Sam Chanel took little more than a pen and notebook to help him identify the countless plants growing throughout the Vunausi Community Conservation Area (CCA). An expert botanist, Sam knows many of the 1600 confirmed flora species found throughout Vanuatu, though there were some in Vunausi that he couldn’t identify – at least, not with their local names.

Covering 1000 hectares of land and sea, Vunausi’s CCA climbs from the coast to mountains over 400m above sea level, with trees towering above ferns and shrubs and vines climbing up their trunks. Much of the plant and animal life in this area has great significance to the people of Vunausi, though the community has noted that some traditional knowledge of the area was being lost.

But this comprehensive assessment of local plant species growing in this unique area – conducted by Sam alongside Live & Learn Vanuatu, Department of Forestry staff and local guides – has helped to strengthen this traditional knowledge.

‘This was a new experience for some of us who carried out this assessment,’ said Glen, Climate Resilient Islands Senior Project Officer for Live & Learn Vanuatu.

‘It was not just for scientific curiosity; it was a testament to the resilience of nature and the dedication of those who seek to protect it.’

For three days they trekked through the forest, visiting waterfalls, climbing the old settlement at Mt Tumep, and stopping frequently to document as many plants as they could. The group found several species whose proper names were known by neither Sam nor the local guides. They needed to take samples of these plants, like fruit, branches and leaves, back to the knowledge holders in the community to identify their local names. These names are part of the Indigenous knowledge in the community, but some have been largely forgotten.

There was one man who had not forgotten these names: Livonahopa Robo, the oldest man in the community. Though unable to speak with full fluency, he helped prompt the other knowledge holders with him to recall the names of some species, and he was even able to remember certain plant names himself that the others did not know.

The knowledge holders said they were pleased to be part of the assessment, which reinforced the importance of linking scientific processes to local knowledge.

‘We were very happy for you to come and help us recall and learn some flora species in our dialect,’ said Mathew, one local knowledge holder. And it isn’t only the elders benefitting from this knowledge. Younger people in Vunausi are also taking part – like Jeffery, who joined the group as both a guide and a student. Though already familiar with the forest, he said this opened his eyes even further to the richness of the biodiversity throughout the conservation area.

‘I have been involved with the Vanuatu Department of Forestry doing forest inventory before, but flora assessment itself is a school to me,’ Jeffery said.

‘[This was] a school of plants, at the community level.’

Jeffery said he encouraged all young people in the community to learn and get involved in the conservation area, to not only expand their knowledge but to ensure it remains protected for many more years to come. This echoes Vunausi’s resilience vision.

‘Vunausi will regain traditional knowledge and cultural practices,’ the community said in their Resilience Profile. ‘We are blessed to have natural resources. We hope that through traditional knowledge and good education, generations to come will manage our resources so that the community will live peacefully and in harmony.’

Gaining a deep familiarity with the ecology of an area as large as Vunausi CCA is no small task. But through assessments such as those conducted with Sam and continuing to connect younger generations with older knowledge holders, Vunausi is doing crucial work towards their goal of keeping their traditional knowledge alive.

‘It will take you time to go out in the field and start naming trees, ferns, vines, shrubs and herbs,’ Sam said. ‘But you will get to know [them].’

The Vanuatu CRI team is now awaiting confirmation from their government partners to complete their assessment work. But already it is helping strengthen the local biodiversity knowledge of the Vunausi community, and helping ensure it is passed on into the future.