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Sustainable insect farming in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea Flag

Geography, fauna and flora

Papua New Guinea lies south of the equator and north of Australia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and a collection of surrounding islands. The country is dominated by a central spine of mountains, the Owen Stanley Range, with many peaks over 4000m (13,120ft). Three quarters of PNG is covered by tropical rainforests, and the remainder is made up of delta plains, flat grassland and mangrove swamps.

There are close to 9000 species of plants in PNG, most of them found in lowland rainforests. Around 250 species of mammals live in the islands, mostly bats and rats, but also including marsupials such as the tree kangaroo. There are more than 700 species of birds as well as the world’s largest butterfly, the Queen Alexandra Bird wing (Ornithoptera alexandrae).

The climate is typically monsoonal: hot, humid and wet year-round. There are defined wet (December to March) and dry (May to October) seasons, but both are subject to regional variation (especially in the islands). In extreme rainfall areas, such as West New Britain, the annual rainfall can exceed 6m (20ft) a year. Temperatures on the coast are reasonably stable all year (between 25° and 35°C) but humidity and winds are changeable. Temperatures can be much lower in the Highland regions

Colonial history

The island of New Guinea is believed to have been populated for the past 50000 years with the islands first settlers coming from South East Asia. The first Europeans to discover this vast island were the Portuguese. In 1526 it was named Ilhas dos Papuas (Island of the Fuzzy Haired People) by Jorge de Meneses. Subsequently another Portuguese named the island New Guinea in 1545 as he thought that the coastline was reminiscent of Equatorial Guinea in West Africa.

It wasn’t until the late 19 th century that the Eastern half of the island was annexed by colonial powers. On 3 November 1884 the northeast section of the island of New Guinea was declared a German protectorate and on the 6 th November the southeast section of the island was declared a British protectorate (Moore, 1989).

The British interest in the south of the island was mainly strategic; they saw little economic advantage to be gained from their colonial possession. The Germans on the other hand saw the colony of New Guinea as an economic venture and hoped to establish profitable trading companies and produce cash crops through the exploitation of a cheap supply of local labour.

On the outbreak of WWI the Australian Army took control of German New Guinea and from 1921 to 1942 it was known as the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. It was during this period that the first explorations of the interior of New Guinea took place. The explorations were driven by gold prospectors who had crossed the Bulolo River in 1922 and found gold on the edge of the eastern highlands (Waiko, 1993). Further exploration led, in 1926, to a large find of gold at Eddie Creek which lies close to Wau and Bulolo in the Owen Stanley Ranges. Dredges that were flown in piece by piece by gold mining companies can still be seen scattered along the roadside from Wau to Bulolo and indeed gold prospecting continues there today. It is now on a much smaller scale than in the heyday of the 1930s when the airstrip at Wau was the busiest in the world and received more airfreight than the whole of Australia.

Michael Leahy established himself as a gold prospector in Eddie Creek and in the 1930s he went on to mount several prospecting expeditions during which he and his brothers were some of the first westerners to travel to the interior of New Guinea. New Guinea’s interior was not, after all, an uninhabited jumble of cloud-shrouded mountain ranges but the most thickly populated and fertile area in New Guinea and, as we now know, supports in an eternal spring climate the most colourful and decorative primitives in the world (Leahy, 1991).

During WWII there was conflict both on mainland New Guinea and on the neighbouring island of New Britain. The conflict increased the awareness of the Australian public to New Guinea, indeed more Australian troops died there during the war than had previously set foot on the island (Waiko, 1993). Australia regained control of the whole of the eastern half of the island in 1945 after partial occupation by Japanese troops.

In 1945 the Australian government passed the Papua New Guinea provisional act stating that Papua and New Guinea were to be administered as a single territory (Waiko, 1993). During the period following World War II and until 1975 Papua New Guinea was once again administered by Australia. In 1947, following the Papua New Guinea act the, territories of Papua and New Guinea were administered as the single territory of Papua New Guinea.

During the period 1945 to 1960 Australia had attempted to isolate Papua New Guinea from the rest of the world, owing to fears of neighbouring Indonesia’s ambitions for New Guinea and for the potential economic benefits that PNG’s mineral wealth might have to offer. From 1960 Australia came under increasing pressure from the UN and the World Bank to relinquish control of the territory from the United Nations and the World Bank. Decision-making power was gradually devolved to Port Moresby [from Canberra], and greater emphasis was given to indigenous participation in the implementation of policy (Waiko, 1993).  

The constitutional development leading towards eventual Self-Governance on 1 December 1973 and Independence on 16 September 1975 was a process in which Papua New Guineans contributed significantly to the building of their young nation (Deklin, 1989). However, independence for PNG on 16 September 1975 was not the result of national consensus. The majority of Papua New Guineans were either not concerned, against, or not committed. Instead, the political change was effected by was the doing of a small group of people led by the Pangu Party and its sympathisers in the House of Assembly. Many people were not sure of what independence would bring for them and the country (Pokawin inKavanamar et al., 2003).

Economic development

The economy of Papua New Guinea is dominated by the agricultural and mining sectors. With circa 80% of the population being rural subsistence farmers the informal agricultural sector is important for a high proportion of Papua New Guineans. Rapid monetisation of the economy has seen the transition to semi-subsistence agriculture where rural household production is not only consumed but surplus marketed (Gumoi, 2003).

The average earnings for participants in the informal sector is K275 (Sowei et al., 2003). The agriculture sector contributes around a quarter of total output in Papua New Guinea, employs about two-thirds of the work force and contributes more than 10% of export earnings (Connell, 1997). In 1999 the export of coffee, cocoa, copra and palm oil earned K930.l3 million.

Since the inception of an independent Papua New Guinea the country’s economy has grown to be dependant on mineral production and export. Until 1989 the Bougainville copper mine was the single most important component of the economy. The mine, which came into production in the same month of 1972 that the first national government was formed, generated substantial income for its owners and, through taxation, for the government (Connell, 1997). The production of copper at the mine ceased abruptly due to the “Bougainville crisis” which saw a civil uprising occur in the island. Civil unrest initially began due to the impact that the mine was having on local villages, concerning both the environmental damage and compensation claims. The largest mines that are still in production are OK Tedi, Porgera and Lihir. In 1999 earnings from oil, gold and copper amounted to K2301.

The large scale mining operations in Papua New Guinea have created localised areas of relatively high income for Papua New Guineans. The mines create employment opportunities for people within the locale of the mine site and for those that are able to migrate to it. As part of landowner compensation packages mining companies such as BHP at Ok Tedi paid for electricity, roads and High School fees. This process of uneven development, that has occurred throughout PNG over the past thirty years, continues today. Mining and logging operations provide significant localised improvements to living conditions such as electricity, roads and health clinics. However, these amenities are only maintained for the duration of the operation, and rapidly fall into disrepair once it has ceased. This type of infrastructure provision, is therefore, short-term and unsustainable, yet it still helps to foster a feeling of prosperity within communities.

Rural people are willing to accept environmentally damaging practices such as unmonitored logging due to these benefits and a knowledge that the government is too weak to provide them with adequate services.

Papua New Guinea’s immature transport network and obstructive topography intensify the country’s developing spatial inequalities (Clarke, 1980). While working in the relatively remote North Coast mountain range of Papua New Guinea on an Integrated Conservation and Development project the author experienced first hand the desire for communities to have their share of ‘development’. Communities in this area were aware of the short-term benefits that could accrue from mining and forestry projects. They were keen to see the provision of roads and other services regardless of whether the long-term outcome might do more harm than good.

When compared to South East Asian countries, PNG’s overall economic growth performance and development between 1976 and 1999 has been relatively erratic, sluggish and falls short of its potential (Gumoi, 2003).

Population growth and urbanisation

Since independence Papua New Guinea has witnessed a high level of population growth, which now lies roughly at 2.3%, and although a large percentage of the population remains in rural areas, urban centres are continuing to expand. The significant movement of people within PNG has occurred since Papua New Guineans first began to work in coastal plantations.

People in rural areas feel that they aren’t receiving the ‘development’ that they should be, leading to frustration with their lot and a desire to leave their land to seek jobs in urban areas.

There has been a belief within rural communities since the 1950s that the towns of Papua New Guinea are places where one could earn cash and, with that cash, gain the desirable products of a modernising economy (Skeldon, 1978). This is opposed to the situation that was and still is found in isolated rural areas where both cash and the trappings of modernity are lacking. However, most of the migrants to urban areas have been unable to cash in on the modern economy that is emerging in Papua New Guinea.

With Papua New Guinea in the middle of an economic downturn job prospects in the country’s urban centres are low. Throughout there is a very low level of confidence in the integrity of the government and many of the rural population are disheartened with what they perceive as many years of neglect and empty promises by a succession of weak and corrupt governments.

A direct consequence of urban immigration, poverty and deprivation has been the development of a high crime rate in urban areas. Crime is a major problem within centres such as Mt. Hagen, Wewak, Lae and Port Moresby. Fear and a siege mentality have taken over many people and not only within the expatriate community. The 1980s saw the beginning of high barbed wire fences, guard dogs and armed guards – features that are now widespread throughout Papua New Guinea (Harris, 1988). Rascal is the Pidgin English word for any type of criminal within Papua New Guinea and is in common usage. The rise of rascalism has been ineffectually tackled by an under trained and undermanned police force. Highlighting the weaknesses of the police force is the presence of private security firms on almost every street corner, in what is essentially a privatisation of the police. Rascal gangs are exploiting the opportunity for criminal activity in this climate. However, problems with law and order situation however can easily be over exaggerated through a process of disseminated rumours and irresponsible media, especially within Australia.

Fragmentation and tension between landowners and migrants in the face of land shortages, growing urban unemployment, bureaucratic ineptitude and political corruption have all contributed to disarray and division (Connell, 1997). Also within urban centres the divide between the have and have nots is getting wider, the rich, including politicians, dine in restaurants and drive the latest model cars with tinted glass while the poor try to make ends meet by selling empty bottles and betel nut.

Environment and development

Forward thinking during the development of the Constitution in the early 1970s led to the fourth goal of the National Goals and Directive Principles that was “for Papua New Guinea’s natural resources and environment to be conserved and used for the collective benefit for us all, and be replenished for the benefit of future generations” (Kwa, 2003). Skilfully interwoven, the National Goals and Directives Principles…[in 1974] form[ed] a powerful statement of the type of society our country aspires to and a fine antecedent statement on sustainable development…the exhilaration of those early days passed some time ago (Hill, 1993).

Due to PNG’s dependence on natural resources for its economy it has been somewhat difficult for successive governments to adhere to the goal of sustainable development. After twenty years of independence, an appraisal was made of the ‘environmental friendliness’ impact of current development practices in Papua New Guinea. The report noted that “In some areas PNG’s natural resources have been ruthlessly destroyed by largely foreign companies which have not contributed sufficiently to PNG’s prosperity…They have been permitted to do so by a corrupt and selfish political leadership which has facilitated such short term plundering of PNG’s natural resource heritage (Planning the New Century Committee, 1998).

Papua New Guinea finds itself today with dependence on natural resource exploitation, inequitable distribution of wealth and increasing urban populations with associated crime and deprivation. Also its position on the UNDP Human Development Index has declined over the past decade from 126 to a current position of 133 out of 179 countries (UNDP, 1993 & 2003).

References

  • Clarke, W.C. (1980) At The Tail of the Snake in Of Time and Place: Essays in Honour of O.H.K. Spate (eds. Jennings, J.N. & Linge, G.J.R.). Australian National University Press.
  • Connell, J. (1997) Papua New Guinea: The Struggle for Development. Routledge, London.
  • Deklin, T (1989) In Search of a Home-Grown Constitution: The Constitutional Development in Papua New Guinea Between 1962 and 1975 in Papua New Guinea: A Century of Colonial Impact 1884-1984 (ed. Latukefu, S). The National Research Institute, Papua New Guinea.
  • Gumoi, M.T. (2003) An Appraisal of the Papua New Guinean Economy in Building a Nation in Papua New Guinea (eds. Kavanamur, D., Yala, C. & Clements, Q.) Pandanus Books, Canberra, Australia.
  • Harris, B.M. (1988) The Rise of Rascalism: Action and Reaction in the Evolution of Rascal Gangs. Discussion Paper No. 54, The National Research Institute, Papua New Guinea.
  • Hill, L. (1993) Issues and Concerns for Papua New Guinea in The PNG Response to Rio. Report on the Post-United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
  • Kavanamur, D., Yala, C. & Clements, Q. (2003) Building a Nation in Papua New Guinea (eds. Kavanamur, D., Yala, C. & Clements, Q.) Pandanus Books, Canberra, Australia.
  • Kwa, E.P. (2003) Environment and Development in Papua New Guinea: 25 years On in Building a Nation in Papua New Guinea (eds. Kavanamur, D., Yala, C. & Clements, Q.) Pandanus Books, Canberra, Australia.
  • Leahy (1991) Explorations into Highland New Guinea 1930-1935. (ed. Jones, D.E.) The University of Alabama Press.
  • Moore, C. (1989) Queensland Labour Trade and the Annexation of New Guinea in 1883 in Papua New Guinea: A Century of Colonial Impact 1884-1984 (ed. Latukefu, S). The National Research Institute, Papua New Guinea.
  • Planning the New Century Committee (1998) Preparing Papua New Guinea for Prosperity in the 21st Century. Department of Planning and Implementation, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
  • Skeldon, R. (1978) Recent Urban Growth in Papua New Guinea. Discussion Paper No. 21, Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research, Papua New Guinea.
  • Sowei, J.W., Lahari, W. & Vatnabar, M. (2003) Rural Informal Sector Study Report. The National Research Institute, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
  • UNDP (1993) Human Development Report. United Nations Development Programme, New York.
  • UNDP (2003) Human Development Report. United Nations Development Programme, New York.
  • Waiko, J.D. (1993) A Short History of Papua New Guinea. Oxford University Press.