OceansWatch

About us

OceansWatch thematic areas.
1. Marine and terrestrial conservation:
a. Marine management: We work closely with local communities and our teams of Reef Guardians to develop sustainable fisheries management plans that include MMAs no-take MPAs and fisheries management regulations.
b. Reef Guardians: We train local people to become guardians of the reef, to understand the reef ecosystem from a scientific perspective as well as their own traditional perspective. We empower the Reef Guardians and facilitate for them to develop ways to monitor their reefs and to develop sustainable management plans.
c. Terrestrial: We follow Ecosystem Based Management principals to protect and manage terrestrial environments that are contiguous with or effect the marine ecosystems where we work. We protect bio-diversity within these terrestrial ecosystems.
2. Climate change:
a. Climate Change: We undertake Climate Change assessments using the Local Early Action Planning kit (Coral Triangle Initiative) program in all villages where we work. We have initiated an erosion control program in 2 villages that have severe beach erosion.
b. Fresh water: The coral atolls where OceansWatch is working are suffering from salinization of their fresh water lens. By monitoring salinity and doing accurate capacity and needs assessments we support communities to manage their resource and to apply to external donors for funding.
c. Solar: We set up Solar Charge Stations (first trial 2013) that provide power to charge mobile phones, torches and laptops. Alongside the Charge Stations we encourage communities to build Resource Centres, Crafts Centres and Commercial Kitchens to enable the Coconut Oil and Moana Arts programs (see below).
3. Sustainable livelihoods:
a. Coconut oil project: We are build the capacity of and resource women to produce organic, virgin cold-pressed coconut oil for the local and export markets.
b. Sustainable harvest of invertebrates. We build sea pens to enhance breeding to assist the sea cucumber populations to recover after severe over-harvesting. Long term aim is a sustainable fishery. We shall expand this program to other invertebrates in 2014 (Trochus and Green Snail).
c. Crafts: Moana Arts program. We purchase local crafts in the villages where we work at a good "local" price. The crafts are then taken back to New Zealand or Australia where they are sold at Christmas markets. The profit is then returned to the makers. On average we have made an extra 100% return to the community members.



4. Common themes
a. Capacity Building: Several of our programs include a Capacity Building component, for example in our Coconut Oil program the women's cooperatives form an Association and write its Constitution. They also learn record keeping. Our Reef Guardians learn to handle paperwork and data recording and simple data analysis. During our Climate Change assessments community members learn skills such as contour profiling, use of compass and GPS and mapping.
b. Resource Centres: The first Resource Centre has been set up in Fenualoa Island, Reef Islands. With minimal financial support and lots of encouragement from OceansWatch the community have erected a building that now houses a solar charge station (Donated by Dubai 2020) and another room that will be used as a Resource Centre. Telekom Solomon Islands are installing wireless Internet in the Resource Centre. We hope to provide a laptop and other resources for the centre in 2014.
c. Education: We give conservation lessons, from kindergarten through to school leavers and to adults through presentations and films. We have established a Sister Schools program with a New Zealand school to support environmental education and cultural exchange (pen pal letters) in each.
5. Humanitarian (with partner organisations)
a. Medical: We assist local clinics and villages by bringing medical supplies and other resources such as reference books, lights, instruments etc.
b. Disaster relief: Through a fund raising campaign amongst our membership we have assisted two villages where we work after a hurricane in 2009 and Tsunami in 2012. We provided equipment to Lata Hospital where the Tsunami victims were treated and some building materials for houses damaged on Fenualoa Island. For Rennell Island we provided emergency food.
c. Disaster prevention: We have set up a 2 marine radio shore stations and provided emergency radios and safety equipment to boats to prevent accidents at sea.
Geographical areas
We are currently concentrating in the SW Pacific, particularly Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Long term we hope to offer our services world-wide to developing Island nations.