Who Is Rivers Fiji?

November 25, 2009.

A member of the O.A.R.S. Family of Companies, Rivers Fiji is a whitewater rafting, inflatable kayaking, multi-sport eco-outfitter based out of Pacific Harbour in the Fiji Islands. Recently honored at the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards for "Best for Preservation of Cultural Heritage," Rivers Fiji was one of 35 companies singled out by the judges. In total, there were more than 2000 nominations submitted by travelers worldwide.

A prestigious honor indeed, but who is Rivers Fiji and why the recognition?

O.A.R.S. is indebted to longtime friends, Nate and Kelly Bricker, for assisting in the creation of Rivers Fiji and the Upper Navua Conservation Area. Nate and Kelly first visited Fiji as tourists in 1993. They returned in subsequent years, exploring deep into the interior of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu. In 1997, Nate was working for O.A.R.S. Having just explored the Upper Navua River, he and Kelly enthusiastically talked to O.A.R.S. founder and president, George Wendt, about their vision of offering guided trips on the Wainikoriluva (‘luva) and Upper Navua rivers.

Their conviction reminded George of the excitement he had felt when exploring the canyons of Glen Canyon on the Colorado River in Utah years before. The drowning of Glen Canyon delivered a profound sense of loss and with it the realization, and a sense of urgency, that such wild places need to be shared, preserved and protected for future generations. Ultimately, this was an opportunity to protect these spectacular Fijian river canyons and the following year, George co-founded Rivers Fiji with the Brickers and began offering commercial whitewater rafting trips on the ‘Luva and Upper Navua rivers. Since 1998, Rivers Fiji has employed local residents to manage operations and guide guests downriver.

Historically Fiji’s tourism development has been focused on the coastal communities – with Fiji’s interior populations receiving little attention and even less economic benefit. Rivers Fiji, however, provides economic alternatives to communities whose previous development options were limited to logging and resource extraction.

The mission of Rivers Fiji? To enhance visitors’ and indigenous peoples’ awareness of, and appreciation for, the culture and environment by providing activities that promote conservation and preservation through socially responsible and environmentally sensitive interaction with the people, landscape and ecosystems that make the Fijian Highlands so distinct and unique.

With the help of 9 mataqali (landowning family groups), 2 villages, a logging company, and the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB), Rivers Fiji successfully negotiated with the government of Fiji and established the Upper Navua Conservation Area in 2000. This unique public-private partnership protects the pristine Upper Navua River Canyon from future logging or gravel extraction in a 10.5-mile conservation corridor. In return, Rivers Fiji compensates the NLTB and landowners through lease payments, user fees and employment opportunities, leading ultimately to full protection of the area.

On April 11, 2006, the Upper Navua Conservation Area became Fiji’s first, officially designated Ramsar site (protected wetland of international importance), making it part of more than 1280 wetlands around the world, which now include nearly 2 million square kilometers of the Earth’s surface area. The Ramsar Convention is “the first of the modern global intergovernmental treaties on conservation and wise use of natural resources” and recognizes the Upper Navua Conservation Area as an important host to flora and fauna critical to the health of the area as well as to the greater local and global human communities.

To further protect and manage the conservation area, Rivers Fiji developed a comprehensive natural resource and tourism management plan with the help of the NLTB and mataqali. All guides receive an in-depth international training program, which includes a minimum of a three-month guide school as well as training in swiftwater rescue, First-Aid and CPR, river conservation related to operating tourism programs, and conservation briefings related to the company’s river and ocean operations. In addition, prior to visiting villages, Rivers Fiji guides educate their guests about the area’s ecosystem, cultural traditions, heritage sites and local preservation issues, thus affording guests a deeper understanding of the daily life of indigenous Fijians in the rural highlands.

Rivers Fiji created full-time employment for local residents. With the exception of the managing director and marketing/operations manager, all employees are from the communities where Rivers Fiji operates. Thus the local community has a real stake in the long-term sustainability of the company. In the past, infractions by logging companies and plans for road development through the conservation area have been thwarted due to mataqali alerting Rivers Fiji management and local authorities.

Rivers Fiji has also set up several mechanisms for local participation in its day-to-day and long-term operations. For example, the opinions of local communities are regularly solicited and incorporated in decision making related to operations. In fact, the mataqali are a part of the decision-making process relating to guide hiring and natural resource management fieldwork. Additionally, meetings are held regularly with village elders to discuss their ideas and concerns about company operations. Their input is then utilized to help the company make key operational decisions.

There are certainly many travel organizations promoting their company as “eco-friendly” or claiming to offer “eco-tours,” but to garner the recognition of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards is testament to Rivers Fiji’s eco-practices. The awards are the most prestigious and competitive of their kind in the world. The central tenet of the awards is that all types of tourism can and should be operated in a way that respects and benefits destinations and local people.