Surfing’s positive effect

 By PETER SEVARA JR

THE Surfing of Association Papua New Guinea (SAPNG) will embark on a mission to assist in the social and economic development and rebuilding of Bougainville.

This was revealed after SAPNG president Andrew Abel, conducted meetings last month with the ABG Tourism Minister Rose Pihei.

SAPNG has a 27-year history of empowering communities around PNG and intends to develop surfing as a sport and surf tourism as a niche tourism industry based on the precedent set by the Abel Reverse Spiral Model incorporating the Surf Management Plan (SMP) and the newly developed Integrated Management Plan Product (IMPP) incorporating trekking, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, cycling and bird watching.

The SMP is a downstream processing plan devised by Abel in the late 1980s after witnessing first-hand how locals in tourist hot spots the world over were mere spectators in the tourism and surfing industry. 

The plan ensures that the local communities that own the reefs, beaches and marine environments are consulted about whether they want to become involved in surfing, exclusively down-streaming the benefits towards local enhancement. 

“I believe SAPNG is well placed to set a bench mark and precedence for other sporting codes and niche tourism sectors to emulate following the peace process between Prime minister Peter O’Neill and president John Momis in ensuring the most important people in the equation being the traditional resource custodian host communities, are factored into all facets of the consultation, planning, implementation and management of their resources,” Abel said. 

Abel will be heading back to Bougainville in March to carry out more presentations and questions on the international award winning surfing documentary ‘Splinters’.

Abel recently received requests by the Solomon Islands government, universities and academics around the world to share his unique tourism development model.