United Nations supports community conservation initiative

The National Business

THE United Nations Development Programme, under its Global Environmental Facility – Small Grant Programme (GEF–SGP), will provided a US$45,401.90 (K154,427.44) grant to Ronimb Community Development Foundation (RCDF) Inc in Western Highlands to implement a conservation project.
The programme is titled Tree planting and sustainable management of degraded land in a sacred site.
GEF–SGP national coordinator Tamalis Akus said a memorandum of agreement (MoA) signing took place last week in Port Moresby while another by the UNDP resident representative is scheduled for this week.
“ The small grants programme is proud to be continuing its support to community-based organisations who engage with communities, implementing activities addressing local environmental threats, extend awareness on good land management practices and, in this case, protect sacred sites important to their cultural heritage,” Akus said.
RCDF Inc project manager Johannes Pook said their efforts would not only benefit the Ronimb community but the whole Tigi ward in Dei, Western Highlands.
“Under the agreement, we will be planting trees to address global warming and climate change,” he said. “Under this project, we are undertaking conservation and protection of sacred sites that was preserved by our forefathers which we do not want destroyed by the next generation so the community have come together to preserve this special area.
“Along the buffer zone area of this sacred site, we are trying to plant trees to extend the conservation of the sacred sites to be a larger forested area.
“Under the climate change project, we will be looking at an eco-hydro project and agro-forestry which will be done by the people in the community.”
Pook said the expected results was an improved community-level sustainable use of land and forest resource including biodiversity, households’ sustainable livelihood support as a result of better eco-based resources management and continuous flow of improved agro-ecosystem and forest ecosystem.