Link to following text for Box 3:
To address vulnerability to natural hazards, the project is investing in solid waste management, wastewater management and sanitation, and renewable energy in Vanua Levu. The project is working to reverse environmental degradation, preserve natural and cultural tourism assets, and improve health, hygiene, and cleanliness, which in turn affect the destination’s attractiveness. Addressing these risks is especially important as climate change amplifies public health risks from water-borne and vector-borne diseases. The project is also working to preserve tourism assets through the maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of roads, public transport facilities, and traffic infrastructure, and park and greenery development. There are also urban beautification initiatives in Savusavu and Labasa to improve the attractiveness of the towns as destinations, as well as make them more livable for residents.

To help expand entrepreneurship, the Project focuses on MSME development, skills building, and investments in nature- and culture-based tourism attractions to help expand and improve the range and quality of tourism activities and services available in Vanua Levu while creating economic opportunities for local communities. Skills development and community empowerment initiatives ensure that the tourism workforce possesses the necessary skills demanded by the industry.

The Project is addressing this constraint by strengthening institutions and implementing key components of sustainable tourism development. These components include integrated tourism master planning, public-private dialogues, community consultations, and monitoring of social, environmental, and economic impacts, including climate change. The Project enhances the monitoring capacity and capability of institutions while providing capacity building for local government agencies. At the local level, a destination development and management mechanism will be established to improve coordination within the sector and with the national government.