Tuesday, July 24, 2007

MAKE LIKU MOVONO

Ni sa bula vinaka. My name is Make Liku Movono. I am originally from Buca Village, Cakaudrove Province, while my koro ni vasu is Naimalavau Village, Tailevu Province.

What schools did you attend. I attended Saint Mary’s Primary School in Labasa during my primary school years and moved on to Adi Cakobau School (ACS) from Form 1 to 6. I later moved to Queen Victoria School, where I completed my Form 7.

What is your job title, and why did you choose that particular field.
I’m a Marine Ecologist, and I chose this field because I love the ocean for starters. Most importantly as a pacific islander, I understand how much we rely on our marine resources for our livelihood. Studying marine ecology will help contribute to the understanding of our marine resources and the sustainable use of it.

What subjects (secondary school to tertiary) are required to do the field of work that you do.
I started studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and English in ACS during my secondary school years. I later moved on to the University of the South Pacific to study for my Bachelor of Science (BSc) majoring in Marine Science. I later continued on to my Post Graduate Diploma in Marine Science and have also completed my Masters of Science Degree (MSc) in Marine Science.

What is your view as being a woman doing this work.
It is challenging in a sense that you work in a male dominated field (everyone at working my department- are males). They do view you as a female and I guess you just have to work harder and set standards in whatever you do.

What other opportunities are available in this line of work.
There are a lot of opportunities in this field of work. You get to work at community level and at the same time you can empower your own community on basic understanding of their resources. They can then monitor it themselves after teaching them. Apart from community work, you also have the opportunity to advise government on policies concerning the natural resources, for example through Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA). We can also travel overseas, and exchange ideas with other countries and letting them know about Fiji’s case studies. There are a lot of opportunities in this field. One can work at regional or national levels, or even in Non Governmental Organization (NGO’s) working either as an academic, or a researcher like I am

What is a major highlight of your work that you would like to share.
I guess the major highlight of my work would have to be my project I worked on, on the effects of the live rock trade. This was a concern from the communities and I found an interest in that so I decided to do more research on the subject. There is a lot of detrimental impact on biodiversity, so with the research that I did, I was able to advise government and they have decided on bans provided there are alternative sources of income for the people in the community. I am continuing my research on the production of cultured rock so they do not have to harvest their reefs. This project has also stirred an interest from international level as I was invited to attend conferences (scholarship) in Sydney, also in Japan and in August of this year, I have been invited to attend and exchange course in Zurich. That has been the highlight of my work, in particular discovering something new and finding solutions to the problems. Results might not happen over night but it’s an interesting process to get to where you want to go.

What are your plans for further studies? What opportunities are there for you.
Well, I want to develop this study and once the cultured rock is going I want to do a more holistic study on it- include socio-economic impacts etc for a PhD overseas.

Any advice you would like to give our youngsters who may be interested to follow your footsteps? If you have a passion for something, be brave and go for it. Keep in mind that passion can develop into something great, with faith. Just tackle one step at a time and enjoy doing it!

VINAKA VAKALEVU SARA
Make, the Fijituwawa Team would like to wish you all the very best in your work, travels and your plans for further studies. You are indeed a role model for our young ones who are aspiring to do something in this field of science!