The Tourism Authority of Kiribati undertook a cultural rehabilitation program and ecotourism development consultation on the island of Maiana from 14 to 28 June 2020.
On the first week, TAK teamed up with a Cultural Museum Division (CMD) team during their village consultations. These consultations aimed at increasing awareness on the significance of maintaining cultural heritage and planting of resilient local food crops to enhance their food security and maintain traditional cuisine and to sustain local knowledge and practices in response to the adverse impacts of climate change.
TAK was involved in the cultural rehabilitation consultations with village elders (unimwane). This was the first ever joint Culture and Tourism mission to help restore and rehabilitate site of cultural significance for tourism purposes as well and for future generations to enjoy. The team had the opportunity to discuss with village decision makers ways in which these important sites were to be preserved or beautified. This joint task was as extension of work done in Abemama and Nonouti.
Whilst in Maiana, the TAK team seized the opportunity to expand its awareness on the importance of Ecotourism and its linkages to cultural heritage, agritourism and other tourism related businesses development. TAK consulted with different villages and their communities to identify potential eco-tourism businesses and conduct SWOT analysis for each village.
The program culminated with a one- day training workshop on how to develop ecotourism packages and tourism itinerary development and planning.
The TAK team is expects to revisit to Maiana to work with communities who have shown interest to commence their eco-tourism business initiatives and to continue its engagement with CMD on beautification of Maiana cultural sites. These activities are to augment strategies against the instabilities of climate change.
This activity was supported by the LDCF-1 Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented under the Environment and Conservation Division with the support of the United Nations Development Programme.
