Fiji Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

The Fiji Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (Plan) entered into force in 2003 with the goal to conserve and sustainably use Fiji’s terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity, and to maintain the ecological processes and systems which are the foundation of national and local development. The Plan is multi-sectoral and has national coverage. The Plan’s areas of focus are: community support – awareness, involvement and ownership; improving knowledge; developing protected areas; species conservation; management of invasive species; and capacity building and strengthening.
The Plan will seek to promote community support for biodiversity conservation and ecologically sustainable development through improved understanding and awareness; minimise the loss and fragmentation of community-owned native forests; minimise the loss of aquatic resources of importance to local communities; implement a programme of ethnobiological and traditional conservation practices enquiry; clarify the causes of and the rehabilitation needs of community-owned degraded biological resources; improve biodiversity studies in formal educational curricula; achieve a detailed knowledge of the occurrence and status over time of Fiji’s biodiversity resources; establish mechanisms which encourage and facilitate biodiversity research; establish a comprehensive and representative protected area system; effectively manage existing protected areas; encourage establishment of protected or conservation areas in addition to the national or core protected are system; provide adequate funding for protected area management; effectively manage threatened species and species of cultural significance; reduce risks of the introduction of invasive species; establish an institutional framework and administrative capacity for ecologically sustainable development and protected area and biodiversity management; enhance biodiversity management skills and capabilities; develop communities’ capabilities to manage and utilise forest and marine resources in a sustainable manner; and promote and apply ecologically sustainable management practices in the `natural resource’ sectors - fisheries, forestry, agriculture, mining and tourism.
The Plan will seek to ensure that Fiji’s natural resource-owning communities receive fair, just and economic remuneration from the use of genetic material and products
The Plan will seek to minimise the occurrence of wildfire by undertaking a multi-sectoral collaborative awareness campaign, instituting a system to community based control of wildfire; reviewing existing or planned fire control legislation; and encouraging any productive low-fire risk land uses.
A temporary structure will be established to lead the implementation of the Plan – the Biodiversity Steering Committee, which will be chaired by the Department of the Environment