THE country has been operating under an exploitation and extractive development modality.
This was stated by Malaita Province Premier Daniel Suidani at the opening of the 2022/2023 revised budget meeting, Monday.
He said the Forests are been harvested through logging and huge portions of forests were cleared for monoculture in the form of coconut and cocoa plantation.
He said it is time to move away from these very destructive development modalities and to seize opportunities for new emerging markets.
“Up until the present we have been operating under an exploitation and extractive development modality. Where our forests are harvested through logging and huge portion of our forest were cleared for monoculture in the form of coconut and cocoa plantation.
“While we continue to appreciate that these destructive developments have been serving the province and the country well. It is now time to move away from these destructive developments” Mr Suidani said.
However, Mr Suidani highlighted the benefits of USAID Scale project in Malaita province.
He said under the USAID scale project the province has been given the opportunity for a number of its communities to participate in carbon trading and payment for ecosystem use of their forest and water resource.
“Many of us surely are yet to fully understand and appreciated the full extent of this new development approaches of the new millennium, where there are international markets for the trading of carbon and conservation of our forest, where international firm that participate in this trade are able to buy off our carbon while we continue to participate in conserving our forest”
“Similarly, our rivers and stream can conserve while our community get paid for not intactness. Where we can grow our economic while our resource in the form of forest, rivers, stream and sea are conserved.” Mr Suidani said.
By SOLOMON LOFANA
Solomon Star, Auki
