Support environment conservation

Governor for National Capital District, Powes Parkop says environment conservation is a serious matter and calls on concerted efforts to mitigate against the impact of Climate Change on the natural environment.

Parkop expressed his concerns during a Press Conference hosted by the Minister for Environment Conservation and Climate Change, Wera Mori in Port Moresby.

Recently while focusing on issues of Climate Change affecting Bougainvlle, Parkop raised concerns about the degradation of the forests, expressing that not enough is being done about its conservation. 

“We have not taken the impact of climate change and impact of climate emergency seriously. Up to now we’ve just been talking. Just a lot of talk. We’ve signed a lot of commitment but we have not really done tangible things on the ground to really show that we are serious and we take this emergency seriously.” Parkop lamented.

Governor Parkop has been collaborating with other stakeholders like UNDP in particular in helping to prepare for two main events which will coincide with the World Environmental Day on the 5th of June.

“Firstly the next Protection Area Forum. We all know the protection mechanism for conservation both in the marine space and on the forestry or on the land. It’s very weak. We have some conservation area or protection area but not enough mechanism to support it. Not just law but materials and resources,” he said.

Parkop is hopes that the summit becomes a milestone event.  However he expressed disappointment about seeing conservation projects such as the Hustein Range rain forests to become a World Heritage wetland and forest not progressing. 

“Hustein Range has not been declared yet, logging companies are on the periphery trying to go in..30 years on, for me 30 years on because I went there to April, May River up the headlands of Sepik River tributary.” Parkop said.

He said there are many other forestry as well as coral reefs which were selected to be conserved but the governments is yet to act on them.

Author: 
Frieda Kana