Kanawi: Link plans to govt

MANUS islanders have been told to link their marine conservation and ecosystem plans to the national and provincial government for support to effectively carry out their work.
Commending the Manus Environment Conservation Communities Network (MECCN) initiative, former administrator Wep Kanawi said the government was an important partner and its representation in such plans was vital.
Kanawi made this call while officiating at the two-day Learning and Training Network (LTN) workshop organised by The Nature Conservancy in Loniu, Los Negros Islands, Manus province, recently.
“Linking your plans to the government system is crucial for budgeting and policy processes because without its backing, you can be left hanging,” he said.
“MECCN, the world is at your finger-tips, but align your plans with the government systems and you’ll be surprised what you can come up with.
“You have started something which is growing and will expand but the sooner you get it down to the children at this level you will succeed.”
Speaking from his experience as former director of The Nature Conservancy, Kanawi said they needed to return to and learn through Pasin Tumbuna (traditional knowledge) way of conserving and managing resources.
“Pasin Tumbuna is God’s gift to us and we need to revisit these methods to be able to save our fast depleting marine resources.
“Fishing the traditional way was only for special occasions and it was managed so well that there was surplus, these days we are fishing without meaning and purpose, resulting in our resources being wasted,” he said.
Kanawi was pleased to note that Manus was doing well in its marine conservation efforts and acknowledged non-governmental organisations for their support.
Network deputy chairman Livingstone Pogat said LTN was a big boost as it would help link the network with other provinces and the regional Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA) network.
“We welcome LTN as it would facilitate our learning and sharing experiences with other networks in the country.”
The LTN workshop coordinated by PNG Centre for Locally Managed Areas Inc had endorsed MECCN as the hub for the Manus provincial Learning and Training Network.
More than 50 participants from all over Manus attended the workshop.