Community responses to the effects of climate change in PNG

By Kylie McKenna, Brent Jacobs, Shen Sui, Louise Boronyak, Francesca Dem, Kenneth Pomoh, Mavis Jimbudo, Heveakore Maraia - DevPolicy Blog

Climate change is already having significant effects on communities in PNG. Projections made by the Pacific Climate Change Science Program (PCCSP) suggest further negative consequences, including increasing intensity of cyclones, rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, sea level rise, increasing ocean acidification, and pressures on food security.

Indigenous peoples have always adapted to environmental change and there are differences in the ways that climate change is interpreted locally. This blog reports on a series of workshops conducted as part of the Engaging Communities and Government in Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change Adaptation project. Over 190 community members and government representatives participated in the project, drawn from four communities in Madang and Eastern Highlands Provinces: Riwo, Ohu, Bundi and Hogave. The workshop process revealed the ways in which these communities are experiencing threats to biodiversity that they, in part, associate with a changing climate.

Changes in rainfall and rising temperatures were considered to be the most important climate variables. For example, residents of Ohu and Bundi reported experiencing changes in the frequency and intensity of rainfall, which have damaged the road to Madang town. An increasing number of hot days is also limiting the number of hours that women reported working in the garden. Residents of Hogave were overwhelmingly concerned about the potential for wildfires resulting from changed rainfall patterns and higher temperatures, particularly in the community forest conservation area. These changes have flow on effects to food security, human health and ecosystem health and function (Table 1).

Table 1: Concerns associated with increasing temperatures

It was clear throughout the workshops that women and children are most disadvantaged by local environmental change. Female workshop participants were often most vocal about dimensions of vulnerability (e.g. population growth) and their links to social issues (e.g. alcoholism, domestic violence and petty crime) that they viewed as likely to be heightened through ecosystem decline. Currently, the migration of highlanders to coastal centres seeking employment is viewed as contributing to the loss of local ecosystem services. For example, in the coastal village of Riwo, participants attributed land use conflict and a lack of bush materials for construction of houses to local population change. When coupled with sea level rise, which erodes the community’s land, a vicious cycle might result which heightens demand for unsustainable economic development and over-extraction of natural resources.

To address impacts of concern from climate change, workshop participants were asked to develop project plans, using a simple template that called for them to consider collective action, at the scale of the village ( Table 2). These projects addressed typically place-based, direct environmental impacts, but also impacts of issues such as population growth and migration indirectly linked to ecosystem change through the need for economic development.

Table 2: Community project plans to address impacts of climate change

While members of the community expressed considerable enthusiasm to promote collective action, they nevertheless voiced concerns about a lack of resources (financial, knowledge and equipment) to implement these plans that, if not addressed, would likely result in little progress.

As a final phase to our project, we brought together, in a workshop setting, members of each of the communities with representatives of their respective governments, at provincial, district and ward levels. The aim of these workshops was to establish connections between government and communities for exchange of information on the community’s need for assistance with adaptation, and any resources that might be available through existing government programs.

Although we were able to match some projects to provincial government programs in agriculture and reforestation, an important limitation noted by government representatives was the absence of a functioning provincial office of climate change. In Madang Province the government has established a Provincial Climate Change Committee however it has no resources and currently is actively supported only by the agriculture agency. Biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation are seen as cross-cutting policy issues that require cross-division policy and planning. Issues of governance, such as a lack of funding or funding delays, leadership and administrative instability, and communication weaknesses to other layers of government, were identified by government staff as obstacles to effective action and must be resolved for successful adaptation to climate change and biodiversity conservation in PNG.

The Engaging Communities and Government in Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change Adaptation project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Go to this link for more: https://www.devpolicy.org/community-responses-to-the-effects-of-climate-change-in-png-20190703/

More women – with more chances – is key to PNG’s democratic future

By Watna Mori - The Interpreter

Enough talk. Ensuring equal participation in politics is a
challenge the new Marape government must rise to meet.

The last few months in Papua New Guinea’s politics have been described as political “chaos”, “turmoil”, “upheaval”, “crisis”. The Australian newspaper even went so far to describe PNG as a “potentially disintegrating neighbour.” For Papua New Guineans, it was a mere harkening back to a telling characteristic of the national political scene

PNG politics has always been robust and has always been a “haus man” or “boys club”. For many, especially women, the takeaway lesson from the recent political game-playing, is that there is a dire need for women in PNG politics and it needs to start now.

In her 2013 thesis entitled, “Women and Politics in Presence: Case of Papua New Guinea,” Mary Fairio, a gender researcher at the PNG National Research Institute (NRI), explores why PNG is one of the countries with the lowest number of female representatives in parliament. PNG currently has no women in parliament despite a constitution that enshrines human rights and identifies a national goal of “equality and participation”.

A 2002 presentation by PNG academic and gender specialist Orovoe Sepoe asked the following questions:

1. Would women’s entry into the legislature help improve governance, democracy and development outcomes?
2. What difference would women make to the current state of public affairs?

There have been numerous studies and papers undertaken to answer these questions both internationally and domestically in PNG. It seems it is not enough that the fact that a democratic state identifies itself as such should require adequate representation of one half of its population. Women bear the additional burden of illustrating how they add value to the system.

Kila Kila Village Court outside Port Moresby in 2011 (Photo: DFAT/Flickr)

The quantity of material available about women’s representation in PNG politics, written by both PNG and foreign women, is both surprising, overwhelming and encouraging. The question of what women can contribute to the nation by participating in politics is quite clear when reading works by the likes of Sepoe, Anne Dickson-Waiko, Michelle Rooney, Kerryn Baker, Betty Lovai, Theresa Meki, Mary Fairio, Sarah Garap, Diane Korare, Gisele Maisonneuve and Jo Chandler.

Therefore, the pertinent question to be determined is “why is it difficult for women to be elected in PNG?” Fairio’s thesis points to both the structural system in PNG that limits the ability of women to enter politics as well as social, cultural and economic factors.

Structural changes can be addressed almost immediately and whilst social, cultural and economic changes take time, they benefit from, and can be instigated by, structural change. That is the challenge for PNG’s new Marape government.

There have been several major proposals, over the last decade, for structural change in PNG to allow for greater participation in politics by women.

In 2009, Dame Carol Kidu as then Minister for Community Development in the Somare government, and the only woman in parliament, attempted to utilise section 102 of the Constitution to nominate three women to parliament. However, section 102 required a two-thirds absolute majority vote and it did not receive that support.

In 2012, Kidu again attempted to effect structural change with a proposal for 22 reserved seats for women through the Equality and Participation bill. The proposal had the support of the then Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and received much media publicity. However, although it passed the first reading, generating much excitement, it failed to pass a subsequent parliamentary reading and was later abandoned.

The 2009 and 2012 proposals are what are known as temporary specials measures or TSM’s and this is what the NRI have been encouraging through the work of its “Gender in PNG” program, headed by Fiona Hukula and Elizabeth Kopel.

Patrick Kaiku, a lecturer in politics at the University of PNG, wrote that the failure of the 22 reserved seats was in large part due to the misunderstanding amongst members of parliament as well as the public as to why the proposal was needed. Kaiku argued that much of the rhetoric surrounding the bill was “men versus women” and that there needed to be more awareness and consultation with the public to create public ownership of the bill.

PNG journalists covering the APEC summit in 2018 (Photo: Shane McLeod)

There are two current proposals on foot for women’s representation in parliament. Alphonse Gelu, the Registrar of Political Parties, has been lobbying the Government since 2017 to pass proposed changes to the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC). One of the proposals in the revised organic law is that 20% of the total number of candidates nominated by a political party must be women. Gelu has written extensively in the national papers as to why his office has proposed these changes to the OLIPPAC.

Additionally, in February last year, the government directed the PNG Constitutional and Law Reform Commission (CLRC) to review the Organic Law on National and Local- Level Government Elections. The direction came with 12 terms of reference, the fourth of which was “women and special interest representation in Parliament”. The CLRC, currently led by Dorothy Mimiko-Kesenga (Secretary) and Michelle Taumpson (Deputy Secretary), completed a consultation process and its report is now at its finalisation stage.

In March 2019, before losing his prime ministership, O’Neill announced that at the next national elections in 2022 there would be a measure in place for four women to be appointed as regional representatives based on their electoral positioning in their contested electorates (a concept already in effect in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville). The legislative framework that would enable this measure was not announced but is perhaps something we can expect from the CLRC report.

What is clear from all of this, however, is that much work has already been undertaken by government bodies, private institutions and independent researchers and commentators, many of whom are PNG women, and that viable proposals are readily available. What is missing is the political will.

If the Marape Government is serious about creating the “richest black Christian nation,” women must be equal participants because, as the United Nations describes it, “democracy needs women in order to be truly democratic, and women need democracy if they are to change the systems and laws that preclude them, and preclude societies as a whole from attaining equality.”

Go to this link for more: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/more-women-more-chances-key-png-s-democratic-future

UBS bank rejects concern about its K4 billion loan to PNG

NEWS DESK | Finews.com | Edited

ZURICH - UBS Group AG, Switzerland's largest bank, has commented on the K4 billion loan granted to Papua New Guinea that contributed to political upheaval still resonating today.

The multinational investment bank and financial services company has a presence in all major financial centres has issued a brief statement outlining its view of the case.

Five years ago, UBS granted a loan worth US$1.2 billion (K4 billion) to PNG, which used the money to buy a stake in petroleum company Oil Search.

The deal went wrong as the oil price fell, forcing the PNG government to sell the shareholding at a loss.

Since PNG’s prime minister Peter O’Neill was replaced two months ago, his successor James Marape has ordered a thorough review of the case.

UBS said it welcomed Marape’s move to establish a commission of inquiry into the loan.

The bank said this will provide a welcome opportunity to independently evaluate PNG’s strategic investments.

UBS added that a report by the country's ombudsman had revealed nothing untoward on the part of either the bank or its employees.

It said the loan had been granted in 2014 in accordance with local rules and regulations.

UBS said an experienced local law firm, Ashurst, had been part of the negotiations at the time.

The government had also received further assistance from KPMG and Norton Rose Fulbright, a global law firm.

Go to this link for more: https://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2019/07/statement-by-ubs-rejects-concern-about-k4-billion-loan-to-png.html

Unfinished journey: Francis Nii & the struggle for PNG literature

Francis Nii in his wheelchair amidst the green hills of Simbu - a monumental contribution to the literature of Papua New Guinea from his bed at Kundiawa Hospital

By BEN JACKSON - PNG Attitude

PORT MORESBY - The twisted metal of a motor vehicle accident in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands nearly brought Francis Nii’s story to a dramatic end.

The crash, at the start of 1999, left him forever paralysed from the waist down and brought his promising career as an economist and financial adviser to a sudden halt.

Francis, now 56, speaks softly and chooses his words carefully, but behind this gentle nature is an immense inner-strength that has served him well in the most trying of circumstances.

“There were moments I saw death coming,” he says.

“But every time I looked at the faces of my three daughters, there was this immeasurable power and energy unleashed in me to fight to stay alive and see them grow to womanhood and live lives of their own.

“They have always been at my side and, to this day, although all the girls have children, they are so close to me. I am a proud grandfather.”

The unexpected and tragic accident would have caused most people to despair, but Francis transformed it into an opportunity to surround himself with family and to channel his energy into pursuits to make the country better.

The fast flowing waters of Wara Simbu wind their way through Kundiawa, known locally as 'the four corner town'

His formal education began at Diani Community School in Simbu Province in 1973 and continued at Chuave Provincial High School, where he developed a love for books.

After completing high school he studied for an economics degree at the University of Papua New Guinea, graduating in 1987.

It was at UPNG that Francis began experimenting with poetry, participating in recitals and publishing a number of poems in the PNG Writers Union Magazine, ‘Ondobondo’, and a book titled ‘Through the Eye of Melanesia’.

Though in many ways he is a product of modern educational institutions, Francis maintains a strong link to his own cultural identity and has never lost touch with the traditions of his people.

“I am of a mixture of traditional and modern eras,” he says.

“I grew up in the hausman, survived by subsistence farming and wore tanket, kondai and malo [traditional items of clothing].”

This close connection to his roots fostered an egalitarian, community oriented spirit which led him to a graduate position in the then Rural Development Bank.

Over the next decade Francis travelled Papua New Guinea and began to better understand the complexity of its people as he worked to boost small projects in Rabaul, Bialla, Namatanai, Manus, Kainantu and Goroka.

It was in Goroka in February 1999 that a terrible motor vehicle accident nearly took his life. Francis is hesitant to talk about this calamity, but says he was victim of bad company. It changed his perspective of human nature.

After surviving the initial stages of his severe injury, he moved to Kundiawa where he has since lived at Sir Joseph Nombri Hospital, one of the few places suitable for him to stay in his rugged home province.

With the generosity and care from the hospital staff, particularly Dr Jan Jaworski and Dr Urakoko Boku, Francis regained his health and rekindled his love of literature. He resumed his own writing and later supported other writers.

He also involved himself in voluntary and charity work – notably with the Simbu Children Foundation – where his resilience, energy and enthusiasm boosted the morale of other hospital patients, especially those living with a disability.

In 2005, having written for several years without access to a computer, Francis managed to scrape together the resources to publish his first novel, ‘Paradise in Peril’.

“I wrote the novel by using scrap paper from the hospital’s trash bins,” Francis says.

“Reverend Daryl Boyd of the Lutheran Church typed the entire 200-plus pages and [former governor-general and author] Sir Paulias Matane assessed it and sent it to India for publication.”

Though Francis is a fine storyteller, he doesn’t limit himself to a single form. His finely-crafted essays, stories and poems also combine with a strong sense of justice, a loathing of corruption and a love for country and peles.

He brings a unique understanding of fading traditions and an intellect sharpened through academic and professional excellence.

He says of his first novel, “I captured real issues affecting the society hued in a fictitious plot with different model characters.

“The underlying idea was to keep readers captivated and engrossed in the story and, as the issues unfolded, to embrace them and, hopefully, make a difference.”

In 2012, Francis heard about the establishment of the Crocodile Prize – PNG’s national literary awards – and recognised its potential to provide a platform for writers who were creating an authentic Papua New Guinean literature.

“There are talented writers, but the lack of publication opportunities has been the obstacle,” he says.

“The Crocodile Prize and its annual anthology are the keys to unlocking this stumbling block and certainly there will continue to be a flood of new writers and new writing in the ensuing years.”

Francis was no longer writing on recycled paper, but punching out prose and verse on a mobile phone – enabling him to reach further and wider than ever before.

He entered the Crocodile Prize and also established himself as a regular contributor to the eminent blog PNG Attitude – published by Keith Jackson, co-founder of the Crocodile Prize, who had been a teacher in Simbu 50 years earlier.

In 2013, Francis had a defining moment when he won the Crocodile Prize award for essays and journalism for ‘If Dekla Says Papua New Guinea is Eden, Then It Is!’

The Crocodile Prize’s other co-founder Philip Fitzpatrick later wrote that this essay gently, but pointedly, made light of Papua New Guineans who follow Westernisation only to miss what their traditions have to offer.

“The end result is an anecdote and fable of considerable power, both in its social and political contexts,” Fitzpatrick said of the essay.

“Part of this power is in its purposeful but cleverly disguised objective of making its readers think about the issues.”

It was quintessential Francis Nii.

Rather than sit back and feel content with his achievement, Francis saw his Crocodile Prize success as an opportunity to encourage others and expand the base of writers and readers across the country and he wasted no time in getting to work in his native Simbu.

“Keith Jackson, Philip Fitzpatrick and the Crocodile Prize elevated me to a different height where I am now a writer, editor and publisher,” he says.

“We established the Simbu Writers Association in 2014 to encourage the present generation to write and be published.

“We travelled to remote areas of the province to bring the message of literature to schools and to the people.”

Francis and the Simbu Writers Association never intended to make money, which was fortunate because the exercise of publication and distribution cost far more than they ever got back.

“We had an idea and were prepared to work hard and without compensation to realise it,” he continues.

“We began to visit schools, talking to students and teachers about the Crocodile Prize literary contest. We covered lots of ground and talk to many hundreds of people.

“Schools don’t have the money to bulk buy books so I handed out copies of my novel – sometimes a principal would even ask me to autograph it!”

The mission to encourage reading, writing and critical thought took group through some of PNG’s most rugged terrain and marginalised communities.

“Sometimes the roads were so bad we couldn’t get through,” Francis says, “but that didn’t happen often… we were very determined.”

“As more books became available, we grabbed whatever transport we could to deliver them, including ambulances and police vehicles.

“Once, disgruntled youths held us up thinking we were the Governor and local politicians – we gave them a book to let us pass.”

Kerenga Kua, now a senior government minister, holds up a copy of an anthology written by students of Ku High School and published by Simbu Writers Association

The Simbu Writers Association continued to spread the word and also facilitated more local authors to be published, including a collection by students at Ku High School that was launched by Kerenga Kua MP, now PNG’s Minister for Petroleum.

The Association again teamed up with Kua to host the 2015 Crocodile Prize Awards in Kundiawa – the first and only time the ceremony has been held outside Port Moresby.

While it was no surprise that local writing was well-received within PNG, Francis could not have foreseen the international acclaim and support he would receive.

In 2016, he was conferred perhaps his greatest recognition as a writer when invited, along with authors Rashmii Bell, Daniel Kumbon and Martyn Namorong, to present at the Brisbane Writers Festival in Australia – a trip sponsored by Paga Hill Estate and Professor Ken McKinnon.

The PNG authors took the stage for the one-hour session, reflecting on the state of their nation, from a political and social perspective, its halting developments in literature and daring to imagine their people’s future.

Francis Nii, Daniel Kumbon, Rashmii Amoah Bell and Martyn Namorong on stage at the Brisbane writers festival - a highlight is Papua New Guinea's unsteady development as a literary nation

Francis told stories of the journey of the Simbu writers and mused on the disappearance of the hausman, the institution of the men’s house that provided the educational and ethical foundation for Highlands societies.

He also revealed a subtext to his years of hard work – a fear that without a stream of writing and writers the nation that had been born of a thousand tribes might become disconnected from itself.

“PNG has a wealth of diverse and esoteric cultures and traditions, unique flora and fauna, historical heritage and relics, legends and folklores, proverbs and idioms, contemporary developments and issues and others to be written about,” Francis says.

“Different cultures and traditions are passed on orally from generation to generation – but they need to harness this talent and convert it into written form.

“A nation without literature is a people with lost identity.”

Go to this link for more: https://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2019/07/unfinished-journey-francis-nii-the-struggle-for-png-literature.html