CONSERVATION CREATES A SPACE FOR HIKUHA (RELATIONSHIP)

Recently on 10^th -12^thJuly 2024, a group of friends from Australia arrived in Honiara and travelled to Are’ Are, Malaita Province. The team visited three (3) MMGB conservation sites in East and West Are’are namely; Kira protected Area, Aru ‘Aru tribal Land and Waihau Conservation Foundation.  

The MMGB coordinator Edgar and officer Immaculate were able to accompany the travelers during the trip. The main purpose of the visit is to have firsthand experience through forest-based conservation, cultural heritage preservation of the environment in Are’ Are, share insights of conservation work and establish networking. Takataka Eco Village Foundation center accommodated the visiting friends for two (2) nights.   

On 11^th July, the team travelled further down to Makaura to visit Aru’aru Tribal land conservation. The team spent two hours of hiking to an archaeological site of Aru’aru rock shelter where the histories and archaeological significance of the site was explained to the team by the Aru’aru Tribal Land Chairperson Mr. Robinson Kokope. After the visit, the team returned to Takataka for an afternoon filled with various cultural displays and immense Cultural performances by artists, weavers, and traditional food recipes by caterers on site. 

As part of sharing accomplishments through conservation, the team were privileged of visiting the first Protected Area of Malaita, Kira Conservation Protected Area. The team travelled over to Maro’u Masike and hiked up to the Protected area to feel and witness the natural environment and most importantly learn from nature. 

 The team continued their adventure to Waihau conservation in West Are’are via an outboard motor and travelled through the exquisite Maramasika passage and Are’are lagoon. Waihau conservation is well-known for its effort towards natural resource management and safeguarding the prime nesting sites for the endangered Leatherback turtles along its coastal range. The visiting friends spent a night at Waihau conservation before heading down to Langalanga the next day. 

A takeaway for both the visiting friends and MMGB rangers were seen through the Tok-Stori sessions. Members of the travelling team were also grateful to share their experiences based on the reforestation programs that they are involved in. The Tok-Stori sessions also furnished an avenue for open discussions between the local communities and the visiting friends to share and learn from each other. 

A team leader of the travelling friends, Annie Knapstein, expressed her gratitude to the communities for their splendid work in conservation and reassured them to carry on with the magnificent work. She commends the trip as, extremely exciting and immersing experience for the team to witness the culture, meet the people, and observe the untouched natural beauty of the environment of the sites visited.  

On the same note, Andrew Taraha, representing both Takataka Eco Village Foundation and Kira Protected Area, thanked the visiting team for choosing Malaita Province, especially Are’are as their preferred destination and for the wonderful opportunity to share and learn together as brothers and sisters. 

The visit was described as a delightful exchange of knowledge and experiences, highlighting the importance of integrating tourism and culture/ biodiversity conservation as local rural livelihood program for our communities. 

Eco- Tourism is a key priority of MMGB and is looking forward to facilitating more of such tours for its members.  

For more information about Mai-Maasina Green Belt and its initiatives, visit https://mai-maasina.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/maimaasina