BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE
A concerned man from Temotu province is calling on his people to think of the damage logging will do to their resources and future generations if they allow it to spread throughout Santa Cruz.
Outspoken Mr James Menai who hails from Nangu village in Santa Cruz voices that landowners should bear in mind that Santa Cruz is a small island and to allow the expansion of logging beyond Bekapoa district where it is currently operating would be a bad idea.
He stresses that if the above becomes reality, virgin forests will be damaged, marine and sea resources will be destructed and future generations will be heavily impacted.
On another note, with population on the island experiencing a rise, Mr Menai stated that this something their provincial government should address.
He adds that many form 5 drop outs don’t have financial means to continue their education hence to avoid them travelling to the capital to find ways to settle that issue the provincial government should work on initiating a cannery and mineral bottle water industry.
Referring to the latter, Mr Menai mentioned that for a project that has already passed through the ground breaking phase, what the provincial leaders should do is, meet with landowners , seek common grounds and work together to develop the project.
He strongly expressed that if such projects are delivered in Temotu province it will be a great source of employment, especially for school drop outs.
Mr Menai furthered that although logging contributes a lot to the economy, there are also side effects we should consider.
“So I’m calling on my people of Santa Cruz to fight hard to prevent logging from spreading throughout Santa Cruz”, he said.
