Forestry team gathering vital data for inventory

 National forest inventory teams will be visiting provinces to collect data for its inventory, according to an official of the Office of Climate Change and Development.

Joe  Pokana said awareness would be carried on the national, provincial and local government levels.

Pokana said communities had to be aware of the activity and its importance.

“The landowners of the areas in all the provinces should allow the forest inventory team to conduct the assessment on their land,” Pokana said.

“They should give consent for the work so the assessment will be successful.”

He said the team would be collecting data not only for forest alone but also on biodiversity, carbon, non-forest products and soil nutrients.

“The people need to understand the importance of collecting data for the inventory,” he said.

“This is a multipurpose forest inventory that covers all sectors. It will help the Department of Environment and Conservation on indentifying different species of plants and animals.

“It will help the Department of Agriculture and Livestock on the type of soil found in the areas.

“It will help the national government to sustainably manage the natural resources of the country.”

Pokana said though the national inventory project was headed by the Papua New Guinea Forest Authority, the data would be used by all sectors for planning and natural resource management.