The development of Taveuni’s agriculture has increasingly been at odds with the need to protect and conserve its natural environment. As encroachment into the Taveuni Forest Reserve and Ravilevu Nature Reserve for agricultural production of dalo and yaqona expands, it has affected ecosystem services provided by these natural resources, especially watershed protection, that can lead the island into a crisis.
The reserves on the island marked by the Blue Line boundary are part of Fiji’s largest reserves. The Taveuni Forest Reserve established in 1914 has a total land area of 11,291 hectares and the Ravilevu Nature Reserve established in 1959, is 4,019 hectares in area. Also included as one of the reserves or protected areas is the Bouma National Heritage Park established in 1991. The reserves are set aside and protected for the conservation of biodiversity and natural processes of the forest. But as farmers move further inland in search for better soil fertility to expand farmlands, sections of the reserves have been illegally cleared leading to the loss of forest cover in water catchment areas. As a result, locations such as the Vuna District are now experiencing dry streams.
