Transcript
EDWARD PYE - It's something to do with trees. The trees they absorb all the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and they store them in themselves. By doing that it slows down the effects of global warming and even the effects of climate change. This is where you will get paid or you are paid by the work your trees are doing for the environment or for saving the world.
SELA JANE HOPGOOD - Compared to the logging and mining that's happening already, this is a much better alternative?
EP - To me this is really the best alternative for the people, especially the people who are living in a small islands especially for us in Temotu province. The best thing about this one is you will have your environment stay as it is. You will never have your environment destroyed by logging or mining.
SJH - How will this benefit the people that live in Temotu province?
EP - To me logging has been around Vanikoro for five years now. By the look of things, people haven't benefited from logging. They have received very little back from the trees in Vanikoro. For this carbon trading project for me I am looking at it running for about thirty years. It would make a very good income for the people of Vanikoro and the area that I am planning to put the project on is a virgin forest. It hasn't been logged, since the logging operation entered Vanikoro back then in around 2013.
SJH - Why now? Why are we doing carbon trading now? Why haven't we done this say 6 years ago?
EP - Actually we haven't known something about carbon trading. Just recently this year July, so I went to Santo [in Vanuatu] to see a carbon trading project there and I learned from the project owners there and that is where, when I came back to Solomons, I am dreaming about starting the project for my people in Teanu.
SJH - Do you have any idea of who will fund this project or where the money will be coming from?
EP - I had a good friend from New Zealand and he is the one helping me to secure funding. We are actually applying for funding from the Canadian fund for local initiatives. This is where we believe they can assist us to get this project on the ground going.
SJH - In Vanuatu, how was carbon trading going over there? Is it proving to be beneficial for the people?
EP - They've been going on since 2013. They said that there's still good money. The money that they receive is really awesome compared to like doing farming or doing other things to earn money and the money from carbon trading comes every quarter in a year, like in a year you will receive money from carbon trading four times. First quarter, second, third and fourth.
SJH - What happens now? Are you in the process of starting the pilot for this project?
EP - Yeah currently we're about to kick start the work to begin the pilot project in Temotu, so we are looking at establishing two pilot projects. One on Vanikoro, on Teanu land on Vanikoro and the other one in Santa Cruz, Nende.
