© Brent Stirton/ Getty Images/ WWF-UK. Construction site for Marriot Hotel in Tikina Wai, Sigatoka, Fiji.
This was a proposed marine protected area. According to community members, at times, one could see upto 31 reef herons when this site was a wetland/marsh land.
For conservation of biodiversity to be fully appreciated and actively pursued at national and regional level, WWF also supports efforts to mainstream conservation into national and sectoral plans, policies and programmes. The Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) of Fiji's Tourism Development Plan exemplifies this approach.
The objective of the SEA was to assess the environmental and sustainable development impacts of the Plan to enable the Ministry of Tourism and its partners to make future plans sustainable.
The SEA indicated a major need for the present policy to be reviewed in order to protect Fiji's environment and people. There were concerns about Fijians benefiting economically from tourism. The planned expansion of the tourism industry in the Plan threatened to cause irreversible environmental damage and could lead to tension between tourist developers, landowners and local communities.
Based on these findings, the report was published and an Advisory group was established to guide the SEA process. The group comprised representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of National Planning, Fiji Hotel Association, USP, tourism consultants, The Fiji Visitors Bureau and WWF. This process was a three way partnership between the Ministry of Tourism, the Asian Development Bank and WWF South Pacific.
» Download A Strategic Environmental Assessment of Fiji’s Tourism Development Plan
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