The famouse Asaro river was a very fast flowing river with much in quantity, those stones were never seen ten years back, impact of Climate change is obvious with low water quantity in the once beautiful ferocious Asaro river, photo July 2010, By Gene Drekeke Iyovo.
The UN framework on the Reduction Emission from Forest deforestation , degradation has moved towards conserving the tropical rainforests which is additional to sustainable forestry practices from deforestation and degradation mechanism. That is including conservation in REDD making it into REDD+, This brings in large potential of carbon sequestration through this conservation projects. Protecting the wild and its wilderness on both the land and sea are of critical importance as large amount of carbon dioxide are locked up, act as stores keeping down the severe impact of carbon dioxide to wider spectrum environment, including our regional climates.
Not only making cleaner fuel-biofuels but conserving this natural rainforest in the tropics is mandatory for cleaner today and cleaner future. Researches indicate that about 20% of green house gas emission come from tropical rainforest deforestation (http://www.wbcsd.org/Plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?ObjectId=MzQxNDc) which is more than the entire transport sector worldwide.
This prompted world organizations that conserving the rainforest could take a big bite in the green house gas emissions. The conservation of rainforest could profit massive biodiversity as well as social welfare of the indigenous communities. The smart approach, rewarding the surrounding communities or in business terms the stakeholders so that they would become stewards of the rainforest into the next millennium.
Providing an incentive to protect tropical forests would save endangered species, support the often impoverished communities, and help solve the climate crisis, all at the same time. Devising a funding mechanism in the REDD+ that would efficiently bring the benefits of forest stewardship to countries especially the forest owners is the way forward in making our climate, environment life suiting for this and next millennia.
More helpful in the rainforest conservation efforts, more leaders are getting the pictures painted to get conserving acts quicker. Prince Charles of UK is such a leader, who took world leaders like Italy Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, France President Nicholas Sarkozy and UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon to provide and emergency financial package for tropical rainforest.
PNG’s neighbor country, Australia has been more vocal proposing for a forest carbon-market mechanism that is making the national government to issue forest credits for industrial activities cut their emissions below internationally agreed levels.
Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea Somare Government had set up a state entity for control and management office ’climate change ‘.
These developments are promising, the need and cries of the indigenous communities, communities whose survival is entirely forest dependent, while forest is everything to none in the wide communities have at least the light shedding on the horizon. One of such community doing volunteer rainforest conservation is Hatema Rainforest in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. This conservation effort by traditional landowner groups had sought international support after I had much public community awareness on the diminishing rainforest biodiversity, lower rainfall, low river currents and the climate change issues. The communities comprising of more than 15 000 individuals, more than ten tribal clans extending a perimeter more than 50 km had agreed totally for their rainforest to be seriously considered for conservation. Since then (2010), the association of traditional landowners have seek government and international help.
The association had landed their conservation project to a European Energy Technology Solution company that specializes in carbon credits and forest farming technologies (http://www.carbon-credits.net/).
The photo above shows Gene Drekeke Iyovo discussing and making climate change awareness, rainforest conservation for the Hatema Conservation association, bringing together the forest stewards, different clans and tribal groups, educating and coaching the importance of biodiversity, REDD+, conservation benefits and potential projects outcomes, Location, Miruma Village,Asaro, Eastern Highlands Province, Papaua New Guinea. July 2010.
The Hatema Conservation area below, more than 90 000 ha of thick virgin tropical rainforest under threat from minings, on the east, loggings and illigal activites on the west, between the borders of Eastern Highlands, Chimbu Province and Madang has been negotiated for conservation for 30 years or more.
At the end of the day, the rainforest conservation solves a chain of problems, poverty alleviation through monetary returns from the conservation projects, biodiversity preservation and most importantly the bigger part is limiting the climate change to manageable level for now and the future. The Hatema rainforest group, approximate total area of 100 000 ha or nearest, comprised of 3 % low literacy by population has awaken to the reality of climate change due to constant awareness, now with clear idea on climate change and its immediate and long term effects, the communities are united to closing conservation deals for a successful rainforest preservation and conservation for now and the immediate future.
The writer, who is the promoter of the conservation project, believes that conservation is one ‘chance to go for a chance’ to limit or bring under desirable condition the effects of climate change. Generating such united idea from a wider tribal communities in Papua New Guinea with diverse cultures and language cost much sweat and require the guts. The lower level and higher leve, the former is financing power to achieve the desire of the latter, the latter have the commodity for the desired result even the former desired. Communal, bilateral and mutual cooperation will bring about the successful REDD+ to conclusion. The Hatema conservation group is one such community desiring to bring conservation to successful conclusion, it is believed that other communities in the region can achieve conservation of their wilderness. At the end of the day, we care for the world in which we live. We live and learn so we can live.
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