NT-2024-AR - Flipbook - Page 41
Boats on the shore | Solomon Islands, Pasifik
Lauren Guzauskas
As a sub-national expression of the Sky
Islands pledge in the Solomon Islands,
Malaita strengthened their leadership in
Indigenous restoration and integrated
development through the ongoing
implementation of the Mala I Tolo
Declaration. Led by Mala I Tolo Guardianship
Trust (MiTIGT) and Maimaasina GreenBelt
(MMGB), this commitment reinforced
Indigenous guardianship against logging,
mining, and other threats. Central to this
effort was ‘Remote Monitoring of the Tolo
(REMOTO) – a youth-led initiative driven
by MiTIGT and MMGB and funded by Nia
Tero to enable a more coordinated strategy
to enhance impact. REMOTO integrated
biocultural satellite monitoring technology
with Indigenous knowledge for real-time
forest monitoring, advancing a governance
model rooted in Indigenous ontology.
Annual Report 2024
Arthur Faerua (Vanuatu) and Dr. Bal Kama (Papua New Guinea)
speaking at the Indigenous Constitutionalism panel hosted by
Islands Knowledge Institute (IKI) | Hawai'i, Pasifik | Nils Cowan
Through a local collaboration between
Project Sepik and Jubilee Australia
Research Centre, we continued supporting
Save the Sepik in Papua New Guinea. This
initiative supports the Sepik River Peoples
in exercising their right to free, prior and
informed consent in their years-long battle
to defend the health of the Sepik River
against a proposed gold and copper mine
adjacent to an upper tributary of the river,
to which they also hold deep spiritual and
cultural connections.
Grantee Kōrero O Te 'Ōrau, based in
the Cook Islands, continued to excel
in engaging Indigenous youth through
environmental stewardship throughout
2024. Their Operation Taramea initiative
has removed over 12,000 invasive Crown
of Thorns starfish from the reef, a critical
action in protecting marine ecosystems.
The harvested starfish are then used as
fertilizer in traditional gardens, a dual benefit
for the environment and food security.
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