Within Pacific Small Island Developing States (Pacific SIDS), the ridge-to-reef (R2R) approach has emerged as a framework for environmental monitoring. This study reflects on fieldwork experience in R2R monitoring studies in Fiji focusing on the Ba River Catchment. Within this context, the study outlines the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as part of a SWOT analysis. The results conceptualise the strengths and weaknesses as the existing and baseline conditions and the opportunities and threats as elements of potential future scenarios. The SWOT analysis is applied to environmental, social and economic elements of the environmental monitoring R2R context in Fiji. The study reflects on various environmental assessment and research projects and draws lessons from the field. The resesarcher also shares recommendations for future environmental monitoring in Pacific R2R contexts.

Nicholas Metherall, Elisabeth Holland, Hilda Waqa, Antoine N’Yeurte, Sara Beavis, Mere Vinaka, Elisha Joshua Phinehas, Pauline Vinaka, Anaseini Vinaka, Navitalai Vinaka and Talei Caucau.