Four (4) hours' drive out of Popondetta town and into the forest of Ijivitari District in Afore Local Level Government lies the ruins of what was ones a beautiful busy Bird Watching area and Guest house.

The Duivi Bird Watch Guest house and sanctuary was first established in 2007 by local member David Arore when he was first elected to power as member for Ijivitari.

The Duivi Bird Watch Guest house and sanctuary is located at the ward 1 of Afore LLG and was put under the watch of Chief Daniel Bonu of the Onduru Village.

Full ownership was given to the locals to manage the Duivi Watch Guest House and the Bird watching sanctuary; however, with no proper management, in less than a decade the Guest house ran down and the Bird watching program ended.

Today the ruins remind as another empty old run-down structure right in the middle of the rain forest.

A youth from Afore and member of Managalas Conservation Youth Foundation Mr. Deil Sariusa highlighted that back in the glory days of the Duivi Bird Watch Guest house, tourists would come from all over the world, especially bird watchers to take in the setting and watch some of the most majestic and vibrant species of birds in the Managalas rain forest.

“People stop for picnic at that particular area, wonderful waterfall, gracious, beautiful scenario and it’s surrounded by bird melodies, sadly this place now stands a ruin and a memory for us who knew about its existence.”

“However, we the youths of Managalas are hopeful that one day these ruin structures will resurrect back to the vibrant life it once was,” said Mr. Sariusa.

Sariusa emphasised the importance of restarting the bird watching program and the reestablishment of the run down Duivi Bird watch guest house, stating that the Bird watching guest house and sanctuary is right at the gate of Managalas Conservation area.

“This needs to operate again so that tourist and visitors will get to experience the wonders of Managalas right at the gateway before exploring the entire Managalas Conservations area.”

We are appealing to partners, donors and conservation organisation as well as the Tourism Promotion Authority to look into this and come to our aid and revive Duivi Bird Watch Guest house, because it will immensely benefit the locals.

“If this opens again, it will open doors to economic opportunities, locals can sell their produce and artefacts and can benefit from being tour guides as well.”

“We are also calling on our local member, David Arore to take the chance on this one project again and revive this project that he once established in the beginning of his political career.”