Atoll people of Bougainville refer to the ocean as their ‘gold mine’ with sea cucumber their number one commercial product
Category: Papua New Guinea
PNG rejects observer suspension on fishing vessels
The Papua New Guinea Fishing Industry Association (PNGFIA) has rejected the recent suspension by the Western and Central Pacific Fishing Commission (WCPFC) of observer coverage services on board purse seine fishing vessels. WCPFC, based in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, is a tuna conservation body whose membership include most countries with fishing interests in the […]
The local hero protecting Papua New Guinea from DDT
When Joshua Wowo was a child, his uncle would take him on rambling walks through the lush forest surrounding their home in Papua New Guinea’s East New Britain Province. On these explorations, Wowo would be introduced not only to the beauty of his country, but also to the health risks facing its people. Joshua’s uncle […]
Pacific island nations at the climate talks: Leave no one behind
Describing climate change as one of the greatest threats to their survival, leaders of the sinking countries in the Pacific region urged the international community at the 25th Conference of Parties (COP25) to urgently act and avert climate crisis. “ We are clearly on the frontline of climate change. They are realities for countries in […]
Specific climate insurance product for PNG, Pacific
The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP), together with the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) are gauging views to set up an insurance product that will allow Pacific Islanders to recover quicker financially after a natural disaster. A workshop organised early this month under these two programmes to gauge interest in setting up this insurance product […]
Climate change forcing Pacific Islanders from homes
When Cardinal John Ribat of Papua New Guinea was young, he and his neighbors noticed that their well water tasted of salt. Crops also failed as the soil became salty. Papua New Guinea consists of a large island in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by smaller islands and atolls. Residents of the island where his family […]
‘We need support’: Pacific Islands seek help and unity to fight climate change
In recent weeks, children marched, nations made promises and teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg scolded world leaders for “failing us.” But while one of the groups most vulnerable to climate change, the Pacific Islands, may have received fewer headlines, it was among those making the strongest calls for action. Pacific Island government officials in New […]
PNG Environment Minister wants plastic ban enforced by November
Papua New Guinea Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Minister Geoffrey Kama wants an outright ban on the manufacture, import and use of single-use plastic shopping bags in the country by November. Kama told journalists in Port Moresby that the ban introduced by former minister Sir John Pundari was a noble move which he wanted to […]
The makings of a climate change resistance in the Pacific
Vanuatu, an archipelago of 80 volcanic islands in the Southwest Pacific, is ground zero in the global fight against climate change. In just the past few decades, many coastal communities here have moved several hundred meters from the shore, destabilizing livelihoods, especially among fishermen and their families. But the assault doesn’t stop there. Vanuatu is […]
PNG demonstrating global leadership on climate action
Why action against climate change is so important and how partners are helping the people of Papua New Guinea? A man in East New Britain says to his son, ‘the wet seasons do not come when they should and the sun feels hotter than when I was your age.’ They stand overlooking their vegetable garden. […]