Resource owners need incentives

PNG forest resource owners need incentives to be able to say no to logging and preserve their forests to help lessen the current global warming and climate change crisis, Acting Director of the Office of Climate Change, Dr Wari Iamo commented yesterday.
Dr Iamo said the PNG Government therefore has taken the lead and pushed for the introduction of the UN REDD+ concept, which will allow PNG resource owners to trade their carbon stocks with industrialised countries to preserve their rainforests.
He made the remarks at a UN-REDD National Programme inception workshop at Crowne Plaza yesterday. He said the workshop marks a milestone to enhance PNG's REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from deforestation and Forest Degradation) readiness activities in PNG. "The plus in REDD+ is an important addition that includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks therefore going beyond emissions of REDD which refers to cutting and clearing of forests."