Sep 4, 2014
Some of the gorgeous people who did us proud at this years Vodafone Fiji Hibsicus Festival.
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Some of the gorgeous people who did us proud at this years Vodafone Fiji Hibsicus Festival.
#hibiscusfiji crafts of hibiscus (at Police Officers' Mess)
#hibiscusfiji last few days of Hibiscus! #Kings (at Police Officers' Mess)
#hibiscusfiji at police officers mess for their last morning tea of the week (at Police Officers' Mess)
Eco-Tourism can finance conservation
JOANA QICA is a first year law student at the University of the South Pacific. Her question required her to find out of Eco-Tourism can help to protect our environment.
Joana made strong points about how Eco-Tourism could provide Tourism Fiji with another strong segment. She told the judges that there is a need for more investment in accreditation measures for local tourist operators. Below is her speech at the BEST RESEARCH TOPIC Presentation Competition.
“Define what Eco-tourism means to you and how it contributes to the protection of our environment.”
Good afternoon Judges and good afternoon to those tuning in through Fiji One and Sky Pacific. My presentation, Ladies and Gentlemen, will solely focus on Eco-tourism and how it contributes to the protection of our environment. During my presentation I’m going to show you what eco-tourism is about ,the ingredients of eco-tourism, it’s principles, how it’s useful to the locals and the society, also I’m going to show you how eco-tourism can contribute to the conservation of our environment.
Thank you again Ladies and Gentlemen for the attention.
Eco-tourism is defined by The International Ecotourism Society as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people”. Ladies and gentlemen, my understanding of eco-tourism is growth in greater active tourist participation but at the same time conserving our natural environment which in turn improves the livelihoods of the people. To further elaborate on “What Eco-tourism is?”, my dear audience I would like to highlight on the three main ingredients that makes up Eco-tourism, that is, “Conservation ,Communities and Interpretation” Conservation in the sense that eco-tourism provides effective economic incentives for conserving and enhancing bio-cultural diversity and helps protect the natural and cultural heritage of our beautiful planet, such examples in Fiji are, Bouma National Heritage Park and Namena Marine Reserve to name a few. Eco-tourism involves Communities through increase in local capacity building and employment opportunities, empowering local communities around the world to fight against poverty and to achieve sustainable development, such examples are Turtle Island Resort(has the largest solar plant , 5 acres locally produced farm and tremendous support from local villagers), Bagata Village Tour, ladies and gentlemen, which provides employment and income earning opportunities as tour guides and the sale of handicrafts and Matava Resort(with 52 plot organic farm and training, community honey production and 100% Solar power solution). The principles of Eco-tourism, ladies and gentlemen, is that it minimizes impact towards the environment, builds environmental and cultural awareness and respect in both visitors and hosts, provides positive experiences for both visitors and hosts, provides direct financial benefits for conversation and provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people, and supports human rights and democratic movements. Eco-tourism is beneficial to the locals and the society as it improves the welfare of local communities through employment, fosters and appreciation for nature and local cultures within locals and visitors whilst also respecting the aspirations and traditions of those visited. Therefore, Ladies and gentlemen, “Can Eco-tourism contribute in the protection of the environment? YES it can, because theoretically the finances gained can be used to find more initiatives to conserve the environment and Fiji or any Pacific country for that matter should consider practising Eco-tourism in a global market scale as this will expose visitors to be more aware of the ecology of Fiji’s unique natural attractions, as a result, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a win win situation as we are improving the wellbeing of our local communities and helping to conserve the natural and cultural environment. Vinaka Vakalevu Ladies and Gentlemen for your time.
Money Woes Weakens Family Unit
23 year old Nakelo (Tailevu) lass Nanise Rainima won the first category up for grabs in the race to find Miss Fiji 2014. Miss Rainima, sponsored by APCO COATINGS spoke on the links between the the economic prosperity of a country and the increase in social ills plaguing families. A former Head Girl and Dux of Suva Grammar School, Miss Rainima is a full time missionary who works with university students. Her personal platform at the Vodafone Fiji Hibiscus Festival is Youth Development: Encouraging young people to realise that they have a purpose. Nanise is from Nakelo Tailevu and is a vasu of the chiefly island of Bau, Tailevu. She hold a Bachelor of Science in Bio/Chemistry with minor in Physics from the University of the South Pacific. She loves working with young people and singing.
NANISE RAINIMA, MISS APCO COATINGS Our society seems to be struggling from disintegrating family values, increasing domestic violence family breakdown and separation and teenage pregnancies. What, in your view, is the underlying cause of these problems and what is your solution to them?
Good afternoon Judges, Members of the audience, fellow contestants and to you all who are watching through Fiji One.
What is causing these problems to arise? Teenage pregnancies, increasing domestic violence and family breakdown, who is to be blamed for this? Can we blame the media? That is influencing our children with foreign ideologies? Or maybe an obvious one would be to put the blame on the parents’, who are not teaching their children the right thing to do? Is that it? I don’t think that’s fair from their perspective.
Sir Sidney Poitier who is the author of The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography says, “Of all my father's teachings, the most enduring was the one about the true measure of a man. That true measure was how well he provided for his children, and it stuck with me as if it were etched in my brain.”
That is a man who understood the role of the sole bread winner of the family and I believe that that is the root cause of disintegrating family values meaning; the strength of a family is weakened by money woes simple as that. It all has to do with the economic security of the family unit.
To illustrate the effects of economic problems on family values, allow me to bring forth a review of a play: Death of a salesman on CNN by Julian Zelizer an accomplished author and Professor of History and Public Affairs in Princeton University. In his review, he made valid conclusions that economic problems affects family values. His review identifies the following: 1. Job growth, 2. Taking care of the old and 3. Education and its cost.
Let’s bring this home to our situation in Fiji. His observations can be true to us.
Credible qualifications attracts good job opportunities. It’s one thing to find a job and another to get a good-paying job. The trend of successfully finding a job these days continue to decrease, unemployment rate shoots up. Because of this many dimly see a prosperous future and cease to try.
When the family members don’t feel their jobs are stable, or they don’t have jobs especially with married couples, tensions quickly mounts on basic issues such as paying the rent or mortgage and buying food which leads to domestic violence and family breakdowns. Too often the society is ignorant to the effects of economic strains on families.
Another source of economic instability comes from taking care of the old, in terms of their social security and health. The main income earners of the family struggle between providing for their children and their elderly parents. Our society is so used to communal living where people live with their extended families and this in turn demands extra financial commitment to the sole bread winner. This burden cause stress which gives birth to conflicts within the family structure. Families experiencing this become oblivious to the importance of family time where moral values are instilled in children’s minds. Values that children will pass on to their children and so on and so forth. Because of the pressure and the conflict, family values begin to disintegrate.
Finally there is education and the cost associated with it. There is a need for higher education especially when one aims to get a really good job. Initiatives are set up to encourage further education in developing skills, capabilities, intelligence and expertise for a more marketable economy. In Fiji today, with the student loans scheme now in place, compared to the respective scholarship awards, once students graduate and before they work they are already in debt. This is a major disadvantage when they are setting up their own households because rental or mortgage payments needs to be met along with the daily sustenance and additional family commitments. If the income is not sufficient to meet the growing family needs, tension begins to rise within the family. On the contrary, those who do not complete education becomes a financial burden on the family.
A solution that I can think of is good, sound economic policies by policymakers which will create more job opportunities in the private and public sectors, also in the Technical and Vocational areas. The more job opportunities, the more people are employed the better it is for the family unit. Sound economic policies will also help the senior citizens through social security benefits which will alleviate the burden on the family finances. Once job opportunities increases and social security benefits for the aged are taken care of, resources are freed to be utilised for family consumption even education. Also influential stakeholders in the community like churches, youth groups and sporting clubs should play their roles in instilling good moral values. In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I would say that a productive, well-educated and a healthy and moral society will see a great reduction in the social ills that have been mentioned this afternoon. Vinaka.
He hopes we will pay attention to Climate Change concerns ...Calev Chandra Mr Design Shop #HibiscusKings #HibiscusFiji (at Hibiscus ground, Albert Park)
NANISE RAINIMA, Miss APCO and SEINI GUCAKE Miss FRINCOS at FM96 with TONY this morning . #HibiscusFiji #BreakfastWithTony (at Waimanu Road, Suva)