Marik Waoute Patrick

Marik Waoute Patrick, was ordered to be the Chief of Solwota (sea) by the Paramount Chief since 2014. Chief Patrick is responsible for looking after the Environment and is the coordinator of the implementation of the Erakor Lagoon Restoration Plan. The Erakor Lagoons Restoration Plan is an indigenous community initiative that was started by the tribal chiefs of Erakor, a village in a rural area close to Port Vila in Vanuatu. This plan was started in 2018 as the indigenous chiefs used their customary power to ban fishing in the lagoon due to overfishing in the past. Some of the causes of overfishing were the extraction and sale of sea cucumbers for export to China. Chief Patrick will share the challenges they encountered in terms of implementing this ban due to clashes between kustom authorities and the formal government, among other issues.