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The International Waters Project (IWP) aims to strengthen the management and conservation of marine, coastal and freshwater resources in the Pacific Islands region. It is financed through the International Waters Programme of the Global Environment Facility, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, and executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), in conjunction with the governments of the 14 participating independent Pacific Island countries.

Due to funding constraints it was decided that the pilot project would be located in the Central Province.When invitations were requested for expressions of interest to host the pilot project, the public in the Central Province was advised that those intending to apply should ensure the environmental issues in their respective villages are relevant to the focal areas and preferably in the same order of importance. Barakau was among the sixty villages that responded. Barakau was chosen as the host site for a number of reasons: (i) the relatively easy access from Port Moresby, (ii) its manageable population size, (iii) environmental issues that are relevant to the IWP focal areas and (iv) the degree of understanding of these environmental concerns by the people and their apparent preparedness to address them.