Papua New Guinea
Susan Yakip is passionate about preserving Papua New Guinea’s pristine natural environment. With the skills and confidence she has gained from studying a Masters in Environment, Development and Management through Australia Awards PNG, she is helping to protect the land and educating communities to understand potential impacts of proposed projects.
At the Australian National University, Susan said she learned to manage scarce resources, develop policy and work with other organisations on an international level. Now with the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority, she still keeps in touch with the networks she created, sharing advice and best practice with colleagues across the region.
On her return in 2018, Susan helped to re–establish the Environment Council, which was inactive for two years, stalling a number of high–level projects. She also created environment impact assessment guidelines for roads and bridges in response to the Connect PNG project, given the number of complaints about environmental damages.
“When I was in Australia, I saw a lot of things that influenced me to change,” said Susan.
She was impressed by behaviours ranging from the lack of rubbish in the street, to the punctuality of lecturers and parliamentary ministers. Susan said she now has a renewed commitment as a public servant and never misses a meeting or event.
“Looking towards our 50th anniversary, I think the government is focusing in the right direction by having a vision and strategy in place. We are looking more into conservation of biodiversity,” said Susan. “There are a lot of conservation activities going on and we are reducing destructive industries like logging.”
Australia through Australia Awards is supporting Papua New Guinea to build local skills and leadership to protect the environment and build a more resilient future for all.