The growing threat of illegal wildlife trafficking, including the smuggling of Fiji’s globally unique crested iguana, has underscored the urgent need to strengthen Fiji’s national biodiversity protection efforts. This was highlighted by the Director of the Department of Environment, Senimili Nakora while opening of the National Dialogue on the Zero Draft of Fiji’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva this morning.
Nakora, who spoke on behalf of the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, says the Ministry stressed that protecting Fiji’s biodiversity is not only an environmental concern, it is critical for livelihoods, food security, cultural identity, and the resilience of communities.
