One of Biggest Community Conservation Areas Launched in South Pentecost

The Honourable Minister of Climate Change, Ralph Regenvanu, was with the Chiefs and community members of South Pentecost on Wednesday this week (March 4, 2026) to officially launch the Wawa Community Conservation Area (CCA), along with its Management Plan.

This is one of the biggest Community Conservation Areas (CCA) that is situated in the Wawa Area Council in the southern part of the island of Pentecost, covering a total of 36 communities. The CCA, which has a Management Committee, covers a total area of 14,488 hectares.

The Wawa Conservation Area Management Committee consists of members from the villages and communities of Panlimsie, Point Cross, Panas, Ranputor, Wali, Londar, Bay Martelie, Wanur, Ranwas, Pangi, Baie Barrier, Boulap, Punmel Rangusuksuk and Saint Henry.

Three out of four Ward Councils of Wawa Council are part of the Community Conservation Area.

Chief Peter Watas as Chairman of the Malpangpang Development Council said the Council will work with the fourth Ward Council to include them as well.

Chief Watas said the CCA is an initiative from the chiefs of South Pentecost who agreed to establish the conservation area in selected areas around the whole of South Pentecost. This agreement was made at a meeting in Wali.

The Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation was instrumental in taking the lead to assist the communities to establish the Community Conservation Area.

In his address, the Hon. Minister Ralph Regenvanu congratulated the chiefs of South Pentecost for their vision to protect all resources on land and sea by establishing the Wawa CCA.

“The good management of the Community Conservation Area will ensure that children would also enjoy the same resources in the future,” the Minister said.

He called for respect towards chiefs when they establish rules to protect and manage resources.

The Minister thanked chiefs, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a United Nations agency that provided support for the project, government officers and everyone involved to ensure the establishment of the CCA.

He then launched the Management Plan and handed over the registration certificates, under Environmental Protection and Conservation Act, to the Management Committees Chairman, Pastor Keith Lala and the Area Administrator for South Pentecost, Ms. Joana Wari.

The important key habitats in the Wawa Community Conservation Area include primary forest area, rivers and streams, land crab habitat and coral reefs.

The forest hosts endemic plant and animal species that need protection, which also contributes to protection water sources and catchment areas.

Apart from providing water for the local communities for household use and cultivating their traditional taro irrigation, rivers within the CCA include the Bay Homo River which was listed as a potential wetland of national importance, as three endemic fish species are found in the river while one endemic species exists in the Banmatmat stream.

The Marine Protected Area component within the CCA covers coastal communities of Pana, Wali, Pangi, Ranputor, Londar/Bay Martelie and Point Cross.

The crab habitats are located along the coastal terrain of Palimsi, Salap, Ranputor, Harop, Point Cross and right down to Poarbus and southeast of Point Cross.

It is a practise for the communities to place traditional “tabus” on the resources to protect them and their habitats, as well as to ensure resources such as crabs breed.

Within the terrestrial component of the CCA, the villages of Palimsi, Bay Martelie, Point Cross and Wamial also have their site-specific community based tabu areas, for the conservation of river resources, land crabs and forests.

The main objectives of the Wawa Community Conservation Area contribute to better management, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity within the area.

These include conserving the intact forests and marine areas of Wawa Community Conservation Area for the current and future generations; protecting the water catchment areas of the conservation area and protecting the endemic and threatened plant and animal species of the conservation area; conserving the wild fauna and flora; protect the historical and cultural sites within the conservation area; protect the cultural heritage, practices and tabu stones in the area; protect the forest as the carbon sink and eco-adaptation toward potential impacts of the climate change and to contribute to eco-disaster risk reduction ensuring that there is continuous flow of the water for the community use during El Nino seasons.

The Management Plan is overseen by the Wawa Conservation Area Management Committee led by Pastor Keith Lala of Panlimsie.

Other members come from the villages and communities of Point Cross, Panas, Ranputor, Wali, Londar, Bay Martelie, Wanur, Ranwas, Pangi, Baie Barrier, Boulap, Punmel Rangusuksuk and Saint Henry.

One of the tasks of the Management Committee is to ensure that anyone that contravenes established rules for the CCA is given a fine that has been included in the management plan.