Simione Tuvuki 
Women play a vital role in the restoration of land, and there is a need to increase their involvement in the management of natural resources.
Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica highlighted this at the 2023 Desertification, Degradation and Drought Day celebration at Nawailevu Village in Bua yesterday.
Kamikamica says this as the empowerment of women is an investment in humanity which would benefit the whole community.
“In addition to being on the frontlines of land degradation and climate change impacts, women can also be at the forefront of national efforts to restore land back to health and boost drought resilience. Gender-responsive land restoration is a pathway to reduce poverty, ensuring food security in a more responsible manner, reducing threat to biodiversity and carbon emission.”
Kamikamica says gender equality remains a challenge in every part of the world, but the empowerment of women is the essence of a successful community in any country.
He says stakeholders need to strengthen efforts to increase the engagement of women in the management of natural resources.
Kamikamica encouraged the people to utilize natural resources which they have inherited from their ancestors, and work together with the government and stakeholders to achieve the common goal.
The Deputy Prime Minister commissioned a five-acre sustainable landscape plot, to help rehabilitate the land that was used for bauxite mining in Nawailevu, Bua.
The initiative also marked the 2023 Desertification, Degradation and Drought Day celebration.
The theme for this year’s Desertification, Degradation and Drought Day is “Her Land, Her Rights”, which emphasizes the importance of land that caters for humankind.
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