By Lamin Kujabi
Rohey John Manjang, Minister of Environment Climate Change and Natural Resources has sought gazette notice for the establishment of four indigenous communities’ conservation and Marine Protected Areas (MPA). Introducing the proposal Minister Manjang explained that the four indigenous conserved areas are in the Central River Region (CRR) and one marine protected area in Kartong, West Coast Region.
Giving background to the initiative, the Minister said in 2021 the Department of Parks and Wildlife initiated the process of establishing five new protected areas for the sole purpose of conserving their unique biodiversity and ecosystems in accordance with the requirements in the Wildlife Policy and Wildlife Biodiversity Act 2003. The process, she added, was highly consultative with sensitisation of all the relevant stakeholders including regional, districts, and village authorities, on the associated costs and benefits of protecting these areas.
The consultation, she went on, also entailed activities such as baseline ecological survey, social economic analysis and appointment and implementation of protected area settlement committees meetings from 2020 -2021. “It may be important to report that the meetings were led by representative of Attorney General and Minister of Justice in order to ensure that due process was followed”.
