Press Release Detail

Villagers of Nayarabale in the district of Vaturova, Cakaudrove, have taken ownership of funding their own village development plans through a reforestation programme.
Within weeks of embarking on the tree-planting project in collaboration with the Government through the Ministry of Forestry, the village school, Domonisavu District School, will now have a new teacher’s quarters. 
Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, Hon. Kalaveti Ravu, was at Nayarabale Village on Wednesday (22.03.23) to officiate at the ground-breaking ceremony of the quarters. 
Hon. Ravu praised the villagers' foresight in choosing to plant trees on barren land, which would provide both financial and environmental benefits. 
The trees planted will also add to the target of Fiji’s tree planting campaign against climate change.
The "Noqu Kalou, Noqu Wacawaca Reforestation and Investment" project is a community initiative establishment directed by Reverend Ilitomasi Nute, where the 'solesolevaki' system is practiced.
The Ministry had reached an agreement with four landowning units (mataqali): Nasuwaga, Buca I Ra, Vunisaiki, and Wacawaca, in which they agreed to reforest 350 hectares of idle land under the Reforestation of Degraded Forests (RDF) Project.
The reforestation contract is for five years, and the Ministry’s focus is to assist the landowners in achieving this.
A nursery in the village provides tree seedlings for the forestry project. The committee is working on expanding the nursery.
The Ministry purchases tree seedlings to reforest the designated area, and the money obtained help to fund the project.
Divisional Forestry Officer Northern, Maleli Nakasava, said on the 350-hectare mataqali land, a total of 97,3000 tree seedlings are intended to be planted.
The construction of the quarters is the first of many other projects in the near future.
This project is an example of a project that is aligned with strategies created to achieve Fiji's long-term development goals at the international, regional, and national levels.