The Barana Community Reforestation Training has provided skills and knowledge for the community to implement sustainable reforestation initiatives. Photo credit: SPREP.
Source: SPREP
The recent Barana Community Reforestation Training has successfully equipped community members, park rangers, and youth with essential knowledge and skills to execute sustainable reforestation initiatives.
Hosted at Barana Community Nature Heritage Park in Mount Austin, Guadalcanal Province, the training was organised by the Pacific Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change (PEBACC+) project implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and funded by the Kiwa Initiative and the French Facility for Global Environment.
Training, carried out in partnership with the Solomon Islands Ministry of Forestry and Research, involved 40 participants, including men, women, and youth from the Barana community, as well as six technical officers from the Ministry.
Melwyn Narasia, a leader from Barana Community Nature and Heritage Park management committee says training aids the community in understanding reforestation activities from obtaining wildings/seedlings to planting out seedlings, nurseries in the selected sites.
Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Forestry and Research Wilfred Atomea commends the participants, while emphasising the importance of implementing new skills to rehabilitate degraded land areas within Barana Community Nature and Heritage Park.
Reforestation plays a crucial role in combating climate change by capturing carbon dioxide, preventing land degradation, and creating economic opportunities through sustainable timber harvesting, eco-tourism, and agroforestry.
Proper training ensures reforestation initiatives are executed effectively, maximising their environmental and economic impact.
Joanne Aihunu, PEBACC+ Country Coordinator with SPREP, reiterates the importance of reforestation in restoring ecosystems.
“It’s about restoring ecosystems,” Joanne says.
“Training helps ensure that trees are chosen and planted in a way that supports biodiversity, prevents soil erosion, and restores habitats for wildlife.”
She adds empowering local people with reforestation knowledge fosters long-term stewardship.
The Barana Community Reforestation Training held in November 2024, marks significant step in building local capacity for sustainable land restoration, ensuring newly planted forests grow and thrive for future generations.
PEBACC+ is a €5.8 million regional project implemented by SPREP and funded by the Kiwa Initiative through its donors the European Union, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Global Affairs Canada, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), with co-financing from French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM).
This four-year project seeks to strengthen the resilience of ecosystems, economies, and communities to the impacts of climate change in Fiji, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The project will develop, sustain, and institutionalise Ecosystem-based Adaptation to climate change in these five countries and territories.
