BY BARNABAS MANEBONA
BY MANEBONA BARNABAS
LOGS now shipped are said to be of not good size trees but this is the third shipment within recent weeks ashore of Tulaghi Island at Big Ngella raising grave concern for locals.
Whoever behind these shipments amongst local landowners does not go down well with Ngella citizens as negative impacts from the tree resources and environment is growing.
Not only certain specific trees are said to be now logged on Ngella but all sorts of trees as well seeing loggers making use of their chance.
The majority of people at Ngella are now fed up of logging activities in which they threat to form mobs of groups to attack and destroy logging machines and chase out Asian operators if they land on their shores.
Some are blaming the provincial authorities while others call for precaution and there is the majority planning and urging to make a one way move for destroying and chasing the logging operators out of their islands.
This issue is currently heavily debated on the famous Ngella Forum on social media as well.
With this understanding, Central Islands Provincial Government is uniting with its citizens in Ngella to stop logging activities on their islands purposely to protect the environment.
The Provincial Secretary (PS) of CIP, Alan Christian Siale, when contacted recently over the rising issue of logging operations and landings confirmed this.
He elaborated in revealing that he is aware of recent landings by logging groups but there has been a cause of breakdown in the line of communication between them and the Department of Forestry through the Forestry Office in the province for such landings to take place.
“The issue of the province with the Forestry Division is they (Forestry) are issuing permits for logging companies to land but the condition for a permit to land must have proof that they have paid the provincial business license which is the conditions of the Forestry,” said the PS.
“That to this day has never been done by the Forestry Division.”
From radical suggestions now rising from locals, the PS suggests for their people that they can move against these operations but in a more awareness way to educate landowners to not sign documents of such for logging operations which includes mining processes.
CIP’s Premier Hon Patrick Vasuni had also recently announced that the Provincial Government will be banning all logging operations on Ngella.
His Provincial Executive will be imposing the ban at their next Executive meeting if survey confirms over-harvesting and destructions to the environment.
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