By SAMPSON BONAI
MEN, women and children carried shovels, spades and bush knives and slowly made their way up the hill to the once restricted conservation to seek their fortunes.
Despite repeated warnings from the law enforcement agencies such as police and the local leaders in their ward council areas nothing could be done to deter them from indulging in the illegal mining activities as they ventured out to dig for gold.
Early prospectors have passed through that same area along Edie Creek over 80 years ago in search for their fortunes, made their claim and moved on in life, however, the same discovery that sparked a mad gold rush in the 1930s is now causing widespread destruction to the environment in Wau and Bulolo areas.
Today human knowledge of science had increased and many have realized the importance of conservation of our rich natural forest and land from exploitation and have declared certain areas to become parks to protect our species of birds and flora and fauna for the benefit of our future generations and also for the scientific research.
Unfortunately the importance of conservation and preserving of our rich species of forest and wildlife areas is not always a significant concern for people of PNG as the need to make money for survival takes priority in our daily lives.
One of the leading scientist research institution’s Wau Ecology is under threat of being exploited by illegal mining activities as local from Wau carry out illegal mining activities inside the conservation area.
An area covering around 300 metres had been dug up and coffee trees uprooted and protected species of trees had been dug up by illegal miners in search of gold.
An estimated K100, 000 had been made from gold deposit extracted from within the institute’s conservation area and the news about the discovery has brought people from all over Wau to the area.
Police had been called in to warn people to stop their illegal mining activities.
Police presence only results in a temporary cease in activities.
After the police leave miners are back at it again. It’s hard to stop, they have seen the fruits of their labour and enjoyed the monetary value of their finds.
Wau Ecology Institute station manager Wagi Kukubol is helpless against the illegal miners.
He can only call police when the situation gets out of hand and hope that the people will soon realise the damage they are causing to the institute.
“We can’t do much as people flocked to the area in hundreds and continued their illegal mining activities and it is hard to stop them. We had to rely on police to act quickly in the name of the law to penalise the illegal miners from carrying out mining activities in the conservation area,” Mr. Kukubol said.
Wau Ecology Institute Director Trevor Neale was also very furious and appeal to the miners to stop their illegal activities and move away from the conservation area.
Can the authorities do something before we lose one of the leading research institute’s in PNG to the hands of the exploiters?

SIGNS IN THE SAND
By JOHN ARUGA
IT IS all to easy to take the world for granted when each one is concerned with the hustle and bustle of this century’s hectic pace which we have to content with. Yet for nature life goes on as usual, at its own pace undeterred by ferocity of human pace.
At home, when one does not have to work according to the rigorous of contemporary life, then perhaps one can really appreciate how wonderful and truly grateful nature is.
Imagine a bright sunny morning, one taking a morning stroll along the beach when the tide is out. The wet sand under feet gives one the serenity of being alone in your small world yet, if you were to stop and scan the mud or sand below, one realizes that you were not the first to venture into the twilight or dusk to welcome the sunrise.
The signs in the sand, will undoubtedly tell you someone else has been there before you-it reminds one of the common graffiti words on walls that say “ so and so been here” or been there”.
The mud and sandflats may seem empty and desolate but they support a diversity of life that hardly meets the eye.
These habitat are teeming with life-invertebrates which among others include crabs, worms, snails, and shells. These invertebrates play an important role in the ecological functioning of the bay or shorelines.
Their activities are of course dictated by tidal regimes that operate daily.
Many become active when the tide is up and feed on suspended particles in the water column. Others still stay buried in the mud or sand until ,the tide is out and come out in the open to search for food.
Others still dig deeper into mud when water retreats to avoid drying out, or heat and also to escape the greedy appetite of shorebirds!
Whatever, you are not the first one out! The telltale signs in the sand will warn you, the “locals” have been out long before you.
The most obvious tracks on mud as well as sandflats are those of shorebirds (sandpipers), predatory snails and other invertebrates buried in the sand or mud beneath.
The tracks seen below are made by a moonsnail searching the mud for prey. Members of Naticidae which include such species as Natica and Polinices are predatory molluscs.
They with other carnivorous molluscs, have a unique file-like mouth part called the radula.
In the members of the genera , Natica and Polinices , the radial is modified into a barb harpoon-like structure, which they use to drill holes into other molluscs to extract food out.
These snails cruise slowly along sand or mud bottoms searching for potential food items. These have a huge mantle and foot which they use to crawl over sand and mud looking for food.
The mantle sand foot are quickly withdrawn into the shell when danger threatens.
These snails use their big foot to dig through the sand.
The foot is pumped up with seawater when digging.

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