PILOT PROJECT
“Kokop Village Eco-Forestry
and Conservation Project” is the pilot project of KVEDO and based
out of Kokop Village. Located 45 minutes drive time directly west of Mt.
Hagen City, Kokop Village is home of The 3, 000 plus Kentiga Tribe. The
project started in Kokop Village in August 2000 and continues to this day.
The project has two development priorities:
eco-forestry (reforestation) and nature conservation. Reforestation involves
the buying of massive sums of tree seedlings and planting them in customary
lands inside Kokop Village. The conservation aspect involves the revival
and restoration of the once-destroyed “Wopkola Rainforest”
inside Kokop Village, and the declaration of this 30 plus hectare site
as an indefinite ‘strict conservation zone’. 
Between 2000 and 2004, KVEDO raised
a total of US$7, 413 (K21, 500) internally and funded each annual operations
of the project consecutively. About 80 percent of these monies were used
to meet the costs of buying, transporting, planting, and maintenance of
over 10, 000 tree seedlings. The remaining 20 percent was used to fund
the revival and restoration of the once-destroyed Wopkola Rainforest –
a 30 plus hectare rainforest patch inside Kokop Village in Western Highlands
Province. Over the last 4 years, KVEDO has developed the Wopkola Rainforest
into a well-maintained and privately-owned nature conservation site in
Western Highlands Province.
In the middle of 2004, KVEDO plans
on expanding the pilot project to include many native tribes in the province
through the eco-forestry component. KVEDO hopes to buy thousands of tree
seedlings from the local tree nursery and distribute them unevenly to hundreds
and thousands of interested rural villagers so they can plant these seedlings
in their customary lands for future use. This expansion targets an audience
of over 23, 000 people from seven major tribes in Western Highlands Province.
Over the next 20 years (2004 – 2024),
KVEDO aims to expand and duplicate the pilot project throughout rural villages
in 20 provinces of Papua New Guinea so that eco-forestry, nature conservation,
and eco-tourism initiatives may generate economic returns for rural villagers
and thus help increase the quality of life.
PROJECT OUTCOMES
Once the trees from all eco-forestry
sites have matured, each rural village would cultivate the timber to do
one or both of the following, among other uses:
-
Sell timber in the local market to generate
income needed to improve the quality of life of each family.
-
To use the timber to build low-cost
permanent residential houses – a major shift away from living in
traditional hut houses made from bush materials. This is a major way quality
of life in rural village comunities are improved.
The Wopkola Rainforest would eventually
become a national conservation site and would promote and encourage the
following outcomes:
-
Spur an influx of visitors to the site
thus bringing in tourism dollars needed by the rural villagers
to expand their activities involving eco-tourism while improving the quality
of their life.
-
Become a model for all nature
conservation sites in Western Highlands Province and Papua New
Guinea so that all future conservation site developments may follow the
blue print of Wopkola Rainforest Conservation Site.
-
Wopkola Rainforest Conservation Site
would become a major haven for local birds, plants, other animals,
and insects to breed and multiply in their respective populations.
This thus saves each of these living creatures from the threat of extinction
or decrease in their respective populations.
DONATIONS
KVEDO is a non-profit organization
and as such runs its volunteer-dominated organization on funds raised through
donations and sponsorships. Contributions from anyone any where is very
important to us, despite the size of financial help.
KVEDO is tax exempt in Papua New
Guinea under the Internal Revenue Commission laws and regulations.
All donations to the KVEDO for the pilot project may be tax deductible
depending on the taxation laws of the country of the respective donors.
Once
a donation is received by KVEDO, an official letter with the letterhead
of the organization is sent to the address of the donor stating: (1)
the confirmation of receipt, (2) date of receipt, (3) how much was received,
(4) what project would this donation fund, (4) name or names of donor entity
or entities, (5) stating that these monies were given to an legally registered
NGO in Papua New Guinea, (6) and having the signature of the Chairman of
KVEDO associated with the signature and official seal of a local Commissioner
of Oaths for verification of validation. The donor may use this document
for personal or corporate tax deductible purposes in their home country.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you are interested in knowing
the details of KVEDO or its pilot project, please hesitate not to request
a copy of the “Project Proposal” and various information
booklets. You can contact KVEDO at the postal address: Kokop Village,
P. O. Box 1373, Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea.
Phone: (675) 686 2439. E-mail: skyuimb@hotmail.com or skyfdn@hotmail.com.
PRIORITY
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