The
Vatthe Conservation Area covers 2,276 hectares of lowland alluvial forest at the southern end
of Big Bay on the island of Espiritu Santo. It
is owned
by the communities of Sara and Matantas.
Bush walking and
bird watching are popular visitor activities at Vatthe. Vatthe
Lodge is an island bungalow attached to the conservation
area.
The
Vatthe Conservation Area Project was initiated in 1994 as
a partnership between the local community, NGOs, the provincial
and national governments. The basic idea for the project
began in 1993 during a biodiversity survey of the area by
the Vanuatu Environment Unit in collaboration with the Royal
Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand.
During the study there was some discussion with the community
on the idea of setting up a protected area. Some still call
it a national park but that's not exactly true. There is
very little public land and there are no "national parks"
in Vanuatu (the land doesn't belong to the state).
The
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
website has some excellent pages about Vatthe.
Browse
higher resolution pictures on our Vanuatu
Protected Areas Showcase.
Last
updated: January 2007 by Stephen.
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