Sustainable Land Management Workshop

VEPA has been invited to participate in Tonga's Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Workshop/Training on Strengthened capacity for sustainable agriculture, particularly in drought prone areas. A representative from VEPA will attend these discussions in Neiafu on Dec. 21st and 22nd. The training has been put together by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change through funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Sustainable Land Management project's aim is to "lift barriers to sustainable land management and thus contribute to enhance ecosystem health, stability, functions, and services". You can read more news on the project here.

Back in Koloa

Yesterday Saskia and myself headed back out to Koloa to finish the hand propagation part of the reforestation project. The fence has been installed, and so it was the perfect time for planting, despite the occasional showers.

We hand propagated 33 mangrove seeds, and will be returning every 10 days to monitor their process.

The school kids have about 30 seeds in recycled pots, every day they fill the pots with salt water, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The seeds take about 32 days before the tip starts to open up, once the mangroves are big enough (approx 50-60 days), they will be replanted into the protected area.

-Karen