Coral Cay Conservation has been awarded a grant from the Darwin Initiative to undertake the Waria Valley
community-based forest conservation project in Papua New Guinea. The Darwin Initiative is a grants programme that aims to
promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of resources around the world. The Initiative is funded and administered
by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) is working in partnership with the people of the Waria Valley through their development arm
organisation, the Morobe Bris Kanda (MBK). MBK has been formed as a direct result of communities voicing their concerns about
the long-term environmental effects of large scale logging concessions and the need to work to conserve their forests and
environments for themselves and future generations. These forests are home to local communities and an estimated 10,000 people
solely rely on these forests for food and other daily uses. The communities of the Waria Valley aspire to develop their local
communities through sustainable methods (such as eco-forestry and eco-tourism) with the help and capacity of the MBK and other
development NGOs. To do so this requires alternative forms of development and an increase in environmental education and
awareness that would ensure the sustainability of forest resources through conservation with the aim of reducing poverty and
improving the livelihoods of the local communities. Additional project partners in this project include the Department of the
Environment, the Forestry Research Institute, University of Technology of Papua New Guinea and the people of the Waria Valley
themselves.
The aims of the project includes biodiversity assessments of the forest resources of the Waria Valley (including inventories
of two traditionally important timber species: Campnospermum brevipetiolata and Hernandia ovigera); development of a GIS-based
decision support system; implementation of community vegetation nurseries for restoration work; the initiation of alternative
livelihood schemes (including small scale forestry and eco-tourism); coupled with environmental education, training and local
capacity building programmes within the target communities. This aims to achieve local sustainable development based on benefits
derived for local land owners from local forest biodiversity. Ultimately this projects primary objective is to help local people
and non-governmental entities to manage and conserve PNG's extensive forest reserves.
The PNG government recognises the importance of conserving and sustainably using forest biodiversity, and as such the World
Bank is assisting the government to prepare the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) to meet commitments to
the CBD as well as to ensure that the country's globally significant biodiversity is fully considered in any natural resource
development. Prior to this, in 1991 the Government of PNG initiated the National Forest and Conservation Action Program, in
conjunction with the World Bank and subsequently, the Forestry Act (1991; amended 1993) was enacted to facilitate establishment
of a sustainable forest industry. Additionally, the Forestry and Conservation Project (FCP) has been developed and is designed
to promote good governance, transparency and accountability in the forestry sector, and to generate better conditions for
landholders. PNG' s National Forest Authority has also stressed the need to empower landowners to manage forests sustainably
and make commercial logging less damaging and encourage landowners to set aside biologically rich forest areas for conservation
purposes.
With over 85 per cent of the Papua New Guinea population living a largely subsistence lifestyle in rural areas,
conservation and resource management efforts must clearly fit with the lives and ambitions of village people. The project will
contribute to alternative livelihoods via two main mechanisms:
(1) Eco forestry - community based forest management using portable sawmills - is an important example of this approach.
This industry has developed through the efforts of a number of NGOs and has become a proven alternative to industrial scale
logging for some communities. Combined with the forest resource assessment and vegetation nursery establishment this will
provide and important alterative source of income.
(2) Eco-tourism - the establishment of a small eco-tourism lodge within
the Waria valley, will extend the network of similar lodges on the Huon Coast, already managed by NGOs. The centre will engage
both local stakeholders and other participants (students and tourists) on local, national and international scales. The guides
and others employed in this work will gain income (from fees paid) to complement that obtained from their subsistence
agricultural activities. Local staff will also be stewards for locally-driven conservation, ensuring the sustainability of the
forest resource for both the inherent biodiversity and livelihood generation.
The work will deliver a conservation approach applicable to the local customary land tenure system, preserving an important
forest ecosystem whilst permitting sustainable community forestry for local stakeholders. Enhancement of local environmental
capacity will result in long-term sustainable resource use and effective conservation of the Waria Valley. Trained stakeholders
will benefit from alternative livelihoods whilst conserving forest resources for local and regional benefit.
While activities will continue year round with CCC staff on the ground the volunteer presence will be involved primarily
with the biodiversity assessment through a range of standard survey techniques for biodiversity indicators. Additionally
volunteers will be involved with ongoing community work and will have opportunities to assist with teaching should they wish.
Work on water and sanitation improvement will also occur alongside community livelihood development.
