PEOPLE of the Lord Howe atolls in Malaita are calling on the Government through its responsible line ministries to visit them,to see first-hand the effects of the Climate Change to their lives.
The call was made, during a recent Climate Change workshop organised under the Community Resilience to Climate and Disaster Risk in Solomon Islands project (CRISP).
This project was under the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology(MECDM), and the workshop wasmainly for the three islands Pelau, Sikaiana, and Liuaniuwa.
After being informed of the proposed project (CRISP) and the possible visit to their islands, a participant Lawrence Makili said that the responsible people should also visit them, to see and feel what is happening to their lives today, as a result of the changing climate.
“…if the government through its responsible ministries also joined the team to come to the islands here, that would be great.
“This must happen, so that they can actually see for themselves the very issues faced and to see on what areas they can assist,” Makili said.
He added that, the government cannot plan better ways in terms of providing support if they don’t go down and do assessment.
“We want the ministry responsible for environment and Climate Change, Meteorology as well as agriculture to also come to our islands to see for themselves and make recommendations to the government for support,” the Lord Howe man added.
Mr Makili said,officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and climate change specialists are needed to be part of the team, to follow up on their ongoing programs and projects for the three islands.
Meanwhile, workshop facilitator and the CRISP Project Coordinator Mary Alalo said, the recommendation will be forwarded to the responsible authorities.
However, it will all depend on the availability of the budget.
By IAN MCDONALD KAUKUI
