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This study uses a community-based assessment in conjunction with the integrated catchment management and community capitals frameworks to explore the iTaukei (indigenous Fijian) knowledge systems relative to the management of natural resources in the villages in the Waimanu Catchment. The iTaukei knowledge systems encompassing traditional beliefs, values, customs, and social relations within the villages were used to devise adaptive strategies to improve the physical, financial, human, cultural, social, and political capitals in order to enhance the natural capital in the Waimanu Catchment. Improving the health of local ecosystems would increase the adaptive capacity of the local communities, which would ultimately, make the communities resilient to the impacts of climate change and human activities. It is therefore, essential to implement an integrated management plan on a catchment scale which considers the interconnectedness between people and the ecosystems as well as the upstream–downstream connectivity since land use changes undertaken upstream affect the resilience of downstream communities. The study emphasized that the enrichment of human capital, social bonding, and collaboration among the internal and external stakeholders consisting of government, quasi-government and non-government organizations, industries and businesses, and landowners located both within and outside of the catchment served as the key principles to help achieve community resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sargassum C. Agardh is a highly diverse genus within the brown algae, with 615 currently recognized species, varieties and forms worldwide. This high level of species diversity led early taxonomists, using morphological-anatomical criteria only, to divide the genus into up to five sub-genera and several lower-ranking taxonomic units (e.g., sections, tribes). With the advent of molecular data, subsequent authors revised this complex and archaic classification, with the genus now comprising only two sub-genera: Sargassum and Bactrophycus. Whilst most Sargassum species are benthic, only two are known to be holopelagic and responsible for strandings along tropical Atlantic coasts. The rest of the genus is cosmopolitan, occurring from tropical to temperate regions. Sargassum has not yet been reported in polar regions. Where Sargassum is present, macroalgal populations can grow in large quantities, and the resulting biomass can be valuable to the local communities for a variety of uses. Here we review the genus Sargassum from a taxonomic, ecological and physiological perspectives, and explore the different ways of taking advantage of this extraordinary biomass, which while becoming an invasive pest in some countries, could represent opportunities for coastal populations worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A community-based assessment along with a water quality framework was used to explore the Waimanu River water quality and to determine the impacts of the water quality on the communities which rely on the river for livelihood, sustenance, and recreation. Since both climatic and non-climatic factors affect the river system, the study used rainfall variability as well as land use assessments in addition to the community-based assessment to assess the effects of changing environmental factors on the river water quality. It was found that frequent rainfall intensified the runoff into the Waimanu River of contaminants arising from unsustainable land use practices in the Waimanu Catchment including agriculture, gravel extraction, logging, deforestation, and improper waste management. These led to physicochemical and microbial pollution in the river which augmented the vulnerability of the riverine communities to water pollution by hampering their food, water, income, and health securities. The river water quality is expected to further deteriorate as future climate change projections predict an intensification of annual rainfall events, thereby increasing river water contamination and risks to aquatic life and human life. Non-climatic factors that endanger water quality could be controlled by implementing better upstream land and waste management strategies on a catchment scale to minimize the adverse impacts of declining water quality on downstream communities. Methodologies employed in this study to monitor and maintain river water quality are applicable on a global scale to promote the health and security of riverine communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, and nutrients) on growth, semi-refined carrageenan yield, gel strengths, and viscosity were assessed on the red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii in laboratory culture. Results showed that K. alvarezii had a higher daily growth rate (0.94% day-1) at higher temperature (30 °C). Its semi-refined carrageenan yield was high (75.79%) at a combination of low salinity (25 ppt) and high temperature (30 °C). Conversely, gel strengths made out of semi-refined carrageenan from K. alvarezii cultured at low temperature (24 °C) demonstrated a higher compression (5.84 N) and high penetration strength (0.29 N). Highest viscosity (289.50 cP) was attained at a combination of high temperature, low salinity, and high nutrient concentration. Gels made from carrageenan of K. alvarezii grown in a higher temperature (30 °C) mixed with pineapple juice showed higher compression strength demonstrating that carrageenan extracted from cultured K. alvarezii is a good thickening agent for fruit jellies or similar food products that do not require refrigeration. This could benefit communities in rural, non-electrified communities/areas of Fiji and other South Pacific Islands that could use K. alvarezii as an alternative gelling agent in the making of food products contributing towards their food and economic security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a holistic approach within a catchment scale, through the application of both climatic and non-climatic parameters, to analyze the impacts of river floods on the human security needs of rural riverine communities in the Waimanu Catchment situated in Nausori, Fiji. Consideration of both climatic and non-climatic factors is required since non-climatic factors could be controlled to build resilience against floods. The indicator-based flood vulnerability index methodology is applicable worldwide, but the indicators used in this study were specifically related to the Pacific Island context. In the context of fluvial flood vulnerability, effects of land management and climate change are not mutually exclusive of each other. Consequently, vulnerability assessments should consider the connection between people’s actions and ecosystems for the entire catchment area since upstream land use practices influence flood vulnerabilities downstream. In our research, a community-based flood vulnerability index system in conjunction with rainfall variability and land use assessments was used to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the flood vulnerability, and it was found that increased rainfall, poor agricultural practices, gravel extraction, and improper waste management predominantly increased the exposure and sensitivity of midstream and downstream communities to river floods by modifying river morphology. Midstream communities in the Waimanu Catchment were most vulnerable to river floods due to their very low adaptive capacity in terms of poor ecosystem health and lack of natural resources to cope with the subsequent impacts of floods, being most sensitive to changes in land use and land cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A floristic survey of the marine algal biodiversity of Antsiranana Bay, northern Madagascar, was conducted during November 2018. This represents the first inventory encompassing the three major macroalgal classes (Phaeophyceae, Florideophyceae and Ulvophyceae) for the little-known Malagasy marine flora. Combining morphological and DNA-based approaches, we report from our collection a total of 110 species from northern Madagascar, including 30 species of Phaeophyceae, 50 Florideophyceae and 30 Ulvophyceae. Barcoding of the chloroplast-encoded rbcL gene was used for the three algal classes, in addition to tufA for the Ulvophyceae. This study significantly increases our knowledge of the Malagasy marine biodiversity while augmenting the rbcL and tufA algal reference libraries for DNA barcoding. These efforts resulted in a total of 72 new species records for Madagascar. Combining our own data with the literature, we also provide an updated catalogue of 442 taxa of marine benthic macroalgae from Madagascar, comprising 85 Phaeophyceae, 1 Compsopogonophyceae, 240 Florideophyceae and 116 Ulvophyceae. This diversity holds 29 (ca. 6.5%) endemic species to Madagascar. Our results are discussed in the context of increasing threats to biodiversity on Madagascar's coastal reefs from both anthropic and anthropogenic activities including sewage effluent runoffs and unsustainable agricultural practices such as massive deforestation, leading to ecosystem shifts to algal dominance on reefs, which are recommended to be addressed through integrated land-sea management in a Reef-to-Ridge conservation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane is an economically important crop in Fiji as it has considerable impact on the gross domestic product and around 22% (200,000) of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on the sugarcane industry. Considering the importance of this crop, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed in order to understand environmental impacts. In this paper, Fijian sugarcane production was assessed to produce a set of LCA results for defined impacts. The results can be used in subsequent assessments of sugarcane-related products and provide significant insights into the current impacts. Life cycle impact assessment results were generated using CML, ReCiPe and Impact 2002 + models running in Open LCA software using the Ecoinvent database. This connected the system flows and process flow to the product systems in order to calculate the life cycle impact assessment results to be based on local data for comparable and accurate evaluation. Previous analysis revealed that sugarcane production has a considerable impact on global warming potential because of the significant use of fossil fuels in farm machineries and transportation, and the production and use of agrochemicals. Results from this study show that sugarcane production has least impact on ozone layer depletion. Fertilizer production and usage was found to be one of the key issues affecting various impact categories. These results will assist further assessments on the sugarcane products and systems. However, in order to further develop the LCA tool for Fijian agricultural systems, development and testing of life cycle impact assessment models is necessary for Fijian conditions. This will ensure further accuracy of model outputs and supply more realistic and real-time results on emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2011, the small South Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu has been affected by algal blooms, the most recent being a large growth of the brown alga Sargassum on the main atoll of Funafuti. The gravity of the situation led to an invitation to the authors from the Tuvalu Government to conduct an initial survey of the problem in November 2013. The bloom was seen to be localized on the lagoon side of the main populated island of Fongafale, distributed in a variably dense belt up to 100 m from the shoreline. A total of 19 species of macroalgae were found in the survey area, the dominant one being the phaeophyceaen alga, Sargassum polycystum C. Agardh, with individual plants reaching up to 2 m in length with a cover ranging between 16 and 23 % of the substratum. For seven transects laid from the southern tip of the island to the end of the populated area, wet biomass ranged between 0.45 and 3.56 kg m, with an average of 1.68 kg m. There was a correlation noticed between the density of human population on the shore and algal biomass, with the highest biomass figures opposite a school and a hotel. Water quality tests also showed nutrient levels almost twice as high in front of populated areas than in unpopulated areas of the island. The algal belt was seen to be concentrated in water less than 1 m deep, becoming sparser as depth increased. The high amount of Sargassum biomass available makes it a good candidate for use as a fertiliser additive for agricultural practices in Tuvalu. Benefits from seaweed-based fertilisers are numerous, and individual farmers have already reported success with the blooms species on the atoll. Additionally, the Sargassum biomass could be converted into biogas using the process of anaerobic digestion in simple household digesters, to meet the need for renewable energy in lighting and cooking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]