Meet our Team:
Josine Wataï Tiavouane
Josine (third from right) traveled to Hawaii with two New Caledonian customary referents for a learning experience. The delegation is seen here visiting a fish pound with the KUA organization.
Meet our team: Josine Wataï Tiavouane is a member of our New Caledonia country program. She leads on-ground efforts with communities as the Customary Relations Officer.
Share a little bit about yourself.
I am a Kanak woman from Pouebo, a commune located in the North-East of New Caledonia, raised in respect of Kanak culture and traditions. I have two children, a boy aged six and a girl aged two.
During my studies in New Caledonia and then in France, I became aware of both the richness of biodiversity in New Caledonia and our environment's fragility. This revelation made me pursue a profession that would allow me to use my skills for the conservation and preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of my country.
I have over ten years of experience in conservation. After having had the opportunity to collaborate with the CI New Caledonia program in my previous job, where I coordinated the implementation of a management plan for a terrestrial protected area, I had the opportunity to take up a role at CI. In my role, I implement projects in collaboration with the customary authorities, which includes strengthening their capacity to effectively manage the Parc Naturel de la Mer de Corail (Natural Park of the Coral Sea).
What is your most significant success at CI, and why?
I am currently in the launch phase of my project. Still, at the end of this project, I would want my most significant success to be recognized in a successful project that validates ancestral and traditional knowledge in the conservation and management of the Parc Naturel de la Mer de Corail, which includes the totality of the EEZ of New Caledonia which is 1.3 million km2.
What do you love most about what you do?
I love my work in conservation and environmental protection. It is essential to me as a Kanak woman. Taking care of nature and valuing my people's ancestral and traditional knowledge can preserve the Kanak cultural identity. For Kanaks, our philosophy and way of perceiving the environment are translated into a phrase, "Ven kaamo nei ma ven hun monei na marip nei"* which means nature and culture are our life. * in Fwai, a spoken language from the region of Hienghène, northeast of New Caledonia.
There is a lot of interest in protecting the ocean and the 30x30 initiative. What is New Caledonia as a country program doing to achieve this?
Our country program supports the management of the Parc Naturel de la Mer de Corail initiative through expertise and technical support to create a protected area in the park. In addition, we're engaging with Indigenous peoples and incorporating their ancestral and traditional knowledge for better management. In addition, we're educating deep-sea fishermen on sustainable and responsible fishing.
On the land, we're reducing pressures on erosion linked to fires and invasive species such as rusa deer and feral pigs.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to take up a role in conservation?
It's important to remember that we are nature, we are the environment, and we are linked to the environment that surrounds us.
Because you recognize this connection, you take up a role in conservation. Work with local communities and the Indigenous peoples to feel this connection because they know their environment better than anyone else.
Share a fun fact about you.
I like to cook and bake pastries. My children are the first to test the cakes; they love it!