Introduction to the Country

Fiji is one of the most species rich countries among the Pacific Islands.² Fiji has one of the highest rates of endemism in the Pacific region, with one fifth of all described species, including one third of plant species and all amphibian species, being found only on the Fijian Islands.^1,3 Fiji’s extensive reef system is home to more than 350 species of hard coral and more than 1,200 species of reef fish, ⁴ it also hosts the third longest barrier reef in the world, the 150km Great Sea Reef, placing it among the top ten of the world’s eighty nations with globally significant reefs.²

These biodiversity-rich islands are coming under increasing threat from a number of fronts, including rapid population and urban growth, environmentally degrading land-based activities such as deforestation and urban pollution, unsustainable fishing practices fuelled by expanding commercial interests, and the ever increasing threat of anthropogenic climate change.^2,3 Half of Fiji’s assessed endemic species are threatened by extinction¹ and fish stocks are in serious risk of collapse.⁴

Fiji has a strong community-based resource management tradition, with the majority of land held under customary title by indigenous Fijians,⁵ and has paved the way for integrated conservation efforts addressing both land- and sea-based environmental issues.⁴

Legislation

Fiji does not currently have any dedicated protected areas legislation, however there are a variety of statuatory mechanisms with the potential to deliver site-based conservation benefits.⁵ Those mechanisms with specific relevance to indigenous Fijian communities are outlined below. The absence of a coherent legal framework for protected areas presents a number of challenges, particularly that the existing legal mechanisms are not well suited to the establishment and long-term management of large, co-managed conservation areas. The Fiji Department of Environment is currently holding consultations to improve this situation.⁵  

Native Lands Act (CAP 133) provides the continued occupation and use of ‘native lands’ by indigenous Fijians (including terrestrial lands and coastal marine areas).^5,6 This is land which is owned neither by the Crown nor subject to Freehold Title. This statutory recognition of traditional communal ownership provides a legal basis for community level decision-making about the use and conservation of natural resources on native land. These communal decisions are binding both to the mataqali (native owners of the land) and third parties, provided that the decisions are made according to custom.⁵ However, it is important to note that, while customary owners assert their ownership interest in their traditional lands, the laws of Fiji maintain that the government owns the land with only user rights for indigenous people.⁶

Native Lands Trust Act (CAP 134) specifies that all native lands in Fiji are controlled by the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) which administers and manages land for the benefit of the traditional owners.^5,6 Native land must not be sold, granted or transferred, except to the Crown, and must not be transferred, charged, or encumbered without permission from the Board. Any conservation covenant, such as those administered by the National Trust for Fiji, would also require the consent of the NLTB.⁵

Fisheries Act (1991) enables limited community involvement in coastal marine management via provisions that require community consent over commercial and subsistence fishing in their customary fishing areas (qoliqoli). Section 13 provides a window through which customary law may be applied to govern coastal marine areas as the provision requires commercial and non-commercial harvesters to obtain a permit from the customary owner of the qoliqoli, with a few exceptions.[i] Whilst the Fisheries Act does allow customary owners to exercise jurisdiction over the qoliqoli, it also makes it legally impossible to establish a marine protected area where fishing is strictly prohibited without ministerial designation. This situation has led to many complications related to the enforcement by the community of both customary and national fisheries laws.⁶

[i] Hook and line, spear, or portable fish trap fishers that can be handled by one person do not require a permit.

Terrestrial

According the Native Lands Trust Board, 86% of the land in Fiji is held under customary title by indigenous Fijians on a communal basis by land-owning clans known as mataquali. Use of land and resources by members of the mataquali are determined, or strongly influenced, by the authority of traditional leaders. Local decision-making processes, governed by customary law and informed by traditional ecological knowledge, have played a central role in resource management for centuries.⁵

Other relevant legislation include the Forestry Act and Forestry Decree, which allow for the creation of reserved forests and strict nature reserves, and the Environment Management Act (1995), which requires environmental assessments of development activities likely to have a significant impact on designated or proposed protected areas.⁶