Jayapura (15/02)-A delegation from the European Union (EU) visited Wambena village, Depapre, Jayapura, Papua on Tuesday (11/2).

Wambena is one of the test villages of the EU-funded Participatory Monitoring by Civil Society of Land-use Planning for Low-emissions Development Strategies (ParCiMon) project in Jayapura.

During the visit, the delegation, represented by the Head of Cooperation, Franck Viault and the Program Manager (Environment, Climate Change, FLEGT-VPA) Operations Section, Giovanni Serritella, talked with local residents about the project.

The response from the local people was very positive. One of the residents of Wambena village, Yehuda Demetouw, said that ParCiMon was a good initiative that helped protect the local area’s rich natural resources. It allowed residents to participate actively in managing their resources for future generations.

Through a series of capacity-building activities, representatives from local communities who are members of Jayapura working groups for low-emissions development are trained to measure carbon stocks using simple methods, document their abundant biodiversity and monitor the hydrological conditions in their village. In the future, these trained villagers are expected to be able to transfer their knowledge to others in their village and elsewhere.

The Head of Jayapura Regional Planning Development Agency, Hanna Hikoyabi, who took part in the discussion, pointed out that the communities of Wambena and Yepase had local wisdom that was inherited from their ancestors. They believed that nature had provided them with various resources to support their daily needs, therefore, they needed to give back by protecting it.

Through ParCiMon, this unique local knowledge can be strengthened by combining it with science, so that the local communities and other key stakeholders would be more aware of the importance of protecting nature and managing it in a sustainable manner, she added. Furthermore, she also raised the need to protect and maintain the unique commodities in Wambena, so that they could provide economic benefits for the people in the village. She mentioned Dormena village with its mangoes and other native fruits as an example.

Wambena’s rich natural resources have impressed Franck Viault. He said that even during his short visit to the village he had seen that Wambena was rich in water resources that could generate electricity and that there was plenty of land and forests that were still in the good condition, forming yet another priceless asset of Wambena.

‘I believe that you should be the one to manage the abundant natural resources responsibly for future generations. Therefore, it is important to build the capacity of the people in Wambena, so you will be able to use and protect your resources sustainably in close partnership with the local administration’, he said.