Authority signs deal with province for aid

CLIMATE Change and Development Authority (CCDA) acting managing director Joe Pokana signed an agreement with the Milne Bay administration for German aid.
It is to include a food and water security project in Alotau.
The project worth 510,000 euros (about K1.7m) will benefit communities in Wamira and Kiriwina. It will be carried out by the Milne Bay administration, National Agriculture and Research Institute and Department of Agriculture and Livestock to address issues faced through climate change.
Pokana told The National yesterday that CCDA would only do monitoring on the project, and with the help of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), they would go down anytime to visit the project.
He said that he was thankful that Milne Bay was chosen for the support of the programme. He said the purpose of the project was to help support incorporate capacity-building activities that promoted the preservation and application of traditional and local knowledge and practices relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, complementing it with new ideas and technologies.
He said the programme would help tackle some problems the administration Milne Bay faced  from the challenge of on-going food and water problems due to natural hazards like cyclones and El Nino.