Mr Cogan Toru, Chairman of the Toea Festival on Mailu Island in the Abau District of Central Province says preparations for the inaugural festival are underway and they are anticipating a good attendance with a full 2-day program come November. The festival which was first initiated in 2016 by Mr Toru’s late father was revived again last year after being dormant since 2017. At the second Toea Festival hosted in 2020, a new committee was appointed to carry on the duties of managing the festival as part of the district’s continued efforts towards promoting tourism and culture within the province. The festival which derives its’ name from the famous toea arm shells that were used as a form of money during the Kula & Hiri Trades along the Papuan coastline, is an opportunity whereby the people of Central Province especially from the surrounding districts, can come together to pay homage to their rich cultural heritage which is fast diminishing in today’s ever-changing world. “The Toea Festival has a historical and cultural significance because in today’s world, our cultures are deteriorating and rites of passage are not being observed as they were before due to more and more Western influence coming in.” “Through such events like the Toea Festival, it gives an opportunity for us to come together to revive, promote and preserve our culture for many more generations to come,” Mr Toru said. Mr Toru said so far, the Central Provincial Government in partnership with the Tourism Promotion Authority have been very supportive of the festival and they are hoping that more sponsors can come on board to support this inaugural event. The Toea Festival will be hosted from the 26th to 27th of November on Mailu Island which is located 260km east of Port Moresby with participation expected from the surrounding districts. “This year, we have extended our reach to communities in Cloudy Bay, Amazon Bay as well as a few villages from Aroma who will be taking part in the 2-day festival.” “We are currently in the process of securing sponsors to enable us to deliver a bigger and better festival this year as we plan on attracting a good number of people to attend this inaugural event.” “Apart from trying to secure sponsors, we are also being vigilant and on the lookout for latest developments surrounding the Covid19 situation in the country and we hope that the situation will improve so that we can be able to proceed with our event as well,” Mr Toru said. Mr Toru further advised that preparations for the event are ongoing however, they have organised to split up into smaller groups to finalise their practices for the upcoming event and also mentioned that more information will be disseminated over the coming weeks.

One might think that being an animal carer at a Zoo or Animal Sanctuary is just a matter of handling animals and feeding them. That isn’t so – there is more to it! At the Port Moresby Nature Park, wildlife carers go through some serious training and learning sessions through its annual internship program in order to earn their place as a wildlife carer. This quarter, the Park has selected another three interns from various tertiary institutions to be part of its wildlife internship program. An all female team, Daniella Kapi, Esther Hulum and Christobeth Audubo are three interns who will undergo the internship program for 12 weeks under the guidance of Wildlife Manager, Ishimu Bebe. “We are happy to have another group of interns join us as we advocate for more young leaders to take up roles that would help protect our endemic wildlife”, said Ishimu Bebe, Port Moresby Nature Park’s Wildlife Manager. “These three interns will be placed in three rounds where they care for mammals, birds and assist in food preparations for the animals. Internship programs are one of the best ways to experience what it is like to be a wildlife carer and it’s always fully supported by the entire wildlife team so it is a great learning experience for the interns,” added Mr. Bebe. Christobeth Audubo who is one of the interns from the University of Natural Resources and Environment (UNRE) said, “Finally I am happy to be an intern at the Nature Park as I get to apply the skills that I have learnt in the field that I graduated from. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can during my internship as the Port Moresby Nature Park”. There are many challenges accompanied with having the opportunity of working as a wildlife intern at a welfare accredited zoo such as Port Moresby Nature Park. Some of these are:- Preparing the food for the animals, who all have different dietary requirements; - Learning how to care and observe the animals, so all their welfare requirements are met; - Managing tasks when there are hundreds of animals to care for daily; And, - Knowing the various species of animals. However, it is due to the perseverance and passion that wildlife carers have for animals that some of these interns have come out successful in the internship program, earning themselves full-time jobs as Wildlife Carers at the Port Moresby Nature Park. The Port Moresby Nature Park is dedicated to inspiring in others the guardianship of PNG’s unique natural environment and wildlife whilst continuing to develop and enhance the skills of the wildlife team in line with international animal welfare standards.

Hilton has proudly come on board as the venue sponsors for the Digicel Foundation’s Men of Honour Awards Night on the 10th of December, 2021. The Agreement between the Hilton Port Moresby and Digicel Foundation was signed on October 12, at Hilton Port Moresby. Commercial Director of Hilton Port Moresby, Robbie Turner, said, “We’re very happy and excited to support this worthwhile cause”. The Men of Honour Campaign is Digicel Foundation’s flagship campaign that aims to break the cycle of violence through focusing on positive behaviour for affirmative action. The Awards Night Dinner will coincide with the International Human Rights Day, which is the final event on the calendar for the 20 days of Activism. CEO of Digicel PNG Foundation said Hilton Hotel’s support is greatly appreciated. “The Awards Night Dinner is a flagship event on our calendar and the support given by Hilton Hotel will allow us to make this a successful and meaningful night for the recipients of the Awards.” The Men of Honour Award’s nomination period is open until the end of October. The nomination forms are available on the Digicel PNG Foundation website for downloading www.digicelgroundation.org or you can request via the Men of Honour email address - MenofHonour@digicelgroup.com

Leader of Government business in the New Ireland Legislative Assembly Edwin Maigen is calling for full audits of Kavieng and Namatanai District Development Authorities. He brushed aside accusations by Kavieng Open MP Ian Ling Stuckey who accused the New Ireland Government of lying about funding constraints due to Lihir Royalties diverted to the Districts. “Treasury Minister Ian Stuckey is a liar and greedy politician literally spoon-feeding his voters with rice and foodstuffs in his electioneering campaign but deliberately neglecting the equally deserving people of New Ireland of their wealth, says the Leader of Government Business in the New Ireland Legislative Assembly, Edwin Maingen. Maingen says, “Stuckey depleted the K2 million Covid 19 money released last year on foodstuffs and now he’s drawing Lihir Mining Royalty funds to expend in the same manner, denying New Irelanders of their God-given wealth for his personal election and power-hungry ego.” “We have no Covid pandemic in New Ireland nor do we have a disaster-stricken province but millions of kina of people’s money is locked in to feed NA voters for Ian Stuckey in Kavieng District and the majority of non-supporters get nothing and spectate in this evil agenda of the Lemus Structure.” Maingen says under the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Governments and the DDA Act, he as President of Murat LLG and other colleague Presidents must sit and make decision on the disbursement of District Funds to the electorate. “This is not the case in Kavieng, and must be investigated by the Police Fraud Squad, the Ombudsman Commission and ICAC to establish his give away of public moneys constitute Bribery.  This is the kind of dictatorial leadership that is not right for New Ireland and must be changed.” “Stuckey must now open the books of Kavieng District for full audit of where people’s money have gone and his formula on the sharing of the wealth of New Ireland.  He and Minister Schnaubelt of Namatanai called for the audit of New Ireland accounts; now that the Provincial Government Accounts have been audited, both Kavieng and Namatanai District Accounts must now come under full audit.” Maingen said, “Stuckey owes full explanation to the people of New Ireland where he expended the K64 million under his watch that was surfaced in the Audit Report by the RAMS Business Consultant in 2002 to 2007 as Governor.  His role as Treasurer is compelling reason that he opens the District Accounts for Audit, as well as his past expenditure of K64 million of public funds.

A recent forum by transport sector agencies has highlighted the need for increased women’s participation and capacity building in the maritime sector. The Transport Sector Coordination, Monitoring and Implementation Committee (TSCMIC) Forum headed by Chairman and Transport Secretary, Roy Mumu OBE, discussed the importance of inclusive participation of both men and women to achieve an improved maritime industry, to enable economic growth and social development. TSCMIC is supported by the Australian Government through the Transport Sector Support Program and provides a forum for maritime, aviation and land transport agencies to work alongside donors to provide a safer and more reliable transport network for Papua New Guinea (PNG). The forum coincided with World Maritime Day on Thursday 30 September. This meeting’s theme focused on the invaluable role of seafarers and shone a spotlight on issues in shipping to ensure a sustainable sector. Secretary Mumu highlighted the important role TSCMIC plays in facilitating collaboration between development partners, including Australia, ensuring that support is well targeted and aligns with the priorities of the Government of Papua New Guinea. This includes promoting the principle of gender equality in the Public Service workplace to drive good people management practices and organizational development. The forum further provided the PNG National Maritime Safety Authority, as the Secretariat for Pacific Women in Maritime Association (PacWIMA), the opportunity to discuss the Regional Strategy for Pacific Women in Maritime 2020-2024. This strategy envisions a sustainable maritime community by providing a more inclusive, safe working environment for equal opportunities and fair treatment for all Pacific women in the maritime sector. The PacWIMA was established in 2005 through a partnership between International Maritime Organisation and the Pacific Community. It has national chapters comprising PNG, Fiji, Tonga, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu and Samoa.

Tim Masil or better known as ‘DeSiz’ in the Papua New Guinea Rap Music Industry is a 23-year-old lad from a mix parentage of Madang, Simbu and Gulf province who turned to Rap Music to escape from the problems he faced at home whilst growing up. The youngster started writing his own verses and rapping in mid-2010 when he was only 12 years old. “Growing up, music was like an escape for me from all the domestic problems that my parents were going through.” “Rap music in particular had a certain appeal to me because I could relate to the lyrics and different stories that rappers told through their music so it was easy for me to blend into this genre and style,” said Tim. Tim proudly added that Eminem and 2pac were the main influences behind his inspiration in starting to write his own verses. “In that way, I could rap in my songs about my life knowing the fact that someone out there is probably going through the same experience that I have gone through as a child and will be able to relate through listening to my songs,”said Tim. Tim further added that he has been working on an EP (Extened Play) at the Dawgside Records Studio which is based at Gerehu 3B and will be released for his fans soon. “There will be about 8 tracks in this EP and I will also be featuring Sprigga Mek and Gee Smooth in the EP as well which is called “Recognize”, added Tim. Songs in his latest EP will include, Easy, Papua New Guinea (featuring Gee Smooth), POM City Confidential, Money or Life, Recognize (featuring Sprigga Mek), These Streets, My Shoes and Company. In 2019, Tim took part in a local Rap competition at the Cosmopolitan Club here in Port Moresby called ‘Rapture’ and came out as the winner begging the top prize of K5, 000. “I finally took the title as the ‘Rapture King’ after two unsuccessful attempts in 2016 and 2017 but I knew that this was my passion and if I wanted to win that title, I had to push myself to try out again,”added Tim. So far, Tim aka DeSiz has been invited to perform at several concerts here in Port Moresby like the ‘The Naka Nation Concert’ back in 2017 and the ‘Planet Native Concert’ in 2018. “The most recent show which I had the pleasure of performing for alongside other talented local PNG artists was at the ‘Dawgside Records Night’ that was hosted earlier at the Club Regal here in Port Moresby,” said Tim. “So far I have not hosted any music gigs here in Port Moresby since the last pool party that my crew and I ‘Kanaka Outlawz’ threw back in 2017,” said Tim. In terms of music collaboration, DeSiz did collaborate with several local PNG artists including DJ Manzin and Leslie Chan, 3Dise, Sprigga Mek, Tarvin Tounie and just recently this year with Stagajah on an Independence theme song. Tim however, has not released any albums of his own since his entry into the rap music industry.  “Most of the singles I released were mostly underground and honestly, I cannot remember the exact number of singles I did release but my estimated guess is around 50+ songs,” Tim said. Just like any other artist, Tim aka DeSiz hopes to reach a global audience with his music and get paid doing what he loves. “It's all about using the right marketing strategy because in that way I can help other young artists like myself learn how to promote their work and receive royalties for it,” said Tim. Tim has had his fair share of challenges and for sure the main challenge has been COVID19. “COVID has been a major obstacle because most artists in PNG make money from gigs and with all the COVID19 protocols and restrictions in place, it has become quite difficult to continue,” the young rapper said. “But hopefully this will all be over soon and we can all start progressing again,” he added. Tim ended off with a message to all his fans throughout Papua New Guinea who enjoy listening to his music by saying that “you do not have to be a surfer to create waves, you can do anything just as you are with the natural gifts and talents that you possess.”

100 hundred oxygen cylinders have been purchased to support the COVID-19 response in Eastern Highlands Province by the National Eastern Highlands Adventist Students Association (NEHASA). NEHASA President Jarmol Hogi said 50 have been transported to Goroka on October 9 and the other half will be transported over anytime from now. The NEHASA initiated a weeklong fundraising appeal on October 3 to support the Eastern Highlands Provincial Health Authority (EHPHA) COVID-19 response. “Last week (October 3 to October 10) the NEHASA raised K75, 800,” Mr Hogi said. The fundraising committee after a close consultation with the PHA and request from the general public to extend the appeal date, has extended the appeal date to October 17. “This fundraising is to help the PHA purchase oxygen cylinders and other utilities that are needed.” “Reports will be made available when the appeal closes on October 17.” “If your heart is moved to support this worthy course, we are advising the general public to continue to support in cash by donating to the NEHASA account.” Donations can be made to the association’s banking details below: Account Name: Eastern Highlands Adventist Students Association Account Number: 1000959944 Bank: Bank of South Pacific (BSP) Hogi said the outbreak of Covid-19 and the Delta Variant had affected the province which has led to a lot of deaths in the past weeks.

Creating a name for themselves in the Papua New Guinea Music Industry in early 2020 with their hit single ‘Poro Darling’, the boys from Tasik Yard have finally released for the first time an Extended Play (EP) of six awesome songs over the weekend. The group consisting of Snookz Wilson, Jay Tee, Trevis Tino, Papu Meiz & 5 Star, released some of their hit singles which included Poro Darling, Meri Sepik Wara and Wedding Ring which were songs that were favored by most of their listeners here in Papua New Guinea. “Out of the songs in this new EP, we really liked the song ‘Angel Honiara’ simply because it is the group’s first time to do a collaboration with a music artist from another country, Dj Ozlam from the Solomon Islands,” said 5 Star on behalf of the group. With the release of their new ‘Angel Honiara’ EP, you can find a total of seven songs which include Angel Honiara (featuring DJ Ozlam), Rock Steady, Sweet Darling (featuring CammyB), Mi Sore, Lewa Sa Laikim (featuring Jaris Kiden), Anie Mori and Meri Lewa (Bonus Track). “Since entering the music industry here in PNG, we have so far collaborated with some of Papua New Guinea’s very own music legends like Leonard Kania, the Late B-Rad, Cammy B and Roxsette just to name a few”, added 5 Star. The boys from Tasik Yard were successful enough to host music gigs and concerts here in Port Moresby and also have travelled around the country to places like Goroka, Lae, Hagen & Kokopo to host music gigs and concerts for their fans in those places. “However, since the first case of COVID19 here in Papua New Guinea, we have not been able to host any more of our music concerts and gigs here in Port Moresby and also around Papua New Guinea and this has been a major setback for the group,” 5 Star said. In the near future, the boys from Tasik Yard are looking at targeting more and more fans from the neighboring pacific region and countries. “We as a group have planned to release our news songs come early next year in 2022,” added 5 Star. The boys from Tasik Yard take this time to thank all their fans who have been following them since they launched into the music industry and are very privileged for such fans here in Port Moresby and around the country PNG. “To all or fans out there, stay safe from the deadly COVID19 pandemic, follow the safety protocols and measures set and standby for some of our new tracks that we will be releasing soon,” 5 Star concluded.

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has reassured Papua New Guinea of a better deal from the P’nyang Gas Project in Western than previous projects. He gave this reassurance in Parliament today (Tuesday Oct 12) when answering a series of questions from North Fly MP Hon. James Donald in relation to P’nyang, as well as execution of the Heads of Agreement (HOA) on P’nyang Gas Agreement along with an Equity Purchase HOA with ExxonMobil in the USA last month. PM Marape said he, and Petroleum Minister Hon. Kerenga Kua, would give a detailed answer to all 13 questions posed by Donald later. “The Heads of Agreement we signed in Houston was to set out a framework to guide us into a proper Gas Agreement with ExxonMobil as developer,” he explained. PM Marape said when he became Prime Minister in May 2019, his first statement was that P’nyang would not be part of Papua LNG, as the previous O’Neill government had wanted. He assured Donald that his people of North Fly, Western and PNG would get a better deal from P’nyang as the world moved towards cleaner energy. “The State will get 63 per cent of total project economic benefits from P’nyang,” PM Marape said. “PNG LNG sits at 49 per cent, Papua LNG sits at 51 per cent. “I want to give a big thank to (Gulf) Governor Haiveta for leading the team as my special envoy. “This (negotiation with ExxonMobil) was a National Government function, and as we move towards the Gas Agreement, there will be a time to call in the province and landowners. “This will be a public exercise as we did with PNG LNG.” PM Marape said his Government’s wanting to take back more for PNG included P’nyang, Porgera, forestry and other resources. He thanked ExxonMobil for understanding the dynamics at play, including allowing for the Stae to acquire an additional 10 per cent equity. PM Marape also noted the planned Oil Search-Santos merger, and said that in the event they offloaded part of their stake in P’nyang or PNG LNG, national interest – through Kumul Petroleum - would take precedence The Gas Agreement HOA captures key fiscal, regulatory and licencing terms. The Equity HOA provides for the State to acquire at cost 10 per cent additional equity from ExxonMobil in the P’nyang Project. The overall deal reflects a win-win for both sides. In addition to all the legal entitlements, the State’s take is at 63 per cent in this deal compared to 49 per cent in PNG LNG and and 51 per cent in Papua. This is made possible by increased production levy of 3 per cent and the State equity (including the commercial purchase) being 32.5 per cent compared to just 19.6 per cent in the PNG LNG and 22.5 per cent in Papua. The deal makes P’nyang an investment grade bankable project, meeting the project partners’ investment thresholds and gives it the best chance of going into construction.

Preparations are well underway for the arrival of Late Hon. Roy Biyama, MP this Friday. Balimo township is momentarily quite with people grieving over their outstanding and visionary leader who died at Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby on the 10th September, 2021. The people of Middle Fly electorate, public servants, stakeholders and the rest of Western Province have lost their rare leader which he has touched so many people's lives. Mourners are busy setting up funeral home (Haus krai), constructing his tomb and general cleanaton within Balimo town starts from Balimo airport. Hon Biyama, was a member of ruling Pangu Pati, has been an MP since 2002. They have lost a servant leader, a true man of the people, who has served them faithfully since 2002. He first succumbed to illness after he had scorching blisters from an 8 hour walk on foot in hot, tropical, lowlands in his beloved Middle Fly area when he visited last March. Hon. Biyama walked on, working for his people where there was no road much like many other rural areas in PNG, and the blister from his long walk, with an existing diabetic conditions, led to illness and his eventual passing. Hon Biyama joined Pangu Pati in December 2019, after subsequent formation of the new Marape- Davis Government, and had stood by PM Marape till his death. Late Roy had a long poignant history, he struggled from scratch during his formative years as a child. He grew up in the village where there were lot of criticism from villages especially Christian dominated Community, as he was a child of mixed parentage (separate feature story will be published in the print media regarding his life history). Biyama was seen as one and has been tirelessly working to implement planned projects funded under the District Services Improvement Program (DSIP). Middle Fly is the largest and remotest district in Western Province with a landmass of 44,479 square kilometers. Most of the land mass is covered with swamp and wetlands in the southern part of the district and tropical rain forest in the northern part of the district along the mountain ridges. The district has a population estimated in 2011 at 63,805 (National Census) scattered throughout the five LLGs of Balimo, Gogodala, Bamu, Lake Murray and Nomad. All the LLGs are okay accept Nomad LLG has caused perplexity in administration. Nomad LLG comes under Middle Fly but the Biami and Pari tribes come under the North Fly electorate voting system and vote for North Fly MP while the Samo tribe who are also in Nomad up to Juha come under the Middle Fly electorate and vote in Middle Fly MP. In it's active days, the Britten Norman-Islander was the Wings that saved thousands people in the Middle Fly and South Fly districts of Western Province, thanks to a partnership between Central Air Transport and businessman Roy Biyama who later entered Parliament as MP for Middle Fly in 2002. Close associates, friends and family members brought his story as tribute to him. He was an "angel" in the story because of his service to remote places and the rescues he made in his time that made the difference in people's lives. The gold aspect of the wings relate to money he expended to provide the service. The plane belonged to Central Provincial Government (CPG) when Sir Ted Diro was the Governor of Central Province. Although they owned the plane, it was hired by Mr Biyama and flown by bush pilot Captain Walter Porusa from Oro Province. The wings were on his breast but the plane flew, delivering essence services, thus making the benefactor of the whole exercise a virtual angel. And that's how they pay tribute. Late Biyama will be sorely missed by the remote people of Middle and South Fly electorates respectively. He was a businessman before he become politicians and continued until his death last month. Roy Biyama helped the people around there by buying the eucalyptus oil from them, creating the cash flow and in turn the people brought goods that he provided to meet their needs. The basic goods include, salt, sugar, kerosene, soap, clothing, towels, plates, cups and cooking pots etc and hardware such as knives and axes, were transported through the hiring of the plane owned by CPG. The goods were stocked in Late Roy's warehouse at Balimo, his hometown. Capt Porusa stressed there was no other service of the sort Mr Biyama was providing and his passing will be a great loss to the people he served with high esteemed. He also implemented another impact project was to bring in supplies and equipment to clear the bush for the building of the Aiambak High School at Weam in South Fly District. It was the only service available and people in Middle and South Fly appreciated what he doing. "Even today no one is providing that kind of service in those two electorates", Capt Porusa reiterated. Apart from these challenges nature provides, there are administrative challenges as well that hinder effective service delivery. The Late MP will be flown on a Chartered flight from Port Moresby to Daru Island, accompanied by Minister for Civil Aviation and South Fly MP Hon. Seki Agisa, Western Governor Hon. Taboi Awi Yoto MP and North Fly MP Hon. James Donald enroute Balimo. His body will be than received by awaiting DDA members, police, NGOs, business house reps, family members and general public and convey to Balimo town.

Thailand plans to end Covid quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers from at least 10 low-risk nations from 1 November, officials say. PM Prayuth Chan-ocha admitted that "this decision comes with some risk" - but it is seen as a key step to revive the country's collapsed tourism sector. The 10 nations seen as low risk include the UK, China, Germany and the US. The country has been recording more than 10,000 positive infections daily since July. It has fully vaccinated around 33% of its almost 70 million people. Half the population has received one dose. Mr Prayuth said Thailand would also allow entertainment venues to reopen on 1 December and permit alcohol sales. He added that the authorities were planning to open Thailand for more countries on that date. Mr Prayuth's comments came in a televised address on Monday. Referring to visitors from 10 low-risk nations, he stressed that "when they arrive, they should present a [negative] Covid test... and test once again upon arrival". If the second test is also negative, any visitor from those countries "can travel freely like Thais", the prime minister said. But he warned that the government would act decisively if there were to be a spike in infections or an emergence of a highly contagious variant of Covid-19.   It is estimated that Thailand - popular for its sandy beaches and non-stop nightlife - lost about $50bn (£37bn) in tourism revenue in 2020. The economy suffered its deepest contraction in more than two decades as a result of the pandemic.

India will ban most single-use plastics by next year as part of its efforts to reduce pollution — but experts say the move is only a first step to mitigate the environmental impact. India’s central government announced the ban in August this year, following its 2019 resolution to address plastic pollution in the country. The ban on most single-use plastics will take effect from July 1, 2022. Enforcement is key for the ban to be effective, environmental activists told CNBC. New Delhi also needs to address important structural issues such as policies to regulate the use of plastic alternatives, improve recycling and have better waste segregation management, they said. Single-use plastics refer to disposable items like grocery bags, food packaging, bottles and straws that are used only once before they are thrown away, or sometimes recycled. “They have to strengthen their systems in the ground to ensure compliance, ensure that there is an enforcement of this notification across the industry and across various stakeholders,” Swati Singh Sambyal, a New Delhi-based independent waste management expert told CNBC. Why plastics? As plastic is cheap, lightweight and easy to produce, it has led to a production boom over the last century, and the trend is expected to continue in the coming decades, according to the United Nations. But countries are now struggling with managing the amount of plastic waste they have generated. About 60% of plastic waste in India is collected — that means the remaining 40% or 10,376 tons remain uncollected, according to Anoop Srivastava, director of Foundation for Campaign Against Plastic Pollution, a non-profit organization advocating for policy changes to tackle plastic waste in India. Independent waste-pickers typically collect plastic waste from households or landfills to sell them at recycling centers or plastic manufacturers for a small fee. However, a lot of the plastics used in India have low economic value and are not collected for recycling, according to Suneel Pandey, director of environment and waste management at The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) in New Delhi. In turn, they become a common source of air and water pollution, he told CNBC. Banning plastics is not enough Countries, including India, are taking steps to reduce plastic use by promoting the use of biodegradable alternatives that are relatively less harmful to the environment. For example, food vendors, restaurant chains and some local businesses have started adopting biodegradable cutlery and cloth or paper bags. However, there is currently “no guideline in place for alternatives to plastics,” Sambyal said. That could be a problem when the plastic ban takes effect. [caption id="attachment_15939" align="aligncenter" width="952"] A machine picking up waste in the pile of garbage at the Ghazipur land fill site where city’s daily waste has been dumped for last 35 years. The machine separates waste into three parts first stone and heavy concrete material second plastic, polythene and third is fertilizer and soils.Pradeep Gaur | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images[/caption] Sambyal said clear rules are needed to promote alternative options, which are expected to become commonplace in future. The new rules also lack guidelines on recycling. Though around 60% of India’s plastic waste is recycled, experts worry that too much of it is due to “downcycling.” That refers to a process where high-quality plastics are recycled into new plastics of lower quality — such as plastic bottles being turned to polyester for clothing. “Downcycling decreases the life of the plastic. In its normal course, plastic can be recycled seven to eight times before it goes to an incineration plant ... but if you downcycle, after one or two lives itself, it will have to be disposed,” said Pandey from Teri. [caption id="attachment_15940" align="aligncenter" width="954"] In India’s state of Maharashtra, people are seen carrying bags of other materials, mostly cotton for their daily routine and shopping on June 24, 2018 in Pune, India.Rahul Raut | Hindustan Times | Getty Images[/caption] Tackling waste segregation is also essential. If general waste and biodegradable cutlery are disposed together, it defeats the purpose of using plastic alternatives, according to Sambyal. “It is high time that source segregation of domestic waste is implemented vigorously,” said Foundation for Campaign Against Plastic Pollution’s Srivastava, referring to waste management laws that are in place, but not followed closely. Way forward Environmentalists generally agree that the ban is not sufficient on its own and needs to be supported by other initiatives and government regulations. The amount of plastic that is collected and recycled needs to be improved. That comes from regulating manufacturers and asking them to clearly mark the type of plastic used in a product, so it can be recycled appropriately, said Pandey. [caption id="attachment_15941" align="aligncenter" width="951"] A women rag picker collecting plastic bottle and other plastic materials in a boat from the bank of Brahmaputra River in Guwahati, Assam, India on Monday, October 29, 2018.David Talukdar | NurPhoto | Getty Images[/caption] In addition to improving recyclability, investment in research and development for alternatives should also be a priority. Pandey explained that India is a big, price-sensitive market where plastic alternatives could be produced in bulk and sold at affordable prices. Several Indian states introduced various restrictions on plastic bags and cutleries in the past, but most of them were not enforced strictly. Still, the latest ban is a big step toward India’s fight against landfill, marine and air pollution — and is in line with its broader environmental agenda, according to the experts. In March, India said it was on track to meet its Paris agreement climate change targets, and added that it has voluntarily committed to reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity of its GDP by 33% to 35% by 2030. SOURCE: CNBC NEWS