Activities in Papua New Guinea

The Kick-off Seminar/Workshop for the CEPA-JICA Project was held on 29th July 2015 at Holiday Inn in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The Project aims to support implementation of the new Policy on Protected Areas (PPA) with special emphasis on the management of the terrestrial ecosystems at the Varirata National Park (VNP) and the establishment of the new marine Protected Area (PA). It was attended by 94 invitees with representatives from the Koiari Rural LLG including the local communities, Kairuku-Hiri District Administration, CEPA staff, JICA experts from PNGFA, environmental NGOs, UPNG, Pacific Adventist University (PAU), private sector and the media fraternity.

At the opening, three guest speakers gave their remarks, which included Mr. Gunther Joku, Managing Director for Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) and also the Project Director of the CEPA-JICA Biodiversity Project; Mr. Edward Kila, Deputy Provincial Administrator of Central Province; and Chief Representative of PNG JICA Office, Mr. Shigeru Sugiyama. Mr Joku urged all stakeholders including the CEPA staff to work together in close partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to implement the Project. Mr. Kila also stressed that it is very important for the people of Central province particularly the Koiari Local-level Government (LLG) and local communities to take part in this important project. Mr Kila thank the Japanese government for their support in implementing the Project and the restoration/rehabilitation Varirata National Park was significance not only for the protection of the biodiversity but also to assist the local communities in the vicinity of the VNP and Koiari LLG area to benefit from the project through tourism spin-offs.

The JICA Chief Representative, Mr. Shigeru Sugiyama gave his strong support for this project and iterated that JICA understands the challenge of balancing development and conservation of biodiversity and was pleased to be part of the project, working alongside partners such as the Central provincial administration, the Kairiku-Hiri district administration, and the Koiari LLG including other Aid development partners like the Australian Government (AusAID), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/Global Environment Facility (GEF), private sectors, environmental NGOs and local communities.

The seminar outlined the overview of this 5-year project. The structure of CEPA-JICA team, the project's goals, activities and expected outcomes have been briefed. It was combined with a workshop which discussed on issues related to rehabilitation of the VNP, community participation, livelihood development, development planning of VNP surrounding areas, and new marine/coastal Protected Areas planning. The workshop ended on a high note with valuable recommendations addressing these issues. The day's event was also reported in PNG's two national newspapers - Post Courier and The National.

From the left Mr. Fredrick Ohmana (Project Coordinator), Ms. Kumaras Kalim (Project Manager), Mr. Koji Asano (JICA Chief Advisor), Mr. Shigeru Sugiyama (Chief Representative of JICA PNG Office)