US envoy witnesses conservation deed signing in Jimi

UNITED States Ambassador to PNG, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Erin E McKee witnessed the signing of an environmental conservation deed in remote Kwiop village recognising the Mt Goplom conservation site in Jimi, Jiwaka, last week.
McKee was accompanied by Jimi MP and Community Development Minister Wake Goi, Governor Dr William Tongap, USAID representative Maurice Knight and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) director Adrian Tejedor.
McKee said the American government was a great advocate of environmental protection, biodiversity and conservation throughout the world.
She said PNG was one of the last 20 largest biodiversity areas in the world and had one per cent of the world’s biodiversity with forests covering 75 per cent of the country’s landmass.
“The US government, through United States Aid for Development (USAID), has been working with the national, provincial and local level governments and private sector to protect these natural resources,” she said.
“Conservation is not just for PNG, it’s critical for the whole world.”
McKee said 2021 marked the 60th anniversary of USAID as a key partner in the development in the Asia Pacific region including PNG.
“US$460 million (about K1.61 billion) was spent over the past 10 years (2011 to 2020),” he said.
“We have helped our partners in the Pacific, including PNG, mitigate the effect of climate change; we supported gender inclusion investing in health and food security, promoting biological diversity and more recently combating the global Coronavirus pandemic.”
McKee said USAID’s Lukautim Graun programme worked with the national, provincial and local level to strengthen institutional capacity and governance.