PacTravel
Turning A Logging Area Into An Ecotourism Project
Now, it's reaping benefits for the communities
One could be fooled by the scene of the sprawling rainforest below. Fanned by the fresh mountain breeze, it looked perfect from the top of Yegmag Lookout at Udisis village, 54 kilometres north of Madang town. Beyond the forest, an inky blue Bismark ocean with its scattered islands simmered on the horizon.
However, this was not an ancient rainforest. It was a recovering secondary growth, devoid of the ageless forest giants that brought rain and trapped moisture, giving life to birds, animals and a myriad of plant life.
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"You would not have been able to see the sea before," said Leo Walam, an Udisis clan elder, indicating how high and thick the original forest had been. The destruction had been significant. You can even see kunai grass growing there," he said pointing out patches of grassland below.
Ironically, Walam is one of the people partly responsible for the demise of the rainforest. He was working for a local logging company that clear felled the area in the early 80s destroying much of the original forest. One after the other, the Udisis clan leaders talked about the destruction that had dried up creeks, decimated forest resources, and drove away cassowaries, wallabies and birds that once lived there.
"The company clear cut all trees. They cut our mountains, left chunks of logs which blocked rivers. Birds and cassowaries have all disappeared. During the dry season, the water dries up. Fires destroy the forest."
The experience was traumatic, the old people say, comparable to the destruction during World War Two. The loss has spurred the people on to do something about their environment. In neighbouring Wasab hamlet, one man became so concerned he left his government job to come home.
Francis Dedmai, a polite and passionate man, was a former lands officer. He mobilised his people to expel loggers who had replanted the cleared areas with exotic species for further harvesting. He then began the task of conserving the remnants of their rainforest resources. Their efforts eventually evolved into an ecotourism project for the communities of Wasab and Udisis.
From 1996 to 1997 the project went through a trial period. "We realised the idea was viable. We brought the project to the attention of the Madang Visitors and Cultural Bureau (MVCB)," said Dedmai.
The project was officially launched in April 1998 with the help of the MVCB. The community developed an inventory of attractive sites for visitors. These included lookout points, a war relic collection, caves, rivers, and bird watching. In Udisis, a major base for the Japanese army during World War Two, a house is being built for the visitors who want to experience 'home-stay'.
Ecotourism is still a new concept for the villagers and they are learning as they go along. "I don't know what eco is," said Blaisus Nagir, the owner of Yegmag Lookout. "In the past our forest resources were okay. But the war and logging damaged our forest. I believe ecotourism will rebuild our resources."
There are things they still have to learn about ecotourism. For instance, like all rural Papua New Guineans their understanding of distance differ from city dwellers. What is 'not far' to them is about 10 kilometres of tough jungle trek, not recommended for the average tourist. They also need to construct proper walking tracks, especially up the mountains, to help tourists get about. But they are learning, thanks to Dedmai.
The villagers are patient. Time stands still here and is necessary, if they are to grow another rainforest as rich as the one destroyed by logging in a matter of months. It may take another 100 years, but they are not in a hurry.
