Kairuku-Hiri women to participate in environment project

A woman who was awarded a Pacific-American Climate Fund (PACAM) grant will work with women in the Kairuku-Hiri electorate in Central to empower them to part take in environment conservation.
Papua New Guinea Centre for Locally Managed Areas Inc (PNGCLMA) executive director Maxine Anjiga said their project Scaling Up Women’s Participation in Mangrove Management’ aimed to encourage women into  conserving and rehabilitating mangrove  and food resources within their natural habitat.
“The communities there are watching the sea level rise and their houses being washed away. When the sea level is rising, our food source is threatened,” Anjiga said.
“Women make up half of the population in the coastal communities, yet societal norms restrict them from actively participating in community decision-making.
“This project focuses on empowering women to contribute to decision-making within traditional structures. Women’s participation in resource management is crucial in the protection of biodiversity for food security, income and environmental resilience.”
Anjiga said their project activities would involve training at least 45 community leaders on equal participation in decision-making regarding mangrove forests and food resource management, train community members to identify and manage three food resources from the mangroves and conduct a coastal and marine resource assessment, establishing the baseline for mangroves and other resources to guide the planning for a “no take area”.