BY LYNTON AARON FILIA
THE Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been working with the Solomon Islands Government on ways to sustainably manage our forest.
In an inception workshop with Guadalcanal provincial leaders on Wednesday 23 May 2018, Mrs Rosemary Kafa from the FAO assured provincial leaders they have been working with the SIG on a project that relates to conserving forestation.
Mrs Kafa said FAO is a United Nations Institution with a mandate to work on forestry, agriculture and natural resource management.
She said FAO under its Forestry Department has set mandate to support member countries to implement sustainable forest management by providing policy advice, technical knowledge and reliable information.
This was mainly meant as contribution towards forest and trees to sustainable livelihood, she said.
Mrs Kafa said for the Implementation of the project, it is mainly focus on addressing issues such as climate change mitigation. This is through a measure designed to enhance forest carbon stocks and increase adaptability of communities.
The project also looks at capacity gaps in biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management and sustainability forestry management.
“Conservation and protected area management work is very important for Solomon Islands, and it is anticipated that lesson learnt and experiences from other project of similar nature will be shared with Solomon Islands through FAO in-country and regional activities,” she said.
Mrs Kafa adds cooperation by stakeholders and communities are crucial for the successful implementation of the project.
She says FAO will continue to support SIG and its citizen in sustainable development and management of its natural resources through their technical team based in Apia and Papua New Guinea.
Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management Dr Melchior Mataki acknowledged the project partners in the country who are targeting forestry and climate change issues.
