Sytel CEO Michael McKinlay with the villagers (View larger)

Replanting coral

Canoe fishing

Giant clam monitoring

Giant clams

Inshore marine survey - Manono Island

Sunset on Manono Island

Training for monitoring of giant clams

Lepuia'i village

Lepuia'i villagers

Lepuia'i village meeting

In 2010, Sytel Limited began a programme to devote a proportion of its annual profits (currently 2%) to supporting resource conservation in a less developed country. In partnership with the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) in Samoa, Sytel became a financial sponsor to the village of Lepuia'i on Manono Island, next to the Samoan mainland.

Read these updates on how the project is progressing:

Newsletter - Mar 2013
(PDF, 2.3Mb)

Progress Report - May 2011
(PDF, 1.2Mb)

Aims

With this sponsorship, Sytel has built a relationship with the Lepuia'i villagers which encourages them to invest in fisheries conservation and development for the benefit of their village and also other communities on Manono Island. We are seeing a direct connection between our sponsorship and the conservation and development activities undertaken by the villagers, who have set up a local bank account for the purpose. The project demonstrates how targeted local sponsorship can keep any and all administrative overheads to a minimum, and we are hoping to inspire other companies like ourselves to offer aid to developing nations by adopting a similar direct model.

With Sytel’s support, the Lepuia'i villagers are re-establishing and strengthening their marine/fish reserve area as a way to regenerate fisheries resources and build capacity, providing both food security and local income. They encourage active participation of the whole community, and build awareness of the sustainable management and development of their marine resources.

The Programme

The villagers with guidance from MAF are tackling several priority areas:

• Marking the boundaries of the fish reserve area and mapping the area using GPS coordinates
• Aquaculture/ farming and restocking of marine species
• Managing the restocking of giant clams and trochus in the reserve area
• Surveying for other potential marine species for farming (sea urchin/ tapumiti, sea grapes)

Accountability

Ongoing monitoring and management is conducted by both the Village Fisheries Committee and the Samoan Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, who are jointly responsible for managing the activities and ensuring that the sponsorship funds are spent appropriately in line with the declared aims and goals. Sytel are looking forward to making occasional visits to further develop the relationship.