Climate Change Activist proposes Nov 03 as ‘PNG's National Environment Repentance Day’

Climate crisis is a global crisis and is already a multi-sector issue. It takes every living person in this decade to do something, be big or small, to reduce the carbon emissions and preparing to adapt to changes in weather patterns. A Nickson McManga, 35 years, from Kumdii in Western Highlands is PNG’s Greta Thunberg in a small way. Nickson’s voice on climate change issues may not be as big as that of Greta’s at the global scale but time calls the climate change activist the "most compelling voice on the most important issue facing the planet”.  

Locals who used to work on the Mt. Hagen trek with Nickson McManga. Image Credit. T4G PNG.

PNG's climate change activist Nickson McManga. Image Credit. T4G PNG.

Nickson did his research, collecting and digesting the climate change information using the internet. He is a local environmental activist, starting from his home village in Kumdii, telling people in every public gathering when he had the chance about the impacts of the global climate changes. He is creative and very vocal on climate issues.

“The world is approaching towards catastrophic climate impact, growing old each day. Amongst many approaches taken to address climate crisis, there is one effective approach remaining and that is planting more trees,” Nickson said.

“Tree planting can only help reduce great amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As trees grow, they absorb and store carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global heat,” he added.

Tree planting initiatives already exist, but the concept has to be simple and sustainable for the stakeholders to participate in the program.

Nickson started a local environmental and eco-tourism activism group known as “Paradise of Kumdii Climate Change Awareness”. The group comprised of well-known climate crews from Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands who volunteered to travel from Kumdii village trekking to Kumul lodge, about 3-days track-walk.

A tree is being planted by Nickson's volunteer crew. Image credit. T4G PNG.

At the Mt Hagen Trekking, Nickson with part of this 7-men squad to plant trees. Image Credit. T4G PNG.

“We normally host national climate change awareness programs at end of October each year to the first week of November. About 7-men on a 7-days journey from Western Highlands to the coastal capital city Port Moresby by walking all the way,” an energized McManga said.

“The purpose of this walkathon is to make people aware of the effects of climate change and to promote ecotourism in Papua New Guinea as well. To celebrate, promote, and encourage our people to protect and preserve our unique cultures and traditions and the pristine environments in which we live in through ecotourism practices in Papua New Guinea,” he added.

“Everyone is now talking about the impact of climate change – from diplomats to politicians to NGOs and individuals from within Papua New Guinea and abroad. But to support the campaign against the effects of climate change, those 7-men have planted 30 trees each in their own communities before they commence their journey from Mt. Hagen to Port Moresby via Lae, by boat to Popodetta and trekking Kokoda to Port Moresby,” he said.

“We have continued to carry out this program for the last three years. At a later stage, all men above age of 18 years old will be tasked to plant 3 trees to commemorate November 3rd of every year to support Paris Climate Change agreement,” Nickson said.

“Since 2018 to 2019 and this year 2020 will be the final year for our three years of volunteer awareness for climate change. We choose the date of November 3rd because we normally arrive consecutively on the first week of November for the last 2 years. Therefore, we the volunteers proposed November 3rd to be observed as a “National Environment Repentance Day”, Mr. McManga said. 

On the day, every year round, the following activities can be observed;

1) Every men and women above age of 18 shall plant 3 trees each
2) Environment Repentance day is to repent from our bad actions towards earth and environment, for it defile the Earth and its inhabitants and the nature.
3) Awareness on the important of tree and its long term sustainable development to address Climate Change and the benefits to the environment and society in which we live.

Nickson's 7-men squad posing for a picture after long hours of trekking. Image Credit. T4G PNG.

Nickson's 7-men team along the Kokoda Trek. Image Credit. T4G PNG

Tree Planting Concept

“So far we have planted 420 trees already along the Mt. Hagen Trek, this year the 7-men crew will continue to plant another 30 trees each before continue their journey. The total of 630 trees will be panted after 3 years of campaign by those 7-men, as part of our volunteerism to support global climate change,” McManga said.

“If Papua New Guinea Government through the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment Protection accept our volunteer policy on the tree planning concept, it is anticipated that in the future we can save millions of kina by planting millions trees on an easy and most effective and convenient way. If we have the PNG National Environment Repentance Day gazette into the National Events Council to be observed nationwide, than it will become an individual concern to take care of our environment and look after it,” he added.  

“If we have 8-million populations in Papua New Guinea, let’s say 5-million of them are above the age of 18 years old. Out of the 5-million if 2.2 million people can participate at the first stage of tree planting by starting off next year 2021 we can approximately plant 6.6 million trees,” a concerned McManga said.

“And what if after 3 years 5-million people above age of 18 plants 3 tree on every year comes November 3rd. I suggest a total of 15-million trees can be planted all across Papua New Guinea. May be we can achieve 2030 vision for United Nations (UN) for 10-million trees in just one year? Just imaging after 7 years, how many tree will be planted...? Nearly a billion trees,” Nickson said.

One of the Mt. Hagen Tree planting crew planting a tree. Image Credit. T4G PNG.

PNG's Climate Change Activist Nickson McManga with a tree seedling ready to plant. Image Credit. T4G PNG.

Nickson come from a background of pastoring with Healing The Land (HTL) missionary group after graduating with a Certificate in Bible Translation at Aiyura Summer Institute of Linguistics in Eastern Highlands Province. For the last 10 years, he has been studying and working with the environment and human activities, repentance to environment damages caused with HTL through which he finds his inspiration to advocate for environmental concerns and fight for climate crisis.   

“We would like to extend our interest to participate in the upcoming tree planting program facilitated and funded by World Bank/USAID through the office of Minister for Environment Conservation & Climate Change Department. As we are genuine volunteers and stakeholder for such activity. If there is any possibility for us to carry out tree planting in the upper-highlands, we are ready,” he lamented. 

McManga is pushing the idea to be accepted by the Government of Papua New Guinea via Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) as well as Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) to commemorate November 3 as PNG’s National Environment Repentance Day. The World Environment Day falls on June 05^th every year.

Nickson’s group has teamed up with Travel4Green (T4G) PNG, www.t4gpng.org, on its planting 10-million Trees by 2030 program. T4G PNG is a not-for-profit private project that has a nationwide volunteer network on climate change issues, including planting more trees/mangroves and also to conserve the standing forests and REDD+ awareness and education.         

The article is first being published on PNG Attitude Blog - https://www.pngattitude.com/2020/03/lets-have-an-environment-repentance-day.html

The making of the ‘green axes’ during the Stone Age in Papua New Guinea

Before the first Australian patrol to Mt. Hagen in 1933, stones axes (green axes) were used daily in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and were widely traded, often in the context of ceremonial exchanges.

In recent times, a group of axe factories located in Waghi and Jimi Valleys accounted for the bulk of production was in circulation at the time.

An anthropologist had spent 3 months, during the late 1963 and early 1964, journeying through the New Guinea highlands in an attempt to trace sites where stone axes (green axes) have been made in recent past. In the Simbai (Tsembaga) and Kaironk areas in Simbu, steel axe has effectively replaced stone axe only within the last ten years, though some steel axe have been traded in a decade or so earlier.

In other highlands areas, stone working axes had probably dropped out of use by the early 1940’s, of the ten quarry sites then examined, three had been visited before by earlier workers, two were reported to the writer by an anthropologist, C. Criper, working in the Upper Simbu, and the others were found by walking about the country pursuing local information.

Stone axes (green axes) were also used in West Papua (Irian Jaya), when Ronnajdn Frank traveled up the isolated Brazza River in West Papua in 1989, the ‘tree-house’ men would only trade a stone axe in exchange for steel axe. They needed their steel axes on a daily basis and would not easily replace the stone axes (green axes). Something which money, tobacco or other traded items wouldn’t do.

During the Stone Age period, there are many known areas on the Island of New Guinea where green axes are used and traded but only few areas were tipped as ‘factory’ where it was made. 

Display of some of the carvings made by Simeon Nikints from imagination. Image Credit: Peter Kinjap.

Display of traditional Green Axes and small carvings Simeon Nikints had made. Image Credit: Peter Kinjap. 

Simeon Nikints of Moika village in Mt. Hagen Central district, Western Highlands Province could be one of the last remaining survivors of the ‘green axe’ makers in the highlands of PNG, acquiring the skills from his father and grandfather. Simon is currently living in Taurama suburb in Port Moresby with his daughter Grace Mone selling some of the last remains of his produce from the highlands, the ‘green axes’ he made. He renamed the stones axes as ‘green axes’ that he produces because of the colour of the fine stone that he gets after months of rubbing against each other. Simeon is married to a lady from Sinasina village in Simbu Province. He has 3 daughters and a son.      

“My father made the stone axe and I watched him when I was a small boy. I started imitating my father and trial few myself when I was still young. I later realized I could make stone axes from this experience.” Simon said.

“I started collecting stones (raw material) from the Rondon River upstream in Mt. Hagen and started sharpening them against each other” he added. “It’s not an easy task to rub them against each other to get the expected sharpness and toughness of the stone axes. It took us months to rub the stones against each other. Only the committed men could do that.” A confident Nikints said.   

“We have to rub, sharpen and publish until we get to the core which is the green part of the stone that gives us the sharpness and the ‘green’ colour” he added. “Too much energy; you got to spend hours to strain your muscles to get to it. I had to spend hours of my days in the afternoon to do that.” He said. “When I spend full day working on it, I can get a finished product in few weeks. But when I spend few hours in the afternoon, I get to it in months”, he said.   

Simeon said he had never used the ‘green axe’ himself. He made them to sell or trade. In his youthful days, steel axe was introduced.  Jim Taylor, the first explorer of Western Highlands Province arrived in his village when he was only a boy. He recalled he was only a child during World War 2 which ended in 1945 when Japanese and American war planes flying over and making strange noises up in the air. “Jim offered us salt; some kids especially young girls tasted it first. I was amongst those kids but did taste as I was afraid of the white man. I was also afraid of my village elders. They restrict us from getting anything he offered or going closer to him saying he could be a spirit of a dead man from the enemy tribe to kill us or poison us,” Simeon added. After leaving the Moika village, Taylor later settled in Nebilyer valley.  

One of the traditional green axe made by Simeon Nikints. Image Credit: Peter Kinjap.

“One day I saw a group of foreigners taking photos and videos. A man was invited to demonstrate cutting a tree using a ‘green axe’ and those photographers and video crew were taking photos and video footages. The ‘green axe’ cut like a steel axe. It was exciting watching the show,” he said.

Like many other traditionally made items, ‘green axe’ was also used in the ceremonial events such as the traditional singing. The Western Highlands men in traditional full attire would hold a traditional green axe or carry a green axe under his armpit while marching around in traditional attires and chanting out in loud voices the ritual traditional songs.

The green axe was mainly a tool for gardening, cutting trees and building houses. Rough hard rocks were found near the rivers and creeks.

The handle of the green axe is made separately. Then it was fitted. The hardest task was to get the stone from the river side or creek and rubbing against each other. Smoothing and making the handle is easy.

One of the wood carvings made by Simeon Nikints from his imagination. Image Credit: Peter Kinjap

 “Some tourists told me when I was selling some green axes during the 2028 APEC in Port Moresby that I have done the toughest job of all indigenous artwork, that is, to make a green axe.” Nikints said.

“Carving is another special gift that I have. I produced through my own imagination a board of paradise and carved it. Or a human face and carve it, as well as other designs too. I can produce a human face from a wood or any other design from my imagination,” he added.

“I am still carving and doing my artwork in producing the green axes today. Any museums or historians or just about anyone who is interested to get a ‘green axe’ for their display and exhibition or a souvenir from the Island of New Guinea, you can find me at the back of Holiday Inn Hotel in Port Moresby where there is a craft and paint market or alternatively you can contact the writer of this story who knows where I live.” Simeon Nikints said.

Simeon Nikints with one of his green axes he produced. Image Credit: Peter Kinjap

The ‘green’ axe is a sustainable and eco-friendly tool that has been used in the past, especially during the Stone Age. Today when humanity is facing humiliation and suffocation from climate crisis, remains of such tools as the ‘green axe’ being produced and used without causing any disturbance to the environment should find a special spot in the museum exhibitions and environmental conservation forums around the global.  

The article was first published in;

The National - https://www.thenational.com.pg/ten-million-trees-by-2030/

PNG Attitude Blog - https://www.pngattitude.com/2020/02/planting-trees-to-fight-climate-change.html

PNG Online News - https://news.pngfacts.com/2020/02/planting-more-trees-to-fight-climate.html