National

Park

Recently Tonga has decided to protect and manage a forested area on ’Eua Island. The decision represents a signifi cant step by which Tonga joins in the global effort to preserve biodiversity.

In terms of the number of plant species, ’Eua is perhaps the richest island in all of Tonga. Several species are endemic to the island, a larger number are endemic to Tonga, while still larger numbers are endemic to the Tonga- Samoa-Fiji region of the South Pacific.

The forests provide habitat for several important animal species. These include a sub-species of the red-breasted musk parrot found only on ’Eua and on the island of Gau in Fiji, the banded iguana, and the insular flying fox, A narrow strip of the entire east coast of ’Eua island would be included in the project. By containing such a long area, the National Park would be able to include all 10 of the plant communities found. Also, this would enable regener ation of plant species in the event that a

cyclone or large fire were to destroy one part of the forest.

The decision to protect the forests on eastern ’Eua island represents the first step toward preservation, but establish ing and maintaining a national park takes considerably more money. The South Pacific Regional Environment Program will play a major role in the program. □

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