The leadership and management training for i Taukei chiefs has continued and three more provinces completed in 2013 and the final province, Lau, begun. This i Taukei Affairs Board (iTAB) has taken over leadership of the training with staffing support from IAS.
Also working with iTAB a program to place environmental specialists at the Provincial Offices has begun. The concept grew out of the ICM and LMMA projects. The Ra ICM project funded the first such officer and IAS is supporting such an officer in Kadavu and four more are being supported by a grant to iTAB from the Packard Foundation organized via IAS. These officers will assist in community-based resource management project in their area.
2011
IAS also continued to be active in leadership and management training in Fiji. In 2009-2010 it developed and trialed a leadership training program for Fijian traditional chiefs. This was well-received, especially by the i Taukei Affairs Ministry, which incorporated this training into their 2011 work plan. IAS and iTA Ministry staff worked together in 2011 to conduct the workshops in seven provinces, first working with district chiefs on a provincial level and then holding workshops in each district of the province for village chiefs. The management aspect especially focuses on managing natural resources.
2009
Analysis has shown that success of community-based projects often depends on the quality of leadership. With this in mind, IAS has developed a Leadership and Management Training Program. In 2009 this was funded by the Fijians Trust Fund and carried out in partnership with the Fijian Affairs Board in two provinces in Fiji.
The Leadership and Management (L&M) training workshops are being conducted jointly by the Institute of Applied Sciences Environment Unit and the Ministry of Fijian Affairs, targeting traditional leaders in the Fijian communities. The PRIDE project with the focus of raising awareness of conserving unique and endemic species is taking advantage of the opportunities during FLMMA workshops to spread the word about conservation of threatened resources. This is being done with the international NGO RARE.