WIXLIB

A regular update of news from CEPF's East Melanesian IslandsContact usHalo evriwan! In this final issue of the year, we share with you updates and stories from CEPF grantees activein the East Melanesian Islands. We invite you to share your project stories with us!FROM THE RITRIT Team PlanningThe RIT recently came together in Fiji to join the IUCNOceania Regional Office planning retreat, and to carryout their own strategic planning for 2020.The team mapped out priorities for training, capacitybuilding, and filling gaps in funding over the final 18months of CEPF’s investment in East Melanesia. Theteam also received refresher training on CEPFprocesses including finances, and spent time reviewingthe Letters of Inquiry received in the most recent Call forProposals.Please send the team your plans for field and projectactivities in 2020, so that we can arrange to meet andsupport you better!Vatu Molisa, Vanuatu; Zola Sangga, PNG; Ravin Dhari,Solomon Islands; Helen Pippard

New grants in processThree new small grants were contracted by IUCN in Q32019: Oceania Ecology Group for work on giant rats inSolomon Islands and Bougainville; Mai Maasina GreenBelt, to build a conservation network in Malaita; andEco-Lifelihood Development Associates, to strengthenthe capacity of this group for biodiversity conservation inVanuatu. A number of grants from previous calls arebeing finalised and are expected to be contracted in thenext quarter.Following the latest, and possibly final, Call forProposals in November 2019, CEPF and the RIT arenow in the process of reviewing received LOIs. With theinvestment in EMI into its final stages, the RIT (smallgrants) and CEPF (large grants) will aim to contract allsuccessful proposals by April 2020.Waterfall in Rotokas, BougainvillePartners meeting on KolombangaraThe island of Kolombangara in Solomon Islands is animportant site for a number of donors and partners.CEPF is co-funding a project with Rainforest Trust,which sees WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) andKIBCA (the Kolombangara Island BiodiversityConservation Association) working with the triballandowners and other key partners towards formalprotection, particularly of the customary land area above400m.Donors and partners at Imbu Rano lodgeMeeting in Honiara – FAO, CEPF/IUCN, KIBCA, WCSRavin and Helen recently joined representatives fromWCS, Rainforest Trust, KIBCA, FAO’s Integrated ForestManagement program, Kolombangara Forest ProductsLtd, Dughore Women’s Association and KolombangaraIsland Council of Chiefs at Imbu Rano, and from FAOIMF, the Ministry of Environment (MECDM) andKolombangara Land Trust Foundation in Honiara. Theaim was to ensure that all partners and donorscoordinate and collaborate for successful delivery ofactivities, not only to establish a PA for the island, butalso to explore relevant and locally driven livelihoodoptions alongside any formal protection.We all look forward to continuing with this process,which is vital for the future of this remarkable island andits communities.FROM THE FIELDA list of all small and large grants currently active in the East Melanesian Islands can be found hereFirst Forest Protected Area for the SolomonIslands!!On 26th November 2019, the land of the Sirebe Tribe inChoiseul Province was declared a Protected Area underthe Protected Area Act 2010 and regulations 2012. Thistribal area is located along the Kolombangara River in

the Mount Maetambe- Kolombangara River KBA, one ofCEPF’s priority sites for conservation efforts in thecountry.The Sirebe Tribe will also be the first tribe in the countryto trade carbon credits. CEPF grantee NaturalResources Development Foundation (NRDF) has beenworking with the Sirebe tribe to introduce this scheme,called the Nakau Programme, so that the Sirebecommunity can sell carbon offsets and conservationcredits, thereby switching from forest clearance to aconservation model that protects forests. During theceremony, Sirebe was presented with a payment of SBD100,000 to kick off and trial their Forest Carbon Project.Sirebe will start supplying their first credits to theEuropean market by early 2020.CEPF is happy to have co-supported the various tribesin the Mt Maetambe-Kolombangara River KBA since2013, through the work of Ecological Solutions SolomonIslands and NRDF. The success of this Protected Areaprocess came from the collaboration and commitment ofnational (MECDM) and provincial (Choiseul)government; the Lauru Land Conference of tribalcommunities and the tribal chiefs of Babatana; NGOssuch as the Nakau programme, WWF, EKOS and Liveand Learn; and from other donors such as Bread for theWorld, the EU, USAID and the GEF5 funded FAO IMFproject.Press release can be seen hereMai Maasina Green Belt hold Strategic Planning dayDuring the 2016 CEPF Grantee Exchange held inHoniara, a group of young conservation advocators fromAre Are and Kwaio in Malaita came together andestablished the Mai Maasina Green Belt. Its primaryvision is to work towards a “Green” Malaita by tacklinglogging and supporting its member communities to movetowards Protected Area establishment.With monetary support from IUCN, through the CEPFsmall grants program, the group aims to strengthen itsorganizational structure and policies, develop a strategicplan, and explore alternative sources of income such ascarbon trading, bee-keeping, kava farming andecotourism.During October, Ravin Dhari, Solomon Islands CountryCoordinator, attended the group’s first planning day inAre Are, West Malaita. Eleven members of the MaiMaasina Green Belt Initiative successfully came togetherto review the organization’s constitution and beginstrategic planning for the future of conservation onMalaita.The Minister of Environment, Climate Change, DisasterManagement and Meteorology, Hon. Dr CulwickTogamana, officially launches and declares formalgazettal of the Sirebe Forest Conservation Area (SFCA)as the First National Terrestrial Protected Area underthe Protected Areas Act 2010!NRDF’s Wilko Bosma handing over a payment ofSBD 100,000 to Sirebe tribe for initial payment of the CarbonCredit scheme from Nakau.

Edenhope Workshop, Tasmate village, VanuatuFrom 19-22 November 2019, Edenhope Foundationconvened the first meeting of the Santo SunsetEnvironment Network under their current CEPF largegrant project, which aims to support local indigenouscommunities with the registration of CommunityConservation Areas throughout the Santo MountainChain KBA. Hosted by Tasmate community on WestCoast Santo, the workshop attracted the participation of46 local representatives from communities in North Westand West Coast Santo, and the Big Bay Area.The 4-day Workshop was driven by active communityparticipation in setting goals for local conservation andaction plans for sustainable development. The sharedpurpose uniting all of the communities taking part in theWorkshop was the desire to introduce nationallyrecognized Community Conservation Areas throughoutthe region, managed and maintained by indigenouslandowners.Meeting participant in TasmateThe strategic focus of the Network to supportCommunity Conservation Areas throughout the SantoMountain Chain will be supported by CEPF, enabling thecommunities of Wunpuko, Nokoku, Peniel, Tasmate andElia to undertake the necessary baseline assessmentsfor local biodiversity and consultation on conservationmanagement planning.Participants in TasmateFirst ever biodiversity survey in Kunua,Bougainville!After a series of stakeholder engagements andacquisition of formal consent from the chiefs andcommunity leaders in Teua, Kunua District, JuniorNovera from the University of Queensland (and alsofrom Kunua), led a team of scientists from Australia andSolomon Islands to conduct the first ever biodiversitysurvey on west coast Bougainville!The primary aim is to document the poorly known faunaand flora and encourage a long-term goal of backyardconservation in Kunua District. The study site is locatedwithin the CEPF priority KBA of Kunua Plains and MtBalbi, and encompasses a vast area of unbrokenforests, occurring from as low as 200m to over 2000 mabove sea level. Kunua is truly one of the last frontiers ofcontinuous pristine forest, vegetated waterfalls, crystalclear drinkable streams and fast-flowing rivers, in theBougainville and Solomon Islands archipelago.Initial findings suggest that the survey team havediscovered and rediscovered unique fauna and flora ofthe Kunua Plains and Mt Balbi KBA. The survey willcontribute immensely to the baseline information of theKBA and allow informed decision-making processes toconserve the area and its rich cultural diversity.Raákoa'ri CEPF for the continuous support to thisproject!Waterfalls and forests of Kunua taken by expedition team

Treweek Environmental Consultants begin work inNew IrelandFollowing on from previous work led by BirdLifeInternational, Treweek Environmental Consultants arenow working to improve information on the status andthreats of the beck’s petrel, as well as buildingcommunity awareness and support for the conservationof this elusive bird around New Ireland, PNG.In October, project lead Jez Bird, along with key partnersWCS, and Nezah Lakauas and Bernard Maul from thecommunities of Mimias and Lenai, led the Free Prior andInformed Consent process. Obtaining FPIC fromcommunities is a key step in project preparation andrepresents a green light for the project to go ahead. Theteam reported back on findings from previous fieldresearch and put a proposal to them for a jointprogramme of environmental education and Beck'sPetrel field research in 2020.Obtaining FPIC in Cape St George, New IrelandFollow the team on facebook!Meeting to share project objectives with WCS in KaviengBiodiversity seminar held in Port MoresbyA Biodiversity and Conservation Seminar hosted byMama Graun Trust Fund and sponsored by Exxon Mobiltook place from 27-29 November in Port Moresby.More than 60 participants from around PNG, includinglocal and national government, researchers, industrypartners, and community conservation practitionerscame together at the Lamana Hotel to discuss, presentand share ideas, research and information.Junior Novera, from CEPF grantee, University ofQueensland, presented research findings from therecent and first ever survey of the Kunua area ofBougainville. Former CEPF grantee The Kainake Projectwas also in attendance, portraying the message thatcommunity conservation efforts should not only besustainable but built on cultural frameworks andtraditional governance systems. TKP is working with anumber of partners, including small grantee RotokasEcotourism, to form an alliance for conservation andsustainable development with various stakeholdersacross Bougainville.OTHER NEWS News from our current and former granteesVESS Ocean Film Festival showcases marine conservation effortsVESS Radio Australia interview on bats in Fiji and VanuatuBirdLife and the race to save the Santa Cruz Ground Dove, a species identified by CEPF as a priority forconservation