World Environment Day celebrations at Varirata National Park

World Environment Day celebrations in Papua New Guinea will take place on Friday, June 4, and not the internationally-designated day of June 5.

Department of Environment and Conservation will be hosting the official WED programme at Varirata National Park, outside of Port Moresby, under the theme ‘Many Species, One Planet, One Future’.

DEC secretary Dr Wari Lea Iamo said PNG would join the international community to observe the event with a wide range of activities including song and dance by schools.

“WED is celebrated every year to stimulate awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and public action,” he said.

“This year’s theme highlights biodiversity development and poverty alleviation.

“It is important for the public to be made aware of environmental issues, feeling responsible about protecting or conserving the diversity of life in our local environments.

“We are not alone, we share the environment with many species of living things either land life forms or marine life, we need to appreciate their existence.”

“We must also see the importance of protected areas like Varirata National Park for instance, where, as individuals or families, we can come to be one with nature and get a glimpse of living things in their natural environment.

“For from the environment, we get our food and water.

“We must also remind ourselves that we cannot over-harvest, over-garden or even abuse natural things that we depend upon to sustain our life.

“Neither should we introduce new things that nature cannot absorb or eliminate by its own process of degradation.”

Dr Iamo thanked companies that demonstrated corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards the environment and invited all residents of Port Moresby to go to Varirata for WED celebrations, to be presided by Governor General Sir Paulias Matane.

“Perhaps,” he said, “someone may take the park to heart and help the department build it into an international tourist attraction.”