$21.3M Forestry Budget Includes New Capital Projects
The Ministry of Forestry is in business to continue reviving economic activity, encourage fair wealth distribution and contribute to overall economic growth and ultimately prosperity while sustainably managing Fiji's forest resources.
In ensuring that the Ministry maintains an optimal capital and operating expenditure mix, the Coalition Government approved a $21.3 million budget for the 2023–2024 fiscal year. Of this, $12.1 million is for operating expenditure, $7.7 million for capital expenditure and $1.4 million as VAT.
This is an increase of $3,568,398 million or 20% from the $17.69 million allocated in the financial year 2022 – 2023 budget. The increased budget allocation supports new initiatives that will contribute to rebuilding our nation.
In his budget debate address, Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, Hon. Kalaveti Ravu, applauded the Coalition Government for its foresight and support to natural resource based sectors. The Ministry’s core responsibility is to sustainably manage our forest resources.
Hon. Ravu
said the injection of an
increased budget in these areas was a blessing to bringing back our economy to
full recovery.
“I believe that the Budget has set out our
ambition to build on the current efforts and creating something even greater
for the next generation.
Whilst we prioritise key activities in the new financial year, we will continue
to collectively work to maintain a balance between economic gain and conservation,”
Hon. Ravu said.
Hon. Ravu further added that the budget would help the private sector to contribute to the nation’s economy, support communities that depend on forests and advance the national forestry agenda in the direction of a cleaner, greener and more sustainable economy. These will all help the Ministry’s operations.
New capital projects
The
Government has provided $2.71m to the Ministry for five new capital projects in
the upcoming fiscal year.
They are;
- ICT-Network Upgrade ($211,098),
- Fiji Mahogany Development (250,000),
- Construction of the Nakavu Bridge ($500,000),
- The upgrade of Forestry office and quarters ($350,000),
- Commercial Pine Development ($1.4m)
We will feature in detail the above new allocations of the projects in a series of articles in the coming weeks.
A major key area that the Ministry focuses on is the continuation of the national tree-planting initiative which is at the heart of the important work of growing Fiji’s green and blue economy from ridge to reef—mountains, forests, fields, seas and reef
$2.5million allocated to the restoration of degraded forests, the funding will
be used to address challenges and to ensure the survival of trees planted. Hon.
Ravu reiterated the Coalition Government’s mission on this through extensive
monitoring, undertaking beat up, enhancing quality seed collection, propagation
and planting protocols.
The Ministry will continue to work with relevant partners and focus on ensuring that there is high survival rates for these planted trees.
Other key areas that the budget will support are:
- Review of the 1992 Fiji Forest Act
This was one of the key policy tasks that was never completed by the previous administration. With input from forest stakeholders and the public, the updated Act will address present deficiencies in guidelines and processes to align with international commitment, best practices, and national developments, particularly in climate change.
- Implementation of the Code of Practice for Wood Processing Facilities (Sawmills and Log Yards).
The Code will support current forest legislation and policy and will also ensure that the wood resources of Fiji are processed to optimise economic and social benefits in an environmentally responsible manner, consistent with Fiji’s commitment to sustainable forest management.
- $2 million is allocated for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), which will be used to support the implementation phases of the Emission Reduction Program in 20 districts of 177 villages.
- $200,000 is allocated for forest subsidies on value-adding machines, an increase of $150,000, to support forest-based companies and resource owners. This includes support for landowners who have leased their land for mahogany plantations.
- The second phase of the ITTO project on international forest-related projects to address adaptation and mitigation actions within vulnerable forest and coastal areas in Fiji continues after an Agreement was signed by the Ministry and the Government of Japan.
- $100,000 is allocated for Monitoring, Compliance and Surveillance Logging, an increase of $10,000 to elevate the compliance capacity of the industry’s forest harvesting practices through additional regulatory activities for the project.
- $170,000 is allocated to upgrade the Colo-i-Suva Forest Park and other parks in the country, an increase of $130,000 to cater for the ongoing improvements to the facilities.
- $1.2 million is allocated to Fiji Pine Trust (FPL), an increase by $500,000 to cater for the extension section to harvest matured pines in schemes outside Fiji Pine Ltd. It is also for FPL to grow 250,000 pine to reforest areas that have been harvested.
The budgetary increase is evidence that the Coalition Government continues to recognise the value of forests and trees for our social, economic, and environmental well-being. This triple win signifies the success of the Government's plan for the forestry industry.