TWO LAND USE PLANNING WORKSHOPS COMPLETED IN CHOISEUL: SWocK

SWocK project has completed two provincial Land Use Planning workshops in the Makira Ulawa and Choiseul provinces.

In its monthly program, SWoCK held these workshops at Wanahata, Waihaga and Paregho villages in the Makira Ulawa province and Voza, Sasamungga and Loloko in Choiseul province.

The program says that among the topics discussed at these workshops were soil identification, soil improvements, different farming systems, coastal zone management, climate change, sea level rise, resource mapping and sea level rise mapping.

In Choiseul, the workshop was an eye opener for the communities as many of the problems faced by the people have been identified by soils and farming systems experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Solomon islands National University.

SWoCK project is a government initiative to enable communities resilient against the impacts of Climate Change facilitated by the United Nations Development Program office in Honiara.

Meanwhile, Retired SDA Pastor at Loloko, Newton Qalo says the workshop was very informative in that many of the issues raised were things people see in their daily lives working in gardens and have seen for themselves the need to conserve water sources, forests and coastlines.

He says the sea level rise was an important issue as it makes leaders in the community more aware of the need to plan for their future.

During the workshop farmers were told not to burning trees and shrubs chopped during garden clearing but to leave them as composts.

They were also told to use crop rotation as a means to improve their soils by planting legumes to put more nutrients in the soil.