Why is community outreach important?

By WENCESLAUS MAGUN

Mr. Wenceslaus Magun
presenting more than 400 copies
of 'The TURTLES RETURN'
books to Dr. Sangion Tiu at
the Research and Conservation
Foundation (RCF) in Goroka.

At MAKATA we believe that transforming age-old habits of inherent lifestyles attitudes, beliefs, and mindsets will take years, even decades to happen.

But persistent and ongoing educational awareness will eventually shift those "culturally" accepted practices to practicing sustainable resource management activities.

We know that the ongoing population explosion is putting immense pressure on some of PNG's already limited land, sea, water, lagoons, rivers, lakes, forests, grasslands, mangroves, seagrass, corals, and air resources.

Undeniably, the relationship between the indigenous people and the ocean is intrinsic.  The indigenous people have been the caretaker and caregivers of the biodiversity for generations.  These two parties have co-existed for centuries until the introduction of technology and advanced tools that contributed to the gradual decrease of the leatherback population, coral reefs, seagrass, marine ecosystems, and biodiversity.

It was encouraging when the Karkum community confirmed that the “turtle population, fish and other marine resource is dwindling as modern fishing methods are introduced and used in the communities to meet economic, social and cultural demands for the increasing population” (Magun. 2018).

Something needs to be done now and urgently. 

In order for this to happen, we have identified specific problems, and different target audiences/people, produced products and delivered key messages using a 4-P Strategic Communication Plan. Let me touch on a few of these issues of concern or problem in this article.

Dawang villagers saving a female
leatherback sea turtle and releasing
it to sea in 2014.
Picture:  Leeray Robin

Restore Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Seagrasses,  Coral Reefs, and marine resources

Leatherback or Dermochelys coriacea is identified by the International Union for Conservation Network (IUCN) as Vulnerable and or critically endangered. The Atlantic population is not critically endangered. They are doing fine. But IUCN has identified the eastern and western Pacific leatherback populations as critically endangered.

In fact, the western Pacific leatherback populations are being virtually pushed to the verge of extinction (Magun. 2018).

By saving, increasing, and sustaining the population of this critically endangered western Pacific leatherback sea turtle, we save our protein and food source. We maintain our languages, songs, dances, traditional 'Bilas', rituals, cultures, barter systems, dignity, and identity.

To sustain restoration of leatherback sp. Dermochelys Coriacea sea turtles, coral reefs, seagrasses, and marine resources MAKATA will continue to carry out educational awareness and community outreach activities to build a ready workforce of conservation practitioners, teachers, church workers, community-based organizations (CBO), and relevant stakeholders.   

By informing, communicating, and educating these target audiences using available products, platforms, and forums in an inclusive, cohesive, collaborative, comprehensive, cooperative, and consistent manner, these target audiences can be motivated to change their inherent age-old habits, mindsets, and attitudes of gullibly harvesting and using their natural resources without concern to leave anything behind for their present and future generations.  These capacity-building exercises will enlighten their mindsets and views of appreciating nature and its intrinsic life-changing values and potential threats.  

MAKATA will allow resource owners to continue to gain from their aesthetic and free environmental services.  It will enable them to take steps to ensure no one is left out or behind in their pursuit to protect, restore, increase and sustain the populations of sea turtles, coral reef beds, seagrass meadows, and their marine and forest resources.  

They will learn more about Climate Change and gain a broader and deeper knowledge and understanding of it and use the knowledge and skills gained from these capacity-building exercises to find resilient, sustainable, and lasting solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts (UN Ocean Conference, 2022).   

47 women from Sumgilbar and Karkar LLG 
graduated from a week-long basic sewing
training at Tarak village.  They were presented
with Certificates in Basic Sewing, manual chewing 
machines, sewing equipment, and materials. 
Thanks to their trainer Jennifer Lualu and to
Global Greengrants for sponsoring the training.

Professional development and strengthening of the workforce ensure the development of a growing workforce for meeting the growing conservation challenges.   

The aim to establish Locally Managed Marine Area using Conservation Deeds (LMMA-CDs) or Community Based Natural Resource Management Plans (CBRMPs) can be achieved by educating all key stakeholders as echoed in the UN Sustainable Development Goal#:4. 

This is based on standardized competencies for practitioners.  It builds support systems and ensures appropriate recognition for skills and tactic knowledge. 

MAKATA will engage with established local community-based organizations (CBOs) who have proven track records of conventional volunteering initiatives of marine conservation with a view to sustainably protecting leatherback sea turtles, coral reefs, seagrasses, their marine resources and allowing for marine populations to rebound.  

Email: magun.wences@gmail.com
to buy our merchandise products
to sustain our work whilst sharing
our educational awareness messages
to a broader audience to impact
positive change.

These resource owners will continue to gain from their aesthetic and free environmental services.

Their positive attitude and mindset shifts will allow economic, education, spiritual, social, and other physical services to thrive and spiral upwards and outwards.  

Opportunities to venture into the blue economy will also be explored.   

Moreover, MAKATA will build local resource owners' capacity to document local stories and share them with others both vertically and horizontally.  

These resource owners will assert their rights and freedom to make prior informed decisions on the use of their natural resources and the environment.

They will abate physical threats to their natural resources, the environment, and their lives even in the name of economic development.

These resource owners will join the global community at the local community level to fulfill international goals and Treaties PNG Government has signed and ratified such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and related multinational agreements. They will also implement Goals 4 and 5 of PNG’s national Constitution and relevant policies.

Participants who attend these capacity-building workshops will also graduate with certificates from the different capacity-building training conducted by MAKATA and its partners.  This will enable resource owners to implement and sustain the different components of this project in their own coastal and inland communities once MAKATA and its stakeholder implementing partners exit.  

Communities will also be supported with community livelihood projects to balance conservation outcomes so they appreciate the value and efforts they put in to sustainably manage their natural resources and their environment.

To learn more about MAKATA, please take a few minutes to visit our blog:

maskagintapani.blogspot.com

or

Visit our YouTube page:

We can do much more if supported.

We, therefore, appeal to you for help!

For donations to support our endeavor inbox me or email: magun.wences@gmail.com