VEPA: Tongans Managing Their Own Vava'u Seas

Founded in 2009, VEPA works across Tonga's Vava'u archipelago on coral reef and mangrove conservation, sustainable fisheries and environmental education. Through the Vava'u Ocean Initiative, a partnership with Tonga's government and the Waitt Institute, VEPA helps communities design and enforce their own Special Management Areas (SMAs) governing near-shore fishing grounds. By mid-2021 the partnership had developed six new SMAs and was providing ongoing support to two previously established areas, extending community-led ocean governance across the island group. VEPA also trains local rangers and youth ambassadors to monitor reef health and mangrove cover over time.