National Integrated Water Resource Management Diagnostic Report: Papua New Guinea

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Water Quality and Sanitation

Located south of the equator in the South-western Pacific, PNG is the largest and most populous Pacific Island nation. It consists of the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, several large high volcanic islands and numerous high volcanic islands and coral atolls. Its diverse geography gives rise to an equally diverse range of ecosystems which accommodate a wide variety of flora and fauna making up 5% of the world's biodiversity. Its population of 5.8 million people is also diverse in ethnicity, language, custom and culture. Eighty five percent of the population live in the rural areas on a subsistence lifestyle while the rest live in urban areas either as employees in the formal sector or engaged in a range of informal sector income earning activities such as market gardening, small livestock husbandry and other service based business activities. A large proportion of urban dwellers are unemployed and rely on relatives for support.