Safe guarding resources for future generations

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a mountainous, rainforest covered country located on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. It is made up of the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, the New Ireland, New Britain, Bougainville islands and other smaller islands. Papua New Guinea shares its land borders with Indonesia to the east, Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the south-east. It is also a country richly blessed with natural resources.

This essay is based on my thoughts on the fourth national goal of Papua New Guinea which states: “Natural resources and environment: Wise use of natural resources and the environment for current and future generations.

I will present my point of view on three different industries which include underground, logging and fishing resources exploitations. I will also present recommendations on the issues that I raise in the discussion.

Underground resource exploitation

Firstly, I will discuss the underground resource exploitation industry. Underground resource exploitation is defined as the process or business of extracting ore or minerals from the ground. In Papua New Guinea, this form of land exploitation is a major income resource and has dominated the economy since the 1970s (Wikipedia.org). Oil extraction exports alone contribute 82% of GDP and oil and minerals continues to account for over 60% of GDP (www.state.gov). Currently, PNG has copper, gold, silver, cobalt and oil extraction sites. These mines create job opportunities for many Papua New Guineans. Unfortunately, the chemicals from its activities can cause widespread and diverse damage to the environment such as destruction to vegetation and wildlife around the mine areas. For example, the Ramu nickel mine in Madang Province, the locals near the mining area have an ongoing battle with the mine management over plans to dump 100 million tonnes of mine waste into the Basamuk Bay over a period of 20 years. This will damage the marine eco-system in the bay which can reduce marine food and sources of income for the local people. On April 27 2012, PNG Mine watch reported that several ships carrying Ramu mine processing plants spilled chemicals into the Basamuk Bay which caused bleaching to the coral reefs. It was also reported that people were removed forcefully from their homes to make way for mine developments. This led to the destruction of sites that are culturally significant to the local people (greenleft.org.au). Such destructions to forest environments around the mine sites cannot be easily restored to its original richness in diverse fauna, flora and animal life. Traditional medicine, plants for body paints, wild edible fruits, greens, roots and native animal habitat are destroyed for good. Destruction to river life and ocean life also occurs when mine waste are dumped in them. All underground resource exploitations have caused environmental damage world- wide. Even though they bring in revenue into a country and create job opportunities, they damage the land, river systems and parts of the oceans. People affected by mining development lose food sources from the forest, rivers and sea through contamination from mine waste. The fish, animals and birds which feed in such habitats move away or die in large numbers. Therefore people who depend on food from the forest, rivers and seas are left with reduced vegetables, fruits, nuts, fish, animals and birds stock to hunt, catch or collect for food. After the life of the exploitation of mineral resources in the mine rich areas, the local people may be left with nothing, but a mining ghost town, if they had not invested well their royalty benefits during the life of the mine. A country must seriously consider the advantages and disadvantages of exploitation of its mineral resources and make a decision on whether it should allow the large scale exploitation of its mineral resources in future.

Logging Industry

Next, is the logging industry which is another important industry that contributes to the PNG economy. It also provides employment opportunities for Papua New Guineans and a source of revenue for the country. PNG is reported to have the largest area of rainforest left in the Asia- Pacific region. The country is covered with 40% of exploitable trees. Forestry alone contributes 4% of GDP. Forestry in Papua New Guinea is an emerging part of the agricultural sector and this industry is dominated by Malaysian logging companies. Papua New Guinea is now the world’s second-largest exporter of round tropical logs, which is mostly exported to Japan and Korea. In legal logging areas, the sizes of trees to be harvested are monitored so that only matured trees which are of the required width are harvested. However, illegal logging also occurs and contributes to 70-90% of all timber exports making this figure one of the highest in the world (Wikipedia.org). In areas where illegal logging occurs, there is generally minimal monitoring of tree harvesting. In such cases, harvest all kinds of trees whether they are matured or not, the right size or not, or the right type of wood or not. They are also not generally concerned with the practice of reforestation. They harvest and leave, and do little or nothing to replant new native trees of the same species of trees that have been harvested. This can lead to the loss of habitat of many animal and plant species. Native plant species will die out and animal species will move to other similar habitats which may be long distances away from the people’s villages. The migration of the animals and the death of plants will affect the people who depend so much on them for their survival. If the responsible authorities monitor the logging companies’ activities and demand reforestation through appropriate legislations, there will be enough trees left for future generations to use. Animals and birds will also remain in the forest for the people to hunt for food in future.

Fishing Industry

Finally the fishing industry is another industry that contributes to PNG’s economy. Papua New Guinea’s sea is full of valuable marine resources and has the largest fisheries zone in the South Pacific measuring 2.4 million to 3.1 million square kilometres. The fisheries sector in PNG contributes only 1% of the GDP but is extensive and ranges from inland fisheries, aquacultures, coastal beche-de-mer and reef fisheries to the prawn trawl and large- scale tuna fisheries. However, having a large fisheries zone presents an enormous challenge for monitoring and controlling fishing vessels in PNG’s EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone). In recent months, groups of people have been arrested for illegal fishing in PNG waters (illegal-fishing.info). The use of nets and dynamite fishing for commercial purposes can lead to overfishing especially when fishing activities are not monitored well by the responsible authorities. It is a common practice in Southeast Asia and some parts of PNG to use explosives to stun or kill marine life for easy collection of fish. People used dynamite fishing when they intend to harvest large quantities of fish for commercial purposes. This is an illegal and very dangerous practice and it kills all marine life in areas that are dynamited. In net fishing, nets are cast into the ocean/ rivers and are pulled along by boats trapping not only fish but other marine life as well. A lot of other marine lives are killed during this method of fishing. Dynamite and net fishing can reduce the quantity of marine and freshwater stock. If large quantities of marine and freshwater stock are destroyed through regular use of these methods of fishing, there will be reduced or no marine food left for future generations. Unfortunately, traditional ways of sustainable fishing such as restriction of fishing at certain times of year to allow for regeneration marine life and food marine food farming is no longer observed and practiced by many PNG communities because of the influence of commercial fishing. To ensure that there is sufficient fish and marine food for future generations, communities in coastal areas have to revive traditional sustainable practices such as sea farming of fish, clams, seaweed and prawns and marine regeneration practices.

Conclusion

I have discussed advantages and disadvantages of three types of natural resources exploitations in Papua New Guinea. These are underground resource exploitation, logging and fishing. I have also discussed some ways in which these resources can be sustained for the future generations of Papua New Guinea.

Here are some of my recommendations for sustainability of natural resources:

• The government should reinforce the Environment and Conservation act and ALLOW the rights of the indigenous people to challenge the deals concerning the extraction of resources from their land.

• Appropriate authorities must regularly monitor all land and marine exploitation activities in the country to ensure environmental damage is minimal.

• Conduct awareness programs for the communities affected about the different types of exploitation of lands and their effects on their food and income resources.

*Stephanie Paraide is a Grade 9 student (2012) at Saint Joseph's International Catholic College. Stephanie wins K1000 towards her 2013 tuition fees.*