The Drawa project is Fiji’s first independent carbon and conservation project to be endorsed by the national government. It encompasses 4,120 ha of tropical rainforest on Vanua Levu, of which 1,723 ha is eligible for generating 18,800 carbon credits each year by measuring the forests and the emissions reductions which is measured as One tonne of CO2 emissions saved is equal to one ‘carbon credit’. In a first for Fiji, the entrepreneurial Drawa landowners have exchanged logging for conservation. It is truly a game-changer; rather than selling timber, landowners produce and sell carbon credits and maintain the multitude of benefits of keeping their forest intact. The project area straddles Cakaudrove and Macuata provinces in Vanua Levu, Fiji. Eight indigenous (iTaukei) landowning clans (Mataqali) own the Drawa Project Area. Most of the Drawa block is covered by rainforest, with areas in and around the villages used for gardening and horticulture.

The Drawa block rainforests are now protected under customary agreements which is legally protected under a 99-year Conservation Lease. The forest is managed through a conservation management plan. The Drawa project was the recipient of the SPREP-SPC award for Excellence in Implementing Island Ecosystem Management Principles and also the National Winner for the Energy Globe Awards.