The Foirobo Tribe Biodiversity Conservation Association (FTBCA) in the Baegu region of North East Malaita launched its conservation project supported by the GEF Small Grants Programme.
In trying to secure a Protected Area (PA) status, the association has already conserved 44.3 hectares of its forests which are located approximately 358m above sea level.
Project Coordinator, Mr. Franklin Fiuta expressed his gratitude and emphasized that "this GEF Small Grants Programme grant helped the association engage a number of stakeholders in implementing different activities such as community awareness, training of rangers, land demarcation, GPS mapping, livelihood training to name a few,” leaving it only “three steps to achieve a PA status.”
During the handover ceremony in the Tasisi community, Mr. Chanel Iroi, the SGP's National Steering Committee Chairperson and the Deputy Secretary -Technical for the Ministry of Environment Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) acknowledged the Foirobo community for successfully achieving most of the steps towards PA status through the implementation of the project.
“Conserving our forests is important not only for our livelihoods but for the wildlife that lives within the forests,” Mr. Iroi noted and highlighted the importance to work closely with the Ministry to attain the Protected Area status.
Funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme - UNDP, the GEF Small Grants Programme provides financial and technical support to projects that conserve the global environment while enhancing people's well-being and livelihoods.
Source: Press Release, UNDP Solomon Islands