BY INDY MAEALASIA
THE recently debuted Solwata Blo Iumi Campaign toolkit is highly anticipated to enhance stakeholder capacity and empower local community participation in sustainable marine resources management.
“This user-friendly toolkit will empower provincial fisheries officers, Community Based organisation reps, and relevant NGOs to effectively spread information” Malaita Fisheries officers, Martin Jasper said
With the continuous negative impacts of climate change and man-made factors on these vital resources, Jasper termed the toolkit a “timely and critical development”
“With the toolkit in hand they(stakeholders) will be well equipped to educate communities about sustainable resource management plans, this will in time contribute to the health and well-being of marine ecosystems” he said.
The informative toolkit consists of a facilitator’s guide, flip-chat and a reader-friendly booklet that comes in English and Pidgin version, illustrations and depict problems and solutions scenarios.
To kick start the launch and the distribution plan, the cChange, Ministry Fisheries Marine Resources(MFMR) and other stakeholders leading the Solwata Blo Iumi Campaign has undergone a workshop on Wednesday 27th-Thursday 28th
Workshop participant, Apunepara Hamwaora Natural Reasource Association Operation Manager, Reginald Watesau expressed his relief of finally having the toolkit “we now have a standard book which we all can use across the nation or even across the Pacific”
Based on South Malaita, Watesau will be hard at work upon his return “I will be carrying out workshop, in villages, schools and among community elders”.
Watesau has extended his appreciation to Chnage and MFMR and other stakholders for making the toolkit a possibility.
For the first round of distribution, more than 10,000 toolkits are set to be launched and distributed throughout the country.
