‘Know more about developers before giving land away’

PEOPLE are encouraged to learn about the benefits and impacts of development before giving their land away.
Partners with Melanesians (PwM) executive director Ken Mondiai said: “Conservation is about maintaining livelihoods of rural people.
“Corrupt elites from villages cheat their own people by coming up with fraudulent land deals and make money through the developers while the people suffer.
“We want to make sure people are aware of that so they can get help from us and other relevant authorities.”
Mondiai said PwM carried out awareness in Collingwood Bay in Central and Managalas in Northern for people to know that it was not safe to sign documents releasing their land without other neutral parties like NGO’s witnessing it.
He said, in some provinces, rivers are contaminated and soil is polluted with chemicals; people could not fish or make gardens to get enough food. In some situations they feed on contaminated food which makes them sick.
“Without being aware rural people can sign away their land to a few local crooks and their associates who come up with unfair deals,” Mondiai said.
He said in many areas of PNG people are getting less benefits and more anguish because their land is being logged on, mined on and destroyed without them being fairly compensated.
“Development is good but if it destroys the environment we should be careful to allow it,” Mondiai explained.
“In our work we bring in alternative income earning opportunities like cash cropping mainly coffee and cocoa which has a lesser destruction to the biodiversity.”
He said money should not be the only deciding factor when issues relating to land arises.