CCC project gets national news coverage
Added to website: 13 September 2007
Coral Cay Conservation’s project in Papua New Guinea’s Waria Valley has received national exposure thanks to an article in the country’s leading daily newspaper the Post Courier.
Bio-diversity survey for Waria
By PISAI GUMAR
THE Waria Valley of Morobe province is moving into a bio-diversity survey to conserve the flora and fauna with help from British scientists.
The main focus of the project is on surveying and conserving forest areas and building a sustainable livelihood for the people and supplement education for the children.
Coral Cay Conservation, a European-based non-government organisation, in partnership with the PNG Forest Resource Institute, Unitech and local non-government organisations Bris Kanda, Village Development Trust and the Waria Valley community are to jointly carry out the project.
A team heading the survey spent weeks in the Waria valley on biodiversity surveys and sampled and released about 50 bats using mist nets. Over 60 herpetiles (reptiles and amphibians) were found, many of which are yet to be identified.
They identified dozens of butterfly species, many unique to Papua New Guinea, and are building up a list of rodents and marsupials as well.
βIt is great seeing hornbills, cockatoos and parrots everyday, but we are also looking at less noticeable species of birds,β said project manager Andrew Farmer.
The team is also surveying trees and vegetation under the guidance of Oscar Pileng, a Unitech Forestry graduate.
The villagers of Zare-Aingse are very supportive in various ways with the project,β said Mr Farmer.
Project scientists Jeff Dawson and Oscar Pileng are collecting socio-economic information from members of the community to help plan strategies for sustainable livelihoods in the area.
Mr Farmer said that communities initiate small manageable schemes to help themselves but are limited by certain issues and the survey should identify these problems and suggest solutions.
The project was initiated by Mr Cossy Yosi and funded by the Darwin Initiative, an overseas-based NGO group.
