Sustainable forest management is essential to providing access to quality water, a necessary resource for development. In New Caledonia, 90% of tap water comes from rivers and good management requires direct action at the watershed level, an area of land that drains all streams and rainfall to a common outlet.
While New Caledonia may appear to have abundant and preserved water resources, the degraded state of the forest cover threatens its essential role in filtering and purifying water.
Forested watersheds are increasingly degraded by anthropogenic and natural threats such as fires and invasive species. Feral pigs and deer impact the undergrowth by consuming grasses, young tree shoots, leaves and bark. They prevent natural regeneration and promote the spread of invasive plant species such as Pinus caribaea, a pine species. Today, it is estimated that there are 400,000 deer, which is more deer than people in New Caledonia. Bushfires started through slash-and-burn activities or arson, destroying between 10,000 and 30,000 hectares annually.
Climate change also threatens water resources. While it is predicted the number of cyclones will decrease, their intensity and associated rainfall will increase, increasing the risk of soil erosion. Similarly, the earth's temperature is rising, which leads to the start of fires and increases the frequency of droughts.
Within the Pacific Regional Project for Sustainable Ecosystem Management (PROTEGE) framework, the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Government of New Caledonia, in collaboration with the French Biodiversity Office, are supporting the watershed restoration and preservation efforts in three New Caledonian communes. In Houaïlou, Touho and Dumbea, measures to regulate invasive species and support reforestation have been taking place since 2021.
The Dumbea dam supplies were more than one out of three New Caledonians. Since its commissioning in 1970, the dam has lost nearly 40% of its storage capacity due to soil erosion. To remedy this, WWF is testing innovative techniques to revegetate the area, such as drone seeding and live fascines, bundle structures made of cuttings of living woody plant material and placed in trenches across the slope of a bank to protect against erosion.
In Houaïlou, to reduce the risk of fire and to encourage the recolonisation of endemic species, 10 hectares of Pinus caribaea trees will be cut down by the commune around the Bâ catchments on the Mindaï creek. The trees will then be recycled to create posts to fence off the area immediately upstream of the catchment.
In Touho, under the coordination of ONF International, the global arm of the French National Forest Office, community groups are reforesting the area. In addition to planting, fascines are also being put in place to prevent erosion.
For these three municipalities, a restoration plan for the watersheds upstream of the catchments will be carried out soon. SPC, the government of New Caledonia and the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB) are working together to preserve and restore natural resources. Convinced that all communities and cultures in the Pacific are self-reliant and resilient, SPC promotes Sustainable Development Goal 6: “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all and ensure sustainable management of water resources.”
Know more: https://bit.ly/3ARezyI
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About PROTEGE
PROTEGE (“Pacific Territories Regional Project for Sustainable Ecosystem Management” or “protect” in French) is an initiative designed to promote sustainable and climate-change-resilient economic development in European Pacific overseas countries and territories (OCTs) by emphasising biodiversity and renewable resources. Implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), PROTEGE is a regional cooperation project that supports the public policies of the four Pacific OCT: New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and Pitcairn.
About Resilience broadcast
Resilience is a 26-minute programme that highlights the actions taken by women and men in Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna to enhance climate adaptation and mitigation. This programme is produced with the financial support of the European Union. The contents are the sole responsibility of the Pacific Community and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.