ECD applauds progress made for protected areas program in Malaita Province by the Winrock and SCALE Program in collaboration with the Malaita Protected Area Network and the Batairalo Nature and Natural Solutions Trust.

The Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) within the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM), has commended the support provided by the Winrock International and the SCALE Program towards the establishment of protected areas within Malaita.

The Winrock and the SCALE program has since its engagement with landholding groups and communities of Anosasu and Fera’abu has assisted them with their protected areas application since 2022. In addition, their technical expertise and guidance have been instrumental in progressing efforts initially led by Batairalo Nature and Natural Solutions Trust with Saefanoa Protected Area, as well as initiating the Rafea Protected Area since June 2024. The Division acknowledges the leadership, resources and technical support that the Project has rendered in driving these applications forward towards their finalisation.

Amidst the premature withdrawal of funding from Winrock and the SCALE Program, ECD is encouraged that the four proposed forest areas applications – Anosasu, and Feraabu in Kwara’ae and Saefanoa and Rafea in Kwaio– are near completion and if all requirements are being met, formal submissions for protected areas declaration will be made. The four proposed protected area sites were put on 30-days Public Notice, by the Director of ECD in October 2024 and currently comments and objections are being reviewed by the Division.

Mr Trevor Maeda, Principal Conservation Officer, in receiving the Biodiversity Report for the Anosasau, Feraabu, Saefanoa and Rafea Protected Areas this week, highlighted the importance of maintaining a collaborative partnership with the stakeholders and practitioners and looks forward to seeing these proposed Protected Areas being formally gazetted and declared. The ECD team further acknowledged the commitment of landowning groups and people including NGOs, CBOs and related projects in Malaita Province towards implementing conservation and sustainable development programs.

To date, Malaita Province has only one formally declared terrestrial protected area, situated in East Are’are.

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