Indigenous communities of Pacific Island countries are culturally connected to their environments, natural resources and biodiversity. Because of this, restoration and biomonitoring that builds upon commonly held knowledge and cultural values has the greatest opportunity for success. Fijian freshwater ecosystems are wet, tropical, ecologically diverse and ethnobiologically rich. They support rich biological diversity and unique species of plants and animals that hold biocultural significance for the indigenous (Itaukei) communities. Macroinvertebrate Orders, such as Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera (mayflies and caddisflies), are frequently used globally as indicator species for assessing fresh water quality. However, description and understanding of such small freshwater invertebrates are still at an infancy stage in Melanesia. This situation is coupled with limited resources for the research that is needed to advance understanding of complex tropical aquatic invertebrate communities. This means the globally accepted EPT Indices are not easily applicable in Melanesia. Many species are already recognized by indigenous communities as traditionally important, and they are already used as focal organisms in Fiji for freshwater conservation and biomonitoring that is building upon Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Totem (Icavuti) species specific to the Itaukei clans across the Fijian riverine network within a watershed is increasingly being used for TEK based watershed restoration models and ethno-biomonitoring. One such local riparian restoration model, the Riparian Itaukei, presents a synergy of ethnobiodiversity, agrobiodiversity and ecological integrity and has been implemented in the Navukilagi village of Gau island of Fiji. This model is a Nature-based Solution (NbS) approach to the agro-wetland warfare founded on the Vanua context. Thus, there is the potential for studies across Melanesia that are directly comparable for indigenous community based restoration and ethno-biomonitoring environmental trends and efforts and also those that are affected by the unique ecological conditions of different oceanic islands.