Need for innovative approaches
FORESTRY Minister Kalaveti Ravu says there’s an urgent need for innovative approaches to protect, manage, and develop forests for the prosperity of both present and future generations.
Speaking during the 2024 International Day of Forests celebration at Conua District School in Nadroga on Thursday, Mr Ravu said farming tools had now been bettered and improved to make the lives of those living in Conua District easier since agriculture was the district’s main revenue generation source.
“Just like Agriculture, we used old farming tools before,” Mr Ravu said.
“I am sure the elderly in Conua District can relate to this since Agriculture has been your main source of income.
“With better and improved tools, we are now able to intercrop, use drones to assess our forests, check illegal logging and geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing which helps us to be more productive and provide correct information to the people of Fiji.”
Mr Ravu said innovative ideas such as forest emission reduction programs were in place to help combat climate change, tissue culture and grow trees that are difficult to grow.
“This program helps us to grow trees that are difficult to grow, combat climate change, gadgets to measure our forests, and machines to change our waste wood into nice products,” he said.
“The ministry is also actively exploring the utilisation of high-value, rapidly renewable resources such as bamboo and coconut for construction and manufacturing, thereby diversifying our resource base and mitigating environmental impact.”