Objectives of the Trip

• To conduct an initial awareness and consultation with relevant forest resource owners, provincial government and non-government stakeholders in Makira province on the REDD+ mechanism.
• Solomon Islands obligations and party to UNFCCC and REDD+ mechanism as mitigation for reducing carbon dioxide emission’s awareness.
• Under FPIC Consultation prior to the MRV Field Assessments.
• Undertake an initial contact and awareness trip to potential REDD+ sites at Makira Ulawa Province as preliminary field work towards a regional Inventory Workshop.
• Organize REDD+ Provincial Workshop on the National REDD+ Roadmap and REDD+ Guidelines

Outcome:

• This scoping mission has paved the way for the regional inventory workshop which took place in November that same year.
• Also through the consultations, the Bauro Highlands has been identified as one of the potential site marked for the integrated Forest Management (IFM) project for protected Area in the country.
• Even though, the Makira Ulawa Province Scoping mission came across few hiccups, through this consultation it has been identified that Makira Province offers potential sites for REDD+ mechanism like, the Namuga Peninsula mangrove ecosystem. The site was so intact and on a single site, there were almost 20 plus mangrove species found which more than the 50% of the mangrove species is found in the Solomon Islands. Likewise, the Bauro Highland and Wainoni Highland Ridge in the eastern end has been identified and proposed by Conservation International (CI) for conservation since were homed to the most 13 endemic bird species in Solomon Islands and compare to land mass.