Looking out from Papa village at the PNGLNG site, the crisis is visible and demands practical action now.
The deteriorating mental health of our youth and the heavy load on our land and sea, driven by the LNG project, present a clear opportunity: we must immediately engage our young people in meaningful, measurable mitigation strategies right here on the ground.
This includes reviving our traditional skills and moving towards sustainable, local agriculture as a source of health and income. This is about giving them control over their stolen future.
I am deeply concerned that our youth receive little climate education. They see the environmental impact daily the erosion, the development but without proper knowledge, they cannot organize effective action to protect our food gardens and coastal areas. That education must be grounded in our local reality.
I am inspired to fight community inequalities now because disasters, like king tides, always hit those with the smallest land and poorest yields hardest. Addressing the imbalance in resources and land ownership that affects our ability to maintain subsistence agriculture before the next storm is essential; justice now is disaster preparation.
I am worried and determined. Our lands, seas, and forests are being stolen by this development, and this directly threatens our agricultural traditions and food security. Our environment is degrading, our youth are unmotivated, and our future is disappearing. We must rise and act now to reclaim our agency and lead the change here at home.
I have started an informal group called for action against this, but unfortunately no support in action to resolve this.