Strengthening Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture: UNDP's GEF 6 & GEF 7 Mission to Kimbe Bay

Kimbe, West New Britain – From 6 to 9 February 2025, the UNDP Global Environment facility (GEF) Regional Technical Advisor (RTA) Tashi Dorji, and Sean Lees, the Nature Pledge (Biodiversity and Sustainability) Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, conducted a site visit to West New Britain Province, under the “Sustainable Finance of Papua New Guinea's Protected Area Network” (SFPNGPAN GEF 6) and the “Establishing Systems for Sustainable Integrated Land-Use Planning across New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea” (GEF 7-Folur) Projects, in partnership with the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA). Tashi and Sean were accompanied by the project staff to strengthen the collaboration with key stakeholders at the sub-national level, assess the progress of initiatives focused on protected area management, biodiversity conservation and sustainable land-use practices at specific project sites.  

Supporting Papua New Guinea’s Protected Areas and Communities

Under the GEF 6 project, UNDP is working to improve the financial sustainability and management effectiveness of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) protected areas. The project has introduced enabling conditions for financing and governance, established a Biodiversity Climate Fund, and is piloting site-level interventions to enhance sustainability of financing via identification and implementation of livelihoods reflected in a Business Plan. This work is being done in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), who is the Project’s implementing partner at the (4) identified Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA) pilot sites in Kimbe Bay in West New Britain Province, the wetlands of Upper Sepik River in East Sepik Province and the terrestrial environment in Mount Wilhelm, Simbu Province. 

The team visited the Lolobau LMMA in Kimbe Bay which is known to harbor more than 400 species of hard coral and an estimated 900 species of reef fish, where the Management Committee and the community presented their updates. They also presented their Management Plan and highlighted their women group’s livelihood initiative in coconut oil production and value-added products such as soaps, cooking oil and oils for the skin where they had presented earlier at the 2023 Protected Areas Forum. They have also recently become a grant recipient of the Blue Economy Enterprise Incubation Facility UNDP Project and had been waiting for their first tranche disbursement from the Grant. Opportunities to tap into other grant facilities were also made known to them. 

The site visit confirmed that the LMMA had taken ownership and are able to manage their LMMA after the GEF 6 SFPNGPAN Project ceases operations. The need to link up with markets is important, so that the Project has linked up with the Women in Export workshop in March, for the Lolobau LMMA women representative to showcase their protected areas initiatives, to assist with marketing and training capacity building opportunities. Management and Business Plans, which will further support local conservation efforts, including sustainable financing. It is important that sustainable livelihood initiatives also allocate a portion of funding to facilitate the upkeep of the management of the protected areas.  

Transforming Agricultural Landscapes for Sustainability

UNDP is also aiming to improve agricultural ecosystems and policies through collaborations with land managers, governments, researchers, the private sector and the financial institutions to boost economic growth and benefit human health under its “Establishing Systems for Sustainable Integrated Land-Use Planning across New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea” GEF 7-FOLUR project. This project is a Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) seven-year impact program funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the World Bank.

The project has been assisting the Oil Palm Industry Corporation (OPIC) with Best Management Practice block demonstration training for smallholder growers. The RTA and mission team met with OPIC Extension officials and block owners on a demonstration block at Mataururu in East Nakanai Local Level Government and were provided with an overview of the current small holder extension work, challenges and opportunities for further collaboration with the project.

Building Partnerships for Lasting Impact

A key highlight of the visit was the inclusion of the West New Britain Provincial Administration staff, to strengthen the partnerships amongst the Government, community-based organisations and UNDP. The link with government is crucial for sustainability post Project life.  Additional collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), OPIC and local stakeholders reinforced the commitment to enhancing livelihoods through conservation-focused community engagement.

Looking Ahead

The mission provided the RTA and the Nature Pledge Coordinator with an in-depth understanding of the challenges and successes of the GEF 6 and GEF 7 initiatives in the West New Britain Province. As PNG continues its efforts in conservation, sustainable land management, and community resilience, these partnerships remain crucial in ensuring a balance between environmental sustainability and economic growth. PNG has also been selected as a pilot site for the Nature Pledge initiative, so the mission also added to the information knowledge of PNG via the fact that the Kimbe Bay is an important coral reef site in the region and is one of the important sites of the Coral Triangle Initiative as well.