By Rebecca Marigu – New Ireland
In a recent small yet significant ceremony, the Pire community in Ward 9 Namatanai Local Level Government marked their intention to “preserve their reef” (tambuim rip) for the next 12 months.
According to Namatanai Fisheries Officer Judith Tinai, the event coincided with the launch of a beach cleanup initiative and a one- day compost training.
This is part of the drive to implement the “Lukautim Solwara Project”
Tinai revealed that Pire had a traditional method called “mok” in their language to take care of the beach, reef and ocean.
The Pire community initially imposed a “stop harvest” order, but this was bridged during the dry season, which severely impacted the food supply.
She believes that with this launch, the training, and presence of the LLG president and district representatives, will drive the community to respect the Marine Protected Areas.
She also stated that the program will be rolled out to other wards in the LLG next year.
This project was a partnership between local communities, national government authorities, and local non-profits such as the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Ailan Awareness Inc, and Lolieng Sustainable Program.
By launching this program, Pire has taken ownership of implementing an ideal model that empowers communities to make meaningful contributions contribute to the global 30×30 target.
The 30×30 target is a key component of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
