Save trees: NCDC

NATIONAL Capital District Commission (NCDC) has warned city residents that cutting and damaging of trees in Port Moresby is prohibited and penalties will be imposed.
The commission’s strategic planning manager Kemo Guise said the warning came after a five-day tree-preservation order aimed at preserving and protecting the growth of trees at various sites in the city.
She said the order was in line with the Physical Planning Act that NCDC was taking to protect trees in the city.
Guise explained that the provision was set under section 82 of the Physical Planning Act of 1989 which provides the legal basis for preserving trees in a physical planning area.
She said those who disobeyed the warning would be liable to court proceedings.
“This tree preservation order is a mandatory responsibility for NCDC to carry out because we do not want to see people damaging and cutting trees in the city,” she said.
She said NCDC had previously imposed an order to protect trees because some of the trees were significant to the city’s history.
Guise said the tree preservation order project was a guide provided by the physical planning board to provide answers to some questions regarding trees.