Progress report for
Application of Ridge to Reef Concept for Biodiversity Conservation and for the Enhancement of Ecosystem Services and Cultural Heritage in Niue
Achievement at a glance
This project has enhanced Niue’s capacity to effectively create and manage protected areas for biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of natural resources, and safeguarding of ecosystem services. It focuses on the expansion of its protected estate on land and on its marine areas through a combination of community conservation areas and government-led protected areas. In Community Conservation Areas, both strict protection and sustainable use zones will be identified and planned carefully, using innovative protection tools recognizing that tenure over most land areas is vested in local communities. \r\nThe government of Niue has developed a Forest Management Plan, Fisheries Management Plan, as well as Integrated Water Resources Management Plan. Furthermore, actions have also been undertaken to effectively manage waste in order to avoid contamination of the groundwater lens on which all residents depend for their drinking water supply.\r\nThis project has been designed to engineer a paradigm shift in the management of terrestrial, coastal and marine protected sites from a site-centric approach to a holistic “ridge to reef” comprehensive approach. Through this approach, activities in the immediate production landscapes adjacent to marine and terrestrial protected areas are being managed to reduce threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services stemming from key production activities (e.g. tourism and agriculture). Additionally, the project also introduced the concept of connectivity between landscape and seascape in Niue. Terrestrial protected areas include a landscape that links strictly protected community areas (tapu) to each other to enhance their integrity and to form a functional ecological corridor between them. Similarly, the creation of a Marine Protected Area at Beveridge Reef also satisfies the integrated and holistic approach promoted by the project by recognizing the link that is thought to exist between the Reef and mainland Niue through which the former serves as a source of recruitment for clams and other marine species that make up Niue’s coral reefs.Challenges faced in implementation
The estimated resources allocated from the government budget to environment-related activities total USD1.5 million implemented through various government agencies. Under the baseline scenario, most of the budget is spent on recurrent budget lines such as salaries. However, to this needs to be added a significant amount which is received in development project funds.\r\nWastewater is disposed of in designated areas to avoid contamination of the underground freshwater. Options to address other types of waste such as health-waste, electronic waste, and other scrap metals are reflected in the Niue Waste Management Plan. Work has been restricted by funding constraints.\r\nDespite the significant government response to the identified threats, gaps remain and barriers stand in the way of further progress and the achievement of sustainability – these are placing Niue’s biodiversity and environment at risk.\r\nResearch and consultations at the concept phase identified six existing impacts and remaining threats to biodiversity and natural resources of national and global significance.Beneficiaries
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