threatened SilktailLamprolia victoria), ornithologically unique in the region due to the

bsence o Giant Forest Honeyeaters or Blue-crested Broadbills that

re otherwise widespread across Vanua Levu and neighboring Taveuni.

he Natewa Peninsula was assigned the status o Key Biodiversity

Area by Conservation International in 2005. It has also been identied

s a Site o National Signicance in Fijis National Biodiversity Action

lan, and received the designation Important Bird Area in 2005 rom

irdLie International. Despite this recognition o the areas natural

ignicance, however, the peninsula does not have ocial protected

rea status and remains vulnerable to the threat o deorestation.

Deforestation, soil erosion and water insecurityExcessive logging, human-induced res and overgrazing

historically been the main threats to the peninsulas orests. L

areas o native orests were cleared or mahogany planta

(although this practice, or this purpose, has since ceased)

extensive and unsustainable logging continues to degrade

orests adjacent to the IBA. Since much o the fat land on

peninsula has been converted to coconut plantations, agricu

tends to encroach on the orest. The resulting deorestation lea

soil erosion and water insecurity, as well as threatening birds

wider biodiversity.

The IBA is the source o the peninsulas rivers and o the drinwater or all o its villages. Unsustainable logging has impa

water quality, disrupting ecosystem unctioning and the water c

which in turn has aected the availability o drinking water

even the health o marine resources in Natewa Bay. The impac

drinking water quality in particular was severely aecting the l

conditions o peninsula communities, and this provided the m

impetus or community leaders to partner with BirdLie Internat

in developing a programme o orest conservation.

Genesis of the Sisi Initiative

Following designation o the 17,600-hectare IBA in 2005,

communities started to work in partnership with BirInternational on a plan to conserve the orest. The rst o m

awareness-raising workshops ollowed, and included particip

rom local government, the Cakaudrove Provincial Council,

the Departments o Forestry, Agriculture, and Land Use. Ove

course o these workshops, local community representatives w

nominated to orm a Site Support Group. Out o this pro

in October 2005, the Sisi Initiative was ormally established

community-based volunteer group charged with leading e

to conserve the IBA. The initiative is named ater the Sisi, a F

silktail bird and a characteristic species o the area ound only o

peninsula and on the neighbouring island o Taveuni. (The silkt

Background and Context


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Natewa Tunuloa is roughly 20 per cent smaller and more iridescent

han its relative on Taveuni).

he primary challenge aced by the Sisi Initiative at the stage o

rganizational inception was commercial logging, the second

reatest source o income (ater agriculture) or local residents and

cornerstone o the local economy. For conservation eorts to

ucceed, it would be necessary to identiy and develop economic

lternatives to logging. Again, a series o consultations were held

with local community representatives, technical experts romovernment departments, and other relevant local authorities. Out

this process came the innovation at the heart o the Sisi Initiative:

Memorandum o Understanding (MOU) under which eleven

andowning clans agreed to conserve the orest and avoid logging

or ten years in exchange or support with a suite o village-based

lternative livelihood projects. The MOU was signed at a workshop

n Navetau village in 2009 and resulted in the declaration o a

,000-hectare community-managed orest.

he next step in the initiative was a drat community management

lan or the orest. As part o this plan, the Site Support Group was

djusted to ensure equal representation o each o the landowning

lans in the conservation programme. Fiji is particularly well-suited

o this land (or resource) management approach, as over 80 per

ent o the countrys territory is owned by indigenous peoples who

re organized in land-owning units or clans known as mataqalis. In

onsultation with the statutory body that oversees management o

and tenure issues in Fiji, these clans ultimately decide how land is

sed.

Membership in the Site Support Group that is, representa

o participating clans grew rom six members in 2006 to

in 2012. Members are nominated by their respective mataqal

maximize community participation and promote inclusive dec

making, membership is not limited to a set number o individ

but varies depending on interest. Membership, however, is lim

to clans that own land within the community-managed area

not simply within the IBA), meaning that decisions pertainin

the management o resources within the managed orest rest swith the landowners.

Governance and institutional structure

The Site Support Group includes a Chairperson, Secretary

Treasurer, and its activities are guided by Terms o Reerence w

state that the aim o the group is the conservation and sustain

management o the orests or the benet o land-ow

communities. Within these same Terms o Reerence, the role

landowners are clearly dened. All decisions o the Site Sup

Group are raised at village meetings to allow other members omataqali and the wider community to have their voice heard

initiative and its governance are guided by a strong partnership

BirdLie International, which has invested heavily in raising aware

o the value o biodiversity in the peninsula. This innovative appr

to natural resource management in Fiji demonstrates the valu

partnering with local landowners and including them in reso

governance decisions.


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Key Activities and Innovations

he Sisi Initiative has developed a number o alternative livelihoodprojects in villages that all within the community-managed area. The

op priorities in all areas o activity are providing local communities

with sustainable sources o ood and income, and guiding the local

conomy away rom dependence on local orests, as was previously

he case. Where logging concessions used to constitute a high

percentage o the local income base and local economy, the Sisi

nitiative is aiming to create new income-generating opportunities.

n parallel, the initiative is working on a community-based orest

management plan and intends to expand into ecotourism.

From logging concessions to alternative livelihoods

Alternative livelihood projects have provided the local commu

with sustainable sources o income that do not rely on elling

orests. The suite o alternative livelihood projects oered thro

the Sisi Initiative also helps enhance orest conservation eort

one example, model arms have been established to bolster vi

ood security and reduce encroachment o agricultural land into

orest. The arms are specially designed and cultivated to miti

soil erosion and enhance the water and nutrient retention unc

o the soil. Vetiver grass is being planted to prevent erosion, w

pineapples and vegetables provide new sources o ood. Nurs

have been established to cultivate yam and taro varieties, w

sandalwood arming has been proposed as a complemenactivity that would urther mitigate pressure on orest resou

A Participatory Land Use Planning Survey, coordinated by

Department o Land Use, reported a signicant improvem

in sustainable agricultural practices at the site thanks to the

Initiative.

Another example: a poultry arm has been established and

quickly generated signicant income or the local popula

Within two months, the community had generated over FJD 1

(approximately USD 550) rom the sale o chicks a signi

amount in a community where the average daily income is

20 (around USD 11.) Similarly, a beekeeping project is genera

income through the sale o honey, while enhancing ood secby replacing or supplementing raw sugar in the local diet.

beekeeping project provides additional value as a reminder o

value o standing orests, as the bees source their nectar rom

plants.

The Sisi Initiative has also tailored a number o alternative livelih

projects specically or local women. Among others, these pro

have included training in handicrats and basket weaving (using

materials gathered rom the orest), jewellery-making and sc

printing, baking, and pastry-making. These projects include a spe


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omponent aimed at reviving local culture through traditional dance

nd weaving. Many o these activities are being developed with the

ntention o incorporating them into a broader ecotourism strategy

or the IBA.

Community-based forest management

erhaps the most innovative dimension o the Sisi Initiative is

ts community-based orest management strategy. In returnor the suite o alternative livelihood projects that have been

eveloped, communities within the managed orest area have

ommitted through the MOU to conserve and sustainably manage

,000-hectares o orest. Under this agreement, participating

ommunities agree to not only reuse logging concessions within

he demarcated area, but also to undertake collective activities

hat will restore and enhance the remaining tracts o native orest.

With technical guidance rom Fijis Department o Forestry as

well as catalytic unding rom the UNDP-implemented GEF Small

Grants Programme a orest resources management plan has been

eveloped by the community and participating landowners.

he management plan has been developed to guide land use

nd orest rehabilitation activities. It is also designed to guide and

irect the sustainable management o orest resources, which is a

key actor in maintaining water quality, ensuring adequate

supplies, and mitigating food risks. The management plan t

into account the impact o deorestation on sh populations,

allows or connectivity or migratory sh species to move betw

the saltwater (coastal) and reshwater (Buca River system) hab

o the peninsula.

Ensuring the clear articulation and eective implementatio

the orest management plan has required an investment in capacity building. Training has been provided to members o

Site Support Group in undraising and proposal writing, which

important implications or the long-term nancial sustainabili

the initiative. This was also a critical step in securing unding

the UNDP-implemented GEF-Small Grants Programme, which

put towards the creation o two nurseries where native tree spe

and sandalwood are grown or deployment in the reorestatio

degraded areas. Community youth groups in particular have b

charged with reoresting degraded orest areas and planting ve

grass to reduce soil erosion on degraded slopes. The sandalw

trees are also being cultivated as a source o income or the

community and a resource that can be sustainably harves

Capacity building and training have also ocused on environme

education and bird identication, so that community member

able to actively participate in monitoring the IBA.

Protecting biodiversity is not just about protecting birds or plants, its about protecting what

rightfully yours, your childrens and your childrens childrens. What type of planet will ou

future generations be living in by 2020?

Mr. Silio Lalaqila, Treasurer, Sisi Initiative Site Support Group


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Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTSPrior to establishment o the Sisi Initiative, excessive logging in the

Natewa peninsula orests was having predictably deleterious eects

on soil quality, biodiversity, and drinking water. So disruptive was

he logging to ecosystem unctioning and environmental health

hat dramatic changes were noted in endemic birdlie, marine

pecies and terrestrial biodiversity. The clearance o native orests

was eectively destroying the habitats o endemic and vulnerable

or near-threatened bird species, which were also under pressure

rom the incursion o invasive alien species. A lack o alternative

velihood options let peninsula communities highly dependent on

ogging concessions or income, while the limited availability o fat

and drove agriculture ever urther into the orest. The Sisi Initiativehas mitigated this dependence on logging and provided a suite o

lternative, sustainable livelihood options or the local population.

Forest conservation through local management

The initiatives MOU has secured the protection o a 6,000-hectare

ommunity-managed orest area. Under the agreement, land-

owning clans (mataqalis) agreed to conserve and sustainably

manage the orest in return or the provision o alternative livelihood

projects in their villages. Through the agreement, and despite the

bsence in Fiji o an ocial legislative ramework or the conerral

o protected area status, the Sisi Initiative has eectively created

sae haven or birds and other biodiversity in the peninsula. TheDepartment o Forestry has also demarcated the orest boundaries

o the IBA as an area that needs to be protected or the survival o

he silktail. Importantly, this has resulted in a decrease in the number

o logging licenses issued or the IBA. As a result, reports have been

eceived rom communities o sightings o the silktail in orest areas

loser to the village, a stark dierence to ew years ago where one

had to walk deep into the orest to see the bird.

Alternative livelihood activities reduce pressure on the orest by

creating options or community members who previously ron unsustainable agriculture or logging or income. In some c

these activities have gone beyond risk reduction to interven

that are actually enhancing ecosystem unctioning and orest c

Model arms and tree nurseries, or instance, have reduced the

to clear orest or agriculture. According to a Participatory Land

Planning Survey, coordinated by the Department o Land Use, t

have been signicant improvements in sustainable agricu

practices at the site thanks to the Sisi Initiative. In addition

handicrat, jewellery-making and bee-keeping projects all pro

income that depends on non-timber orest products, and so pro

an incentive or the orests conservation.

Building conservation capacity

Crucially, the Sisi Initiative has strengthened the capacity o the

population living in the community-managed orest and the la

IBA to sustainably manage and monitor their orest, empowe

them to take responsibility or its conservation. Community mem

and local landowners were responsible or the development o

orest management plan, and the document gains legitimacy

this high degree o community ownership. Community mem

have been trained in bird identication and monitoring techni

so that they can take part in the monitoring o the IBA, while you

community members have been involved in reorestation and

enhancement measures through community youth group

building community pride in the orest and highlighting the grlong-term value o standing orest over cleared land, the activ

o the Sisi Initiative aim to ensure the conservation o the ores

generations to come.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

The Sisi Initiative has empowered the communities o the Na

Peninsula to pursue sustainable livelihoods that meet their

needs without destroying the orest that supports ecosy

services and biodiversity.


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Alternative livelihoods and improved food security

mportantly, several Sisi Initiative activities are enhancing and

trengthening both the short- and long-term ood security o local

communities. In the short term, pineapples, yams and taro are being

grown in nurseries and model arms, which provide household-level

ood security without requiring that the local population resort to

unsustainable agricultural practices. In the long term, the shit to

ustainable agriculture will ensure the preservation o the orest andhe services it provides the sources o ood, water and resource

ecurity.

Beekeeping and poultry-rearing projects, too, are improving ood

ecurity and providing new sources o income in place o logging

concessions. The local communities now use honey rom the

beekeeping project to replace or supplement more expensive sugar

n their diets, while the sale o surplus honey provides a new revenue

tream. The poultry rearing initiative in particular has been highly

uccessul, generating approximately USD 550 rom the sale o

chicks in the rst two months o operations. Given that the average

daily income o the community is around USD 1, this represents a

ignicant new source o income.

Education, health and capacity building

A signicant percentage o income generated through alternative

ivelihood projects is managed by village committees and is

nvested in community inrastructure, social services and meeting

collective needs. Community prots are regularly invested in

childrens education and health services, while those prots

accruing to individuals have also been directed towards school ees

and medical costs. Additionally, the training provided through the

nitiative is equipping local people with the skills needed to diversiy

heir income base and take a more active role in the governanceand management o their natural resources. Training has spanned

ustainable agriculture, alternative livelihoods, and biological

monitoring and evaluation, the latter to improve management

o the community orest and IBA. In addition, members o the Sisi

nitiative Site Support Group have received training in undraising

and resource mobilization, proposal writing, small business

development and management, and community-based ecotourism.

Again, the range and variety o these programs is serving to diversiy

he skill base which will ultimately diversiy the income base o

he local population.

Traditional knowledge and local culture

n the management o the peninsula orest, the Sisi Initiative has

opted to work through traditional channels, drawing rom and

bolstering local customs. The Memorandum o Understanding

which established the community-managed orest area is based on

raditional clan (mataqali) land management authority, whereby

each mataqalihas the right to decide how their land is used. This

raditional system o customary rights is the cornerstone o both the

Site Support Group and the orest management plan. Similarly, many

o the alternative livelihood strategies promoted by Sisi Initiative are

based on traditional knowledge and local skills. The group has

made concerted eorts to revive traditional cultural practices,

as mekes (traditional Fijian dances).

Meetings with the local communities have always been inclu

with both men and women present. To allow or the act

women might be hesitant to speak up in these meetings, sep

meetings are held just or women, so that they too may have

say. The BirdLie International team that has partnered with thInitiative in coordinating its work is headed by a woman. Pro

initiated by Sisi have taken gender considerations into account

consequently, a number o activities were developed speci

with women in mind. Jewellery making, screen printing, baking

pastry-making, which are also being incorporated in the ecotou

strategy, are examples o these.

POLICY IMPACTS

Although Fiji has a number o protected areas and nature rese

their eectiveness is compromised somewhat by the absenc

national protected area legislation. The existing legal rame

in Fiji oers a range o mechanisms with the potential to sup

the establishment and management o terrestrial protected a

However, community conserved areas, and those establi

purely on the basis o customary law such as the Natewa Tun

community-managed area are subject to certain limitations. In

respect, the Sisi Initiative Site Support Group has brought nee

attention to both the importance o community-managed area

the legal obstacles and hurdles they are up against.

The approach used by Sisi Initiative has been brought to

attention o the National Protected Area Committee, orme

2008 to oversee the development o protected area legisla

or Fiji. Since community-conserved areas do not retain powers o enorcement, the Sisi Initiative has shown that ong

conservation eorts, partnership with government entities,

alternative livelihood options are required to support land-ow

communities. The mechanism by which the Sisi Initiative establi

its community-managed orest area that is, through an agreem

with local landowners provides a powerul demonstration o

this can be achieved.

BirdLie International, in collaboration with relevant governm

entities, highlighted the approach employed by Sisi Initiative

2010 orum o the Protected Area Committee. Consequently, Na

Tunuloa has been recognised as a site where an inormal prote

area exists, and where legal endorsement o this status would cemcommunity achievements. The Sisi Initiative is regarded as a lea

example o what bottom-up action can achieve. Its experie

together with similar community conserved areas throughou

are now being taken into account in the development o a nat

policy and legal ramework or protected areas.

9


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Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYhe key to the sustainability o the Sisi Initiative is that it does not

er direct compensation to communities or conservation eorts,

ut rather helps them to develop income-generating activities that

se locally available resources and which complement conservation

bjectives.

All components o the initiative are deeply rooted in community

wnership. From its inception, the Sisi Initiative has prioritized

high degree o community involvement and engagement,

eginning with the initial consultations and extending through

rticulation o the orest management plan. The authority onwhich the orest management plan is based comes rom the

ommunities themselves, recognizing the ownership and control

mataqalis over their land. Having this authority legally enshrined

n a Memorandum o Understanding legitimizes and strengthens

he system o community-based orest management. The mataqalis

etain control over their land, and thus their continued involvement

n the initiative refects the value they see in continuing to conserve

heir remaining tracts o native orest.

isi Initiative Site Support Group members are nominated by their

espective communities and represent the land-owning clans o the

ommunity-managed orest area. The Site Support Group delivers

eports at village meetings to keep the wider community inormed its activities and to remain accountable to the people it represents.

his system complements the traditional system o land ownership,

nd has gained the condence o the mataqalis, who understand

hat the decision to sustainably manage their orest resources

emains in their hands alone.

irdLie International holds a long-term commitment to the people o

Natewa Tunuloa and to the Sisi Initiative and will continue to provide

upport into the uture, including through its Local Empowerment

Programme. Amongst other things, the NGO continues to pro

capacity building training. These eorts have been very succe

notably the training in undraising and proposal-writing, w

resulted in the successul acquisition o a grant rom the U

implemented GEF-Small Grants Programme. Community mem

have also received training in sustainable agriculture and sustain

orest management, and are now successully managing m

o their own alternative livelihood projects. The initiative is le

registered, maintains its own bank account, and is well positione

operate with relative autonomy. The Sisi Initiative also works clo

with the Department o Agriculture (to address threats pose

unsustainable agriculture) and with the Department o Forestr

address threats o deorestation and to curtail logging).

REPLICATION

The Sisi Initiative approach is rooted in local customs, culture

land management authority, so has a high level o potentia

replication in Fiji and across the region. The project mode

already, in act, been applied to community-based conserva

initiatives in Fiji. Since its establishment, ve other Site Sup

Groups have been established in the country. Experience ga

and lessons learned through implementation o the Sisi Initiativ

inorming development o these newer Site Support Groups.

BirdLie International has acilitated peer-to-peer exch

programmes whereby representatives o the Sisi Initiative s

their expertise and experiences with counterparts in other

conservation groups. Further, outputs rom these learning excha

will be deployed in the establishment o Fijis Permanent F

Estate Framework, which is designed to empower local landow

to become part o Fijis sustainable orest programme.


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PARTNERS

irdLie International has been the primary partner throughout

evelopment o the Sisi Initiative. BirdLie acilitated the MOU

hat led to the establishment o the community-managed orest,

nd drove development o the alternative livelihood projects.

he Sisi Initiative has also benetted rom the support o BirdLie

nternationals Local Empowerment Programme, which provides

upport to similar local organizations around the world. BirdLienternational plays a mentoring and supervisory role in the

mplementation and management o Sisi Initiatives SGP grant. The

NGO has a long-term commitment to supporting the communities o

Natewa Tunuloa, and continues to work through its country partner,

NatureFiji-MaregetiViti, to urther develop livelihood projects that

re compatible with conservation.

he UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme provided a

rant o USD 48,000 over two years to und a projects associated

with the community-managed orest area. This support inclu

the establishment o two tree nurseries and the development o

ecotourism strategy or the IBA (still to be implemented).

The Natewa Tunuloa communities and the Sisi Initiative bene

rom a three-year programme unded by the Critical Ecosy

Partnership Fund (CEPF) and carried out in partnership with

Departments o Environment, Forestry and Agriculture and

Cakaudrove Provincial Council (the government administraunit that oversees all work undertaken at the site). The I Taukei

Trust Board was also involved in the planning development o

community-managed orest area.

The Sisi Initiative has also received support rom the UK Da

Initiative, the Australian Government Regional Natural Her

Programme and the United States Embassys Small G

Programme.

Patience is a virtue and together with hard work and commitment, youre sure to succeed & b

recognized for the little things you do.

Mr. Silio Lalaqila, Treasurer, Sisi Initiative Site Support Group


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Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 646 781-4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

UNDP partners with people at all levels o society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the

o growth that improves the quality o lie or everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we oer global pers

ive and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2013 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

FURTHER REFERENCE

Sisi Initiative Site Support Group Equator Initiative prole page: http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=c

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Case Studies UNDP: SISI INITIATIVE SITE SUPPORT GROUP, Fiji

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