Traditional environmental knowledge and community-based biodiversity conservation in Fiji: current status and priorities for its protection and utilisation

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) as a basis for the community-based biodiversity conservation in Fiji.. It is based on some of the findings of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP) Technical Working Group 4 on the “Importance of Traditional Knowledge as a Basis for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Fiji” (Thaman et al. 1998) and on studies conducted by the author over the past twenty five years on the importance of biodiversity as a foundation for the economic, cultural and ecological survival in the Pacific Islands.