Club Wyndham Denarau Island’s Mission to Save Endangered Sago Palm

Club Wyndham Denarau Island is doing its bit to save the endangered Fiji sago palm, replacing bure thatching with an eco-friendly alternative in the hopes of preserving the rare natural resource.

Traditionally used on roofs, the endemic tree is currently listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Assistant Resort Manager Wesley Biutanaseva said the team had found a sustainable solution to assist the resort in moving away from using sago leaves.

“We recently rethatched the activities bure and Beach Shack bure in synthetic Palmex,” Mr Biutanaseva said. “These buildings were originally thatched in sago leaves, but we made a conscious decision to move away from this product. We decided we wanted to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem and do our part to save the tree from extinction. All new thatching projects will now be in Palmex.”

Palmex is a heavy-duty, eco-responsible and recyclable long-lasting tropical roofing alternative, which retains the look of thatching. The synthetic leaves undergo an anti-UV treatment, which translates into energy savings on air conditioning and ventilation, while also being durable.

As well as switching to Palmex, the resort has established a sago palm planting program onsite with the help of the landscaping team.

“We found a nursery in Pacific Harbour that was able to provide us with young trees, and we have planted them alongside the handicraft bures to help preserve this rare natural resource,” Mr Biutanaseva said.

Club Wyndham Denarau Island

The multi-award winning Club Wyndham Denarau Island is one of the largest and most popular resorts in Club Wyndham South Pacific, the region’s largest timeshare club with close to 60,000 members and 51 resorts across Asia Pacific and Europe. It features a host of facilities including Mamacita Restaurant & Bar, The Beach Shack café and bar, a mobile coffee cart, swim-up pool bars, an oversized lagoon-style swimming pool and an adults-only pool. The resort also boasts a children’s pool, day spa, gym, beach club, games room and 24-hour reception.

The resort was recently named Fiji’s Best Deluxe Accommodation at the 2019 ANZ Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards.