Extreme Living Needs Coordinated Action

OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL COORDINATOR

REGIONAL ASSISTANCE MISSION TO SOLOMON ISLANDS

MEDIA RELEASE Friday 16 February 2007

Extreme Living Needs Coordinated Action

A positive new development plan for people living on the isolated Weather Coast of Makira was today launched by Kastom Gaden Association.

Extreme Living, Extreme Need shows the difficulties people living on the Weather Coast of Makira face, and suggests a three point action plan to improve their long-term food production and develop income generating activities.

Claudine Watoto from Kastom Gaden said the report shows that communities living on Weather Coasts are disadvantaged compared to others in the Solomon Islands.

“There is desperation for money and sometimes people have a shortage of food to eat. People earn an average SBD15 a month. Some people earn nothing. People have turned to logging, which is not a good development”, she said.

She said the chief at Apaoro told the researchers:

“People have accepted logging because they are desperate, and this is the only fast way of earning money from their trees. People do not look into other problem issues that may affect the future generations.”

Extreme Living, Extreme Need was funded by the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) through the Sustainable Livelihoods for Isolated Rural Areas Project.

RAMSI Development Coordinator, Blair Exell, congratulated the Kastom Gaden team for the difficult task of undertaking research in a remote and challenging place, and for presenting a clear map for future development activities.

Mr Exell said, “Working together is one of the most important contributions we can make to the Solomon Islands, and I look forward to this report inspiring action and partnership with the people of the Weather Coast of Makira.

“The difficulty of producing this report underlines the difficult conditions that communities on the Weather Coast of Makira face every day including high rainfall, rough seas and lack of different food crops”, he said.

“To help safeguard food production and support the agriculture sector, RAMSI has commenced support for a program called “Searem Niu Plant Long Gaden Program”.

“This national program distributes better root crop planting material to people, including through Rural Training Centres at Manivovo and Stevenberg on the Weather Coast of Makira”.

Mr Exell said RAMSI was also working in close partnership with Solomon Islands Government and other donors to implement the National Transport Plan.

“The National Transport Plan will build the wharves and jetties needed to assist a better shipping service. This will bring people on the Weather Coast closer to markets and other services”, he said.

“While many people know about the work of RAMSI in law and justice, and government capacity building, the economic program is working hard to support rural development activities of the government, NGOs and other donor organisations”, he said.

Ms Watoto said these studies present options that can feed into the rural development strategies being devised by the government and supported by donors.

“The report makes specific recommendations on three possible strategies that can be devised by government and supported by donors to improve the lives of people living on the Weather Coast of Makira:

1) Safeguard food production
2) Enhance income generation, and
3) Strengthen an enabling environment for development.

Implementing the activities suggested by the report can make an immediate impact for the communities in Makira”, she said.

“To do this, government and provincial agencies and other NGOs need to work together for the benefit of the Weather Coasts of Guadalcanal and Makira which are areas of extreme living and extreme need”, she said.

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