Landowners urged to take part in conservation

 LANDOWNERS and the local communities are important players in the success of biodiversity conservation and the ecotourism industry, a conservationist says.

Koji Asano, chief adviser of biodiversity conservation project with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said landowners were the key partners in biodiversity conservation and ecotourism industry and they should be involved in every stage of ecotourism projects. 

“It is paramount that the local people are trained  to participate meaningfully in the industry,” he said.

“Without training and building capacity for the local people and without their active participation,  what is the purpose of initiating and implementing projects when local people cannot participate meaningfully and benefit?

“So it’s very important that the local people, who are the landowners, are given the required trainingand capacitated to participate and ensure success and sustainability in biodiversity conservation and ecotourism projects,” Asano said.

He said in every project JICA engaged in PNG or in other countries around the world, “we listen to the needs of our beneficiaries and we provide technical support and financial assistance at their request.

“In this biodiversity conservation project, we want the local people to take ownership through meaningful participation,” Asano said.

“We want landowners to involve in the park management. In the project, we will be providing training and capacity-building for local people

The project is expected to look at redeveloping the Varirata National Park and marine protected areas along Bootless Bay.