DEAR EDITOR, the Island Sun yesterday (April 6) carried the story of the newly formed Taka Taka Eco-Village Conservation Foundation (TEVCF) which, with other partners, recently provided awareness of conservation talks to the people in the Taka Taka region in East Are’are.

The awareness programme was jointly facilitated by TEVCF, Wai-Hau and the SI Environment Division under the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology.

The Founder and Coordinator of TEVCF, Mr Andrew Taraha told the participants during the presentation that, based on the objectives of the organisation, the awareness talk was to educate local communities about the uniqueness and importance of their environment.

He told the participants that they need to learn about how to adapt to the issues associated with climate change that affects the environment.

Mr Taraha also stressed to the people the importance of community empowerment to protect local resources and biodiversity from commercial logging, mining and any development that are unsustainable.

Mr Taraha said the initiative will also look at providing effective livelihood programmes that improve the economic development within the local communities, adding that it will also secure and establish a reliable source of income for the resources owners and even everyone in the country.

He stressed to the people that it was very essential for them to know about the importance of how precious their environment is and especially the resources they hold.

The programme was funded by the Global Green Fund, actually more accurately the Green Climate Fund (GCF), set up under the framework of the UNFCCC as a mechanism to assist developing countries, including the Solomon Islands, in adapting and mitigating practices to counter climate change.

The GCF is based in the Songdo district of Incheon in South Korea.

It is known that the GCF will support projects, programmes, policies and other activities that fall within the GCF’s thematic funding windows.

To Mr Taraha, the officials of the SI Environment Division under the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, the representative of the GCF in the Solomon Islands and all participants from the Taka Taka communities, I extend my appreciation and thanks for the initiative taken to raise awareness of environmental protection and conservation.

I very much hope other communities throughout the Solomon Islands will follow the splendid example set by the Taka Taka community with help from the GCF.

Yours sincerely

FRANK SHORT