This paper consists of a review of existing literature relating to Incorporated Land Groups in Papua New Guinea (PNG), followed by a case study of two urban incorporated land groups (ILGs) in the city of Lae. The paper is an attempt at assessing the sustainability of ILGs in the country. The challenges facing the ILGs have heightened public fears that the land groups may not be sustainable. Based on the argument in previous studies that the ILGs are not sustainable,
The Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is committed to achieving high and sustained economic growth and improving the social well-being of the country’s population.
A driver is a natural or human-‐induced factor that directly or indirectly causes a change in the system of interest (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). Understanding drivers of change helps us to 1) identify causes and mechanisms of change in variables of interest (Biggs et al. 2011, Fereira et al. 2011), 2) be able to anticipate and sometimes even predict future outcomes, and 3) be able to understand the context or ‘backdrop’ of past change.
The Purari Hydropower Project is a public-private joint venture. The governments of Queensland and Papua New Guinea (PNG) are supporting Origin Energy of Australia and PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (PNGSDPL) of PNG in a feasibility study to potentially dam the Purari River at Wabo in the Gulf Province of PNG. PNG Energy Developments Limited (PNG EDL) is a 50:50 joint venture equally owned by Origin Energy and PNGSDPL
The marine resources of the Coral Triangle (CT) region are the most biologically diverse in the world and sustain the livelihoods of a massive and growing population. The region currently has an estimated population of 394.7 million, one third of which (131.5 million) are estimated to be directly depending on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods and wellbeing (Table 1).
The Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System aspires to become a region-wide, comprehensive, ecologically representative and well-managed system of marine protected areas (MPAs) and MPA networks. The development of this system will proceed primarily through the implementation of ecological, social, and governance MPA networks
Environment and development agendas are increasingly being characterised by regional-scale initiatives. This trend is in part motivated by recognition of the need to account for global drivers of change (e.g., climate change, migration, and globalisation), the aspirations of achieving large-scale ecological goals (such as maintaining ecosystem processes), and reconciling potentially conflicting priorities in multi-use planning. However, regional-scale governance is challenging and there is little theoretical guidance or empirical evidence to suggest how it can be achieved.
The six Coral Triangle countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—each have evolving systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) at the national and local levels. More than 1,900 MPAs covering 200,881 km2 (1.6% of the exclusive economic zone for the region) have been established within these countries over the last 40 years under legal mandates that range from village level traditional law to national legal frameworks that mandate the protection of large areas as MPAs.
Spanning the marine waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste, the Coral Triangle is the global heart of coral reefs. This magnificent area, often called the “Amazon of the Seas,” contains nearly 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs and 75 percent of all known coral species. It is home to more than 3,000 species of fish—twice the number found anywhere else in the world.
Systematic conservation planning increasingly underpins the conservation and management of marine and coastal ecosystems worldwide. Amongst other benefits, conservation planning provides transparency in decision-making,
In this paper we describe the construction of an online GIS database system, hosted by WorldFish, which stores bio-physical, ecological and socio-economic data for the ‘Coral Triangle Area’ in South-east Asia and the Pacific. The database has beenbuilt in partnership with all six (Timor-Leste, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea) of the Coral Triangle countries, and represents a valuable source of information for natural resource managers at the regional scale.
The effective management and conservation of biodiversity is predicated on clearly defined conservation targets. Species number is frequently used as a metric for conservation prioritization and monitoring changes in ecosystem health. We conducted a series of synoptic surveys focusing on the fishes of the Bootless Bay region of Papua New Guinea to generate a checklist of fishes of the region. Bootless Bay lies directly south of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and experiences the highest human population density of any marine area in the country.
Understanding human drivers of exploitation within the context of historical baselines can assist in better management of natural resources. Retrospective studies provide insight into the scale, nature, and timing of human influence on reef ecosystems. Using Papua New Guinea as a model, we assessed human influences on the historical status of reef resources through time. Reef resources were divided into seven ecological guilds, assessed over seven cultural periods and in reference to seven types of human influences.
Sustainability is a balancing act with a triple bottom line. Now that Papua New Guinea is experiencing a resource boom, this is even more of a juggling act. As the world experiences food shortages, and Australia’s economy remains buoyant by a stream of Chinese mineral investment, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is caught somewhere between being mineral rich and rice poor. Now is exactly the right time to talk about sustainability in development.
This publication has been prepared through collaboration between United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Alluvium Consulting and expert partners. The project was implemented through SPREP with funds from UNEP and the Australian Government’s AusAID programme, via the International Climate Change Adaptation Initiative
The Isabel Ridges to Reefs Conservation Plan can be used to guide future conservation and development activities throughout Isabel. The plan allows stakeholders to visualise the location of conservation priorities for Isabel Province, the threats that the biodiversity of Isabel faces and what a successfully implemented protected area network across Isabel could look like under several different scenarios.
At the Special Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders Summit held in Suva from 29-30 March 2012 leaders decided to develop a roadmap for the protection of inshore fisheries. To this end the MSG has established an Inshore Fisheries Working Group (IFWG) citing the need for a concerted and coordinated sub-regional effort in addressing inshore fisheries resources sustainability because inshore activities have direct impact on the resources which impingeon people’s livelihood and food security of most small island communities.
The South Pacifi c has experienced a remarkable proliferation of Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) in the last decade. These protected areas, implemented by over 500 communities spanning 15 independent countries and territories represent a unique global achievement.
Coral reefs are integral • to the cultures and nutrition of many Pacific peoples; this report was developed to assist reef conservation for those peoples. Most coral reefs in the Pacific remain generally healthy, with strong potential for recovery of coral, fish and invertebrate populations after damaging events. There are, however, many signs of decline, especially on reefs around population centres and in lagoons.
In this paper we discuss differences in the ways transnational conservationists and Melanesian farmers, hunters and fishers value ‘biodiversity’. The money for conservation projects in developing countries originates from people who are embedded in a capitalist system, which allows engagement with nature as an abstract entity. Their western education has given them a scientific/ evolutionary-based worldview, which attributes intrinsic value to all species (and particular arrangements of species, e.g. rainforests and coral reefs), irrespective of economic value or ecosystem function.