Islanders’ plight moves Mori

The National Weekender
COVER STORY
Minister for Environment Conservation and Climate Change Wera Mori planting a tree in Gembogl during the conclusion of the 2021 World Environment Day celebrations. – Pictures supplied.

By ZACHERY PER
On May 26, 2021, Chairman of the Global Coalition of Rainforest Nations and Minister for Environment Conservation and Climate Change Wera Mori spent one night with the Carteret Islanders in Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG) – a few days before World Environment Day (WED).
Mori could not help tears rolling down his eyes when a mother told him and his delegation on that day at Carteret Island that when she went to sleep every night she asked herself where she would find food to feed her children and husband the next day.
“As a father and grandfather, I had tears in my eyes, I had to quickly wear my sunglasses to hide my tears. I decided to spend the night with them because I felt for them having to live with their hardships because of the direct impacts of climate change,” Mori says.
He said climate change was real; the rising sea level has sunk their fertile garden land on the Caterets making it difficult for the Islanders to find food and other basic needs to survive.
Minister Mori led a high level team from his department’s Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (Cepa) and Climate Change Development Authority (CCDA) branches and development partners to visit ABG.
They were there to start the 2021 World Environment Day celebrations that continued to Port Moresby National Capital District (NCD and Central before concluding in Gembogl at the foot of PNG’s highest mountain, Mt Wilhelm in Chimbu.
Minister Mori’s delegation paid a special visit to Carteret Islands to see for themselves the impacts of climate cange forcing sea level to rise and gradually sinking the island into the sea.
The second term parliamentarian and Chuave MP said Carteret is one of the islands sinking in the sea due to the global warming or climate change and the islanders find it extremely difficult to grow food.
The island is part of Carteret Atolls located 86km north-east of Bougainville, the atoll has a scattering of low-lying islands called Han, Jangain, Yesila, Yolasa and Piul, in a horseshoe shape with a total land area of 0.6 square kilometres and a maximum elevation of 1.5 metres above sea level.
According to Minister Mori WED is one of the biggest annual events in the world managed by the United Nations to conduct awareness and partake in activities to conserve our environment.
He said the 2021 WED theme “Ecosystem restoration” guides people’s interactions with the environment every day.
Mori said the event also led them to launch the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 – 2030 as PNG being a member of UN joins Pakistan and other nations in the World to commit to restore and prevent the loss of our pristine ecosystems, PNG has its local theme ‘Protecting our forest and marine ecosystem’
Mori said PNG celebrated its rich biodiversity and ecosystems. Cepa, CCDA, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG), NCD, Central, Chimbu, partners USAID Lukautim Graun Project, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), AusAID, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Simbu Botany Club and the general public celebrated WED together with the Coral Triangle Day and the World Oceans Day.
On the final leg of celebrations, Minister Mori was at the foot of PNG’s highest mountain, the Mt Wilhelm in Gembogl station.
Joining him were Chimbu Governor Michael Dua, Kerowagi MP Bari Palma, USAid Chief of Party Maurice Knight, Country Director of Wildlife Conservation Society Adrian Tetegor, Deputy WCS Director John Kuange, Managing Director of CDD Ruel Yamuna, Deputy Director of CEPA Dilu Muguwa, Chimbu Provincial Administrator Sebastian Kee and Kundiawa Gembogl District Development Authority staff.

“ Climate change is real and is being felt by everyone in PNG and the world.”
Carteret Islanders listening to Minister for Environment Conservation and Climate Change Wera Mori.

“I am happy to have the presence of Kerowagi MP Bari Palma and Governor Michael Dua and development partners. I thank the people of Gembogl and am privileged to see mothers and young men and women who have already become resilient to the changing weather patterns in the world,” Mor said.
He asked USAids’s Maurice to convey his appreciations to US Climate Change Envoy John Kerry and US President Joe Biden for the US to come back to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“Climate change is real and is being felt by everyone in PNG and the world. I must not sit down and wait; I will do my job as Minister for Environment Conservation and Climate Change and Chairman of Global Coalition of Rainforest Nations to assist in the fight against climate change,” Mori said.
He launched tree-planting initiative to plant 10 million trees in ten years during the 2020 World Environment Day celebrations in Goroka Eastern Highlands.
“Mt Wilhelm is an icon of PNG and Chimbu and Chimbu people can identify themselves with Mt Wilhelm. As chairman of the Global Coalition of Rainforest Nations and Minister for Environment I decided to celebrate the 2021 World Environment Day from Bougainville to Port Moresby and come to the foot of the highest Mt in PNG to conclude it,” the minister said.
He said Cepa was funding the maintenance of the road from Gembogl station to Kegesuglo airstrip because of Mt Wilhelm Conservation Park that has been an international tourism site.
“We need to find ways to address the climate change. I thank you for supplying 10, 000 tree seedlings for the occasion. Trees will be planted as part of planting 10 million trees in 10 years, we started on 2020 World Environment Day celebration,” Mori said.
He led the delegation on to a hillside at Gembogl station and planted tree seedlings to mark the formal launching and conclusion of the 2021 WED and also cuts ribbons to launch the Gembogl-Kegesuglo road maintenance.
The lead-up activities to the conclusion of the event in Gembogl, Simbu Botany Club Director Eric Sinebare and his team organised schools to celebrate WED.
Schools and stakeholders that participated were Gembogl Primary School and its three feeder elementary schools, Goglme Primary School, Kundiawa Lutheran Day Secondary School, Kundiawa Pikinini Library, Four Square Elementary School, Joe Kunda Primary School, Gembogl Orphans ACE school, Danbagl Elementary School Wara Simbu River Side Motel and Mailbobo Wildlife Nature Park.