Managalas Conservation Area
Partners with Melanesians Inc. has been working with the people of the Managals Plateau, Ijivitari District, of the Oro Province for over two decaded to protect the 360,000 hectares of rainforest, its habitats numbering over 20,000 and its natural resources. Community mobilization and consensus building formed the cornerstone of PWM’s mission in strengthening the traditional decision making processes, where the communities voices are collectively echoed as one through the district wide combine forums. The forums provided the platform to sortout miss-understandings, confusions, conflicts and differences and to ensure peace, understanding, unity, stability and cooperation is maintained amongst them as they continue to define their purpose. The idea of protecting the Managalas Plateau was conceived much later, after communities were organized, mobilized and made aware of the importance of several important species of flora and fauna thought to be endemic to the area, one of which is the Queen Alexandra Bird-wing Butterfly.
Additionally, due to the vastness and difficult terrain of the area, the 360, 00 hectares of landmass was divided into ten small clusters, made up of several clan groups, known as cultural zones, based on language grouping, kinship and family ties. Originally, those clustered groups were conveniently assembled for the purposes of building consensus among clan groups, however, as it later turned out, these structures made management of clan land use easily accessible for the participatory land use management planning in determining the various uses of their land. Upon demarcating the lans, sustainable livelihood alternative projects such as honey bee farming, rice cultivation, subsistence potato farming, organic coffee, among others, were encouraged on the allocated plots and proved to be successful, eventually providing alternative income for the local communities.
The zones then formed community-based organization (CBO) and were formally registered with THE Investment Promotion Authority whose main purpose was to management affairs of the cultural zones by raising income to support clan initiatives, while sustainably managing the resources in the conservation area in the respective zones. An umbrella organization, the Managalas Conservation Foundation, preciously called Managalas Development Foundation (MDF) was set-up to coordinate and ensure efficient performance and management of those CBO, after the area becomes a nationally declared conservation area.
On the 8th of November 2012, PWM submitted an application to the Minister for Environment and Conservation and CEPA for considering under the Conservation Areas Act (1978) for processing for the next CA. after waiting for four years for all the processes, it finally went before the PNG National Executive Council (NEC) in 2016. On Decision No. 325/2016. The NEC decision will be effected for formality and legal status through the National Gazettal by the NEC Secretariat and CEPA after getting the instruments drafted and signed by the Head of State, HE Governor General of PNG. PWM is now awaiting that process and while waiting for the gazettal, PWM and the local partners are preparing for the activities after gazettal with the on-site declaration to be on the Managalas plateau at Itokama.
For PWM, the challenge now is to ensure that the Managalas Conservation Foundation’s (MCF) capacity is fully enhanced and MCF made ready to take on the huge task of managing the 360,000 hectares land, with 11 BCOs and over 20,000 people in PNG’s second conservation. Additionally, the task beyond 2018 for PWM is to consolidate the work with MCF in putting in place a Conservation Area Management Committee to ensure the management and sustainability of the conservation area, and to come up with a Conservation Area Management Plan and Strategies to guide the conservation efforts.
PWM will continue to facilitate and link MCF and its CBOs to other partners including the respective government agencies who are able to support and ensure sustainable development options are realised for the local communities as they continue to conserve, manage and utilise their natural resources for their livelihood for now and their future generations.