Kalisi Waqa started as a Conservation Support Officer in January 2019.

In 2015, Kalisi first began as intern for NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, prior to earning her Diploma in Forestry from the Fiji National University (FNU) College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2016). As an intern for NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, Kalisi Waqa currently focussed on the REDD Plus awareness campaign with the indigenous women’s organisation Soqosoqo Vakamarama I Taukei, and on socio-economic surveys with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization regarding rehabilitation of degraded land. She also assisted with the Nanai campaign in late 2017.

As a Conservation Support Officer, Kalisi assists project managers in project implementation, leading on logistics and field surveys for NatureFiji-MareqetiViti’s projects. She has assisted in projects relating to pre-mammalian predator eradications, biosecurity procedure development, post mammalian predator eradication monitoring, mammalian predator control and monitoring around key habitats, herpetofauna rapid and baseline assessments, and socio-economic surveys.

Since joining NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, Kalisi has discovered a passion for reptiles: iguanas, snakes, lizards, you name them, Kalisi loves them! She first realized this when working on behalf of NatureFiji-MareqetiViti with Dr. Robert Fisher, Supervisory Research Biologist for the US Geological Survey, and Kim Lovitch, San Diego Zoo’s Curator of Herpetology and Ichthyology, to conduct a survey of reptiles on Koro Island in 2018.  She will definitely continue working on the reptile surveys!