Current situation Nitrogen from Piggeries

Review and Recommendations for Reduction of Nitrogen Export to the Coral Coast of Fiji 39

6. Nitrogen from Piggeries

6.1 Current situation

Small piggery operations are a traditional part of Fijian villages. Pigs are used in ceremonial meals and special occasions throughout the year. Piggeries may be increasing in size and number due to the availability of cheap, abundant food waste from hotels. We note that the Ministry of Environmental Health commented that food waste was required to be cooked before it could be used for pig feed, and suggested that this requirement might impede the use of this feed source for the piggeries. It would be very useful to gather information on the quantity, cost and nature of piggery food sources, and whether, in fact, they are being cooked before being used as pig feed. In addition to a potentially large food supply, markets for pork are developing in Sigatoka and other communities. More detailed information on the recent and projected trends in piggeries along the Coral Coast would help establish the potential impact of piggeries on human health and the coral ecosystems. Figure 15: Small Village Piggery on the banks of a small coastal stream on the Coral Coast. Photo: Chris Tanner. Review and Recommendations for Reduction of Nitrogen Export to the Coral Coast of Fiji 40 Pigs are commonly housed in small pens, often located at the edge of streams and ephemeral creek channels Figs.15-18. Village piggeries lack any form of treatment system and the waste either drops directly in the riverbank or is washed into the river channel through drainpipes. Waste accumulates in the channels and on the stream banks until it is carried to the sea by rainfall-generated runoff. Pig waste is a major source of nitrogen loading to the near shore waters of the Coral Coast see Nitrogen Export Projection Budgets below – and thus poses a risk to the sustainability of the coral ecosystem. Figure 16: Moderate-sized ~30 pigs village piggery on the banks of a small coastal stream on the Coral Coast. These concrete stalls were being washed down with a hose during our visit. The effluent pipes which drain directly to the stream are visible on the left hand side of the picture. Photo: Chris Tanner. Village piggeries have rightly been recognized as an environmental problem by IAS 2004 report by Dick Whatley, but they also present significant human health risks to villagers and users of nearby coastal waters. We observed children playing barefoot in vicinity of the piggeries of Tagaqe Village. Pigs and other livestock can be infected with numerous enteric pathogens and parasites e.g., helminth worms that are also Review and Recommendations for Reduction of Nitrogen Export to the Coral Coast of Fiji 41