Authority holds workshop to plan sustainable project

THE Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (Cepa) held a workshop in Port Moresby to come up with a project enabling sustainable production landscapes in two Highlands provinces for biodiversity, human livelihoods and wellbeing.
Cepa director for sustainable environment programme Kay Kalim told The National that the project was more focused on one of the pillars of the protected area policy – livelihood.
“When we talk about livelihood, we are also looking at wellbeing of both human and biodiversity,” Kalim said.
“That’s why we are taking this project up to the Highlands.”
The targeted provinces are Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands.
Cepa is the lead agency to implement the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded projects to establish and strengthen the national protected area system in PNG.
GEF and UNDP identified the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to work with Cepa.
They brought up the inception on the project preparation grant.
“This process is trying to engage with all the partners – NGOs, Government agencies and industry so they could guide the drafting of the project document which will be the resubmitted to the GEF secretariat for review.”
PNG is considered a high biodiversity country.
Kalim said the workshop would guide the project team, made up of technical experts, to draft the project.
When they apply through the project identification form, GEF then gives the grant with drafting the project document.
FAO chief technical adviser Dr Hitofumi Abe said they were working with Cepa to formulate and implement the project.