“Lomani Gau Initiative” a grantee of the GEF Small Grants Programme was awarded the Forest Conservationist of the Year Award. The award organized by the annual Fiji Agriculture Show, recognizes outstanding work on forest conservation and rehabilitation by Fiji stakeholder groups.  The forest conservation and rehabilitation work has been an on-going feature of the Lomani Gau work on the island from the beginning but has been the focus in the last couple of years funded by GEF SGP Fiji. University of the South Pacific Marine Biologist and founder of the Lomani Gau, Dr. Joeli Veitayaki acknowledged the contribution of the GEF Small Grants Programme and the opportunity to demonstrate worthwhile community engagement in conservation efforts on the island. He said Lomani Gau was “eternally grateful because we regard the GEF SGP important members of our team to promote positive change in the communities”.