Fiji Islander leads international conservation body in the Pacific

Ms. Kesaia Tabunakawai is the new Representative of the WWF programme office that supports work in Fiji, Cook Islands and coordinates regional Pacific effort. She joined the organization in 1996 and has served as manager of the Fiji Country Programme as well as the conservation director of the regional WWF programme. She started her career in conservation with the Ministry of Fisheries and Forestry in Fiji.

The Fijian born ‘greeny’ led the WWF Pacific team to work with Fiji Locally Managed Marine Network (FLAMMA) and Fiji Government to commit to establishing a network of marine protected areas in 30% of Fiji’s inshore and offshore marine areas, in 2005. This commitment by Fiji spurred the leaders of Micronesia to declare a commitment to protect 30% of their marine areas and 20% of forests in a network of protected areas known as the Micronesia challenge. A number of similar declarations have been made across the Pacific, including the largest marine protected area in Kiribati.

"It is heartening to see the Pacific region boldly lead in key conservation issues. Our cultures, livelihoods and economic development are intricately linked to our natural environment. This is inevitable, given the largeness of our Pacific resource rich ocean and the small size of island nations in the Pacific," said Ms. Tabunkawai.

"WWF’s goal for this region is to support Pacific Island people to conserve and sustainably manage our natural inheritance for present and future generations."

Ms. Tabunkawai is driven by her passion for community based natural resource management in the Pacific. She is a pioneer member of the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Network (FLMMA) for improving food security and sustainable livelihoods. This model is now expanding into other parts of the Pacific; and has won the Equator Initiative at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, for innovation in natural resource management and poverty alleviation as well as the Whitley Awards for the Environment in 2004.

"I’m glad that there is increasing close collaboration between conservation NGOs and governments in the region. With the wealth of knowledge and skills in NGO partners, many of whom are local Pacific Islanders we can improve our collective impact in the region."

The part of the world where the WWF South Pacific Programme operates covers an extensive area of globally significant biodiversity. It embraces what may be the world’s most important tropical coral reef systems and the region contains not only some of the most significant fisheries in the world but also breeding grounds for many of these stocks.

This magnificent biodiversity makes the Pacific a place of extraordinary opportunities to undertake large-scale conservation programmes addressing both policy and practice.

To create impact for change, WWF globally structures its conservation programme into strategic initiatives, some of which impact the Pacific region such as the Coral Triangle initiative, the Sustainable Fisheries initiative and the New Global Deal-climate change initiative.

For enquires or interview arrangements contact: Ashwini Prabha, Communications Coordinator, WWF South Pacific Programme. Phone: +679 331 5533 or fax: +679 331 5410