Santos was glad to have celebrated World Environment Day in the communities in accordance with this year’s World Environment Day theme: ‘Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience’.
In Port Moresby, staff joined forces for an early morning cleanathon at the popular Ela Beach to collect debris along the beach front.
Representatives of the Santos PNG Environment team including Environment Manager Maxwell Haro visited a couple of schools together with the Santos Country Chair, PNG Leon Buskens, to speak to students about the importance of World Environment Day (WED) and why observing WED is important when it comes to preserving and protecting our environment. The two schools visited were June Valley Primary School, with more than 1600 students and 30 teachers, and Hohola Demonstration Primary School which had 2000 students and more than 33 teachers. A total of 100 tree seedlings were donated, 50 trees to each school, to support a tree planting activity commemorating WED.
The message to the students at June Valley Primary was about planting a tree for WED, and a seedling in the hearts of the students for the future.
Mr Haro said it was important for the Company to demonstrate its commitment to nature-based solutions while Mr Buskens reminded the students on the importance of trees and the role it plays in the ecosystem.
“Trees serve as an important function in ecosystems, helping to sustain biodiversity and environmental balance. They provide oxygen, carbon storage, soil erosion prevention, water cycle regulation, and habitat for a diverse range of plant and animal species. Trees have a huge impact on climate regulation because they absorb carbon dioxide, reducing the greenhouse effect,” Buskens said.
“We are pleased as a responsible organisation to be part of this important cause and in observing an important annual event throughout our operations in PNG.
He also emphasised the Santos purpose of providing reliable and affordable energy to help create a better world for everyone. “We’ve already planted more than four million trees at our Markham Valley Afforestation and Reforestation Project in Morobe Province.”
Land restoration is an integral part of the Santos Management System and Environment Management Plans in the PNG Operations. Rehabilitation and bioremediation programs are integral to achieving outcomes that align with restoration goals and objectives. Santos implements a comprehensive environment monitoring program that mitigates land degradation. Santos maintains compliance by proactively engaging with the Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) on all site closure and rehabilitation matters. Drought resilience programs have been rolled out throughout the Gulf and Southern Highlands, through the Community Affairs Sustainability program.
To commemorate the day, activities scheduled throughout the Santos PNG operations included:
- Clean-a-thons, awareness, and tree planting activities at Hides, Kopi, Kutubu and Port Moresby
- Tree-planting at Gobe
- General awareness activities at the Kumul Marine Terminal, Gulf of Papua.
