Why Donate to ADE Project Fiji?

The ADE project to rebuild and restore some of Fiji’s most damaged marine habitat will have a significant impact on the local economy, food security, complex biodiversity, gender equality, and, to some degree, a chance to observe global warming resilience trending on a much larger scale than ever attempted before. ADE has perfected a method of growing out and transplanting large numbers of coral on Fiji reefs since 1998. Because the acceleration of the effects of global warming continues to threaten the livelihoods of coastal communities throughout the region, ADE has decided the time is right to urgently scale up its success and make a commitment to plant 1,000,000 corals in the coming year utilizing 20 different sites that show the immediate need of intervention.

Fiji lies in the heart of the tropical Pacific Ocean between longitudes 174º East and 178º West of Greenwich and latitudes 12º and 22º South. Fiji’s EEZ covers 130 million ha of the South Pacific Ocean and contains approximately 330 islands, a third of which are inhabited. Ba is a Fiji Province, occupying the northwestern sector of Viti Levu, Fiji’s largest island, with 231,762 people – more than a quarter of the nation’s total – living in 107 villages in 21 districts. It covers a land area of 2,634 km2, the second largest of any Province in Fiji. The Yasawa Group, an archipelago of about 20 volcanic islands important to Fiji’s tourism industry, is also located in Ba Province.

The economic livelihood of the residents of Ba relies heavily on coastal fisheries, agriculture, and tourism. As such, these communities are especially vulnerable to the impacts of Climate Change. Coral reefs in BA Province are critical to the livelihoods of coastal villages in the Province. They support subsistence, artisanal and commercial fisheries; the large tourism trade in the Province; and coastal protection from the increasing severity of tropical storms.

Coral Reefs throughout the world are critically endangered habitats that are facing a variety of stresses. Such as:

            – coastal development, runoff, and eutrophication leading to a phase-shift from corals to algae.

            – loss of mangroves which function as a natural filter reducing excess nutrient flow to reefs.  Mangroves also serve as nurseries for many reef fishes.

            – overfishing and reduction of herbivorous fishes and invertebrates that serve to keep algal growth in check.

            – climate change and mass coral mortality due to higher-than-normal seawater temperatures leading to coral bleaching.

            – Increasing CO2 dissolving in the ocean leads to ocean acidity, making it more difficult for corals to form calcium carbonate skeletons

            – The increasing importance of the “cash economy” in rural Fiji leads to overfishing and watershed degradation, resulting in the further degradation of coral reefs.

Our project focuses on creating nature-based solutions to catalyze sustainable development in coastal communities. We make conservation compacts with communities that are bi-lateral partnerships to promote fair and equitable development in tandem with conservation. This project uses coral reef rehabilitation to restore coastal fisheries through providing community-based services. Healthy ecosystems are more resilient to natural and anthropogenic disturbances and the effects of climate change. Therefore, maintaining ecological resilience is essential to any management strategy that aspires to conserve ecosystems and the services they provide.

ADE is a non-profit organization registered in both the USA and Fiji. It has developed the technical and practical experience over the past 23 years to enable large-scale deployment in a short period using local labor (multi-gender and age) and basic, commonly available tools.

The current project involves cloning and transplanting 1,000,000 corals on degraded reefs in twenty villages, mainly in the Ba province, the northern district, and along the coral coast of Fiji. The project can be completed within one year, using the scaling-up capabilities developed by ADE, and our commitment to raise US$1,000,000 will enable the project to realize this vision

If you have already donated, we are grateful for your generosity. If you are currently considering donating, we invite you to become part of the worlds largest and most ambitious coral reef rehabilitation project as it continues to grow with your help.

Sincerely,

Walt Smith

Director, Aquaculture Development for the Environment

www.adeproject.org