US Embassy presents carbon assessment equipment

Caption: Ambassador North inspecting the samples collected by the Carbon Assessment Equipment

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, February 9, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

UNIVERSITY New Guinea was the proud recipient of a valuable Soil Carbon Assessment Kit to its School of Natural Physical Sciences (SNPS), last week in a presentation made at the Motupore Island Research Facility off Central coast outside of Port Moresby.

The equipment will enable students to measure the amount of carbon that are trapped and processed in mangrove forests.

Handing over of the equipment coincided with Mangrove Carbon Stock Assessment training conducted by MARSH (Mangrove Rehabilitation for Sustainably-Managed Healthy Forests).

Through the MARSH project, the US Government supports the Government of PNG, in achieving the goals articulated in the Vision 2050 plan or reducing greenhouse gases.

In presenting the equipment, US Ambassador Walter North highlighted that global warming was a global issue that needed to be addressed immediately.

“Climate change is the story of our planet- we have a big responsibility to be stewards of this planet, so the role of science in helping us understand this is vital,” he said.

“President Obama recognises that in this century if we can get climate change right, we can make it the Pacific Century, because it takes a lot of people to make a change.”

“By year 2100, the planet will get warmer and the weather will become more intense.”

He added that mangroves play a vital role in mitigating the effects of climate change- and more education was needed to make people understand this.

Receiving the equipment, Acting Dean for SNPS, Dr Peter Petsul thanked the Ambassador on behalf of the Vice Chancellor and the school.

“With all eyes on us, this tool with greatly assist us know what we currently have, in terms of mangrove forest capacity, and what more we can do to in terms of rehabilitation efforts.”

“Resilient mitigation will nail down the purpose of climate change in the world.”

The acting dean also encouraged the participants taking part in the training to use the knowledge they gained to better educate their communities and organisations.

A total of 18 participants from MARSH, Office of Climate Change and Development, and National Agriculture Research Institute, and international partner organisations took part in the training, and had the first opportunity to use the equipment.