Govt plans to end logging by ’30

By MICHAEL PHILIP
IN an effort to safeguard the country’s rainforests, the Government is considering to end logging in the country by 2030, an official says.
Climate Change and Development Authority managing director William Lakain said the Government was now thinking about stopping logging operations in the country and trying to find alternatives to protect the country’s rainforest for future generations.
“We cannot continue to destroy our environment with logging operations. We have to think about our future generations as how are they going to live where there are no rainforests,” he said.
He said that following the government decision, all other relevant authorities under the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change will have to come up with alternatives to optimise the sector and make revenue.
Lakain said despite industrial logging operations in the country generating a large revenue for the government, it was concerned about the impact the industry would have on the country’s forests and for future generations.
“If Government puts a stop to industrial logging operations, the challenge would be on the climate change department and relevant authorities to find other ways to utilise a big revenue earning sector,” he said.
“We have to prove to the Government that we can provide an alternative revenue.”