Ongoing environmental efforts to protect Fiji’s spectacular Great Sea Reef and lush tropical farmland include a model sugarcane farm initiative backed by Bacardi, maker of the world’s favorite rum, and the conservation group, World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Sugar is Fiji’s oldest industry and has been the vanguard of economic growth and development in the country for more than a century; while the Great Sea Reef, one of the largest reef systems in the world, supplies as much as 80% of the domestic fish market.
“The key ingredient for our award-winning BACARDÍ® rum is molasses, a by-product of sugarcane,” says Dave Howson, Global Sustainability Director for family-owned Bacardi. “To ensure viable sugarcane production, we’re working with the WWF to improve farming practices and operations through model sugarcane farms. That, in turn, helps reduce degradation of the Great Sea Reef.”
