Institute of Applied Science,The University of the South Pacific
Abstract
Participants from several FLMMA project sites, which included Votua village from the province of Ba, district of Wai and Korolevu-i-Wai in the province of Nadroga, and Navakavu from the province of Rewa, attended a two-day socioeconomic monitoring training at Muaivusu village on May 15-16, 2003. The workshop had two major activities. The first activity was the involvement and participation of the community representatives in identifying socioeconomic factors that they perceive can gauge the changes in the livelihood and welfare of their respective communities. The second involved the use of a questionnaire to collect socioeconomic data that may depict the changes in the livelihood and welfare status of the community as the result of the impact of the project. The first day of the training focused on understanding what socioeconomic monitoring is, why this is done and monitoring or survey methods that are applied. On the second day the participants developed and trial questionnaire to assess how much the four villages of Yavusa Navakavu (with Muaivusu as the chiefly village) are dependent on marine resources for their livelihood. Actual household surveys were carried out in the late afternoon to the evening of the first day. Participants,were briefed on collation and analysis of data collected on Day One for each of the four villages. Percentages were worked out on incomes derived from land versus sea resources and other income sources as well. In addition participants developed socioeconomic monitoring plan for their village primarily based on the participants' observation and experience in relation to the impact of the implementation of the marine resource management plan on their socioeconomic well-being. They identified socioeconomic indicators that they perceive will best capture these changes
