"Technological Drivers of (R)evolutionary Change in Modern Societies and How Developing Countries...

7th HUON SEMINAR2013 THE PNG UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, LAE PAPUA NEW GUINEA

The Proceedings November 13‐14, 2013 ISBN: 978‐9980‐87‐541‐9

PNG PORTS CORPORATION LIMITED

ii

Organizing Committee-7th Huon Seminar Chairperson – Professor Abdul Halim, Department of Agriculture, [email protected] Deputy Chairperson – Ms Frieda Siaguru, Department of Business Studies, [email protected] Executive Officer–Mrs Hilda Tona, Huon Seminar Secretariat, [email protected] Members Dr Praveen Pandey, Department of Mechanical Engineering, [email protected] Dr Rachael Orake, Department of Communication & Development Studies, [email protected] Dr Ora Renagi, Department of Applied Physics, [email protected] Mr Job Suat, Department of Surveying, [email protected] Mr Justin Kehatsin, Department of Communication & Development Studies, [email protected] Dr R. Rao, Department of Agriculture, [email protected] Dr Sailas Samanta, Department of Surveying; [email protected] Mr Herman Kunsei, Department of Electrical Engineering, [email protected] Mr Ruben Kalate, Office of Bursary, [email protected] Mr Hubert, Central Facilities

Editorial Board-7th Huon Seminar Chairperson – Dr Praveen Pandey, Department of Mechanical Engineering, [email protected] Deputy Chairperson – Dr R. Orake, Department of Communication & Development Studies, [email protected] Executive Officer–Mrs Hilda Tona, Huon Seminar Secretariat, [email protected] Members Professor Abdul Halim, Department of Agriculture, [email protected] Dr Ora Renagi, Department of Applied Physics, [email protected] Mr Justin Kehatsin, Department of Communication & Development Studies, [email protected] Dr Kaul Gena, Department of Mining Engineering, [email protected] Dr R. Rao, Department of Agriculture, [email protected] Dr Gariba Danbaro, Department of Agriculture, [email protected] Dr Khandakar Elahi, Department of Agriculture, [email protected] Dr Janarthanan Gopalakrishnan, Department of Applied Sciences, [email protected]

Publisher

The Papua New Guinea University of Technology Private Mail Bag, Lae , 411 Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea

ISBN: 978-9980-87-541-9

iii

Contents

Page

Foreword - Acting Vice Chancellor vii

Chairman’s Remarks xi

From the Desk of Editor x

Message - CEO, PNG Power Limited xi

7th Huon Seminar Program Schedule xiv

ENGINEERING SCIENCES

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Quality Assurance in Engineering Education with Special Reference to Engineering Programs at the PNG University of Technology; Prof M. A. Satter, Pro-VC (Academic), PNG University of Technology 1

PAPERS

Assessment of Phragmite karka (pitpit) as Possible Phytoremediation Plant Species for Heavy Metal Removal from Mining Environment in PNG. A Case Study on Closed Namie Mine Wau, Morobe Province; S. Rungwa, G. Arpa, H.W. Sakulas, A.H. Harakuwe and D. Timi 9

The River Plumes of the Southern Huon Peninsula, PNG; Ora Renagi, Scott F. Heron and Peter V Ridd 20

GIS analysis of land suitability for commercial tree species in Papua New Guinea; John Kopatlie and David Lopez Cornelio 35

Concentration of Hessen Bay Chromite Ore; M. Saki, A. K. Chakrabarti and W. Kipit 41

Production of Sponge Iron by Oxidation Roast and Carbothermic Reduction of Ok Tedi Pyrite concentrates; M. Kama (Ms), A. K. Chakrabarti and P.S.A. Leki 47

An Evaluation of the Lae City Road Network Improvement Project: Development of the Lae Port and Construction of Four Lane Roads; Murray Matarab Konzang 55

Status and Prospects of Biofuels Development in Papua New Guinea; Reilly. Y. Nigo and A.Puy 65

iv

Deleterious Elements Associated with Submarine Hydrothermal Deposits in Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea; Kaul Gena

73

Industry-Academia Interaction in PNG; Praveen Pandey and Subhash C. Dey 81

Engineering Education in Papua New Guinea; John Pumwa 86

Erosion and Drainage Problems in the Environs of Lae: A Disaster Waiting to Happen Again; Graham Peter Atkins 92

Curriculum development in the Technical Education Supply Chain of Papua New Guinea; H. S. Srivastava and Praveen Pandey 99

LIFE SCIENCES

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Relevance of Life Sciences in Achieving PNG Vision 2050; Mr. Macquin Maino, Pro-VC (Administration), PNG University of Technology 107

PAPERS

Ethnomycological Documentation of Mushroom Diversity of Wopkola in Mul District of Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea and Investigation of Antimicrobial Properties of Selected Species; Kik A, Jeyarathan P, DeBritto S 111

People, Pigs and PNG Vision 2050: A Glimpse of Morobe Province; Stanley Amben, Michael Dom and Workneh Ayalew 121

Assessment of Vulnerability and Impacts of Climate Change on Forests in Papua New Guinea; Eko Maiguo, Rodney Keenan, Craig Nitschke 130

Potential health risks induced by volcanic dust: An appraisal of exposure to cadmium through food sources in the East New Britain, Papua New Guinea; K. Hundang, A. Pue, and L.P. Werry 142

A Survey on the Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Goats in the Highlands and Lowlands of Papua New Guinea; Lena W. Yual and Dr. Jayaprakash 151

Study on the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. on the growth of bean and tomato plants under greenhouse condition; Gwendolyn Ban, Shamsul Akanda and Macquin Maino 159

Mineralization and Leaching of Nitrogen from Animal Manures and Urea Applied to Sweetpotato under Humid Tropical Conditions; P. Kaupa and B.K. Rajashekhar Rao 164

Identification of Plant Materials Used in the General Construction of Traditional Houses in Serongko Village, Finschhafen District, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea; Michelle Anania, Mex M. Peki and Artis Vinas 174

v

Volume Table for Pinus Caribaea in Bulolo Wau Forest Plantations of Papua New Guinea; M. Karmar, P. Damba, A. Pilisi, E. Malabuo, A. Jenkiau 189

SOCIAL SCIENCES

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Higher Education Reform in PNG as Enhanced Public Value: A Preliminary Analysis; Prof. D. Kavanamur, DG, OHE 197

PAPERS

The Role of State in Economy through Human Capital Development in Research Science & Technology; Francis Hualupmom 207

Technological Drivers of (R)evolutionary Change in Modern Societies and How Developing Countries Might Productively Respond to Them via Intentional, Thoughtful “Leapfrogging”; Eric Gilder 218

Conflict Analysis of the Controversial Bill on the 22 Reserved Seats for Papua New Guinea Women in Parliament; Alex, A. Botu 227

Conflict mapping and analysis of sorcery related tortures and killings in Papua New Guinea; Alex, A. Botu 234

Factors That Trigger Lackadaisical Learning in Universities in PNG; Justin Kehatsin and Kathleen Solok 244

Role of Intra-Communication and Inter-Communication Motivating Female Children Commercial Sex in Lae, Morobe Province; Wilma Molus 257

Smallholder Coffee Growers in PNG: A Review of Coffee Industry Corporation’s Extension Services; Samuel Ati Hinafa and Abdul Halim 272

Developing KPIs for the Papua New Guinea University of Technology; Muhammed A Satter, Albert Schram, John Pumwa and Veronica Thomas 280

Efforts in Reorienting Technical Vocational Education & Training System In Papua New Guinea to The Global Economy: A Case Study; Patrol Maino 289

Gender-based Division of Labour in PNG Agriculture: Some Farm-level Information about Male-female Participation in Smallholder Coffee Farming; Tiko. B and Halim. A 306

Effective Food Trade through National Food Control System in Papua New Guinea; S. Denano, R. Nigo and D. Jukes 311

Human Resource Development, Gender, Youth and People Empowerment: Recommended Communication Strategies for Achieving Positive Outcome in Politics for Women in Papua New Guinea; Mary Aisi 324

Facilitating participatory communication in agricultural development: Negotiating complexities in Gebensis village; Barton Maino Gabi and Lilly Sar

335

vi

Problems and Prospects of Postgraduate Program at Unitech: A Case Study of the Department of Agriculture; Shamsul Akanda, Abdul Halim and Macquin Maino 341

Individualisation of Customary Lands in Melanesia: How Theoretically Sound is the Policy Prescription? Khandakar Qudrat-I Elahi 348

Retaining Youth in Agriculture in PNG: Challenges and Opportunities; Abdul Halim 356

7th HUON SEMINAR RECOMMENDATIONS 362

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 367

BEST PAPER AWARD 369

vii

FOREWORD

The Huon Seminar is a major research activity of the PNG University of Technology whereby ideas are invented, innovations in research are shared and relevant issues are discussed among learned professionals. This year’s Seminar is focused on the three pillars of the PNG Vision 2050. These include: Pillar 1: Human Resource Development, Gender, Youth and People Empowerment; Pillar 3: Institutional Development and Service Delivery; and Pillar 5: Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change. Without engineering, science and technology, the above three pillars of the PNG Vision 2050 may not be achieved. The overall objective of vision 2050 is to develop PNG as a happy, healthy, middle-income society.

In order for the society to advance, it needs an economy to produce goods for consumption, provide services, and improve the overall quality of life for its citizens. Similarly, it needs education to prepare its citizens so that they can benefit from what is already known and even add to the world’s body of knowledge. Science, technology, and engineering are critical to the nation’s prosperity. Just as science and technology have advanced the nations in the developed countries, they will be critical in addressing today’s challenges in our nation.

The theme for this year’s 7th Huon Seminar ‘Achieving Vision 2050 through Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology’ provides an avenue whereby strategic planning for higher education by the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology take into account valuable information from the seminar in addressing development challenges faced in PNG. Bearing in mind that the aim of education and research is not simply the generation of results for their own sakes but in engineering in particular, they are supposed to fulfill some significant purpose. Any search for new ideas or information should be driven by the need to answer a question of some significance. I hope that the ideas and issues obtained from the seminar can be put to good use in shaping, advancing and bringing prosperity to the people of our beloved nation.

As the acting vice chancellor, I am greatly honored by the tremendous support given by our major sponsors; PNG Ports Corporation Limited (Gold Sponsor), PNG Power Limited (Silver Sponsor) and Office of Higher Education (Bronze Sponsor), Unitech Development Consultancy Services and National Analytical Laboratory & Testing Services in making the Seminar a success. All the three major categories of sponsors have done really well by taking part ownership of the seminar. Your financial contributions are vey much appreciated. You have indirectly taken ownership of the theme of the seminar, which I believe will stimulate tangible development in Papua New Guinea.

viii

Finally, I would like to thank PNG Ports Corporation and PNG Power our gold and silver sponsors respectively for your great and generous support. This speaks volumes about the importance of seminars and also the roles universities play in a country. We are truly inspired by your kind gestures. We hope that this will be the beginning of our private and public partnership where we will collaborate to bring tangible results in our drive to achieve our Nation’s Vision 2050.

Prof. John Pumwa, Ph.D. Acting Vice Chancellor

Lae, November, 2013

ix

CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS

This year marks the 7th Huon Seminar Series and I am pleased to say that it has turned out to be one of the most successful events hosted by the university. The Huon Seminar is a biennial event and is named after the Huon Peninsular in the Morobe Province. The last seminar was held in 2009 in which the university hosted both the 6th Huon Seminar and the 2nd Science and Technology Conference.

The theme of the 7th Huon Seminar “Achieving Vision 2050 through Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology” gives significance to this seminar as it not only unites presenters in the industry, government and academia, but it allows to share and discover ideas that may help us in achieving Vision 2050.

PNG needs to take the lead in education and technology within the Pacific Region. We should be encouraged to learn from this seminar and to strategize how we can implement these ideas. We must be encouraged to work together in partnership and to strengthen our networking both nationally and internationally to see the development of science, education and technology in PNG. The 7th Huon Seminar Proceedings presents abstracts from the field of Engineering Sciences, Life Sciences and Social Sciences. My sincere appreciation to the authors who had invested time and effort in writing papers for presentation in the seminar.

This year’s seminar was organized well due to generous financial support from our corporate sponsors; PNG Ports as Gold Sponsor and PNG Power as Silver Sponsor. On behalf of the Huon Seminar organizing Committee, I would like to thank PNG Ports and PNG Power for the support and we hope this will be the beginning of a new partnership for us. On this note, I would also like to extend our appreciation to the Office of Higher Education, Unitech Development Consultancy and National Analytical and Testing Services Limited for their bronze sponsorship.

Finally, the seminar has produced the best due to the commitment of our splendid team of organizers. I sincerely appreciate the efforts of editorial board chairman Dr. Praveen Pandey and the members of the editorial team for very professionally carrying out their task to the completion. I thank vice chairperson Ms. Frieda Siaguru, executive officer Ms. Hilda Tona and the dedicated members of organizing team for their contribution. My sincere appreciation to the PNG University of Technology’s Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. John Pumwa and the Senior Executive Management for the support in making this event a success. On behalf of the organizing committee, the PNG University of Technology and the Sponsors, we present this 7th Huon Seminar proceedings to you all.

Prof. Abdul Halim, Ph.D. Professor & Head of Agriculture Department Chairman – 7th Huon Seminar 2013

Lae, November, 2013

x

FROM THE DESK OF EDITOR…

"I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious…" — Albert Einstein

The editorial board is encouraged and excited with the launch of the proceedings of the 7th Huon Seminar, a very prestigious biennial event in the south pacific region, being hosted at the Taraka Main Campus of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology from the 13th-14th of November 2013. This version of Huon Seminar is organized on the theme “Achieving Vision 2050 through Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology”. The seminar envisages to achieve the PNG Vision 2050 by focusing and strengthening the three major pillars of development, which are; (i) Human Resource Development, Gender, Youth and People Empowerment, (ii) Environment, Sustainability & Climate Change and (iii) Institutional Development & Service Delivery. I feel proud to say that we received an overwhelming response from the people from academia, industries, research institutions, government and other walks of life in submitting their research, review or conceptual idea papers in this seminar. In total we received 98 abstracts. Our editorial board reviewed all the abstracts and papers received. This proceedings contains the 38 papers finally recommended, after a rigorous process of review, for the presentation in this 7th Huon Seminar. The proceedings include scholarly articles from various specialties and disciplines of engineering & applied sciences, life sciences and social sciences. I take this opportunity to thank all the authors who took keen interest in the seminar and submitted their paper for review.

I firmly believe that on November 13th and 14th, 2013 we would witness a huge conglomeration of scholars and experts from different part of Papua New Guinea and overseas. Throughout the duration of the seminar we will have an opportunity to listen to thoughts and ideas of the experts in their chosen field and to interact with them. After two days of deliberations on the theme, the 7th Huon seminar would provide us some very meaningful outcomes and would direct us in achieving the vision 2050 for Papua New Guinea.

Last, but not the least, I wish to thank all those who helped us in bringing out this proceedings of the seminar before you. My special thanks to the Unitech administration, 7th Huon seminar organizing committee chairman Prof. A. Halim, vice chairperson Ms. Frieda Siaguru, executive officer Ms. Hilda Tona, editorial board members, organizing committee members and our major sponsors of the event PNG Ports Corporation and PNG Power Limited, Unitech Development and Consultancy and National Analytical and Testing Services Ltd. Finally, I thank the Office of Higher Education, Papua New Guinea for extending their continuous support in many ways.

Praveen Pandey, Ph.D. Chairman Editorial Board-7th Huon Seminar

Lae, November, 2013

xi

MESSAGE OF CEO

PNG Power is very proud to support the 7th Huon Seminar in 2013. And as a product of the University of Technology, I am honoured to join our nation’s preeminent scholars, leaders and students to be part of this important occasion to share our experiences and ideas on the theme – ‘Achieving Vision 2050 Through Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology’. Ideas and experiences shared in this seminar are vital for us to advance and shape the future of our country. Achieving Vision 2050 is a big challenge for all Papua New Guineans but we have to start somewhere. And of course, we have done well so far - and we must keep on doing better. The University of Technology has been going through some hard times in the past few months. Despite those issues, UNITECH has keep focus and changed the mindset for everyone to work towards making sure UNITECH progressed in a positive way. Thus, UNITECH has shown prosperity and leadership by successfully hosting the 7th Huon Seminar. Congratulations! It is also impressing to see some infrastructure development including the new boy’s dormitories, 23 international staff houses, campus sewerage and the school’s beautification projects. And the biggest challenge is for UNITECH to lead in technological education and good governance, and build a research culture that can nurture innovation and invention. UNITECH has been producing some top elites who are delivering results at their work places both locally and internationally. And for PNG Power, about 40% of the total workforce is products of UNITECH. These energetic people have played a vital role in the generation, transmission, distribution and retailing of electricity throughout PNG and continue to do so. Since 1963, PNG Power has played a very vital role in the social and economic development that has assisted to make Papua New Guinea a leading nation in the South Pacific. Our corporate objective is to enhance the economic and social development of Papua New Guinea through leading the development and expansion of electricity supply throughout the nation. This can be achieved through aligning, coordinating and utilizing the resources of PNG Power, Government and the private sector towards Vision 2050. Hundreds of our staff members are “home-grown” – as they were all trained by the ELCOM Training College, now known as PNG Power Training College. Most of the competent electricians in the mining and petroleum sector both locally and internationally, have come out of this college. PNG Power Training College was in operation but not utilised to its maximum capacity in the past 20 years. However, PNG Power has reopened the college this year. The management has allocated K2million for training next year onwards and between 5-10 % of PPL staff will be trained in their respective field of work and experiences on a monthly basis. The college will also be used for induction for new recruits and on-exit training for long-serving and experienced personnel that leave PNG Power.

Moreover, in May this year, PNG Power reintroduced its cadetship program and is on a recruitment drive for 3rd and 4th year university students studying in the fields of mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, lands & survey, accountancy and economics. PNG Power’s human resource officers have visited Divine Word University, University of Technology and University of Papua New Guinea in June for the cadetship

xii

program. They will also visit the other universities next year onwards. The first batch of successful students will join the cadetship program in 2014. Currently, the students are still in school so the idea is to source PNG Power’s human resource and tailor-make them to the industry. The demand for electricity in Papua New Guinea has been constantly growing over the years at an average rate of 2.2 percent. Our customer numbers now stand at 90,000 plus. Our revenue base will be K800 million by end of 2013. Total assets now stands at over K1 billion. Providing a reliable electricity supply is vital to any nation but this is especially important to Papua New Guinea where the expectations of our people for rapid development are very high. PNG Power has recognized the potential to provide low cost hydro electricity generation. This is seen as a competitive advantage to the nation and we are actively working to develop more hydro power stations and will actively promote hydro power to the developers and operators of resource and industrial projects including possible expansion of downstream processing. Agreements have been signed with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to develop new hydro power stations at Naoro Brown outside Port Moresby, Divune in Oro Province and Ramazon in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville as part of its Town Electrification Improvement Program. PNG Power is also putting much effort into rehabilitating the hydro power stations at Ramu 1 and Rouna 1 to ensure that they will be running to their full capacity. Work on the new power station, the Yonki Toe of the Dam at Ramu has been completed and the first machine was commissioned in September 2013. Once both machines are in operation, this new power station should give us another 18Mw on to the Ramu system to supply the Highlands and Momase region. And there will be sufficient power to supply the growing highlands and Mamose region’s economies. With ever-increasing climate change, in addition to volatile fossil fuel prices and fossil fuel depletion concerns, PNG Power Ltd (PPL) is focused on producing environmentally conscious electricity. PNG Power is embarking on several energy efficiency projects in the country to contribute towards the global effort in reducing carbon emission. PNG Power has successfully registered its Project 8383 Programme of Activities (PoA) for Sustainable Renewable Energy Power Generation in PNG under the Clean Devel-opment Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol on the 23rd November 2012. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) signed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which PNG has ratified, enables sub-projects under the Town Electrification Improvement Program. CDM, in reality, stimulates sustainable development and emissions reductions, while giving us some flexibility in how we meet our emission reductions targets. The new Divune and Ramazon hydro power projects are the first two hydro power projects under renewable energy for the CDM PoA. The Asian Development Bank and International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) are assisting PNG Power to carry out awareness and begin some new projects in street lighting, heat ventilation and waste management inside Port Moresby and throughout the country. Our staff members are also carrying out awareness on energy efficiency in schools and public gatherings to encourage and educate consumers to save energy - because when we save energy, we save planet earth.

xiii

Electricity services has come this far in the last 50 years and we will do everything to ensure that PNG Power is able to meet any demand for electricity, including reaching all the rural areas in the next 30 years as required by the Government’s Medium Term Development Plan and Vision 2050. PNG Power has extensive electricity infrastructure across the nation that can be extended or expanded to develop and improve electricity supply to PNG. To achieve this, PNG Power will establish alliances with the private sector to deliver improved and expanded electricity services to PNG. And to achieve that, PNG Power requires highly educated citizens with a culture to cherish invention and innovation to align its economic and human resource development plans and activities with Government development strategies and policies. To conclude, Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology are the pivot of our nation’s development. A nation without these three is definitely a backward nation. Such nation will be considered underdeveloped. Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology are associated with modernity and they are the essential ‘tools’ for our rapid development and success. Papua New Guinea’s development depends solely on the level of education, research, science and technology at its disposal. In April 2013, the President of United States Barrack Obama made a remark at the 150th anniversary of the national academy of science in Washington DC and said “we’ve got to make sure that we’re supporting that next generation of dreamers and risk-takers — because if we are, things will be good”. That’s what he said, so my question is ‘are we giving enough support to our dreamers and, are we willing to take the risk to achieve Vision 2050? God bless you all.

John Tangit Chief Executive Officer PNG Power Ltd

xiv

PNG PORTS 7th HUON SEMINAR PROGRAM SCHEDULE

13th‐14th NOVEMBER, 2013

WEDNESDAY 13th NOVEMBER, 2013

07:45‐08:00 Arrival of Participants and Registration‐Venue: RKLT Room No. 2

08:00‐09:00 Welcome Ceremony

Inaugural Session & Official Opening (Venue: RKLT); Master of Ceremony: Ms. Freida Siaguru

09.00‐09:10 Opening Remark: Chairman 7th Huon Seminar, Prof A. Halim

09.10‐09.20 Welcome Address: Acting Vice Chancellor , Prof. John Pumwa

09.20‐09:40 Address by DG, Office of Higher Education, Dr. David Kavanamur

09:40‐10:20 Address by Minister for Public Enterprise & State Investment, Hon Ben Micah, MP

10:20‐10:40 Tea Break

Inaugural Session Continued; Master of Ceremony: Dr. Praveen Pandey

10:40‐10:50 CEO PNG Ports

10:50‐11:00 CEO PNG Power

11:00‐12:00 Keynote Address, Prof M.A. Satter, Pro VC Academic

12:00‐13:00 Lunch at Venue‐RK Foyer

Technical Session‐1; Chair: Dr. Praveen PandeyVenue: MN001; Category: Engineering Sciences

Technical Session‐2; Chair: Dr. Garry Sali Venue: RKLT; Category: Social Sciences

13:00‐13:20 A proposal for a National Broadband Network to support socio-economic development in Papua New Guinea; Joseph Kim Suwamaru; HS7-2013-001

The Role of State in Economy through Human Capital Development in Research Science & Technology; Francis Hualupmom; HS7-2013-004

13:20‐13:40 Assessment of Phragmite karka (pitpit) as Possible Phytoremediation Plant Species for Heavy Metal Removal from Mining Environment in PNG. A Case Study on Closed Namie Mine Wau, Morobe Province; S. Rungwa, G. Arpa, H.W. Sakulas, A.H. Harakuwe and D. Timi; HS7-2013-003

Technological Drivers of (R)evolutionary Change in Modern Societies and How Developing Countries Might Productively Respond to Them via Intentional, Thoughtful “Leapfrogging”; Eric Gilder; HS7-2013-008

13:40‐14:00 Deleterious Elements Associated with Submarine Hydrothermal Deposits in Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea; Kaul Gena; HS7-2013-089

Conflict Analysis of the Controversial Bill on the 22 Reserved Seats for Papua New Guinea Women in Parliament; Alex, A. Botu; HS7-2013-010

14:20‐14:40 GIS analysis of land suitability for commercial tree species in Papua New Guinea; John Kopatlie and David Lopez Cornelio; HS7-2013-024

People, Pigs and PNG Vision 2050: A Glimpse of Morobe Province; Stanley Amben, Michael Dom

and Workneh Ayalew; HS7-2013-016

14:40‐15:00 Concentration of Hessen Bay Chromite Ore; M. Saki, A. K. Chakrabarti and W. Kipit; HS7-2013-032

Factors That Trigger Lackadaisical Learning in Universities in PNG; Justin Kehatsin and Kathleen Solok; HS7-2013-017

15:00‐15:20 Tea Break

Technical Session‐3; Chair: Dr. G. ArpaVenue: MN001; Category: Engineering Sciences

Technical Session‐4; Chair: Dr. Tom OkpulVenue: RKLT; Category: Life Sciences

15:20‐15:40 Production of Sponge Iron by Oxidation Roast and Carbothermic Reduction of Ok Tedi Pyrite concentrates; M. Kama (Ms), A. K. Chakrabarti and P.S.A. Leki; HS7-2013-037

Study on the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. on the growth of bean and tomato plants under greenhouse condition; Gwendolyn Ban, Shamsul Akanda and Macquin Maino; HS7-2013-060

15:40‐16:00 Status and Prospects of Biofuels Development in Papua New Guinea; Reilly. Y. Nigo and A.Puy; HS7-2013-066

Mineralization and Leaching of Nitrogen from Animal Manures and Urea Applied to Sweetpotato under Humid Tropical Conditions; P. Kaupa and B.K. Rajashekhar Rao; HS7-2013-069

xv

16:00‐16:20 The River Plumes of the Southern Huon Peninsula, PNG; Ora Renagi, Scott F. Heron

and Peter V Ridd; HS7-2013-013

Identification of Plant Materials Used in the General Construction of Traditional Houses in Serongko Village, Finschhafen District, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea; Michelle Anania, Mex M. Peki and Artis Vinas; HS7-2013-078

16:20‐16:40 Industry-Academia Interaction in PNG; Praveen Pandey and Subhash C. Dey; HS7-2013-094

Effective Food Trade through National Food Control System in Papua New Guinea; S. Denano, R. Nigo and D. Jukes; HS7-2013-067

16:40:17:00 Erosion and Drainage Problems in the Enviro Facilitating participatory communication in agricultural development: Negotiating complexities in Gebensis village; Barton Maino Gabi and Lilly Sar; HS7-2013-075

7:30pm Cocktail Dinner Welcome Dinner Remarks : Chairman Professor Abdul Halim Dinner Address: Vice Chancellor

THURSDAY 14th NOVEMBER, 2013

08:00‐09:00 Opening Session (RKLT)

9:00‐09:30 Keynote Address1: Pro‐Vice Chancellor (Admin), Mr. M. Maino‐ Life Sciences

09:30‐10:00 Keynote Address 2: Director General‐Office of Higher Education – Social Sciences

10:00‐10:20 Tea Break

Technical Session‐5; Chair: Dr. Ora RenagiVenue: MN001; Category: Engineering Sciences

Technical Session‐6; Chair: Prof D.K. Pal Venue: RKLT; Category: Life Sciences

10:20‐10:40 Engineering Education in Papua New Guinea; John Pumwa; HS7-2013-095

Ethnomycological Documentation of Mushroom Diversity of Wopkola in Mul District of Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea and Investigation of Antimicrobial Properties of Selected Species; Kik A, Jeyarathan P, DeBritto S.; HS7-2013-014

10:40‐11:00 Curriculum development in the Technical Education Supply Chain of Papua New Guinea; H. S. Srivastava and Praveen Pandey; ; HS7-2013-097

Assessment of Vulnerability and Impacts of Climate Change on Forests in Papua New Guinea; Eko Maiguo, Rodney Keenan, Craig Nitschke; HS7-2013-019

11:00‐11:20 Developing KPIs for the Papua New Guinea University of Technology; Muhammed A Satter, Albert Schram, John Pumwa and Veronica Thomas; ; HS7-2013-035

Potential health risks induced by volcanic dust: An appraisal of exposure to cadmium through food sources in the East New Britain, Papua New Guinea; K. Hundang, A. Pue, and L.P. Werry; HS7-2013-039

11:20‐11:40 An Evaluation of the Lae City Road Network Improvement Project: Development of the Lae Port and Construction of Four Lane Roads; Murray Matarab Konzang; HS7-2013-045

A Survey on the Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Goats in the Highlands and Lowlands of Papua New Guinea; Lena W. Yual and Dr. Jayaprakash; HS7-2013-048

11:40‐12:00 Efforts in Reorienting Technical Vocational Education & Training System In Papua New Guinea to The Global Economy: A Case Study; Patrol Maino; HS7-2013-046

Volume Table for Pinus Caribaea in Bulolo Wau Forest Plantations of Papua New Guinea; Mondo Karmar, Peter Damba, Arinaso Pilisi, Elizabeth Malabuo, Alois Jenkiau; HS7-2013-098

12:00‐13:00 Lunch at RK Foyer

Technical Session‐7; Chair: : Dr. R. OrakeVenue: MN001; Category: Social Sciences

Technical Session‐8; Chair: Prof Chris MbahVenue: RKLT; Category: Social Sciences

13:00‐13:20 Conflict mapping and analysis of sorcery related tortures and killings in Papua New Guinea; Alex, A. Botu; HS7-2013-011

Role of Intra-Communication and Inter-Communication Motivating Female Children Commercial Sex in Lae, Morobe Province; Wilma Molus; HS7-2013-027

13:20‐13:40 Problems and Prospects of Postgraduate Program at Unitech: A Case Study of the Department of Agriculture; Shamsul Akanda, Abdul Halim and Macquin Maino; HS7-2013-091

Smallholder Coffee Growers in PNG: A Review of Coffee Industry Corporation’s Extension Services; Samuel Ati Hinafa and Abdul Halim; HS7-2013-031

xvi

13:40‐14:00 Individualization of Customary Lands in Melanesia: How Theoretically Sound is the Policy Prescription? Khandakar Qudrat-I Elahi; HS7-2013-092

Gender-based Division of Labour in PNG Agriculture: Some Farm-level Information about Male-female Participation in Smallholder Coffee Farming; Tiko. B and Halim. A; HS7-2013-059

14:20‐14:40 Retaining Youth in Agriculture in PNG: Challenges and Opportunities; Abdul Halim; HS7-2013-093

Recommended Communications Strategies For Achieving Positive Outcomes in Politics for Women in Papua New Guinea ; Mary Aisi, HS7-2013-074

14:40‐15:00 Tea Break

Venue: RKLT

15:00‐15:30 Group Discussion –I (Engineering Sciences) Rapporteurs: Dr. Ora Renagi & Dr. G. Arpa

Group Discussion –II (Life Sciences) Rapporteurs: Dr. R. Rao & Dr. J. Gopalkrishnan

Group Discussion –III (Social Sciences) Rapporteurs: Dr. R. Orake & Mrs. Marry Aisi

15.30‐16.00

Plenary Session‐ Chair Prof. A. HalimCompilation of 7th Huon Seminar Recommendations

16.00‐16.30 Felicitation Ceremony and Closure

7th HUON SEMINAR ACHIEVING VISION 2050 THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION, RESEARCH, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

November 13th to 14th 2013, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea

1

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Quality Assurance in Engineering Education with Special Reference to Engineering Programs at the PNG University of Technology

M A Satter

Office of the Vice Chancellor

PNG University of Technology Lae, Papua New Guinea

Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT The paper considers contributions of engineering to modern technological developments followed by

distinct characteristics of engineering and engineering profession. It then considers the issues of quality assurance and relevance of engineering education in respect modern trends in engineering, generic attributes of engineers, and approaches to engineering education. The special case of engineering education at this University, quality assurance in teaching and learning, efforts in accrediting engineering programs, and challenges encountered by the University are discussed.

1. ENGINEERING & ENGINEERING PROFESSION

If one were to ask what is engineering? The simple answer would be ‘activities related to whatever man-made things we see around us are engineering’. In fact all developments that we see in the modern civilization are engineering and technological developments. Examples of engineering are abundant in construction, manufacturing, transportation, communication and energy exploitation.

Engineering is a profession that requires a considerable amount of competences to be acquired through education and practice of engineering. Engineering involves a considerable amount of ingenuity and risks. The core competency of engineering is the ability to design of a product, component, system or a process. Engineering products and or processes must function reliably. So they must be designed with precision and accuracy. Every design is new and unique. Therefore designing is a creative process. If we take the example of an engineering product such as a bridge, a building, a motor car, a plane, etc, the engineer must make sure that these devices carry out the intended functions safely and reliably. Engineering products and processes must meet specified standards in terms of performance, safety and reliability. In other words, engineering products must be quality assured.

It therefore follows that to educate an engineer, the engineering programs must be subjected to quality assurance. Putting in another way, engineering programs must be accredited by a competent agency. An engineer to practice engineering must be certified by professional bodies. This is another form of competency confirmation. There are national and international professional bodies which admit suitably competent engineers to professional membership.

Modern engineering education must cater for rapid development in technology. There are several new trends in engineering that must be taken into consideration while designing and implementing engineering curriculum. Some of the new trends are mentioned in the following section.

2. SOME NEW TRENDS IN ENGINEERING

Mega Projects: The mega projects are very large and complex, and often multinational. They employ thousands of engineers, professionals and technicians to work on them. In Papua New Guinea, some

2

examples of mega projects include Ok Tedi Mines, LNG Project, etc. Design of a Mega oil tankers, Bullet Train, Nuclear power plant, software design, design of supercomputer, are examples of mega projects. In addition to having technical competency, engineers are required to work in a team, and must possess inter personal and communication skills.

Global Engineer: Global engineers are often called engineers without national boundary. Mega projects are typical employers of engineers from all over the world. Special ability of such engineer may be the ability to work in different cultures and climatic conditions.

Employability: Employers’ concern is about the performance of engineers. Engineers must possess the basic competencies required by employers, and thus be employable. Basic attributes and competencies are discussed in the following section.

Entrepreneurship: Society expects engineers to be entrepreneurial; engineers be able to set-up their own business when an opportunity comes by or the need arises.

Rapid changes in Technology: Technology is changing continually; nano-technology digital technologies (smart phones, tablets, etc), new planes, new cars, new and more powerful computers, etc pose new challenges which require a considerable amount of creativity and innovation.

New Challenges: Working on entirely new projects such as deep sea mining, space exploration, fusion technology, etc.

Open and distance learning: Change in the method of teaching and learning from the conventional face to face teaching; teaching online engineering courses; designing courses in modular form, are some of the challenges encountered by engineering educators.

These new trends must be incorporated in the design of engineering curricula, and their implementation.

3. ATTRIBUTES OF MODERN ENGINEERS

Engineering education competencies currently formulated by ABET include the following: Engineering educators need to consider engineering education in the context of the educational,

social, and market changes that have been taking place over the last 20 years. The changes have direct impacts on engineering education as they give rise to a new way of looking at engineering by incorporating an important liberal arts component in the curriculum.

Attributes of engineering graduates [1] Engineering programs must have documented student outcomes that prepare graduates to attain the

program educational objectives. Engineering graduate attributes are the outcomes (a) through (k) plus any additional outcomes that

may be articulated by the program. (a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering (b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data (c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realisticconstraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability (d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams (e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems (f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility (g) an ability to communicate effectively (h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context (i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning (j) a knowledge of contemporary issues (k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

3

4. APPROACHES TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Examining the new trends will give us ideas towards designing relevant engineering programs. Engineering innovation is and increasingly will be based on collaborative knowledge, and regional and global knowledge sharing and networks. Rapid changes of technology has prompted more and more interdisciplinary collaboration such as mechatronics, nano-technology. Engineering problems are becoming increasingly more vague, uncertain and complex due to the need for consideration of such issues like culture, environment, sustainability and society. Thus, knowledge is progressively regarded to be complex, interdisciplinary, uncertain, and collaborative. Also the approach to learning has changed. Learning is not only knowledge acquisition by rote learning, it is also about innovation and knowledge creation. Learning is thus a creative process that provides a new way of thinking leading to knowledge advancement and innovation. Lifelong learning and competencies such as project management were identified as requirements for engineering education. Concerns are raised for employability of graduates. So universities are required to consider the labor market, and increased co-operation with industry. Recently, a triple helix approach has formed the strategy for innovation based on close collaboration among academia, government, and industry. These approaches influenced the development of engineering education. The important objective for engineering education is to improve graduates’ competences in innovation and entrepreneurship. There is also emphasis towards student-centered learning. Problem-Based and Project-Based Learning (PBL) is one of the innovative learning methods that higher education all over the world has implemented and PBL can be regarded as higher engineering education’s response strategy to requirements from society. Especially in technology and science, research has shown that PBL has turned out to be an efficient method for students to achieve skills such as collaboration, project management, innovation, creativity, and communication, and increase students’ motivation for learning, entrepreneurship, and collaboration with society and regional development. The original concept of PBL has changed since late 1960s. PBL has been modified gradually to account for such requirements as cultural diversity and subject areas. PBL has been further changed to account for global and regional cooperation and the use of new ICT tools, international and intercultural collaboration, and the use of new business models [2]. 5. UNITECH APPROACH TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION

The PNG University of Technology (Unitech) is the only technological university in Papua New Guinea. There are four engineering programs in civil, electrical, mechanical and mining engineering. In addition to degree program, students are also admitted to Master and Doctorate programs in engineering. A new department in petroleum engineering is being planned. A program of Master in petroleum engineering has also been planned. The Teaching and Learning Model For the purpose of systematic development of Quality Assurance Program it was necessary to develop a model for face to face teaching and learning process. The model depicts the teaching and learning process that involves four basic interactive elements: the student, the teacher, the curriculum and the academic environment [3]. The first three elements, namely, the student, the teacher and the curriculum exposed to the fourth element, the environment. A brief description of the model is as follows: The student: The student is the learner. It is an active element in the sense that it can influence its own action as well as those of other elements of the model. The purpose of learning is to instill a set of desirable attributes in the student by the end of his/her academic program. It is necessary therefore to ensure that the student has sufficient aptitude and prerequisite knowledge at the entry point of a

4

program. There are various ways to ensure that the student has the right aptitude. One direct way is to subject the student to an appropriate entry examination. The teacher: The teacher is the facilitator of learning. The teacher is also an active element. It can influence its own action as well as those of other elements. The teacher acts in many roles such as teaching, guiding, behavior shaping, motivating, counseling, performance appraising, curriculum designing, and so on. The curriculum: The curriculum is the syllabus of study. It can also include the teaching methodology. It is not an active element as defined for the student or the teacher. But it can influence the other three elements. For example, a curriculum may not be interesting to the student or require special aptitude. A change in curriculum may require a change in teaching expertise. It may also call for a change in academic environment. Curriculum once designed remains inflexible until reviewed. Therefore, curriculum should be relevant and optimum. The Environment: The fourth element is the environment conducive to academic pursuits. It is the most complex element. It may include technological, economic, financial, social, and physical environments. The environment can influence the other three elements mentioned above. Some specific examples of the environment may include, teaching and research facilities, access to internet, library facilities, availability of textbooks to students, students’ academic services, accommodation, canteen facilities, campus social life, and so on. Quality Assurance Activities A number of activities pertaining to all four elements of the model have been initiated at Unitech. These include introduction of entry examinations, teaching evaluation, curriculum design and improvement of academic environment. Entry Examination: The student is the central element of the teaching and learning model. It is therefore prudent to pay a lot of attention to the student for quality improvement. Quality cannot be improved unless students with adequate prerequisite knowledge are admitted in academic programs. The starting point is the selection of the student for a program. It is important to select the student with sufficient prerequisite knowledge. In case of Unitech, two streams of students, school leaver and non-school leaver, are considered for admission to an academic program. The general entry requirement is a good standing at 12th grade certificate from secondary schools. The non-school leavers may qualify for entry by improving their 12th grade standing through a bridging program. From pass-fail data over a number of years, it was found that the failure rate at the first year level was between 25 to 30% with almost equal distribution of failures in both streams of students. It was also found that many students with high standing at 12th grade performed poorly at the first year level. This gave rise to a suspicion whether 12th grade results were reliable. It was decided to gradually introduce entry examinations in science subjects such as mathematics, physics and chemistry. Currently, entry examination is only administered for non-school leaver applicants. For school leaver applicants entry examinations should be introduced in the future. Teaching and Teaching Evaluation: A number of measures have been introduced for improving teaching. These include (a) Teaching Plan, (b) Co-examiner’s check sheet, (c) Analysis of results and (d) Teaching evaluation sheet. A brief description of each of these measures follows: (a) Teaching plan: A generic subject teaching plan, also known as lecture plan, appears in Figure 2.

The teaching plan includes semester time schedule by weeks, major topics for study along with some indication of depth to be covered, the learning objectives to be achieved, the schedule and mode of continuous assessments, and performance alert to weak students. The plan is mandatory to be produced before the start of teaching, and made available to students.

(b) Co-examiner’s check sheet: The check sheet is a format for setting final examination questions, and is verified by the co-examiner. The format, shown in Figure 3, specifies question number, approximate expected time for answering, maximum marks available, and the learning objectives being covered.

5

(c) Analysis of result sheets: Figure 4 shows a format for the analysis sheet. It specifies the subject, grade distribution of the class, and statistical information such as maximum and minimum marks, the mean mark of the class, and standard deviation. The analysis sheet allows statistical inferences to be made on class performance.

(d) The teaching evaluation sheet: Figure 5 shows a format of the teaching evaluation sheet. Students are asked to evaluate teaching on ten criteria on a 1 to 10 scale. The criteria include punctuality, class environment, lecture plan, teaching methodology, use teaching aid, feedback on Continuous Assessment (CA), overall performance. There is also provision for general comments. Teaching evaluation is computed by the department, and discussed with the lecturer of the subject for possible improvement.

Curriculum Review The third element of the model is the curriculum. It prescribes the contents of study that should enable graduates acquire relevant attributes. Therefore curriculum design and implementation can influence the success of a program. Curriculum should be optimum in terms of contents, relevancy and cost of implementation. A general methodology, Quality Function Deployment (QFD), has been suggested for use to review curricula at Unitech. Unitech has establishes a quality assurance system in teaching and learning based on a model. The model comprises four elements: the teacher, the student, the curriculum and the campus environment. These elements are interactive, and collectively they determine the program outcomes. The teacher is the facilitator of teaching and learning, the student is the learner primarily responsible for learning, the curriculum outlines the contents of the program and forms the basis for teaching and learning. The environment is a complex element consisting of technological, social, political, and physical environments. Services such as the provision of teaching resource facility, library, ICT, student and staff welfare, etc are also included in the campus environment. Performance of the other three elements can be significantly influenced by the campus environment. Quality assurance system must address all the four elements. Quality assurance monitoring is managed by a set of instruments: lecture plans, peer review of students’ assessments, teaching evaluation by students, computation of statistics such as mean score, standard deviation, maximum and minimum score, continuous assessment, publication of continuous assessment scores. Quality improvement effort is an on-going activity. 6. CURRENT EFFORTS FOR ACCREDITATION OF ENGINEERING PROGRAMS

Unitech is well aware of the concern of various stakeholders on the quality of engineering education in Papua New Guinea. It is taking appropriate steps in addressing the quality issues. The steps include hiring of highly qualified academic faculty, admission of freshman students in engineering through stringent admission criteria, revision of curricula, and improvement of campus environment which include various services like the library, internet facilities, student and staff welfare. Unitech has already committed itself to institutional accreditation by a competent external accrediting agency. Assessment of various activities and resources will be vetted against 13 standards for institutional accreditation. A draft self assessment report for institutional accreditation has been prepared. Final report is due for submission in November 2013. Accreditation Plan for Engineering Programs of the University of Technology Why Accreditation: Accreditation of an engineering program is the process of systematic evaluation of operations, resources, policies and processes of the program designed to achieve program outcomes in accordance with the Mission of the University. The evaluation is conducted in accordance with a set of criteria by a competent independent body. The purpose of accreditation is to assure all the stakeholders that the program meets the expected standard, and the graduates of a program have the ability to perform as expected. Thus, accreditation help build confidence of employers, parents, sponsors, students, staff, and international community. An accredited program

6

will bring in reputation and respect to the University. As a result, campus environment improves and so the performance of staff and students. There are other intrinsic values such as improvement of efficiency in various operations leading to saving of time, effort and cost. Thus, accreditation brings in overall benefits to the program and ultimately to the University. Currently, PNG University of Technology programs are internally accredited by virtue of its establishment by an Act of Parliament which empowers the Council to confer degrees. Now the University intends to go for accreditation by an international competent agency such as Engineers Australia or Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET), USA. Over the last five years there have been several attempts to evaluate the status of engineering programs of the University with the objective of getting them accredited. A number of individuals and Engineers Australia ( www.engineersaustralia.org.au ) were invited. Engineers Australia preferred to work through the auspices of PNG Institution of Engineers (IEPNG). The following is the list of evaluators:

Agency/Individual Affiliation Date of Visit Programs Report Comments

1. Professor Robin King

Chair: Engineers Australia Accreditation Board

24-25/9/2008 Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Mining Engineering

Available Further improvements recommended

2. Engineers Australia

Professor Allan Bradley Professor Robin King Dr. David Robinson

Engineers Australia Accreditation Board

27-29/10/2009 Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Mining Engineering


3. Professor L S. “Skip” Fletcher

Past President of ABET & Professor Emeritus Texas A&M University, Col Stn, USA

4-9/08/2010 Mechanical Engineering


4. Professor Walter Bradley

Distinguished Professor Baylor University, USA

May 28-June 1, 2012

Mechanical Engineering


5. Professor L S. “Skip” Fletcher

Past President of ABET &

Professor Emeritus Texas A&M University, Col Stn, USA

26-30/08/2013 Mechanical Engineering


The evaluators separately made a number of recommendations towards preparation for accreditation

of engineering programs. Engineering departments took note of the recommendations, but never ventured

7

towards full accreditation exercise due to lack of teaching and learning resources. But the recommendations were useful in introducing the internal quality assurance system in teaching and learning, including outcome based curriculum. The list of recommendations is part of another short report.

The current effort towards initiating the exercise of external accreditation is a bold move that is overdue. With sufficient funding assistance from the PNG Government and possibly some donor agencies, it will be possible to undertake necessary preparation for an accreditation visit by a competent body such as Engineers Australia or ABET.

Preparation for accreditation is a complex process consisting of numerous activities that consume time and resources. It is normal for a program to take a period of three to four years to prepare for full accreditation. To undertake the task of preparation for accrediting all four engineering disciplines (civil, electrical, mechanical and mining engineering) will be very complex indeed, and perhaps unmanageable. It is therefore proposed that one program (Mechanical Engineering) be initially selected to make preparations for accreditation. Experience gained from the mechanical engineering accreditation exercise will be useful for other disciplines to prepare for accreditation at later stages. The choice for mechanical engineering is based on the recommendations of evaluators mentioned above. According to them, mechanical engineering is better prepared for accreditation exercise than other disciplines of engineering of the University.

Unitech has submitted a proposal for funding from the government. As mentioned, engineering program accreditation is to proceed in phases starting with mechanical engineering. Engineering curricula are being revised. To follow the new curriculum, a bridging program has been proposed for the new entrants to engineering at Unitech.

7. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?

There are several challenges that need to be overcome to improve the quality of engineering education at Unitech. The challenges are related to the four elements of the teaching and learning model mentioned earlier.

Faculty recruitment and retention remains a major challenge. The remuneration package is often deemed inadequate to attract high quality staff in engineering. Factors such as security, housing, medical services, staff amenities, etc are often cited as inadequate.

The other major challenge is related to new entrants from high schools. They seem to have knowledge gap between Grade 12 and that required to follow the first year engineering curricula. The knowledge gap is most prominent in mathematics followed by physics, chemistry and English.

Curricula do not pose a major problem because they can be benchmarked with those of similar disciplines abroad.

Campus environment improvement is also a major challenge. Services offered by the Library, ICT department, student welfare departments need significant improvement.

8. CONCLUSIONS

There is no alternative to engineering and technology for the development programs of the country. Therefore cooperation by all stakeholders is needed. Unitech engineering programs must be funded sufficiently with the aim to accredit them by competent agencies. The challenges faced by Unitech should be overcome. The challenges include recruitment of qualified staff, admission of students with adequate prerequisite knowledge, curriculum review to international standards, and improvement of campus environment which includes ICT services, library services, etc. Regional and international collaboration and networking in teaching and research must be encouraged. PBL teaching methodology should be introduced.

8

9. REFERENCES

1. ABET, “CRITERIA FOR ACCREDITING ENGINEERING PROGRAMS: Effective for Reviews during the 2013-2014 Accreditation Cycle” www.abet.org

2. KOLMOS, A. “NEW TRENDS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION: MEGA PROJECTS AND GLOBALIZATION” www.euceet.upatras.gr/Content/Uploads/KOLMOS.pdf

3. Satter M A & Pumwa J, “Some problems and Measures for Improving Mechanical Engineering Education at the PNG University of Technology” proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual conference and Exposition, Session 2160. Copyright ©2002, American Society for Engineering Education.



9

HS72013-HS-003 Assessment of Phragmite karka (pitpit) as Possible Phytoremediation Plant

Species for Heavy Metal Removal from Mining Environment in PNG. A Case Study on Closed Namie Mine Wau, Morobe Province.

S. Rungwa1, G. Arpa2, H.W. Sakulas3, A.H. Harakuwe4 and D. Timi5.

PNG University of Technology, Mining Engineering Department & Environmental Research and Management Center,

Email:[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].

ABSTRACT

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is currently experiencing environmental problems relating to mining activities. Despite valuable earnings received from the mining projects in PNG, the environment in the mining vicinity is being degraded causing lots of instability on surrounding environment and ecosystems. Phytoremediation is seen to be a cost effective bioremedial solution where plants are used to remove metal contaminants that are being released into the environment by mining operations. The case study alludes to Phragmite karka as an effective plant for absorbing heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, and Hg) from mine soil environment. In addition, heavy metals are known to be toxic and causes harm to surrounding environment and ecosystems through bioaccumulation and food chain process. This paper focuses mainly on heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, and Hg) concentration in native Phragmite karka plant species growing on the rehabilitated Wau Namie Mine Sites (WNMS) through random sampling and analysis of Phragmite karka using standard ICP and AAS technique. The results from soil analyses from WNMS have shown significantly high concentrations of heavy metals when compared to European Standard Average Concentrations of heavy metals in soils. However, Phragmite karka have shown positive results of absorbing heavy metals from the mine waste. This indicates phytoextractive ability and efficiency of plants to absorb and stabilise contaminants within its systems. Furthermore, heavy metal has made the site unfit for introduced plant species in rehabilitated sites to survive. However, this case study has revealed that Phragmite karka is a potential phytoremediation plant in soil environment of mine site.

Key words: rehabilitation, heavy metals, remedial, efficiency, phytoremediation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Phytoremediation also known as green technology that has been recognized and practiced world wide purposely for the removal of toxic chemical waste from mining environment, factory waste disposal site, in agricultural sector and other industrial waste dumping sites. In PNG, this technique is yet to be experimented particularly in the closed mine sites. Currently, PNG has experienced a lot of mining related environmental problems such as dieback at Ok Tedi mine, cyanide spillage into the environment at Misima gold mine and direct waste dumping into the sea causing environmental pollution at Lihir gold mine. Basically, this research study involves ex-situ study of phytoremediation in WNMS to identify local plant species and their absorption capacity of heavy metals as part of improving and stabilizing the soil environment. Heavy metals are present naturally in the earth crust but are mainly concentrated in mining induced activities such as tailings discharge, slurry and waste rock dumps. They are considered toxic when their concentration is above background value and can cause harm to both the environment and animal life through bioaccumulation and food chain process.

10

1.1. Absorption of Heavy Metals into Phytoremediation Plants

The process of absorption and transformation of heavy metals into plant system depend on the solubility and complexing ability of metal. Plants extract and accumulate metals from soil solution. Before the metal can move from the soil solution into the plant, it must pass through the surface of the root. The metal ions are absorbed by plants through the porous cell wall of the root cells. This process requires that the metal ions traverse the plasmalemma, a selective permeable barrier that surrounds the cells [1]. Special plant membrane proteins recognize the chemical structure of essential metals and these proteins bind the metals and are then ready for uptake and transportation [2]. Some of the metals are essential, nonessential (or toxic); however, they are analogous in chemical structure so that these proteins regard them as the same. For example arsenate is taken up by P transporters. Abedin et al, [3] studied the uptake kinetics of Arsenic species, arsenite and arsenate, in rice plants and found that arsenate uptake was strongly suppressed in the presence of arsenite. Clarkson and Luttge [4] reported that Cu, Zn, Ni and Cd compete for the same membrane carriers. For root to shoot transportation, these elements are transported via the vascular system to the above-soil biomass (shoots). The shoots are harvested, incinerated to reduce volume, disposed off as hazardous waste, or precious metals can be recycled (phytomining). Different chelators may be involved in the translocation of metal cations through the xylem, such as organic acid chelators’ malate, citrate, histidine [6] or nicotianamine [7]. Since the metal is complexed within a chelate it can be translocated upwards in the xylem without being absorbed by the high cation exchange capacity of the xylem [6]. 1.2. Decontamination of Metals in Plants

Central to phytoremediation of metals is the ability of plants to continually accumulate and

detoxify metals in their root and shoot system. Hence, metal speciation by the hyperaccumulator is important as it affects the reactivity of the element and thus its toxicity. Furthermore, it aids in unraveling the mechanisms of metal uptake, translocation and detoxification. In general, plants employ several extracellular and intracellular mechanisms to detoxify heavy metals [8]. The external mechanisms include exudation of chelators to bind metal, exudation of substances that change rhizosphere pH and thus metal speciation, and production of ion-exchange site on cell walls to bind metal ions. The intracellular mechanisms include alteration of cell membrane or other structural protein to reduce attack by metal, alteration of sensitive enzymes to prevent inhibition by metal, alteration of influx / efflux of metal ions to reduce metal concentration in cell, production of substances that bind metal in cell and render it non-toxic, and transport of metal to vacuole where detoxification takes place.

Detoxification at the cellular level involves sub cellular compartmentalization of metal into the vacuole by the tonoplast-located or chelation of metal in the cytosol by high affinity ligands (potential ligands include amino acids and organic acids, and two classes of peptides, phytochelatins and metallothioneins), or binding to cell walls. The thiol-rich phytochelatins, the metal-binding peptides, have been most widely studied in plants [9]. They provide a detoxification mechanism through binding of metals to their thiol group [10]. Phytochelatins are derived from glutathione (GSH) and have a general structure (y- Glu-Cys),-Gly (n=2-11) [11]. Their biosynthesis is due to the transpeptidation of y-glutamyl-cysteinyl dipeptides from GSH by the action of a constitutively present phytochelatin synthase enzyme [12]. Phytochelatin synthase is also activated by other heavy metal ions such as Cd2+, Cu2+, Ag+, Hg2+, and Pb2+ [13]. The gene encoding phytochelatin synthase has recently been identified in Arabidopsis [14]. Since the immobilized metals are less toxic than the free ions, binding of metals to phytochelatins is considered to be a part of the detoxifying mechanisms of higher plants. This concept is supported by inhibitor studies [15], biochemical studies [16] and mutant analyses [14] using metal ions. After complexation, the phytochelatin-metal complexes, such as cadmium-phytochelatin complexes, in general, are transported to the vacuole, the final storage compartment where they essentially dissociate due to the acidic vacuolar pH [17]. From there, it is suggested that they either degrade or are shuttled back into the cytoplasm [10]. On the contrary, if metal-phytochelatin complexes are transported inside vacuole, they

11

might remain stable and prevent re-oxidation of metals due to the acidic pH of the vacuole, allowing accumulation of high concentrations of metallic-phytochelatin complexes [10].

1.3. Phytoremediation Plant Species

Mine reclamation and biogeochemical prospecting depends upon right selection of plant species,

tissue type, sampling season and age of plants. The selection of heavy metal tolerant species is a reliable tool to achieve success in phytoremediation. The plant used in the phytoremediation technique must have a considerable capacity of metal absorption, its accumulation and strength to have short decontamination time. Many families of vascular plants have been identified as metal hyperaccumulator [18]. These hyperaccumulator are metal selective, having slow growth rate, produce small amounts of biomass and can easily be adopted in such environment [19].

According to N. Dasgupta Schubert et. al., [20] the overall metabolic nature of the plant is important neither rapid biomass increase nor a high metal concentration capability favors the removal of high metal mass from the medium. However, the plant with the moderate photosynthetically driven biomass growth and moderate metal concentrations demonstrated the ability to remove the maximum mass of metal from the medium.

For instance, lead and copper mines produce heaps of tailings (wastes), which are toxic due to the presence of heavy metals. However, certain plants that grow in mine wastes evolved tolerance to heavy metals in 400 years of mining. In California, numerous plants evolved races that are tolerant to copper in 70 years. Plants have both constitutive (present in most phenotypes) and adaptive mechanisms for coping with the elevated metal concentrations [21]. Thus, the resistant plants are either race of widespread species that have adapted to the noxious conditions of contaminated soils or are so called metallophytes, plants that grow only on soils rich in metals [21]. Metal tolerant individuals when growing in metal free soils are generally competitively inferior to non-tolerant individuals from adjacent non-metalliferous soils. This pattern seems to be a generally applicable rule indicating that metal tolerance to heavy metals evolves at a physiological cost [22]. Metal tolerance is an evolutionary phenomenon, can be demonstrated by comparing the growth of mine plants with non-mine plants in non-contaminated soil; when plants of mine heaps were grown in non-contaminated soils, they failed to perform well compared to their counterparts [21]. Comparing the growth of a normal population of Silene vulgaris and a copper mine population of Silene vulgaris on soil from the copper mine, Prat [23] was the first to show that a plant species had evolved metal tolerance. The ability of a species to evolve tolerance seems to depend on the presence of tolerance genes at low frequency in normal populations prior to the selective agent being imposed [24].

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1. Criteria for Selecting Phragmite karka as Native Phytoremediation Plant Species

The native phytoremediation plant species were identified and selected through plant successive growth rate and dominance over harsh condition of mine site. Native plant species were selected using the Yoon el at, [25] research statement that they have better growth and survival rate than introduced plant species. In addition, Pokana and Paul [26] have also confirmed 46 % of the introduced plant species survived in their rehabilitation assessment study due to harsh condition and absences of top soils. The plant species which adopted and survived were native plant species such as Phragmite karka. Therefore, phytoremediation plant species selection was focused on native plant species with the following criteria; Able to survive on mine dump sites and other harsh conditions where the introduced plant species for

rehabilitation program cannot survive. Have shown successive growth rate and dominancy over all the mine rehabilitated areas. Have shown balance distribution and increasing number within the mine rehabilitated site than other

native and introduced plant species.

12

There are other several factors which decide the ideal plant for phytoremediation. They have favorable plant properties for phytoremediation, fast growing, have high biomass and tolerant to metal pollution [27]. High levels of metal uptake, translocation, and accumulation in harvestable tissues of the plant are important properties for the phytoextraction of inorganic contaminants [28].

2.2. Plants and Soils Sampling

Surface soil samples (25cm – 30 cm) were collected using “Soil FACTSHEET” method [29] at

different sites. These sites were randomly selected as most of the sites have hard rocks beneath their soil surface. About 40g of soil samples were dug and collected into sampling bag at each WNM site.

The samplings of native Phragmite karka plant species was done randomly at different sites within WNMS. These plant species were carefully dug and uprooted whilst their leaves and stems were collected into poly bags. Table 2 below shows list of roots and shoots that were randomly collected from different selected sites within WNMS.

2.3. Sample Preparation and Chemical Analysis

2.3.1. Soils

Soil samples were prepared and analysed for total metals according to Standard Operation Procedure

[30] and mercury in soil was analysis using Method 7471A [31]. Total metal analysis of soils was done using reverse aqua regia block digest and determination by Inductive Coupling Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP OES) (Varian 725 – ES). The soil samples were air-dried in a clean laboratory oven, milled using <0.05 mm micron-sieve, about 1.0 g sample was weighed into a beaker and digested overnight using 15 mL of aqua regia. The samples were then transferred onto a hot plate and heated at 80 °C till 3-4 mL was reached before being removed and cooled. The digested samples were transferred quantitatively into 25 mL volumetric flask and diluted to required volume using deionised water. The samples aliquot were transferred into curvettes for ICP OES analysis.

Similarly for total mercury analysis, 0.100 g of milled soil samples were weighed into 125 mL plastic bottles and digested with 5 mL aqua regia overnight. A 50 mL de-ionized water was added after overnight digest followed by 15 mL of potassium permanganate (KMnO4). The samples were mixed well and left in the oven at 70 °C for 1 hour. The samples were then removed from the oven, cooled and de-colorized with chloride hydroxylamine sulfate. The aliquots were taken and analysed using Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (CVAAS) technique.

2.3.2. Plants

Plant samples were prepared according to Tinggi and Craven method [32] for determining total

mercury in biological materials by CVAAS technique whilst analysis of total metals in plant samples were done using Standard Operation Procedure [30]. For total mercury analysis, roots and shoots of the plant samples were washed thoroughly with deionised water and air dried. After air dry, the samples were cut and grounded into sample bag. About 0.2000 g of the samples were weighed into a digesting vessel with addition of 10 ml HNO3 followed by slow addition of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) for overnight digestion. After digestion, a further 10 ml of KMnO4 was added and left in oven at 70 °C for 1 hour. After digestion, the samples were removed and cooled. Drop wise addition of hydroxylamine chloride solution was added to remove excess KMnO4. The samples solutions were diluted to 100 ml and an aliquot being transferred for Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (CVAAS) analysis.

Similarly total metal analysis was done by weighing 1.00 g portion of grounded roots and shoots samples into porcelain crucibles and placed into muffle furnace. The temperature of furnace was set to 550 °C and allowed to ash for 5 hours. The ashed samples were then added with 5 ml 2N hydrochloric acid (HCl) and mixed thoroughly. After 10 minutes, the dissolved samples were transferred into 50 ml

13

volumetric flask and made up to volume using deionised water. A sample aliquot was transferred into curvettes for ICP OES analysis.

2.4. Instrumental Analysis and Quality Assurance

Total metal analyses were determined using ICP OES instrument whilst mercury analysis was done

using CVAAS instrument. The instrument was initialized and calibrated according to the standard solutions as shown on Table 1 below. Instrument calibration and efficiency was tested using reference materials as part of the quality instrumental performance and validation.

Table 1: Showing standard concentrations total metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn) and mercury with the

reference materials that were used for analysis.

Element

Concentrations of calibrating standards Reference material

Instrument

Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn

0.1 ppm, 1.0 ppm, 10.0 ppm, 100.0 ppm High Purity Standard

ICP-OES

Hg 0.5 ppb, 1.0 ppb, 2.0 ppb, 2.50 ppb, 5.00 ppb In-House Reference

CVAAS

Table 2: Showing results of heavy metal concentrations in soil, roots and shoots of Phragmite karka in WNMS.

Results of Phragmite karka Plant Species

Concentration in µg/g Sample

No. location Sample

type Cd Cu Fe Pb Zn Hg

Soil

1 Dump site # 3 soil 8.4 110 82471 2267 1489 0.05

2 Water dam site soil 16.5 240 89436 315 1335 0.22

3 Above Ridge creek # 9 soil 3.9 129 103032 74 218 0.13

4 Below Mine Mountain soil 4.5 126 214297 2222 469 0.15

5 Working mine site soil 8.4 174 84844 134 370 0.15

Roots

1 Dump site # 1 roots Plants 3.34 24.3 1861 20.3 68.2 0.0

2 Water dam site roots Plants 0.0 20.5 438 30.6 51.4 0.0

3 Above Ridge creek # 9 roots Plants 2.78 18.1 1196 29.5 67.2 0.0

4 Below Mine Mountain roots Plants 0.0 19.6 377 23.1 22.4 0.0

5 Working mine site roots Plants 1.75 52.4 1457 59.8 277 0.53

Shoots

1 Dump site # 1 shoots Plants 0.029 6.4 44.3 0.0 19.2 0.0

2 Water dam site shoots Plants 2.01 20.2 678 0.0 84.1 0.0

3 Water dam site shoots Plants 1.26 26.2 54.4 0.0 25.3 0.0

4 Above Ridge creek # 9 shoots Plants 1.71 13.1 277 0.0 23.2 0.0

5 Below Mine Mountain shoots Plants 1.05 19.1 166 0.0 17.7 0.0

14

0.029

2.011.26 1.71 1.05

0

5

10

15

20

1 2 3 4 5Concentration (µg/g)

Namie Mine Sites

Cd Concentration in Phragmite karka Shoots

Cd

8.4

16.5

3.9 4.5

8.4

0

5

10

15

20

1 2 3 4 5

Concentration (µg/g)

Namie Mine Sites

Cd Concentration in Soil Beneath Phragmite karka

Cd

Table 3: Showing heavy metals Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of Soils from Europe (Sources: [33, 34]).

Figure 1: Showing graphs of Cd concentrations in soil, roots and shoots of Phragmite karka. (Note:

for all the graphs label 1-5 can be referred to Table 2 above for the respective sites in Namie Mine).

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The results of heavy metals concentrations in Phragmite karka plant species of WNMS are analysed

and results shown in Table 2 below. The results have shown that roots systems have higher heavy metal concentrations than shoots despite much higher concentration being contained in the soil. This indicates that Phragmite karka has potential phytoextractive activity which can stabilize them within its roots and shoots vascular system. The heavy metals analysed for phytoremediation activity are Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb and Zn. Hg has shown minor percentage being absorbed compared to other metals because of its volatile and high density property. This is a possible cause affecting translocation of metals up the plant. However, Fe has been found to have high concentrations in plants compared to other metals similar to its concentration in the soil. In addition, absorption and translocation of metals in plants are different and depend on the protein ligands binding, vascular system of plant and the ion metals properties in the soil environment.

The soil results contain significantly high concentrations of metals compared to the European Threshold Limit Value (see Table 3 below). This indicates that WNMS soil is contaminated with heavy metals and poses threat to the environment with regard to bioaccumulation of metals in food chain process. Despite that, Phragmite karka shows potential absorption rate of metals with reasonable amount being absorbed at its roots and shoots. This indicates that Phragmite karka participate in phytoextraction and phytostabilisation of metals by absorbing and stabilizing them within its roots and shoots.

15

6.420.2 26.2

13.1 19.1

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Cu Concentration in Phragmite karka Shoots

Cu

44.3 678 54.4 277 1660

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Fe Concentration in Phragmite karka Shoots

Fe

0 0 0 0 00

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Pb Concentration in Phragmite karka Shoots

Pb

110

240

129 126

174

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Cu Concentration in Soil Beneath Phragmite karka

Cu

82471 89436103032

214297

84844

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Fe Concentration in Soil Beneath Phragmite karka

Fe

2267

31574

2222

134

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Pb Concentration in Soil Beneath Phragmite karka

Pb

3.1. Heavy Metals Absorption into Phragmite karka (Roots and Shoots) Compared to Concentration of Metals in Soil

Phragmite karka is commonly found in soil that contains high humidity and sometimes along the

riverbanks. In WNMS, most of the plants were found in mine pits and along creeks that were passing through mine sites. However despite such condition for its favorable growth, Phragmite karka shows potential absorptions rate of metals within the WNMS soils as shown on Table 2 above and figures below.

Figure 2: Showing graphs of Cu concentrations in soil, roots and shoots of Phragmite karka.

Figure 3: Showing graphs of Fe concentrations in soil, roots and shoots of Phragmite karka.

Figure 3 shows differences between soil, roots and shoots of the plant.

16

19.284.1

25.3 23.2 17.7

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Zn Concentration in Phragmite karka Shoots

Zn1489

1335

218

469370

02004006008001000120014001600

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Zn Concentration in Soil Beneath Phragmite karka

Zn

0.05

0.22

0.130.15 0.15

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

1 2 3 4 5


Namie Mine Sites

Hg Concentration in Soil Beneath Phragmite karka

Hg

Figure 4: Showing graphs of Pb concentrations in soil, roots and shoots of Phragmite karka. Figure 5: Showing graphs of Zn concentrations in soil, roots and shoots of Phragmite karka. Figure 6: Showing graphs of Hg concentrations in soil, roots and shoots of Phragmite karka.

High concentration of Cd are present in soil at WNMS. However, small percentage of the Cd is absorbed into the plants. However, there were some absorption and distribution of Cd both in the roots and shoots of the plant. On the other hand, Cu concentration is indicating that Cu is absorbed into the roots more than shoots of the plant despite the soil having higher Cu concentrations. This strongly indicates that Cu ions are readily chelated and stabilised in the roots where some gradually translocated further upward its shoots overtime. Figure 2 shows graphical illustration of Cu concentrations in soil, roots and shoots.

Fe concentrations are very high in soil compared to other metals as shown in Table 2. Similarly, significant amount of Fe has been absorbed into plant system where most concentrations are stored within its roots than being translocated upward to its shoots. This indicates that Fe ions are readily absorbed into Phragmite karka as they are readily absorbed and binded by plant chelating ligands.

The Pb concentrations in Phragmite karka indicates that it is absorbed better in roots than the shoots. Figure 4 indicates clearly that due to high density of Pb, it cannot be translocated further up its shoots but noticeable amount are being absorbed and stored at its roots. This indicates that Phragmite karka involves in phytoextraction of Pb and stabilization within the lower part of the plant without being translocated further up the plant.

17

Zn concentrations have been absorbed by Phragmite karka and stored both within its roots and shoots. In addition, Zn metals are stabilized and stored within the roots and shoots with a balance distribution in plant. Figure 5 showing concentration of Zn in soil, roots and shoots.

The Hg metals in soils are high as indicated on Figure 6. However, small amount being absorbed and stored at its shoot. This can be the result of Hg having high density and volatile property causing it to be absorbed by plants but are volatilized into the atmosphere during transpiration process. Overall, Phragmite karka has very less activity of absorbing Hg into its system. 4. CONCLUSION

To conclude, WNMS have high concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, Zn) as compared

to Europe Standard Value of metals in soils. The concentration of Fe in both soil and plant are high compared to other metals. Cd, Cu and Zn shows broad amount in both roots and shoots of Phragmite karka despite high concentration of these metals in the soil. However, Pb result shows that the metals is not translocated up but are absorbed and stabilized within the root part of the plant. Hg is neither stabilized nor stored in plant roots but are translocated upward to plant shoots and vaporized through transpiration process. Overall significant amount of Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn are being absorbed and stabilized within roots and shoots of Phragmite karka. This indicates that Phragmite karka had been involved in the process of phytoextraction and phytostabilisation of those metals over the rehabilitation of WNMS. In addition, high amount of metal concentration in soil pose threat for environment through bioaccumulation and food chain process especially for agricultural activities. However, Phragmite karka have shown to have some activities of absorbing and stabilising heavy metals.

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Special thanks to my supervisors namely Dr. Gabriel Arpa, Dr. Harry Sakulas, Dr. Anthony Harakuwe and Mr. David Timi for their supervision and support. Special thanks also go to Mineral Resources Authority Management – Mr. Philip Samar and staffs as well as Unitech Postgraduate Research Committees for funding this project. Lastly, special thanks go to God for His support and wisdom. 6. REFERENCES [1]. Pilon-Smits E, (2005), ‘Phytoremediation’, Annual review of Plant Biology 56, 15-39. Available at arjournals.annualreviews.org [2]. Hawkesford MJ (2003). Transporter gene families in plants: the sulfate transporter gene family – redundancy or specialization? Physiol. Plant. 117: 155-63. [3]. Abedin MJ, Feldmann J, Meharg AA (2002). Uptake kinetics of arsenic species in rice plants. Plant Physiol. 128: 1120-28. [4]. Clarkson DT, Luttge U (1989). Mineral nutrition: divalent cations, transport and compartmentation. Progr. Bot. 51: 93-112. [5]. Von Wiren N, Klair S, Bansal S, Briat JF, Khodr H, Shiori T, Leigh RA, Hider RC (1999). Nicotianamine chelates both Fe (III) and Fe (II). Implications for metal transport in plants. Plant Physiol. 119: 1107-1114. [6]. Stephen U.W, Schmidke .I, Stephan V.W, Scholtz .G (1996). The nicotianamine molecule is made-to-measure for complexation of metal micronutrients in plants. Biometals 9: 84-90. [7]. MacNair, M. R. (1997). The evolution of plants in metal-contaminated environments. Pp. 3-24. In: Bijlsma, R. and V. Loeschcke (eds.) Environmental Stress, Adaptation and Evolution. Birkhauser Ver1ag: Bostn. [8]. Maitani, T., H. Kubota, K. Sato, T. Yamada. (1996). The composition of metals bound to class III metallothionein (Phytochelatin and its desglycyl peptide) induced by various metals in root cultures of Rubia tinctorum. Plant Physiol. 110: 1145-1 150.

18

[9]. Hartley-Whitaker. .A, Insworth, R. Voous, W. Ten Bookum, H. Schat, and A. A. Mehrag. (2001). Phytochelatins are involved in differential arsenate tolerance in Holcus lantus. Plant Physiol. 126: 299-306. [10]. Grill E., E. L. Winnacker, and M. H. Zenk. (1985). Phytochelatins: the principal heavy metal complexing peptides of higher plants. Science 230: 674-676. [11]. Grill, E., S. Loffler, E. L. Winnacker, and M. H. Zenk. (1989). Phytochelatins, the heavy metal binding peptides of plants are synthesized from glutathione by a specific y-glutamylcysteine dipeptidyl transpeptidase (phytochelatin synthase). Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA 86: 6838-6842. [12]. Nieboer, E. and D. H. S. Richardson. (1980). The replacement of the non-descriptive term "heavy metal" by a biologically and chemically significant classification of metal ions. Env. Poll. Ser. 1: 3-26. [13]. Ha, S. B., A. P. S M, R., Howden, W. M. Dietrich, S. Bum, M. J. Connellp, . B. Goldsbrough and C. S. Cobbeit. (1999). Phytochelating synthase genes from Arabidopsis and yeast Schizosacharomycespombe. Plant Cell 11: 1153-1161. [14]. Grill, E., S. Loffler. E., L. Winnacker and M. H. Zenk. (1987). Phytochelatins, a class of heavy metal binding peptides from plants are functionally analogous to metallothioneins. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA. 84 439-443. [15]. Kneer, R. and M. H. Zenk. (1992). Phytochelatins protect plant enzymes from heavy metal poisoning. Phytochem. 31: 2663-2667. [16]. Vogeli-Langre. , and G. J. Wagner. (1990). Subcellular localization of cadmium and cadmium binding peptides in tobacco leaves: implication of a transport function for cadmium binding peptides. Plant Physiol. 92: 1086-1093. [17]. Baker, A. J. M., R. Brooks, and R. Reeves. (1988). Growing for gold and copper and zinc. New Scient. 117: 44-48. [18]. Kamnev, A.A. and Van Der Lelie, D., (2000), Chemical and biological parameters as tools to evaluate and improve heavy metal phytoremediation. Bioscience Reports, vol. 20, no. 4, p 239-258. [19]. N. Dasgupta-.Schubert, S. Alexander, L. Sommer, T. Whelan, R. Alfaro Cuevas Villanueva, M. E. Mendez Lopez, M. W. Persans, July 9-13, 2006, The Light Quanta Modulated Physiological Response of Brassica Juncea Seedlings Subjected to Ni(II) Stress, Engineering in the Life Sciences, 7(3), 259-267 (2007). [20]. Mehrag, A. A. (1994). Integrated tolerance mechanisms: constitutive and adaptive plant responses to elevated metal concentrations in the environment. Plant, Cell Env. 17: 989-993. [21]. Baker A.J.M., Walker PL (1989). Ecophysiology of metal uptake by tolerant plants, In: Heavy metal tolerance in plants – Evolutionary aspects. Shaw A. (eds). CRC Press, pp 155-177. [22]. Linhart, Y. B. and M. C. Grant. (1996). Evolutionary significance of local genetic differentiation in plants. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 27: 237-277. [23]. Prat, S. (1934). Die Erblichkeit der Resistenz gegen Kupfer. Berichte der Deutchen Botanischen Gesellschaft 102: 65-67. [24]. MacNair, M. R., G. H. RL ston and S. E. Smith. (2000). The genetics of metal tolerance and accumulation in higher plants. Pp. 235-248. In: Terry, N. and G. Banueoles (eds.) [25]. Yoon, J., Cao, X., Zhou, Q., Ma, L. Q. (2006) Accumulation of Pb, Cu, and Zn in native plants growing on a contaminated Florida site. Sci. Total Environ. 368: 456-464. [26]. Joe Pokana and John Paul, (2005), Mine Site Rehabilitation, “A Case Study – PNG’s Wau Namie Mine Site”, April, Paper presentation – 7th Geology, Exploration and Mining Conference held on 23 – 25th May, 2005.J.Jessop, G.R.M.Dashorst, (2006), F.M.James, Grasses of South Australia, (311). [27]. McIntyre Terry: (2003), ‘Phytoremediation of heavy metals from soils’, Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology 78, 97-123. [28]. Pilon-Smits E: (2005), ‘Phytoremediation’, Annual review of Plant Biology 56, 15-39. Available at arjournals.annualreviews.org [29]. Soils factsheet (2003) British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Order No 611.100-1, Agdex 533.

19

[30]. Standard Operation Procedure, Analysis of Major, Minor and Trace Elements in Soil and Sediments Samples with ICP OES and ICP MS, (October 2005), Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory, University of Wisconsin – Madison, http://uwlab.soils.wisc.edu [31]. Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division, Division 01 Test/Analytical Procedure, TAP-01-0406-047, August 2011, METHOD 7471A – Mercury in Solid or Semisolid Waste (Manual Cold Vapor Technique), Rev 10. [32]. U. Tinggi and Craven. G, (1996), Determination of Total Mercury in Biological Materials by CVAAS after Microwave Digestion, Microchemical Journal 54, pp 168 – 173, article # 0090. Academic pres Inc. [33]. Aubert, H, Pinta, M. (1977). Trace elements in soils, Developments in soil science 7. Elservier, Amsterdam. [34]. Kabata-Pendias, A, Pendias, H. (1984). Trace elements in soils and plants. CRC Press Boca Raton de Matos, AT Fontes, MPF, da Costa, LM, Martinez, MA. 2001. Mobility of heavy metals as related to soil chemical and mineralogical characteristics of Brazilian soils. Environmental Pollution, 111: 492-435.



20

HS72013-HS-013

The River Plumes of the Southern Huon Peninsula, PNG

Ora Renagi1, Scott F. Heron2,3 and Peter V Ridd2

1 Department of Applied Physics, University of Technology, PMB, Lae, Morobe, 411, Papua New Guinea 2 Marine Geophysical Laboratory, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, James Cook University,

Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia 3

Email:

NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 675 Ross River Road, Townsville, QLD, 4817 Australia Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected] [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The rivers of the Southern Huon Peninsula are unusual as they enter the sea as shallow braided channels without any conventional estuary. The coastal ocean has very steep bathymetry, with water depth increasing rapidly and abruptly within a few metres of the river mouths and increasing to around 200 m within 1 km of the coast. The rivers carry high sediment loads and form thin plumes which are considerably influenced by the wind direction. Due to the proximity to the equator, the Coriolis effect does not dominate the movement of the plume. For the Markham River, the largest in the region, field measurements indicated that a stable plume of ca. 2 m thickness forms within a few hundred metres of the river mouths. North westerly winds detach the plume from the coastline forming a thin (ca. 100 m) band of clear water along the coastline. Application of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) to the plume successfully simulated the plume salinity variations. Keywords: Buoyant plumes, Hyperpycnal flow, POM model, Huon Peninsula, Markham River, Papua New Guinea 1 INTRODUCTION

The Southern Huon Peninsula of Papua New Guinea is a unique coastline because rapid tectonic activity (uplift) has resulted in a very steep bathymetry close to the coast where there is effectively no continental shelf. For example, along the coastline opposite Lae (Fig. 1) water depths increase to around 200 m within 1 km of the coast. This phenomenon of deep water close to shore is more typical of mid ocean volcanic islands such as Tahiti or Hawaii than it is for coastal areas with a large land mass.

In addition to steep bathymetry, this area has very high rainfall and its steep mountainous catchments yield a disproportionately high sediment flux (Milliman and Syvitsky, 1992). The extreme sediment yields result in many of the rivers becoming braided and entering the sea with multiple channels in a shallow deltaic fan. The beds of these shallow rivers have considerable bottom slopes before entering the sea. For example the Markham and Busu Rivers, the largest river entering this coast have slopes of ca. 1:1000 and 1:100 respectively but some of the smaller rivers further east enter with slopes of up to 1:50. This high final river bed slope at the river mouth is responsible for large outflow speeds.

Another feature of this region is the relatively small tidal range from 0.4 m during neap tides to 1 m during spring tides. This small tidal range combined with a shallow braided river channel results in the absence of a well formed estuary containing a salinity mixing zone within the river channel. Instead, all the mixing occurs offshore in river plumes. Rivers therefore enter the sea as energetic sediment laden shallow plumes which lift away from the seabed a few tens of metres from a steep drop-off at the river mouth.

mailto:[email protected]�

21

Figure 1. Map of the region in Papua New Guinea (PNG) (a) showing the Markham River, continental shelf and slope and the tectonic plate boundaries.. Inset; Map of PNG. (b) Enlarged map of the Markham River mouth showing the bathymetry (meters).)

A final important feature of this coast is the low latitude (6.5o S) resulting in a relatively small

Coriolis Effect. The Rossby radius for a thin freshwater plume of thickness 5 m is of order 100 km and thus rotation is likely not to dominate the dynamics of the plumes.

22

Worldwide, rivers such as those of the southern Huon Peninsula are rare, but occur on some parts of the Indonesian and Philippines Archipelagos. However, during glacial geological periods when sea levels were ca 100 m lower than today, it is likely that a much larger proportion of the world rivers would have been similar to the rivers of the Huon Peninsula at least in the respect of discharging into a coastal ocean with very steep bathymetry. Regions where this situation may have existed include parts of North East Australia, East Africa, Western Sumatra, Peru, Chile, Madagascar and Western Mexico.

Understanding river systems in glacial periods is of considerable interest. For example, the Northeastern Australian coastline along the broad area of shelf of the Great Barrier Reef has changed markedly since the deglaciation. Today, river discharge into shallow water 20-100 km from the deep ocean and the Great Barrier Reef is mostly on the outer shelf a considerable distance from the river mouths. However in glacial periods, the coastline was immediately adjacent to the deep ocean and rivers would have discharged directly into deep water. In those periods, the Great Barrier Reef did not exist however a sequence of fringing reefs were located on the shoreline and would have come under the direct influence of river plumes similar in some respects to those of the Huon Peninsula, i.e discharging directly into deep water.

Sediment laden river plumes are likely to have a significant influence on the ecology of the Huon Peninsula and it is notable that there are no significant fringing reefs for over 60 km to the east of the mouth of the Markham where 6 rivers in the Southern Huon Peninsula (Fig. 2) drain the adjacent mountain ranges.

The focus of this work is to describe the dynamics of the river plumes in the southern Huon region using a combination of salinity and current measurements, satellite observations and 3D numerical modeling. Because the Markham River is the largest river discharging into the area and easily the most accessible, it was selected as the subject for the field work and modeling.

Figure 2: Modis satellite images of the Southern Huon Peninsula showing a series of major rivers entering the sea. All these rivers are braided upon entry to the ocean indicating a very high sediment load.

2 THE STUDY SITE

The study site is the Markham river estuary in the Huon Gulf of Papua New Guinea (Fig. 1). The bathymetry of the area (Fig. 3) was obtained from initial work done by Buleka et al (1999). The Markham River drains a land area of 13000 km2 between the Finisterre and the Central ranges of PNG. The ranges and the coastal has a tropical humid climate all year around with an annual precipitation of 4.5 m (McAlpine et al., 1983). The topography is rugged with mountain elevation between 1000 – 3000 m. Abundant coarse grained and fine grained material are delivered directly to the Huon Gulf (Eco-CARE, E.C., 2002).

23

3 METHOD 3.1 The POM Model Of particular interest in this work is the development of a 3D numerical model, (viz. Princeton

Ocean Model (POM)) to describe a plume emanating as an energetic shallow jet discharging into a deep ocean. The focus is the Markham River and the ability of the model to simulate the plume salinity variations with distance from source under differing wind and discharge conditions. This is the primary method of testing the model.

Numerical modeling of the Markham estuary has never been attempted before and has been carried out here to predict the hydrodynamics of the estuary under varying riverine and meteorological conditions during the wet seasons when the river discharge vary between 250 – 1200 m3s-1

3.1.1 Description of the model

. During this period, there is a daily cycle of strong northwesterly and south easterly winds in the Inner Gulf.

Numerical models have been widely used in predicting estuarine/ocean dynamics patterns in the past. One such model is the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) developed by Blumberg and Mellor (1987) and applied successfully in other estuaries; e.g., the Hudson-Raritan estuary (Oey et al., 1985), Chesapeake Bay (Blumberg and Goodrich, 1990), Delaware Bay (Galperin and Mellor, 1990), New York Bight (Blumberg and Galperin, 1990) and North Bay, Florida (Huang, 2007).

The POM model is popular in the community for ocean circulation modelling. The model incorporates reasonably complete physics and reliable (and simple) numerical algorithms. The model has been verified against observations for a wide range of model configurations. It is recognized by the oceanographic community that the model performs well especially in coastal regions. The curvilinear orthogonal coordinates of the model are quite flexible and allow generation of efficient variable-resolution grids for regions with complicated coastline. Details of the model were discussed by Blumberg and Mellor (1987), and the enhanced version of the curvilinear coordinate formulation is given by Blumberg and Galperin (1990). The model can be obtained from the internet (Oey, L. and Ezer, T., 2008) .

POM is a semi-implicit, finite-difference model that can be used to determine the temporal and spatial changes of surface elevation, salinity, temperature, and velocity in response to wind, tide, buoyancy, and Coriolis forces. The model solves a coupled system of differential, prognostic equations describing conservation of mass, momentum, heat and salinity at each horizontal and vertical location determined by the computational grid. This model incorporates a second-order turbulence closure sub-model that provides eddy viscosity and diffusivity for the vertical mixing (Mellor and Yamada, 1982). Model attributes include: a vertical coordinate scaled on the water column depth (sigma coordinate); a curvilinear orthogonal horizontal grid employing the Arakawa C differencing scheme (Arakawa and Lamb, 1977) and a split time step, solving the two-dimensional dynamics more frequently than the three-dimensional dynamics.

3.1.2 Major governing equations The governing equations of the model are firstly the continuity, momentum, salinity and

temperature equations. The eddy diffusivity for salt and temperature are calculated from the second order turbulent model (Mellor and Yamada, 1982). Density is a function of salinity and temperature calculated from the equations of state as described in Blumberg and Mellor (1987). The horizontal viscosity and diffusivity coefficients are determined according to Smagorinsky’s (1963) formulation.

3.2 Application to the Markham River Plume

The geographical features of the Markham River/Estuary system are shown in figures 1 and 3. The system is at the far west end of the Inner Huon Gulf with the Markham River discharging from a northwest direction into the Huon Gulf. The inner Huon Gulf is bordered by land to the north and west while the south and the east are open to the sea. 3.2.1 The model grid system

Bathymetry data for the model was determined using depth data that was already collected by Buleka et al., (1999). These data were represented on a rectangular grid system for the Markham Estuary

24

(12.5 km x 12.5 km), with resolution of 250 m along the East and North axes for the surface plane covering the estuary.

The geometry of the Inner Huon Gulf, bounded on adjacent sides (North and West), suggested the use of a curvilinear grid, centred upstream of the mouth of the Markham River. The grid size was increased radially, corresponding with the increasing water depth. The river-mouth grid size, the grid rotation and radial rate-of-increase were defined to provide the desired spatial resolution and coverage in key areas of the region. The rectangular-grid bathymetry data were interpolated onto the curvilinear grid (Fig. 3). The curvilinear grid contained 37 x 33 grid points (Fig. 3) corresponding to radially-outward and curved-northward directions, respectively, for the model. There were 11 vertical grid points (10 water layers) with fractions of the total water depth (0.000, -0.018, -0.036, -0.071, -0.143, -0.286, -0.429, -0.571, -0.714, -0.817, -1.000) at each grid point. The smaller, northwestern curved boundary of the grid, adjacent to the river mouth, was used to simulate the river discharge.

Figure 3 Grid points for the model. The dark lines in the north and west indicate the shoreline and the colored lines represent the bathymetry (m). The boundary adjacent to the river is called the river-mouth boundary.

3.2.2 The model parameters and initial conditions

The initial time-step for the external mode was 0.025 s while the time-step for the internal mode was 0.75 s. The initial value for salinity was set at 35 psu and the initial velocity was 0.05 ms-1 throughout the domain. The wind effect was introduced with equivalent wind speed of 10 kmhr-1. The model was run for northwesterly, southeasterly and zero wind scenarios.

To avoid problems of numerical instability at the river mouth due to extremely high gradients in salinity, the inflow salinity was not set to zero over the entire water column depth. Instead the salinity of the inflow was linearly increased from 0 to 35 in the lower 5 layers of the inflow boundary.

25

3.2.3 The boundary conditions

In order to represent the river input into the model area, the surface inflow velocity and salinity conditions at the model river mouth boundary were set to values similar to those observed slightly offshore from the mouth. Thus, salinity values were set at 10 psu for the surface layer (k =1) and increased to 18, 25 and 31 psu for layers k = 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The velocity at the surface (k =1) was set between 0.1 – 0.5ms-1 to represent the inflow velocities at the river mouth boundary, equivalent to the observed range of river discharge of 250 – 1200 m3s-1

3.3 Oceanographic Data Collection

.

In order to validate the model data, field data is compared with model results. The data reported in this paper were collected in January and February 2006, during the tropical wet season. The cross section and water level of the river, wind speed and direction, tide level, and current measurements were recorded near the river mouth and sites along the coastline both on the southern and the northern side of the river mouth. Conductivity, temperature, depth and SSC (CTDS) profiles were recorded to depths of up to 100 m, at various locations in the harbour and the river mouth. Drogues were deployed to determine surface and subsurface current velocities just seaward of the river mouth in the harbour area. Details of instrumentation and deployment sites are given below.

3.3.1 Wind speed, wind direction and river discharge

A weather station, marked as ‘WS’ in figure 1(b), was erected on 18/1/06 on the top of the 40 m high Taheiyo Cement Tower situated within the premises of the Lae Port. This site is the highest building in the local vicinity allowing for the unobstructed measurement of wind. The station was programmed to record the wind speed and direction every 6 minutes. The river height was read from a vertical ruler attached to an old bridge pylon stationed 10 km upstream of the river mouth. Readings were recorded every morning and evening.

3.3.2 Current Measurement

Drift drogues were used to determine the surface and sub-surface currents near the river mouth on selected days. The drogues used were square 1 m x 1 m underwater canvas sails. A buoy (4 litre plastic container) was tied to the top end using a 6 mm rope to keep the sail abreast. The length of the rope determined the depth at which the drogue was expected to sail. The drogues were weighted with 2 x 100 g weights each tied to extreme sides of the lower end. The drogues were not naturally buoyant and were kept at depth using small buoys that had low external effects.

Three pairs of drogues were deployed on 15/02/06 at locations E, A, F, (Fig. 1(b)) in a transect perpendicular to the river axis. One of the pair sailed at the surface while the other sailed 10 m below surface. The initial and final positions of the drogues were recorded using a handheld Garmin GPS. Drogues were re-deployed on the same day at transects perpendicular to the Bismarck Shipping wharf and later at a transect perpendicular to site 2.

3.3.3 Water Column Observations

A Falmouth NIXIC Conductivity, Temperature, Depth and SSC (CTDS) profiler was used and logged CTDS data every second.

Shallow CTDS profiling (to approximately 10 m of water depth) was carried out around selected sites in the area (Fig. 1(b)) on 8/2/06. These sites are indicated by (+) in results charts (Fig. 11). Further profiles were taken at distances 0.4, 0.9, 1.9km from the river mouth on 20/01/06 along river axis denoted by sites A, B, C (Fig. 1(b) during periods of increased river flow. Profiles were also recorded at 3 sites along a section across the river mouth on the same day (~ 0.4 km distance), denoted with D, A, E (Fig. 1(b)). Another set of depth CTDS profiles were taken on 06/02/06 during a “low discharge” period, also along the river axis.

26

4 RESULTS

4.1 Visual Observations Visual observation of the Markham River from around the Lae Harbour indicate that the plume is

generally a few metres thick. This can be seen by observing ship wakes which almost invariably have clear blue water which has been brought to the surface by the propeller wash. These clear ship wakes are particularly clear for large ocean going ships and tugs but are also apparent for smaller vessels of around 10 m length.

Whether or not the plume contacts the coastline along the Lae shoreline is highly affected by wind direction. During the morning when a NW wind blows, the plume detaches from the coast and a band of clear water a few hundred metres wide is evident along the shoreline. When the wind changes direction later in the day, the plume returns to the shoreline.

Milford Haven bay, which is only a few hundred metres from the river mouth, is notable because it often contains relatively clear water especially in the morning during NW winds and measurements of water turbidity and salinity indicate this is upwelled ocean water (Renagi et al, 2010).

Drogue measurements (Fig. 4) also indicate that the surface layer is thin with surface speeds approaching 1 ms-1 at the mouth and dropping to 0.5 ms-1 2 km from the mouth. The drogues also indicate that the lower ocean water moves relatively slowly.

Figure 4. Velocity vectors for surface and subsurface (10 m depth) drogues drifting on 15/02/06 between 1030 and 1130 hrs at transect I near the river mouth, between 1310 and 1340 hrs at transect III, between 1400 and 1430 hrs at the transect II. The wind changed direction from northwest to southeast at 1330 hrs. 4.2 Currents and Salinity Data

The very abrupt change in depth at the mouth of the river gives rise to a very large vertical salinity and temperature gradient 10 m offshore from the mouth of the river (Fig. 5). The salinity increases from 0 psu at a depth of 1.5 m to 33 psu at 4 m depth. By a distance of 40 m from the river mouth (Fig. 1(b)) the surface plume has thickened slightly to a little over 2.5 m where the salinity has reached 33 psu (Fig. 9). The salinity remains at 33 psu until a depth of around 15 m below which it rises to over 34 psu (Fig. 6). Profiles further offshore for profile sites G, H, I, L and K (Fig. 1(b)) also show the features of a very thin

27

and extremely low salinity plume overlying a deeper but thicker layer of salinity between 30 and 33 psu (Fig. 7 and 8).

Figure 5. Depth profiles of (a) salinity and (b) temperature taken 10 m seaward of the river mouth on 14/03/07 showing ambient seawater properties below the discharge point.

Figure 6. Profiles of (a) Salinity, (b) temperature taken on 14/03/07 and 40 m away from the river mouth indicating a well mixed layer between 4 and 16 m water depth. Changes in salinity and temperature below 17 m depth indicates a surface of a different layer of water body.

28

Figure 7. Salinity and temperature profiles taken at site G, H, I and l on 26/01/06 showing stratification above 40m water depth where the salinity values are less then 34.5 psu.

Figure 8. Profiles of (a) SSC (mgl-1) at site A, B and K along the river axis showing relatively lower SSC in the water column. (b) Concurrent salinity (psu) and temperature (oC), all recorded on 06/02/06 during a period of low discharge showing well-mixed layers at the surface and between 5 and 10m indicating the halocline and below 20 m depths indicating a different water body.

29

Surface salinity distributions (Fig. 9) show a roughly radially spreading plume with salinities rising to around 20 psu within 4 km of the mouth. High salinities are sometimes found in Milford Haven Bay (Fig. 9)

Figure 9 Surface salinity (psu) contours estimated from profiles taken on 08/02/06 showing surface plumes with less than 16 ppt edging along the shorelines. High salinity (~22 ppt) was observed in the Milford haven Bay indicating effects of upwelling. (+) sign indicates profiled sites.

Figure 10. Modeled salinity of the top layer for intermediate discharge (520 m3s-1) and 4 ms-1 southeasterly wind showing strong mixing in the Milford Haven Bay.

Figure 11. Correlation between measured salinity on 30/03/07 (Fig. 9a) and model salinity distribution (Fig. 10) for southeasterly wind and intermediate discharge. Conditions of discharge and wind effects applied to model were similar to actual conditions on 30/03/07.

30

4.3 Modelled current and salinity data The POM model was run to simulate conditions of southeasterly wind (4 m s-1) with an

intermediate river discharge (520 m3 s-1

the slope of the fitted line is close to unity (Fig. 11) with very high correlation (R

) (Fig. 10) which corresponds to the conditions for the salinity measurement on 30/3/07 (Fig. 9). The main feature of a radially spreading plume with salinity increasing to around 30 ppt within a few kilometers offshore is replicated.

The model output provides salinity values for the average of the surface layer which becomes relatively thick compared with the plume layer for larger depths well away from the river mouth. To determine the effective salinity at the surface (i.e. the top of the first layer) the model output from the top two layers was linearly extrapolated to the surface. This data was plotted against the measured salinity at the same location and

2

4.4 Model results for NW winds.

=0.950). This suggests that that the model adequately represents patterns of salinity in the plume.

The model was run for different scenarios of wind direction and river discharge rate. For a NW winds, the plume salinity increases with distance from the coast near Lae (Fig. 12) under all flow conditions and is close to full seawater salinity for low flow conditions. Relatively high salinity water is predicted to occur in Milford Haven Bay under all conditions consistent with visual observations. The plume salinity rises rapidly with distance from the river mouth and even during high flow the surface salinity reaches over 25 within ca. 4 km of the river mouth.

Current vectors are aligned mostly radially (figure 15) from the river mouth and drop from around 1 m/s near the mouth to ca. 0.15 m/s 10 km from the mouth.

31

Figure 12. Salinity distribution during the northwest winds and (a) intermediate discharge (520 m3s-1) and (b) low freshwater discharge (250 m3s-1). Notice the high salinity region in the Milford Haven Bay and close to the Lae coastline caused by upwelling when the north-westerly winds drive the surface plume seaward. The shoreline is represented by the black lines to the north and the west.

32

5 DISCUSSION

5.1 Richardsons Number The degree of stratification of the plume is characterized by Richardson’s number Ri, which gives a

measure of the stabilizing effect of the buoyancy to the destabilizing effect of the vertical velocity shear (Fisher et al., 1972). Ri is given by;

(1)

where g is the gravitational field strength, ρ is the density of the ambient seawater, dρ/dz is the change in density over the surface plume, and dU/dz is the velocity gradient over the surface plume.

Figure 13 Surface current patterns concurrent with salinity chart (Fig. 12a) for northwesterly winds and intermediate discharge (520 m3s-1).

An estimate of the degree of stratification is made using measured data presented in figure 6. The density of surface plume was approximately 1000 kgm-3 at site B (Fig. 1(b)), and with the underlying seawater at 1018 kgm-3, the change in density was 18 kgm-3. The velocity of the plume was taken as 0.4 ms-1 (from the drogue data (Fig. 4)), and the underlying seawater velocity was approximated at 0.05 ms-1

5.2 Plume spread

. This result gives a Richardson number of 0.61, which is larger than 0.25 implying that the fresh and seawater interface is gravitationally stable and that the plume can therefore be characterized as highly stratified (Fisher et al., 1972).

Satelitte images of the Markham plume (Fig. 2) indicate that the plume initially rapidly spreads laterally from the mouth and is around 5 km wide at a distance of 5 km from the mouth. At distances greater than 10 km, the plume spreading rate drops considerably. Within the first 5 km of the mouth, the

33

geometry of the plume boundaries indicate that the lateral spread is equal to the radial plume velocity, i.e ca. 0.3 ms-1 assuming a typical plume speed of 0.3 ms-1. Hetland and MacDonald (2008), and Hetland (2010) have shown that the local rate of change in plume width (wp) is;

(2)

where g’ is the reduced gravity (g’ = g∆ρ/ρ) . Assuming a plume thickness of 2 m, equation 2 requires a plume density of 1 kgm-3

6 CONCLUSIONS

below the density of the underlying seawater.

The flow of the Markham river enters the sea first passing through a sequence of standing waves at

its shallow mouth. The plume lifts off the bottom to form a stable plume within a few hundred meters of the mouth. Typical velocities of the plume water are 0.3 ms-1 and plume depths are very thin ca. 2 m. The highly visible turbid plume detaches from the coastline during periods of NW wind to form a thin band of clear ocean water close to the coast. Satellite images of the plumes indicate that the plumes do not generally form shore attached plumes that move along the shoreline. Comparison of the Coriolis accelerations to accelerations due to wind stress from light winds (5 ms-1) indicate that the Coriolis effect is not a dominant forcing in this region due to proximity to the equator.

Application of the POM model to the plume successfully simulated the plume dynamics within a few kilometres of the coast. The success of the model to simulate the dispersal of the plume indicates that it could be used in future work to study sediment dynamics in the region.

REFERENCES Arakawa, A.; Lamb, V.R. (1977). "Computational design of the basic dynamical processes of the UCLA

general circulation model". Methods of Computational Physics 17. New York: Academic Press. pp. 173–265.

Blumberg, A.F. and Galperin, B. (Editors), 1990. On the summer circulation in the New York Bight Coastal and Estuarine Studies, Residual Currents and Long-term Transport, 38. Springer, New York Inc.

Blumberg, A.F. and Goodrich, D.M., (1990). Modeling of wind-induced destartification in Cheasapeake Bay. Estuaries, 13(3).

Blumberg, A.F. and Mellor, G.L. (Editors), 1987. A description of a three-dimensional coastal ocean-circulation model Three-dimensional Coastal Ocean Models. Coastal and Estuarine Sciences, 4. American Geophysical Union, Washington, 1-16 pp.

Buleka, J., Prior, D.B. and Van der Spek, A., 1999. Coastplan Geology and Natural Hazards of Lae City and Surroundings, Papua New Guinea. CCOP COASTPLAN Case Study Report No.3, Geological Survey Division, Department of Mineral Resources, Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby), and Committee for Coordinating Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (Bangkok): 134pp.

ECO-Care, E.C., 2002. Lae Port Environmental (Siltation) Study. PNGHB 02-02(1), PNG Harbour Board Limited, Lae.

Fisher, J.S., Ditmars, J.D. and Ippen, A.T., 1972. Mathematical simulation of tidal time-averages of salinity and velocity profiles in estuaries. NOAA - 72110204, Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,, Cambridge, MA, MITSG-772-11.

Galperin, B., Kantha, L.H., Hassid, S. and Rosati, A., (1988). A quasi-equilibrium turbulent energy model foe geophysical flows. Journal of Atmospheric Science, 45: 55-62.

34

Galperin, B. and Mellor, G.L., (1990). A time dependent, three dimensional model of the Delaware Bay and River. Part I: Description of the model and tidal analysis. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 31: 231-253.

Garvine, R.W., 1995. A dynamical system of classifying buoyant coastal discharges. Continental Shelf Research, 15: 1585-1596.

Hetland, R.D. (2010), The effects of mixing and spreading on density in near-field river plumes. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans, 49(1), 37-53

Hetland, R. D. and D. G. MacDonald (2008) Spreading in the near-field Merrimack River plume, Ocean Modelling, 21, 12-21

Huang, W., (2007). Hydrodynamic Modeling of flushing time in a small estuary of North Bay, Florida, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 74: 722-731.

McAlpine, J.R., Keig, G. and Falls, R., 1983. Climate of Papua New Guinea. Australian National University Press, Canberra.

Mellor, Y. and Yamada, T., (1982). Development of turbulent closure model for geophyical fluid problems. Review of Geophysics and Space Physics, 20(4): 851-875.

Milliman, J.D. and Syvitsky, J.P.M., 1992. Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: importance of small mountainous rivers. Journal of Geology, 100: 525-544.

Oey, L. and Ezer, T., 2008. The Prince Ocean Model, pp. http://www.aos.princeton.edu/WWWPUBLIC/htdocs.pom/.

Oey, L.Y., Mellor, G.L. and Hires, R.A., (1985). A three dimensional simulation of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary. I: Description of the model and model simulations. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 15: 1676-1692.

Renagi, O., Ridd, P.V. and Stieglitz, T.C., 2010. Quantifying the suspended sediment discharge to the ocean from the Markham River, Papua New Guinea. Continental Shelf Research, 30: 1030-1041.

Smagorinsky, J., 1963. General circulation experiments with the rpimitive equations: I. The basic experiment, Monthly Weather Review, pp. 99-164.

http://www.aos.princeton.edu/WWWPUBLIC/htdocs.pom/�



35

HS72013-HS-024

GIS analysis of land suitability for commercial tree species in Papua New Guinea

John Kopatlie and David Lopez Cornelio

Forestry Department, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Private Mail Bag Lae, Morobe Province, PNG

ABSTRACT Spatial models can examine interactions of plantation requirements with the environment, facilitating decision making and planning, and reducing investment risks. A land suitability analysis was carried out to identify areas in Papua New Guinea which were suitable for the establishment of plantation commercial tree species. Climate and rainfall maps built by PNGRIS in 2009 were used as source maps. The paper identifies, discriminates and demarcates areas with potential for the plantation of Eucalyptus deglupta, Araucaria cunninghamii, Tectona grandis, Pinus caribaea, Acacia mangium and Ochroma pyramidale. Results indicate the extension and location of suitable areas for those species. Ochroma pyramidale and Araucaria cunninghamii are the most promising species for plantation in the country. Western province ranks first on potential, followed by East Sepik, West Sepik and Central provinces. The model is robust but can be enhanced by the inclusion of additional thematic layers in the future. Key words: Suitability analysis, Tree plantation, GIS modeling

1 INTRODUCTION

Tropical forest plantations offer one of the major strategies to halt the process of tropical deforestation and to meet future wood demands. They widely expanded since the 1970s when community and social forestry projects were launched in a number of countries (Pandey, 1995). Irrational logging of natural forests shifted into sustainable management plans and plantations in temperate and tropical regions over the last 100 and 20 years respectively (Evans, 1992). The total area of plantations in tropical regions increased from 6.7 ha in 1965 (Pandey, 1995) to 109 million ha in year 2005; although global rates are poorly known. Their roles are at the center of policy and planning in most national forestry strategies. They improve soil and water quality, increase timber production, improve wildlife habitat, are of higher rates of productivity than natural forests with shorter rotations and are market-oriented (Nambiar, 1996). Furthermore, the availability of carbon credits with the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol opens up new markets for tree plantations (IPCC, 2006).

There are around 26.2 million hectares of forest in PNG on over 70% of its total area (Saulei and Kiapranis, 1996), of which 3 to 4 million ha have been logged or converted to other land uses. Of the area remaining, 10.5 million hectares have been acquired by the PNG Forest Authority, including 6.1 million hectares allocated under permit to 42 logging operations (Hunt, 2002). Only 2.8% of the country is legally protected under National Parks, Provincial Parks and Wildlife Management Areas.

Land tenure issues are a major stumbling block in the development of plantation forestry in PNG. Customary land tenure has not guaranteed sustainable land use, due to the difficulties on identifying traditional landowners, poor enforcement of the terms of land leases and of concessions to private operators, and disputes over the distribution of benefits from logging and other non-traditional land

36

uses. Plantations didn’t expand significantly in the country since 1996; however there are approximately 40,000 ha in four main plantations of eucalyptus and acacia species for woodchips, out of a total of 60,000 ha of smallholder plantations. Figures for balsa wood production are estimated at 400 ha (FIA, 2001). Vinas (1997) identified about 160 species of commercial interest in PNG.

According to Mackey et al. (2008), a land surface can be geographically delineated biotopically on the basis of discontinuities in abiotic environmental factors, such as climate or geology, bioconotically using discontinuities in the distribution of biota (Clifford and Stephenson, 1975), or some combination or integration of the two. At larger cartographic scales, mapped units are referred to as regional ecosystems, land systems or landscape ecosystems. At smaller geographical scales, the stated aim of such exercises is usually to map geographic entities referred to as bioregions, biomes, or, more recently, ecoregions.

In PNG, the principle biotopic factors influencing the distribution of biota are climate and geological history. It has long been observed that vegetation, in terms of its structure and floristics, changes continuously across the landscape in response to climatic gradients (Gleason,1939). Two of the most significant environmental gradients that drive these vegetation changes are temperature and rainfall and the interaction between them (Walther et al., 2002; Rehfeldt et al., 2006).

The changes with altitude of every climatic factor affecting plant growth are not consistent (Richards, 1996). According to Lamprecht (1989) daily temperatures fluctuations in the tropics are higher than annual fluctuations. Mean annual temperatures in lowland areas within 10° latitude of the Equator generally lie in the range 24°-28°C. Regular rainfalls in Melanesia result from the north-west monsoon and south-east trade winds which warm and collect moisture as they pass over the sea. Localizzed orographic, rain shadow and other wind effects are important in the proximity to the sea (McKinty, 1999). Maximum rainfall occurs at 1000-1400m, above which it declines (Richards, 1996). The hydrological cycle of extensive forest areas or cleared land may also have localized effect on rainfall.

Land evaluation is the process of predicting land performance over time according to specific types of use (Rossiter, 1996), it has traditionally been based primarily on soil surveys. However, Booth (1990) applied a multiple-criterion evaluation (MCE) adapted from Carver (1991), which describes a technique that identifies and map locations satisfying six climatic criteria (mean annual rainfall, rainfall regime, dry season length, mean maximum temperature of the hottest month, mean minimum temperature of the coldest month and mean annual temperature) where eucalyptus and pinus can grow. The approach has been demonstrated at global and continental scales. The information that goes into the system determines the suitability as incompatible or unsuitable (zero) or ideal or suitable (one) for each point of the area per vegetation type. The value of suitability depends on a set of physical and biological factors that favor or limit the growth of a tree species for decision-making (Felicisimo et al., 2002). Modeling concentrates on ecological aspects (Nagashima et al. 2002), including soil characteristics that have significant role in forest growth (Riano et al., 2004), and hydrological issues (Ticehurst et al., 2003). Furthermore, GIS-based multi criteria analyses have been widely used for forestry applications (Carver, 1991). Planning of tree plantations at local, regional and national levels can greatly be improved by GIS methods to (1) construct the geographical databases of land suitability for tree species, (2) assess land suitability and (3) select the possible lands for new plantations; therefore we hypothesize that ranges of precipitation and temperature in the country have a signifficant effect on potential areas to reforest with commercial tree species. The results of this investigation have limited applicability for planning at the individual farm level but are useful at the regional level to target areas for plantation expansion.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Maps produced by PNGRIS were digitized to serve as primary maps. PNGRIS is an inventory of natural resources, land-use and population information for the whole of PNG. The third edition of

37

PNGRIS consists of a series of computerized maps for use in the Mapinfo GIS software package. The computerized maps, or layers, show various features of the landscape and environment that are useful for natural resource planning, development and conservation. Each layer has a table or database attached to it giving a description of each feature in the map. A climate map based on “lapse rates” (temperature decreases 0.5°C every 100m of altitudinal increase) made by McAlpine (1983), an annual rainfall map (PNGRIS, 2009), and a administrative map for the country (PNG Atlas, 1982) were scanned with JPEG file format, converted to TIFF format, and imported into ilwis 3.8 by geospatial data abstraction library which supports several current raster file formats. The georeference used corner points, a 1451-meter grid cell size (temperature map), and a 1355-meter grid cell size (rainfall map), with resulting root mean square errors (RMSE) of less than 0.6 in both cases. A vector map was digitized for each of the three maps. Resulting contours of temperature vector layer were interpolated, by first rasterizing them and then calculating values for pixels that are not covered by segments through linear interpolation. Vector maps for rainfall and administrative maps were polygonized and then rasterized (figure 1). The pixels of the resulting three raster maps were resampled to a common georeference of 966 m2 pixel size by bicubic interpolation, which first determine the XY-coordinate of each pixel in the output map, then uses the values of 16 surrounding pixels of the input map to calculate an interpolated value for each pixel in the output map. Suitable areas for the plantation of each of the species were obtained by boolean operations as described on table 1. A Boolean operation is a type of Multi Criteria Evaluation, since only two variables were studied there is not a problem of areas counted more than twice. The IF statement in a boolean operation performs different things depending on a certain condition. A condition is the result of a logical expression (i.e. a Boolean expression). The general syntax for an IF, THEN, ELSE statement is ‘If a then b [else c]’, where: a is a boolean expression, and b and c are either a statement or a compound statement. The resultant two raster maps were crossed with the Administrative raster map and the results were compiled on table 2.

Table 1: Climatic requirements by the species and decision rules employed using Boolean operations

in the model.

Specie Temp Pp range Boolean Operation

(˚C) (mm/year)

Acacia mangium 18-28 1500-3000 If('temp>18) AND ('temp<28) AND ('rainfall>1500) AND ('rainfall<3000) THEN suitable

Araucaria cunninghamii 15-25 1900-4800 If('temp>15) AND ('temp<25) AND ('rainfall>1900) AND ('rainfall<4800) THEN suitable

Eucalyptus deglupta 23-31 2500-5000 If('temp>23) AND ('temp<31) AND ('rainfall>2500) AND ('rainfall<5000) THEN suitable

Ochroma pyramidale 22-27 1250-3000 If('temp>22) AND ('temp<27) AND ('rainfall>1250) AND ('rainfall<3000) THEN suitable

Pinus caribae 22-37 1000-3000 If('temp>22) AND ('temp<37) AND ('rainfall>1000) AND ('rainfall<3000) THEN suitable

Tectona grandis 14-36 1200-2500 If('temp>14) AND ('temp<36) AND ('rainfall>1200) AND ('rainfall<2500) THEN suitable

Sources: World Agroforestry Centre, www.worldagroforestrycentre.org

3. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS According to table 2, 54211.5 and 464.678 km2 can be planted with Ochroma pyramidale and Araucaria cunninghamii respectively, followed by Acacia mangium (19636.336 km2) and Eucalyptus deglupta (15608.155 km2). Western province (Wn) ranks first on potential of suitable total areas for tree plantations (29.112% of the country’s total suitable area), followed by East Sepik (Es, 11.984%), West Sepik (WS, 9.194%), Central (Cn, 9.155%), Gulf (Gl, 5.603%), Oro (Or, 5.455%) and Madang (Ma, 5.025%) provinces. The other provinces account for less than 5% of the national total suitable area for reforestation.

http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/�

38

39

Fig. 1: Flowchart of procedure.Acacia Mangium is not an invasive specie in Papua New Guinea

yet, instead it is widely planted in Madang province by local communities to supply the pulpwood

industry. It is most convenient to plant in Western (7060.391 km2), Central (3343.2 km2), East Sepik

(2684.373 km2), West Sepik (2039.1 km2), and Oro (1617.954 km2) provinces (figure 9).

Only in Central province most of the provincial area was suitable for planting this specie, while in all other provinces most of their areas were unsuitable for planting it. Araucaria cunninghamii is most convenient in Western (99.796 km2), East Sepik (51.829 km2), West Sepik (41.295 km2), Central (43.205 km2), and Morobe (40.651 km2) provinces. In all of them the rates of suitable areas were larger than unsuitable areas for planting this specie (figure 10). Ochroma pyramidale is most convenient in Western (4843.364 km2), East Sepik (5811.655 km2), West Sepik (4843.364 km2), Gulf (5154.164 km2), West New Britain (WNB, 3481.991 km2), and Central (2858.291 km2) provinces. In all of these provinces most of their areas were also suitable for planting this specie (figure 11). Eucalyptus deglupta is most convenient in Western (3216.627 km2), West Sepik (1977.055 km2), West New Britain (1246.255 km2), East Sepik (1754.073 km2) and New Ireland (957.791 km2) provinces; however in all of them most of their provincial total areas were unsuitable for planting this specie (figure 12). Pinus caribaea is most convenient to plant in Western (7060.391 km2), Central (2660.127 km2), East Sepik (2611.064 km2), West Sepik (2030.509 km2), and Oro (1081.691 km2) provinces. Only Central province accounts for larger suitable area for planting this specie. Tectona grandis is most convenient to plant in Western (4457.918 km2), Central (1640.482 km2), East Sepik (1553.809 km2), Morobe (828.164 km2), and Oro (390.218 km2) provinces. Most of the total areas of those provinces were unsuitable for planting this specie. The model is robust but can be enhanced by the inclusion of additional thematic layers (soils, socio economic, accessibility, ecological zones and protected areas). Most flooded areas are stational meaning that still has potential for tree plantations with exception of mangroves and sago marshlands which themselves still need to be spatially quantified. At this stage it provides planners and investors with a firsthand report of land potential for planting of commercial tree species at regional scale in the country. 4 REFERENCES

Booth, J, Stein J, Nix H, Hutchinson MG.1989. Mapping regions climatically suitable for particular species: an example using Africa, Forest Ecology and Management 28:19-31.

Carver S.1991. Integrating multi-criteria evaluation with geographic information systems. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 5, 321-339.

Clifford H, Stephenson W. 1975. An Introduction to Numerical Classification. Academic Press, NewYork.

Evans J. 1992. Plantation forestry in the Tropics-tree planting for industrial, social, environmental, and agroforestry purposes, Oxford: Clarendon press.

Felicisimo A, Frances E, Fernandez J, Gonzales-Diez A, Varas J. 2002. Modeling the potential distribution of forests with a GIS.Photogrammetric Engineering and RemoteSensing 68: 455-461

Forest Industries Association. 2001. A Statistical Profile of Key Indicators, Port Moresby: Forest Industries Association.

Gleason H. 1939. The individualistic concept of the plant association. Am. Midl. Nat. 21, 92–110.

40

Hunt C. 2002. Production, privatization and preservation in Papua New Guinea forestry, iied, 145p.

Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2006. Climate change 2007: The physical science basis, www.climatescience.gov/Library/ipcc/wg14ar-review.htm

Lamprecht H. 1989. 'Silviculture in the Tropics'. Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit, Germany.

McAlpine J, Freyne D. 2001. Land use and rural population change in PNG, 1975-1996. Agricultural transformation and intensification. Asia Pacific viewpoint special issue 42(2/3):209-218.

Mackey B, Berry S, Brown T. 2008. Reconciling approaches to biogeographical regionalization: a systematic and generic framework examined with a case study of the Australian continent. J. Biogeogr. 35, 213–29.

McKinty M. 1999. Silviculture of Tropical Mixed Forests of Melanesia, 90p.

Nagashima K, Sands R, Whyte A, Bilek E, Nakagoshi, N. 2002. Regional landscape change as a consequence of plantation forestry expansion: an example in the Nelson region, New Zeland. Forest Ecology and Management 163, 245-261.

Nambiar E. 1996. Sustained productivity of forests is a continuing challenge to soil science. Soil Science Society of America Journal 60: 1629-1642.

Pandey D. 1995. Forest resources assessment 1990; Tropical forest plantation resources. FAO Forestry Paper 128. 81 p.

Papua New Guinea Resource Information System (PNGRIS 3rd Edition), 2009, The Land-Use Section, Science and Technology Branch, Department of Agriculture and Livestock, P.O Box 1863, Boroko, NCD, Papua New Guinea.

Rehfeldt G, Crookston N, Warwell M, Evans J. 2006. Empirical analyses of plant-climate relationships for the western United States. Int. J. Plant Sci. 167, 1123–50.

Riano D, Chuieco E, Codes S, Gonzales-Matesanz J, Ustin S. 2004. Generation of crown bulk for Pinus sylvestris L. from lidar. Remote Sensing of Environment 92, 345-352.

Richards, P. W. 1996. The tropical rain forest, an ecological study. Second edition. London: Cambridge University Press.

Rossiter D. 1996. A theoretical framework for land evaluation (with discussion), Geoderma, 72: 165-202.

Saulei S, Kiapranis R. 1996. Forest regeneration following selective logging operations in a lowland rain forest in Papua. New Guinea. Science in New Guinea 22(1), University of Papua New Guiinea, PNG.

Ticehurst J, Cresswell H, Jakeman A. 2003. Using a physically based model to conduct a sensitivity analysis of subsurface lateral flow in south-east Australia. Environmental Modeling and Software 18, 729–740.

Vinas A. 1997. Simple guide, dichotomous key to the common commercial timber trees of Papua New Guinea. Unpublished report. Bulolo University college, Bulolo, PNG.

Walther G, Post E, Convey P. 2002. Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature 416, 389–95.



41

HS7-2013-032

Concentration of Hessen Bay Chromite Ore

M. Saki#1; A. K. Chakrabarti#2; and W. Kipit#3 Mining Engineering Department, PNG University of Technology, Lae.

Email: [email protected]#1; [email protected]#2;

ABSTRACT

Abundant deposits of low grade chromite (FeCr2O4) ore exist in the Hessen Bay area in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. This ore is amenable to gravity concentration. However, both physical and pyrometallurgical beneficiations were also done on the ore. Chromite ore particles in the size range +75um to -850um were screened out and subjected to tabling at both slow and fast water flow rates. Better results were obtained at a fast water flow rate. The bulk density of the concentrate increased to 1.87 compared to its raw feed (1.54 – 1.64). Most of the concentrate particles were in the size range of 300 – 500µm. Recovery was of the order of 36.0%. Attempts to further upgrade the concentrate did not yield any encouraging results. Hence, reduction roasting followed by magnetic separation was attempted to improve the Cr/Fe ratio and reduce the iron oxide content.The reduction roasting was carried out at 11000C for 150 minutes after adding 30 wt% fresh charge of charcoal. The object was to convert non-magnetic Fe2O3 to magnetic Fe3O4 by reduction and then remove it by magnetic separation. As much as 38% of the roasted charge material could be removed by magnetic separation.The tailing from the gravity concentration process is rich in minerals like olivine and may be suitably utilized in the refractory industry.

1 INTRODUCTION Low grade chromite ore deposits are common in the Hessen Bay area of Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea. The Cr2O3 content in the ore is around 11-12% and Cr/Fe ratio is less than 2.0. Common gangue minerals in the chromite ore are magnetite, olivine and serpentine. However, the chemical composition of the chromite mineral itself is very complex, and consists of spinel of the type (Fe, Mg, Mn)O (Cr, Al, Fe)2O3. Afenya had carried out detailed studies on Hessen Bay chromite and had reported that the chromite ore may be concentrated appreciably by tabling [1]. Low grade chromite ore exist in many other countries of the world. In view of the importance of ferrochromium and chrome refractories in modern metallurgical industries a variety of physical, physiochemical, pyrometallurgical and chemical approaches have been adopted to upgrade such chromite deposit. The results of such investigations have been summed up in eminent reviews [2,3]. Most of the investigators performed various gravity concentration processes like hydrocycloning [5] or spiraling and tabling

[5,6]Concentration by flotation has also been tried out by varying the flotation reagents and pulp pH. But the conflicting experience of different flotation investigators renders it difficult to select any specific set of reagent and pulp pH in case of any new chromite ore mineral. However mineralogical studies suggest that gangue minerals in more coarsely sized ores may be separated by gravity means whereas flotation techniques are required for finer grained materials [2]. A chemical method of improvement of chromium concentration and Cr/Fe ratio in a low grade chromite ore is described in a US patent. The process essentially consists of sulphur dioxide – oxygen roasting of the pulverized ore + Na2SO4 + (NH4)CO3 mixture at elevated temperatures under high pressures. After roasting the ore is leached in aqueous ferric sulphate solution to remove undesirable constituents. The beneficiated ore shows improved Cr concentration and Cr/Fe ratio [7]. Another technique adopted involved the reduction of iron oxide in chromite ore with a gaseous reducing agent at a high temperature followed by magnetic separation of the ferrous material [3]. A scrutiny of the literature

mailto:[email protected]#1�

42

on beneficiation of low grade chromite indicates that there is scope for upgradation of the chromium content and Cr/Fe ratio in the ore by adopting a combination of gravity concentration and other beneficiation methods. The present investigation was a feasibility study on such multiple stage beneficiations of Hessen Bay chromite ore. For production of ferrochromium, a minimum Cr2O3 content of 45% and Cr/Fe ratio of 2.8 is necessary. Therefore for effective utilization of Hessen Bay chromite ore it is necessary to develop beneficiation techniques that will meet the above mentioned chromium and Cr/Fe ratio requirements. Afenya had successfully tried out tabling for concentration of the Hessen Bay chromite ore [1].The present investigation was undertaken as a follow up of his earlier investigation for enhancing the degree of concentration. 2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE In the first phase, gravity concentration by tabling was tried. About 5kg of chromite sand was fed on a shaking table (wilfley table) every 10 minutes. Thus the feed rate was kept constant but flow rate of water over the table was varied between slow and fast velocity. The concentrates in each case was collected separately and dried. Since chromite is heavier than other associated minerals, it is logical to expect the bulk density of concentrate to be higher than that of the tailings. Hence an indirect assessment of the effectiveness of concentration was carried out by measuring the bulk density. A cylindrical container of known weight and volume was filled completely with the raw ore, concentrate and tailing samples separately. The container was gently tapped against the table for good packing of the mineral particles. The weight of each type of minerals was then determined; weight/volume was a measure of the bulk density. In this way the bulk densities of the raw ore could be compared with that of the concentrate and tailings. The size distributions of the particles in the concentrate obtained by tabling with both fast and slow water flow rates were also compared. An attempt was made to further upgrade the concentrate from slow water flow rate trial by flotation at neutral pH using soap solution as a collector and MIBC as a frother. However, the preliminary result suggested that there was only a small improvement in the bulk density of the concentrate after flotation. Hence no further flotation trial was conducted. Further concentration was therefore tried through a separate pyrometallurgical route of reduction roasting followed by magnetic separation of the ferrous materials. For the purpose of reduction roasting adequate concentrate material was prepared by tabling the raw feed at fast water flow rate. Approximately 50 grams of concentrate was mixed with 30% charcoal by weight and the mixture was roasted at 11000C for periods varying from 30minutes to 150 minutes.The purpose of reduction roasting was to reduce non-magnetic iron oxides Fe2O3 iron to magnetite (Fe3O4) which can be easily removed by a magnet to yield a high Cr/Fe ratio. The expected chemical reactions are;

Fe2O3 + CO Fe3O4 + CO2 FeO.Cr2O3 + CO Fe +Cr2O3+ CO2 Cr2O3+ CO Cr2C6 (6-7%carbon) + CO2 CO2+ C 2CO Similar reduction roasting of low grade chromite ore was successfully carried out elsewhere [6]. The amount of percentage weight loss versus time of roasting was noted. Similarly, the percentage of magnetics removed from each reduction roasted material was also noted. 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results of the experiment suggest that the tabling concentrates had higher bulk densities than the raw feed bulk densities while the bulk density of the tailings was considerably lower. A fast water

43

flow rate yielded better results than the slow flowing water. The results are compared in Table 1 and Figure 1. On the contrary flotation results were not encouraging. Bulk density of the slow water flow rate concentrate increased from 1.75 to 1.80 only. The bulk density of the tailings was 1.76. Irrespective of the flow rates of water, the particles size distribution in the tabling concentrates were more or less same. The major fraction was in the 212-425µm size range (Figure 2). During reduction roasting there was continuous weight loss during the time of roasting. The weight change occurred partly because of the reduction of oxides by carbon monoxide and partly due to direct oxidation of charcoal in the furnace atmosphere. The relevant data are given in Table 2. The roasted product was crushed and ground before magnetic separation was done by a hand held magnet. The reduction roasting and magnetic separation proved to be an effective means of concentration (Table 3). It is therefore necessary to examine further scope of upgrading the Cr2O4 content through combination of gravity concentration, roast reduction and magnetic separation process. Moreover it would be prudent to carry out roasting at varying temperature in the range 9000C to 12000C. Table 1: Bulk Density Measurements- Shaking Table (wilfley table) Sample Bulk Density (kg/m3) Raw As received raw ore 11.64

Slow Flow rate

Fast Flow rate

Concentrate from Shaking Table

1.75

1.87

Tailings from Shaking Table

1.53

1.52

Figure 1: Graph showing the results of the shaking table carried at fast flowrate and slow flowrate

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Raw Concentrate Tail

Bulk

Den

sity

(kg/

m3)

Hessen Bay Ore

Shaking Table Result @ Slow & Fast Flow Rate

Low Flow Rate

High Flow Rate

44

Figure 2: Graph showing the size distribution of the shaking table concentrates Table 2: Results of Reduction Roasting Trial Time (min)

Wt of fresh ore + 30% carbon before roasting (gm)

Wt of roasted product (gm)

%mass reduction during roast

30 60 90 120 150

65.87 65.74 66.64 66.24 67.03

54.9 53.3 52.7 51.1 50.9

16.95 19.0 21.0 22.96 24.11

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

+850µm -850 +600µm

-600 +425µm

-425 +300µm

-300 +212µm

-212 +150µm

-150 +106µm

-106µm Loss

% M

ass

Particle Size

% Mass in Shaking Table concentrate vs Particle size distribution

Conc. (HF) %

45

Figure 3: Photomicrograph showing grain structure of Chromite concentrate before roasting

Figure 4: Photomicrograph showing grain structure of Chromite concentrate after roasting

46

Table 3: Results of Magnetic Separation after Roast Reduction Time (min)

%Magnetic removed

30 60 90 120 150

17.70 21.14 28.24 26.13 38.18

4 CONCLUSIONS

4.1 Gravity concentration for upgrading the quality of Hessen Bay chromite ore has been found to be a feasible route.

4.2 Additional benefits may be derived by reduction roasting and magnetic separation. However, roasting parameters like time and temperature needs to be optimized further.

5 REFERENCES [1] Afenya. P. Chromite deposits of Papua New Guinea, Mineralogical and compositional

variations and processing methods, Chemical Technology Dept. Unitech, Lae. (1984) [2] Nafzigor, R. N., A review of the deposits of lower grade chromite, Journal of the South

African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (August 1982) pp 205-224 [3] Masthy. Y. R., Tripathy. S. K. and Kuman. C. R., Chrome ore beneficiation challenges and

opportunities – A review; Mineral Engineering, 24.(2011), pp 375-380 [4] Mishra. B. K. and Tripathy. A., A preliminary study on particle separation in spiral concentrator

using DEM., Inter. Jr – of Mineral Processing, 194 (2010), pp 192-195 [5] Bayal. O. K, Ozan Ay, SelakUnal. – Preconcentration of chromite ores with koebe spiral

concentrator. , Source Internet [6] Maulik. S. C., Bhattachaya. K. K., - Beneficiation of low grade chromite ores from Sukinda,

Proceedings of the conference on Mineral Processing Technology, (2008), p146 [7] Omofoma Mathew. A., Taylor Patrick. R., Idaho Research Foundation, US patent Chromite ore

beneficiation, Patent No. US 4619690A (1984)



47

HS7-2013-037

Production of Sponge Iron by Oxidation Roast and Carbothermic Reduction

of Ok Tedi Pyrite concentrates

M. Kama 1, A. K. Chakrabarti 2 and P.S.A. Leki

Mining Engineering Department, PNG Unitech.

Emails: [email protected]; [email protected] ABSTRACT The OK Tedi mine in the Western Province has constructed a pyrite flotation plant at Mt. Fubilan to concentrate the pyrite from the copper plant tails. The pyrite concentrates are transported in a slurry form to Bige, where it is buried below the water table to prevent oxidation and generation of acid mine drainage. This study was done to assess the possibility of converting the pyrite concentrate into sponge iron for use in steel plant. Approximately 10 grams of pyrite concentrate from OK Tedi mine with bulk chemical composition (%) of C= 11.8, O=23.5, Mg=0.07, Al=1.2, Si=4.1, S=28.1, K=0.6, Ca=0.7 and Fe=29.6 (SEM EDAX analysis) were roasted in a muffle furnace at 700oC, 750oC and 800oC respectively, for periods ranging from 5 mins to 40 mins. The weight change after roasting of pyrite was recorded and it was noticed that the roasting kinetics are marginally faster at 800oC. For the carbothermic reduction experiments, the pyrite concentrate of 10grams was roasted at at 800oC for 1 hour. The sinter was mixed thoroughly with 30% graphite and was further reduced at 1100oC for periods ranging from 30 mins to 120 mins. Sponge iron of low degree of metallization was produced after 120 minutes. Composition in (%) of the reduced sinter by SEM EDAX show C=4.7, O=33.6, Mg=0.7, Al= 0.7, Si= 4.4, S =4.5, Ca= 0.7, Fe= 5.7. Oxygen was not completely removed, but the iron content increased appreciably due to removal of sulphur. The results suggest that the pre-roasting of the pyrite concentrate needs to be carried out at a higher temperature than 800oC to remove sulphur completely. It also suggests that the final reduction temperature needs to be below 1000oC because CO2 is unstable above this temperature. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the temperature and time of reduction roasting to prevent re-oxidation of the sponge iron produced. Reduction of iron oxide will occur more efficiently if the initial sulphur in the charge is low. Hence magnetic separation of the iron oxides may be tried to increase grade. INTRODUCTION The sulphide copper ore of Ok Tedi mines contains considerable amount of pyrite (FeS2). The pyrite usually passes into the tailing. The tailing is separately treated to float up the pyrite. At the moment the pyrite is stored below water table in Bige. Thus, a large quantity of pyrite is accumulating at Bige which is located almost 20km from the mine site. The present investigation was carried out to explore the feasibility of recovering the iron value in pyrite in the form of sponge iron. Sponge iron has emerged as an important feed material for steelmaking in many countries. Hence economic production of sponge iron

48

will not only solve the problem of disposal of huge quantities of pyrite from the mine site but also open up the prospect of setting up small scale electric arc or induction furnace based steel plants in PNG. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Pyrite may be oxidized either to iron sulphate or iron oxide. However, conversion of pyrite to ferrous sulphate occurs at low temperature (200-370˚C) only [1]. During roasting at high temperatures (900˚C) iron sulphide is converted to iron oxide [2]. Apart from thermo-gravimetric techniques like DTA and DTG, advanced techniques like Mossbauer spectroscopy and magneto-kinetic measurements have been employed to quantitatively assess the kinetics of roasting of pyrite [3-8]. Isothermal carbothermic reduction of iron oxide has been investigated extensively in the past. Techniques used included reduction of carbon coated pellets of finely ground ore, reduction of ore charcoal pellets and fluidized bed reduction of iron ore powders in hydrogen or carbon monoxide [6-8]. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The pyrite concentrate was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive analysis in JEOL scanning electron microscope. The analysis revealed that in addition to FeS2, it contained carbonaceous matter and oxides of Al, Mg, Si and Fe. The pyrite was first roasted isothermally at comparatively low temperatures of 700˚C, 750˚C, & 800˚C respectively for periods ranging from 5 minutes to 40 minutes in order to monitor the oxidation reaction by weight change measurements. The pyrite was converted to iron oxide. No attempt was made to recover SO2, as the main thrust of the present investigation was on the recovery of iron. In the second step, adequate quantity of pyrite was first roasted at 1100˚C for one hour. The objective of high temperature roasting was to make sure that the sulphide is converted to oxide completely. Then the roasted product was reduced by carbon at 1100˚C for varying periods of time. In each crucible 50 grams of roasted oxide was mixed with 30wt% charcoal. The crucibles were heated isothermally at 1100◦C for periods ranging from 30 minutes to 120 minutes. Weight loss during the roasting operation was carefully recorded. The initial roasted sample and the one reduction roasted for 120 minutes were examined in XRD. SEM – EDAX analysis was also conducted on the samples reduction roasted for 90 minutes and 120 minutes. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The XRD patterns of the pyrite concentrate is given in Figure 1.

49

Position [°2Theta]

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130

Counts

0

2000

4000

6000

Fe S

2

Al2

O3;

Fe

S2

Al2

O3

Al2

O3;

Fe

S2

Fe S

2

Fe S

2

Fe S

2

Fe S

2 Fe S

2

Fe S

2

Al2

O3;

Fe

S2

Al2

O3;

Fe

S2

Fe S

2

Fe S

2

Fe S

2

Fe S

2

Fe S

2

Al2

O3;

Fe

S2

Fe S

2

Sample-2

Fig. 1 XRD pattern of pyrite concentrate. The EDAX analysis of the pyrite concentrate is given in Table 2.

Table 2. EDAX analysis of the pyrite concentrate.

Element Wt% C 11.77 O 23.53

Mg 0.69 Al 1.19 Si 4.14 S 28.05 K 0.59 Ca 0.69 Fe 29.59

Although the XRD pattern suggests that the main gangue material in pyrite is A12O3, it may be reasonably suspected from the EDAX data that considerable quantity of iron oxide remains mixed up with the pyrite. The large proportion of carbon in the pyrite concentrate is interesting. It is quite likely that the vegetable matter present in the ore is also floated with the concentrate. During oxidation roasting, the expected reaction is 4FeS2+ 1102 = 2Fe2O3 + 8S02. The pungent smell of SO2 gas could be noted during the experiment. The S02 gas was allowed to escape, and there was no reduction in mass of the charge after roasting. The degree of conversion () was calculated as follows:-

50

= Wo – Wt Wo where Wo = initial weight of charge

Wt = weight of charge at time t

Fig. 2. Degree of conversion is plotted against time.

Fig. 3. Corresponding weight loss (as S02) with time.

51

It is clear from these figures that an increase in the roasting temperature from 700˚C to 800˚C had only a small effect on the extent of oxidation in the initial period. After 30 minutes there was no change in the degree of conversion at any temperature in 700˚C to 800˚C range. It therefore appears that for conversion of sulphides to oxides, roasting needs to be carried out at a much higher temperature. It is however not clear how the carbonaceous matter affected the roast reaction. For the purpose of reduction roasting adequate quantity of the pyrite concentrate was first roasted at 1100˚C for 1 hour. Then, 50 grams of the roasted sample was mixed with 30wt% charcoal (15grams) in each of four crucibles. After heating the charge isothermally at 1100˚C, the crucibles were withdrawn from the furnace at intervals of 30 minutes, cooled down and weighed again to record the change in weight of charge. The data are presented in Table 3. Table 3. Result of reduction roasting. Serial No Time of isothermal

roasting (minutes)

Initial weight of charge (roasted pyrite 50gm

+ charcoal = 15gm)

Final weight of charge (grams)

Weight charge (grams)

1. 30 65.18 14.91 50.27 2. 60 65.43 17.03 48.40 3. 90 65.35 18.29 47.06 4. 120 65.14 97.32 -

The above results suggest that substantial weight loss occurs after 30 minutes roasting. The weight loss may be linked to oxidation of carbon and sulphur and reduction of oxides in the charge. But it is interesting to note that the extent of weight loss decreased initially up to 90 minutes. After 120 minutes roasting, there was a net weight gain. This is probably an indication of re-oxidation after 30 minutes of roasting. It is well known that CO2 is not stable above 1000˚C. Hence the p net reaction may be summarized as Fe203(s) + C(s) = Fe(s) + CO(g) . However, actual reduction of Fe203 to Fe takes place in several stages. Simultaneously, any CO2 formed is quickly converted at 11000C to CO by the solution loss reaction CO2(g) + C(s) = 2CO(g). Direct oxidation of the carbon to carbon monoxide is also possible within the oxidizing atmosphere of the furnace. Therefore both direct reduction by carbon and indirect reduction by carbon monoxide are possible at 1100oC. The EDAX analysis of samples reduced for 90 minutes and 120 minutes at 1100 oC are compared in Table 4. XRD patterns of the pyrite roasted at 1100 oC for 1 hour and also for the one reduction roasted for 120 minutes are given in Figure 4 & 5 respectively.

Table 4. SEM – EDAX analysis of roasted products. Element wt% 90 minutes 120 minutes

C 27.69 4.73 O 28.79 33.56

Mg 0.57 0.70 Al 0.90 0.72 Si 2.57 4.38 S 11.63 4.51 K 0.36 - Ca 1.30 0.68 Fe 26.20 52.72

52

Position [°2Theta]

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130

Counts

0

2000

4000

6000

Fe2

O3

Fe3

O4;

Fe

S; F

ex-1

Sx

Fe2

O3;

Fe

S2Fe

S;

Fex-

1 Sx

Fe2

O3;

Fe3

O4

Fe2

O3

Fe S

; Fe

S2;

Fex

-1 S

x Fe2

O3

Fe S

2; F

ex-1

Sx

Fe2

O3;

Fe

S2

Fe2

O3;

Al2

O3 Fe

2 O

3; F

e3 O

4; F

e S

Fe2

O3

Fe2

O3

Fe2

O3

Fe2

O3;

Fe

S2;

Al2

O3

Fe2

O3;

Fe

S2

Fe2

O3

Fe2

O3;

Fex

-1 S

x; A

l2 O

3

Fe S Fe

S2;

Fex

-1 S

x; A

l2 O

3

Fe2

O3;

Fe

S2

sample-3

Position [°2Theta]

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130

Counts

0

500

1000

Fe3

O4

Fe2

O3;

Fe5

C2

Fe2

O3;

Fe3

O4;

Fe5

C2

Fe5

C2

Fe;

Fe2

O3;

Fe5

C2

Fe2

O3

Fe3

O4

Fe2

O3

Fe2

O3;

Fe3

O4

sample-4

Fig. 4. XRD pattern of pyrite reduction roasted at 1100 oC for 90 min.

Fig 5. XRD pattern of pyrite reduction roasted at 1100 oCfor 120 minutes.

53

The EDAX analysis results may be matched with the XRD patterns given in figure 4 for the roasted product (1100 oC/1 hour). Figure 4 clearly indicates that various iron sulphide phases are still present along with the oxides, mainly Fe304 and Fe203.When this incompletely oxidized product is reduction roasted at 1100 oCfor 120 minutes, the emergence of iron (Fe) phase could be detected in figure 5. But in conformity with the EDAX analysis results, the XRD data also confirm that oxides such Fe203 and Fe304 were also present in considerable quality. In addition, a carbide phase (Fe5C2) had also formed. Indeed the pellet collected after reduction roasting for 120 minutes had a sponge iron like appearance. SUMMARY The real challenge therefore is to increase the degree of metallization. This limited experiment however, has provided the following information:- 1) Effective oxidation roasting of the pyrite may be carried out at 1100 oC.

However a prolonged treatment may be necessary to completely convert the sulphides to oxides.

2) Reduction of iron oxide will occur more efficiently if the initial sulphur in the charge is low. Hence magnetic separation of the iron oxides may be tried.

3) It is necessary to adjust the temperature and time of reduction roasting to prevent re-oxidation of

the sponge iron produced. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Pyrite concentrate was obtained as a bye product from the concentrator in Ok Tedi Mining Ltd. The authors thank Ok Tedi for their help. Many thanks also to NALTS, for provision of experimental facility. REFERENCES

1. Embaic A. Ferrow, Mannerstand Mania, Sjoberg Bosser. Reaction kinetics and oxidation mechanics of the conversion of pyrite to ferrous sulphate. A Mossbauer spectroscopy study, Hyperfine Interaction, volume 163/1-4 (2005), pp 109 – 119.

2. T. Rosenqvist, Principles of extractive Metallurgy, McGraw – Hill International Book company,

Inter. Student Edition, (1983), PP 223 – 224.

3. Devia M. wilkomirsky I, Parra R., Roasting Kinetics of high arsenic copper concentrates – A review, Minerals and Materials processing, 29/2 (2012), pp121 – 128.

4. Prasad A, Singru R. M, Biswas A.K, Physica status solid, Study of roasting of pyrite minerals by

Mossbauer spectroscopy 87/1 (1985), PP 267 – 271.

5. Marusak L. A, Walker P, Mulay L.N, The magnetokinetics of oxidation of pyrite (FeS2), Magnetics, IEEE Trans. 12/6, (1976) PP 889 -891.

6. Baliarsingh SK., Mishra B. B. Tech. Thesis, NIT ROURKELA India 2008.

54

7. Sarkar S.B, Ray H.S, ChatterjeeI. Kinetics of reduction of iron ore –coal pellets, Jr. of Thermal Analysis 35/7, (1989) PP 2461 -2469.

8. Bohn C.D, cearton J.P, Muller C.R. Davidson J. F, Mayhurst A.N, Scot S.A, Dennis J.S, The Kinetics of the reduction of iron oxide by carbon monoxide mixed with carbon dioxide A.l.ch. E Jr., 56/4 (2010), PP 1016 – 1029.



55

HS7-2013-045

An evaluation of the Lae city road network improvement project: Development of the Lae port and construction of four lane roads

Murray Matarab Konzang

PNG University of Technology

LAE, Papua New Guinea Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT: Lae Port Development Project, Four Lane Highway and other development in the extraction

industry which have direct road link to Lae City are predicted to have significant impact on its road network system. This paper evaluates Lae roads improvement program with forecast on planning, economic and the installation of bypasses to ease congestion, effective and convenient transport service for bulk goods and reduce travel time. Land-use transportation study and plans for local area traffic management scheme will be considered. City roads are faced with increased number of traffic and some inadequate road pavement width, poor transport plans, and facilities to meet this transportation demand. Lae also has drainage system which might not hold a 100 year flood. Proper evaluation, plan, design and intersection analysis is needed to evaluate road network system thus recommend improvement and estimate future growth. Repetitive and cyclic loading by heavy commercial vehicles with different axle configurations apply on the flexible pavement which weakens and tear the pavement surface thus small cracks occur. Rain water seeps through and overtime it creates potholes. Effective planning starts from experimental research and appropriate design standards to enable firm embankment, proper drains and quality pavement material. This paper will address traffic problems as well as road pavement, capacities of intersections, and pedestrian flow during peak hours. The outcome of this research will be to identify heavily trafficked road sections and recommend treatments to reduce traffic congestions, road classification, and proposal for bypass routes and improvement. First part of this study will describe transport or traffic related problems within the city. Second part would be to identify challenges imposed by traffic and road related problems and thirdly to recommend solutions after the analyzing traffic data that will indicate current capacities of road intersections and finally recommended treatment for improvement and future growth.

Key words: Lae, road network, vehicle traffic, planning INTRODUCTION This is a base case analysis of Lae City Road affected by the Development of Lae Port and 4

lane roads. Consideration of the impact of major development happening now and the forecast for future development is also evaluated to give comprehensive findings for the decision makers to consider in formulating the Transport Strategy or Master Plan for Lae City. There are many problems facing free flow of traffic and pedestrian safety on the road. This study will also try to conduct relevant traffic surveys and analyze data to assist in the planning for future growth of the city. Background information of the study is very limited. Upon the invitation of the Secretariat of the Huon Seminar, initial findings, analyses and recommendations are presented for benefit of discussion and further elaboration of this important research needed for future development of Lae City and the country Papua New Guinea as a whole.

56

Location of the study area is shown is shown in Figure 1.0 below.

Figure 1.0 Location of the study area showing boundaries of Lae City

The road improvement programme encompasses improvement of road links by widening to

sustain the traffic loads expected to use them. In relation to strategic planning, the ‘long term land-use/transportation strategy report’ described the long term growth forecasts for land-use and transport in Lae and also derives a series of conclusions about the preferred directions that should be taken in planning the future land-use and transport infrastructure.

The paper identified three types of traffic problems – traffic congestion, accident exposure, and driver/pedestrian uncertainty. It was noted that in Lae traffic problems occurs mainly at intersections and near the main PMV stops.

During survey, some level of existing traffic problems were observed at the following intersections: Aircorps Road and Milford Haven Road; Markham Road and Milford Haven Road; Highlands Highway and Boundary Road. In addition following mid-block locations are known to have potential safety problems, because of high levels of pedestrian activity in conflict with road traffic: Top Town streets in general; Aircorps Road in the vicinity of main market; Milford Haven Road from Aircorps Road to Snack Bar/Shack; Markham Road near ANGAU Memorial Hospital; Markham Road and Highlands Highway from Milford Haven Road to Two Mile; Streets in the vicinity of Eriku; Bumbu Road from Milford Haven Road to Independence Drive.

The main causes of traffic congestion, accident exposure and uncertainty is through insufficient road-space, ill controlled pedestrian movements, badly located car parking, inadequate traffic education or enforcement, through PMV operations, inadequate street lighting or signs or through a variety of other causes. Traffic management package for Lae is formulated after considering a variety of improvement measures. The following measures were considered: Improvement of intersections which includes widening, channelization and lane marking; Traffic signals at intersections; Pedestrian treatments including footpaths, signals, refuges and crossings; Road signs and marking; Mid-block traffic speed controls; Service vehicle provision; Street lighting and Off-street and on-street parking space and controls.

First part of this paper will describe transport or traffic related problems within the city. Second part will describe the method of traffic survey and data collections relevant for road capacity analysis. Thirdly, it would analysis traffic data to determine the current capacities on the road intersections and finally recommended treatment for improvement and future growth.

OBJECTIVE Based on the literature review, important questions and the hypotheses, the initial objective

for this research were as follows: To identify the impact that Lae Port Development Project and Four Lane Road will have on the existing road network within Lae City; To describe the current traffic problems and land-use transportation setup for Lae City and instigate discussion on improvement after evaluating options through cost-benefit-analysis and four step modeling and to

57

establish and provide a plan and forecast for future expansion of road network system in Lae City.

HYPOTHESES The paper will focus on justifying the following hypotheses: Existing road network for Lae

City cannot cater for increase number of vehicle traffic especially during peak hours after the development of new Lae Port and construction of Four Lane Road; There are many problems with the traffic management, public transport, maintenance and technical assistance to Lae City roads that need urgent attention and planning for a better future; Identification of proposed bypass or flyover is needed now for planning purposes and budgeted for future construction.

RATIONAL AND LINK TO PNG DEVELOPMENT GOAL About 3.5 Billion Kina worth of goods move through Lae Port everyday on the north-west

arterial road links. Lae city has a strong concentration of industrial activity. Lae represents the first largest concentration of industrial square footage in PNG. Thus, it is important for goods movement in Lae and the need for private and public sector to work together to address freight challenges and opportunities. Freight transportation and ware-housing account for 10% of employment in Lae. If manufacturing is added, the combined sector accounts for 30% of employment.

For the development need of Papua New Guinea it was noted that a plan for future road network plan and improvement is a must thought for city planners due to the development of new Lae Port. It is PNG’s busiest and most important port. It is a gateway linking world markets with PNG and a large hinterland containing 40% of PNG's population and half of PNG's economic capacity, including hydrocarbon and mineral resources. Lae port's cargo throughput has increased by 7.8% annually since 2006. In 2011, the cargo through Lae port is estimated to reach 3.3 million revenue tons, stretching the port to the limit of its capacity. PNG Ports Corporation Limited (PPCL) is increasing the operational efficiency of Lae port, which will help cope with the existing cargo traffic. However, the need for additional berth space is now critical.

As stated in the Asian Development Bank’s Project Data Sheet, a larger and more efficient Lae port will ease a nationally significant infrastructure bottleneck that is impeding economic growth. However, how these goods that are delivered by sea transport are will be transported if no proper land/road transport infrastructure is in place. The overall project (Lae Port) is a high priority of the Government of PNG. The tidal basin and berth are designed to accommodate vessels with an overall length of 200 m, beam of 32.2 m, and fully laden draft of 12 m. The construction and procurement of these works is at an advanced stage. The overall project has relocated and improved a social livelihood of about 3,200 people living on the project site. The government has financed and completed the relocation, and a Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction grant is now financing the livelihood and social improvement program.

LAE ROAD NETWORK Arterial Routes in Lae City – these form the primary road network of the city and link all the

major residential, industrial, commercial and other activities in Lae. They carry traffic between the different district of the town and to other towns; Collector/Distributor Routes – these distribute traffic within the major residential, industrial, commercial and other areas of the town; Local Access Route – these carry traffic terminating in each of the town zones and provide access to the buildings and activities and permit servicing of developments and property.

The main arterial roads are; Highlands Highway, Markham Road, Boundary Road, Bumbu Road, Huon Road, Milford Haven Road, Mangola Road, Butibam Road, Busu Road, Voco Point Road, Sandpiper Road, Seven Street, and the longest one is Independence Drive which connects The PNG University of Technology. Some of the collector roads around main market and wharf area include; Malaita Street, Morobe Avenue, Jawani Street, and Aircorps Road.

58

TRANSPORT MODEL The present state of Lae network illustrates the present weakness of urban strategic models. Fixed trip matrices are largely used in various urban highway models despite the significant

role of public transport in many cities. Alternative model formulations and perhaps modelling paradigms may be required for future applications, especially when the impacts of new technologies (e.g. telecommunications), societal evolution (e.g. in the nature of work and employment) or environmental impacts (e.g. global pollution) are considered.

Urban issues, changing environment, transport strategies and improvements in technology would combine to determine the type, capability and use of urban travel demand models.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGES For socio-economic changes that will most likely to be affected by this research interviews

were conducted with various key persons which included administrative, hospital, school, business houses, Lae Chamber of Commerce, PMV operators and Lae Urban Local Level Government. Following vital information were collected and is listed below: The population of Lae District city is said to be around 200,000 while that of surrounding Nawaeb District and Huon Gulf District were Lae is located, is around 30,000, thus the research project will have an impact on some 230,000 people of one form or another; Travel times will be reduced on the proposed Boundary Road bypass, Bumbu Road extension and a proposed flyover pass from Highlands Highway to connect Top Town, Taraka Industrial Area and Malahang Industrial Area with adequate road width expansion along major arterial roads; Proposed road improvement will attract customers to administrative offices and commercial centres to do business. Market distribution will improve with improved access; there will be growth in customer numbers and sales at shops in Lae. Main market will continue to be operating with maximum capacity and there will be shortages of spaces for villages nearby or highlands growers to sell their garden produce. A new larger market place must be built to solve this over crowdedness; Law and Order problems and worsening security has become a serious issue in the city in recent years, and road improvement and proper land-use transportation planning can reduce the risk of theft and carjacking.

TRAFFIC SURVEYS Traffic data for major intersections were collected during evening peak hours. Data were used

evaluate average hourly traffic volume and to classify the type of vehicles traversing these intersections. The other surveys included timing of vehicles occupying car parking space at selected parking facilities suburban centers like Eriku and administrative center at Top Town. The common surveys conducted are as follows: Classified Count Survey; Pedestrian Count Survey; Origin Destination and Household Survey; Car Parking Survey and Site Survey.

CLASSIFIED COUNT It is difficult to collect comprehensive classification data however in urban areas, manual

methods are usually required. There is considerable advance in collection data using machines. This survey is concern with disaggregation of traffic data sets into subsets of different types of vehicles. The main concern is the composition of traffic stream, for example, in terms of flow of cars and trucks, with possible interest in other vehicle and road user groups, such as motor cycles, bicycles and plant. During the classification studies the survey had tried to identify the particular characteristics of a given vehicle and assigning it to some specific subclass of vehicle types. Refer to tables 1.0 for the sample data collection. The process was applied for traffic data collection because manual counting was done at various intersections. The data was used for: traffic

59

capacity and operations analysis including conversion of axle detection counts to vehicle counts; parking system design; economic studies and safety studies.

The first two items are the most immediate concern for this study. The ability of Lae City roads to cope with the demands imposed on it depends to a large degree on the dimensions and performance characteristics of vehicles using it. Intersection design and channelization is largely defined in terms of the ability of a designed vehicle to negotiate curves and corners, and to use marked traffic lanes-without encroaching into the paths of other vehicles or demolishing road side furniture. The design vehicle is the one having a swept path envelope of at least 85% of the population of that type of vehicle. For economic studies, estimation of travel and operating costs for different vehicle classes are essential. Classified counts were conducted at following intersections; Highlands Highway and Boundary Road Intersection, Milford Haven Road and Markham Road Intersection, Aircorps Road and Milford Haven Road Intersection, Mangola Street and Aircorps Road Intersection, Huon Road and Bumbu Road Intersection

. SAMPLE DATA: MANGOLA STREET / AIRCORPS ROAD INTERSECTION This intersection circulates vehicles entering and exiting the Main Market Industrial area and

Lae Port. North is referred to as Top Town Approach. It is one of the busiest intersections during the work days especially from Mondays to Fridays because most of the factories and wholesalers are located around this area. Table 1.0 and Figure 2.0 shows the sample hourly circulation flow on one of the busiest intersections in Lae, Mangola Street and Aircorps Road Roundabout. Other intersection surveys were done in a similar manner and circulation flows as shown in the flow diagram were also calculated.

Table 1.0 Classified Count at Mangola Street and Aircorps Road Junction Direction

Sedan,Taxis

Smal Comm

Med Com

m

Single

Unit 3

Axle

Single

Unit 4

Axle

Semi-

Trailer 3

Axle

Semi-

Trailer 4

Axle

Semi-

Trailer 6

Axle

PMVs

Total Flow Hourl

y

West 180 120 128 107 57 45 48 68 85 838

East 174 108 133 81 13 56 39 59 93 756

North 75 137 63 20 19 75 105 494

South 143 120 132 88 93 51 60 44 57 788

Total 572 485 456 296 182 152 147 246 340 2,876

Total number of vehicles per hour: North = 494 vph; East = 756 vph; South = 788 vph; West = 838 vph. Day & Time: Friday, Government Pay Day, Evening peak hour: 4:00pm to 5:00pm.

60

PEDESTRIAN COUNT SURVEY Pedestrian count surveys were conducted at two locations namely Top Town and Eriku to

ascertain the current problems faced by pedestrians when unitizing road facilities. The method of survey conducted was by tallying pedestrians crossing at established crossings as well as non-established crossings especially at intersections which posed greater risk and was prone to vehicle/pedestrian accidents. Further detailed surveys will be conducted at following locations: Crossing at Milford haven Road next to Snack Bar/Mobile Service Sataion and Interoil Service Station; Crossing at Airrcorps Road near Main Market and Mangola Street near the Hockey Field; Mangola Street crossing near BOC Gas Depot; Crossing at Milford Haven between Department of Works and Western Star.

ORIGIN DESTINATION AND HOUSEHOLD SURVEY Nowadays an average vehicle per household surveyed for One Mile area which covers

residents along Boundary Road, showed that almost all household do own a registered and road worthy vehicle. Out of 100 household interviewed 70% own vehicles for work purpose specifically given to the head of household as per his or her work contract and another 10% as privately owned. Most of the head of household work in the service and manufacturing industries. Most trips are generated from heavily populated residential zone and industrial areas.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Taxi Small Comm

Med Comm

Single Unit 3 axles

Single Unit 4 axles

Semi Trailer 3 axles



PMVs

West

East

North

South

61

CAR PARK SURVEY Lae City is facing a shortage of car parks especially within Top Town area and Market area.

During peak hours Eriku also contribute to this dilemma. The problem will escalate in the future if proper planning is not done now for the forecasted years ahead. A simple parking survey method was used to conduct parking survey for on-street parking at Top Town streets and various car park facilities for established supermarkets at Eriku. On-street parking for Top Town was conducted at streets excluding residential areas but was concentrated only at the Central Business District (CBD). These data forms the basis of the design process for car parking systems. Firstly, an inventory of the parking facilities was conducted. Then the following information was collected; number of parking spaces, type of parking, method operation of off-street facilities, parking restrictions and parking fees if any.

Parking survey was conducted at an interval of 5 minutes by recording the registration numbers of the vehicle occupying the allocated parking space. Revealed demand and latent demand for parking were considered. Most were revealed demand which means the observed used of the facility. Latent was revealed when supply exceeds demand. For the purpose of future planning, latent demand data was required. The type of data collected was: spatial distribution and parking demand; total number of parking over study period and parking durations.

ANALYSIS OF INTERSECTIONS Detailed analyses of most intersections were carried using Executive Traffic Count to

determine stops, delays and queue lengths during the study. Future improvement on intersections will need geometry survey to provide data for analysis and base drawings for preliminary design of improvement measures. Key intersections’ operations were forecast for 2015 to 2025. In terms of appropriate timing for improvements, this forecast duration or timing is appropriate. Initial analysis assumed that number of lanes and intersection control was same as at present. A satisfactory operation at intersections occurs when the delay time is less than 15 seconds. For situations where this threshold was exceeded, widening of approach to three lanes and introduction of roundabout control should be implemented.

For the initial intersection analysis it was better to test the least expensive form of improvement first using the following procedures. The projected 2025 turning movement was analyzed for each of the following scenarios in turn, till an arrangement was found to provide satisfactory operations. No further modification was considered after this. Following scenarios were tested: Existing geometry and control devices; Additional approach lanes with existing control; two lane roundabout; three lane roundabout; Traffic signals.

From the analysis and findings it was illustrated that, without additional intersection control or widening, the operations of the following intersection would be unsatisfactory by year 2015: Highlands Highway and Boundary Road; Markham and Milford Haven Roads; Milford Haven and Aircorps Roads; Huon Road and Bumbu Roads; Milford Haven and Bumbu Roads; Independence Drive, Bumbu and Butibam Roads. Also, the following intersections are predicted to experience congestions beyond 2015 but before 2025: Milford Haven and Malaita Roads; Butibam, Sandpiper Roads and Ibis Street; Butibam and Voco Point Roads; Butibam Road and Airways Avenue; Butibam and Busu Roads. These intersections would require roundabout control to operate satisfactorily. Alternate solution like traffic signals was also considered for the forecast congestions problems in Lae. However, preferably non-signalized solutions were found. This is because roundabout usually operates will fewer delays to traffic especially during off-peak hours or period. Roundabout would require less maintenance and contain traffic speeds.

PEDESTRIAN MEASURES The most vulnerable road users are the pedestrians and cyclist and the former represent most

of the movement in Lae. It was indicated in the 1991 Lae Household Interview Survey that fifty

62

percent (50%) of the trips were walk trips although only less than one percent (1%) were bicycle. Most pedestrian/vehicle accidents occur to children and elderly people. Following measures should be taken to reduce pedestrian accidents: Speed controls, Overhead bridges and tunnel underpasses, Clearly marked pedestrian crossing, Parking near crossings should be prohibited to provide adequate sight distances, Provide safety zones at PMV bus bays and schools, Provide footpaths, Fences should be provided to channel pedestrians to marked crossings, Medians and kerb protuberance should be provided to reduce the crossing task and provide pedestrian refuse area. A number of adverse effects can arise from lack of pedestrian facilities. Pedestrians tend to walk on road shoulder very close to the pavement. This places them in some dangerous situation and reduces vehicle speed and capacity of the roads or streets. PMV operations also need to be very careful especially during wet weather. It was observed that PMV s usually stops on the pavement or traffic lanes to load and unload passengers. This has reduced traffic flow and the level of safety. As a result the following vehicles tend to perform dangerous maneuvers to pass the stopped PMVs and passengers mixed with the traffic.

Top Town area is worst when it comes to typical pedestrian problems associated with busy activity centers. The following problems were observed: pedestrians conflicting with circulating vehicles, pedestrian conflicting with parking and un-parking vehicles, traffic congestions and crossing needs of the pedestrians. Inappropriate road design has contributed to these problems. Current angle parking shields the sight distance of the driver from pedestrians crossing the road and wide intersections requires pedestrians to cross wide roads. These wide intersections do not have direct path for the vehicles. Top Town’s transport plan should require a detailed planning which will be discussed later.

CAR PARK STRATEGY Parking facilities are essential part of the road traffic system. About 500 hours per year in

motion is spent by a typical vehicle and some 8,000 to 9,000 hours per year at rest. Town Top area is no exception when it comes to problems with parking. The need for parking spaces on-street and off-street has become apparent. It is now important to at least develop a parking strategy programme as follows: goals and policies relating to parking should be set, in context of overall transport plan; comprehensive land-use development control plan with areas set aside for existing and future off-street parking; zoning ordinances and building codes that include specific requirements for the quantity and design of off-street parking and loading bays; land-use should be properly maintained, parking supply, parking demand and parking restrictions; set up a programme to maintain off-street public car- parks, parking lines, signs and other parking facilities and enforcement and administrative backup for plans for parking control. Lae will expect an increase in growth therefore it is important to be properly set for growth and so a comprehensive parking strategy should be formulated.

RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations drawn from the analysis of intersections recommends for the first five

years as summarized below. Highlands Highway and Boundary Road – replace the channelization and with three lane approach. This will cater for an increased in the number of turning vehicles expected after the completion of Lae Port Development Project and the Four Lane Road. It will also slow the speed of vehicle on Highlands Highway. Level of safety can be improved for pedestrians in the area and upgrade or seal the Boundary Road Bypass. Three to four lane roundabout should have been provided for Markham Road and Bumbu Road intersection and provide sufficient opportunity for minor traffic movements. Markham and Milford Haven Roads intersection may need to extent length of the approaches or upgrade to a four lane approach. The intersection at Milford Haven and Aircorps Roads does not have the capacity to handle increased volumes. It is necessary to provide additional approach lanes on two Milford Haven approaches and Aircorps Road approaches. There is land available to achieve this but the problem now is the

63

south east corner where the PNG Power generation station is located. Top Town intersections should be clearly marked with appropriate line markings and signs to warn pedestrians of the dangers of possible accidents.

Other recommendations are as follows; Street lights should be erected at Bumbu Roads to Independence Drive; Installation of a street lighting system along the length of the city roads is required; Independence Drive to Taraka should have a lightning standard and from Taraka to Bumayong a full continuous standard along the road; Relocate central market to old airport site and construct a well setout bus terminal near the site. Treatment of PMVs from Top Down will need to address this matter; Traffic management measures should be implemented at Top Town without compromising the ability of vehicles to circulate on all links and intersections; A pay parking scheme should be introduced at a central location in Top Town CBD area to discourage vehicles parking for a long time. This could be an income generating opportunity for Lae City Council. Proceed from the tolls can be diverted to wages as well as beautification projects and maintenance; Kerbs outstands should be provided on intersection approach at Top Town so that pedestrians are not exposed to traffic conflicts because of the reduced distance the pedestrians have to cross; A flyover pass from Highlands Highway should link Top Town. This can ease congestion and reduce travel time as well; a road bypass from new Lae Port should also link the Highlands Highway for use by heavy goods vehicles and Separate loading area for each PMV route and load one bus at a time depending on arrival. Drivers should be provided with layover area and some form of amenities. Shelter should be provided for waiting passengers.

PRELIMINARY COST ESTIMATES

PROJECT TYPE 1992/97 1997/2013

Traffic Management Projects: Intersection improvement, pedestrian treatments, road sign, markings and street lighting

K 4,275,000.00 K 21,375,000.00

Public Transport Projects K 550,000.00 K 2,750,000.00

Maintenance Projects K 7, 020,000.00 K 35,000,000.00

Road Improvement Projects

K 9, 650,000.00 K 48,000,000.00

Technical Assistance K 3, 665, 000.00 K 18,000,000.00

Total K 25,160,000.00 K 125,125,000.00

CONCLUSION Lae City has undergone increased infrastructural development which was mainly influence by

operation of mine sites as well as establishments of major mackerel and tuna manufacturing plants and recently the construction of new Lae Port (Tidal Basin Phase 1). The impact these projects would have on the existing road system would be significant. This would mean increased use of heavy commercial vehicles on the road. Traffic on the road and the flow experienced at existing intersections will exceed its current capacities. In order to accommodate this growth a proper planning of the network and improvement on the existing transport facilities should be drawn up as soon as possible. This exercise should forecast on a ten to twenty year estimates

64

which should be viable and cost effective for an immediate action and implementation as well as allowance should be made for further expansions and road bypass in the future. A proposed bypass like Boundary Road Bypass should be fully utilized to relieve stress on pavement especially at major shopping and recreational centers like Top Town and Eriku where an increased number of pedestrians flow are experienced. All in all, The PNG Government and the Provincial Administration together with Lae Urban City Council should now seriously consider the establishment of specialized project managers which must comprises of experienced engineers and administrators to monitor the road improvement projects in Lae City.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Author would like to acknowledge the following people who have made it possible and gave advice and feedbacks in order to present his paper. They are namely: PNGUT Senior Executive Management, The Huon Seminar Secretariat, Professor Halim, Editorial Board Chairman Dr. Praveen Pandey, Hilda Tona, 7th HS Sponsors – PNG Ports and PNG Power including other minor sponsors, Mr. Kobal (A/HOD, Civil), Professor Yaip Telue, Professor G. Atkins, Dr. M. Betasolo, Levis Levongo and Miriam Konzang. REFERENCES [1] Goodwin P. B., 1991, Review of Demand Elasticity’s with Special Reference to Short and Long Run Effects of Fuel Changes, Transport Studies Unit, Oxford University, UK. [2] Iravani Hamid, Arash Mirhoseini, Maziar Rasoolzadeh, 2011, Defining land use intensity based on roadway level-of-service targets, The Journal of Transport and Land-use(JTLU), 2011, Volume 4, pp 59-69. [3] McNaly, Michael G., 2000, The Four Step Model, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Institute of Transport Studies, 2000, University of California, Irwine, CA, USA. [4] R.J. Nairn and Partners Pty Ltd, 1992, ‘Lae/Madang/Rabaul Urban Transport Study, Lae (Volume 2), Project Identification and Appraisal Report, supported by Colquhoun Transport Planning and Cardno Davies (PNG) Pty Ltd, Department of Transport, Papua New Guinea, November 1992. [5] Ortuzar, J. de D. and Willumsen, L.G. (1999), Modelling Transport, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons Publishers, London, UK. [6] Sivaramakrishnan Srinivasan, Russell Provost, Ruth Steiner., 2013. Modeling the land-use correlates of vehicle-trip lengths for assessing the transportation impacts of land developments, The Journal of Transport and Land-Use (JTLU), 2013, Volume 6, No. 2, pp 59-75., University of Florida University of Florida, USA. [7] Tan Yigitcanlar, Lawrence Fabian and Eddo Coiacetto. 2008. ‘Challenges to Urban Transport Sustainability and Smart Transport in a Tourist City: The Gold Coast, Australia, The Open Transportation Journal, 2008, 2, 29-46.



65

HS7-2013-066

Status and Prospects of Biofuels Development in Papua New Guinea

Reilly . Y. Nigo 1 and A.Puy2

1.Department of Applied Science, PNG University of Technology Lae, Papua New Guinea

E-mail: [email protected]

2Regional Centre for Technology and Innovation Department of Commerce and Industry

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT

Nearly eighty percent of total commercial energy consumption in Papua New Guinea is supplied by oil and petroleum products. Any reduction in this figure will certainly assist with reduction in green house gas emissions. With continued increase in oil prices, experiences in the Pacific Island countries including PNG show that there is a niche for coconut oil biofuel. The paper presents the thorough development and status of biofuel in Papua New Guinea and its prospects as a renewable energy source. Also the paper presents the APEC and global trends on biofuel research and development.

1.0. INTRODUCTION

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the largest of the Pacific Island countries (PICs) in terms of land mass, population and Groos Domestic Product (GDP) and the only participating PIC in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum (Fig 1). It is however, the smallest developing economy amongst other developing economies and super powers in APEC.

PNG comprises both the main body of land that shares a common border with Indonesia’s province of West Papua and some 600 islands of varying sizes giving a total land area of 470,000 square kilometres. PNG’s population currently stands at 6.1 million people with around 15 percent of the population living in the 10 major urban centres and the rest classified as rural dwellers [1].In Papua New Guinea, two distinct economies co-exist, a modern cash economy and a traditional economy of subsistence and semi-subsistence farming. The modern economy revolves around resource extraction from agriculture, forestry, fisheries, minerals and energy resources whilst village-based agriculture supports over 70% of the population with domestic trading of fresh produce being a very important source of cash income for the majority of rural based population [2].

Rapidly developing industry such as PNG should encourage, research, development and use of renewable energy as effect of global warming and the rise in global fuel price is a concern in PNG especially its effects being experience by the bulk of the population which is rural based.

The paper shows: (a) Energy supply and consumption trends of PNG (b) Biodiesel development and activities in PNG (c) Prospects and constrains of biodiesel production in PNG. (d) Current APEC and global trend of biodiesel research and developments.

66

Figure 1.0. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum Nations

2.0. ENERGY SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION

Commercial energy in Papua New Guinea is mainly supplied by oil and petroleum products, natural gas and hydro power.According to the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) 2009 report, PNG’s total primary energy supply in 2007 was 1835 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) of which light crude oil and petroleum products accounted for 78% of supply [3]. A ten year data from 1998 indicates that petroleum products have averaged around 80 percent of supply. In terms of consumption, the total final energy consumption in PNG in 2007 was 1055 ktoe. The industrial sector was the largest end user accounting for 56% of consumption followed by transport (33%) and other sectors, including agriculture and residential/commercial (11%) with petroleum products accounting for 76% of total consumption [3]. Despite the fact that PNG currently produces all of its petrol, diesel and kerosene requirements domestically, domestic suppliers purchase these products from the refinery at international prices thus, petroleum products refined at the local refinery at Napa Napa, Central Province are sold at the equivalent of fuel prices sold in the international market, that is the ex-refinery price is set to equate the posted pricing of fuel imported from Singapore which is the reference point for fuel sold in the Asia-Pacific Region [4].

3.0. BIOFUEL ACTIVITIES IN PNG

There has been a limited mix of biofuel activities in Papua New Guinea. The majority of these activities have been centered on the use of coconut oil. On one end has been the research and development activities targeting small-scale community based production of coconut oil as a means of value-adding

67

activity. Others have taken interest from the stand point of renewable and available alternative renewable energy source that can be processed at the community level. Yet others have taken on coconut biofuel from a business perspective seeing it as a cheaper alternative to petroleum diesel. A common goal is that these activities have a positive impact on the livelihood of the local or rural communities. Some of these activities of are described below:

3.1. PNG University of Technology

Renewed interest in biofuel in the past ten year has seen several groups taking on board projects involving coconut biofuel in the past seven years, The Mechanical Engineering department has set up a biodiesel laboratory and using a small imported biodiesel unit and other test equipment has conducted tests on varying blends of diesel fuel, straight coconut oil and coconut biodiesel [5]. Similar work has been carried out by other government organizations in the past [6], [7]. Another group of researchers at the University (Department of Applied Sciences and Mechanical Engineering) in partnership with a Provincial Government is pursuing initiatives to develop biodiesel technology based on value-adding copra as an economic option for remote coastal communities in Madang. Under this arrangement, the University was tasked to research and develop most appropriate technological and cost effective model for batch biodiesel production units for remote communities of Madang Province (Fig 2). This project is still in progress [8].

Figure 2. Biodiesel Developmental Studies: Unitech-Madang Provincial Government

3.2. National Fisheries Authority

In November, 2006 the Board of the National Fisheries Authority gave approval for a joint venture project with coconut growers to give consideration to the use of coconut oil as an alternative fuel for the fishing industry and as a potential means of improved income generation for rural communities in New Ireland Province [9]. The project showed that there existed a range of small diesel engines, mainly imported from China that can run successfully on straight filtered raw coconut oil (Fig 3). These engines have potential application in improving economics in community water transport and in driving small generators in local communities.

68

Figure 3.0. NFA’s Coco-Cat using Coconut oil as fuel.

Preliminary production cost analysis suggests that a processed fat free coconut oil fuel can be locally produced and marketed at less than the diesel pump price.

3.3. PNG Sustainable Energy Limited

PNG Sustainable Energy Limited (PNGSEL) is a joint venture company created by the PNG Sustainable Development Program, a program company initiated by the Government of PNG through funds received from the OK Tedi Mine in Western Province and an Australian company SMEC. The company began operations in 2004 and is tasked to undertake rural electrification projects in the Western Province as well as other parts of the country [10]. In 2007, PNGSEL began operating a small coconut oil biofuel project on the Aroma Coast of Central Province with other biofuel projects in the design phase.

3.4. Kulili Estates

In the Island of Karkar in Madang Province, a business involved in large scale production of copra called Kulili Estates in Karkar Island in partnership with an small Australian biodiesel company began producing biodiesel from coconut oil [9]. Production was reported to have begun in March 2010 with a capacity of 2000 litres of biodiesel production per day. Biodiesel produced is used by the estate’s small ships, vehicles, tractors and power generators.

3.5. Rabaul Shipping

A shipping company that operates in the domestic water of the country has also used with success coconut oil to run their ships. Rabaul Shipping Ltd operates a fleet of ten passengers and five cargo vessels and first turned to coconut oil in 2007 when oil prices rose to a then record high. It later returned to conventional fuel but has since resumed using coconut oil for its larger ships. [11]

3.6 Markham Farms Limited

In the Morobe Province, another copra and cocoa plantation in the Markham Valley, Markham Farms Limited has ventured into processing biodiesel from coconut oil to run several of their diesel generators. Bio Cube of Australia (Fig 4) was engaged to set up the coconut oil biodiesel processing plant in the Markham Farms towards the end of 2009.

69

Figure 4.0. Bio- Cube Biodiesel Plant

A visit to the farm by the Unitech Biofuel Group at the end of 2010 revealed that the project has not progressed from the initial installation and testing. Current status of this project is not known.

4.0. PROSPECTS: TRADED COMMODITIES AS FEED STOCK FOR LARGE SCALE

BIOFUEL OPERATIONS IN PNG

Coconut Oil Copra and coconut oil are export commodities. Coconut mills in Madang and Rabaul export about 50 000 tonnes of copra. Copra oil can be easily be converted into bio diesel.

Palm Oil PNG is a small player in the global palm oil market and the industry is limited to particular lowland areas with adequate rainfall. But the world market is expanding and future growth prospects are promising. Further development of the industry in PNG will provide greater opportunity. There are several operations in the country but the largest company operating several mills and a refinery in the country is the New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NBPOL). By the end of 2010 the NBPOL had a total of 70 000 hectares of land under oil palm cultivation in PNG and total oil production of nearly 450 000 tonnes in that year. The total land under oil palm cultivation in PNG is estimated to be 128 000 hectares. The feasibility of using some of the palm oil to process into biodiesel for blending with diesel fuel on a larger scale in PNG may be worth investigating.

Bio-ethanol From Sugar and Cassava There is the potential to blended ethanol with petrol for the local market which was done for a short period in the mid eighties. At the present time ethanol is processed in PNG as potable alcohol by the only sugar factory in the country. Recent developments have seen a Korean company set up cassava farms to produce cassava extracts that will be exported to Korea for processing into fuel grade ethanol. Ramu Agri Industries Limited (RAIL) whose operation is based in Ramu valley of the Madang Province commenced production of sugar in 1982. Ethanol production using molasses and cane juice followed two years later in 1984. The distillery was originally designed to produce fuel grade ethanol with a capacity of 30 000 L/day to be used as an extender for petrol. Ethanol was supplied to Shell Company in the city of Lae up until 1987 with Shell supplying a blend of petrol and ethanol called E15 to its Lae city customers. This product was a blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 % petrol. Fuel ethanol was not a profitable venture for the company at that time and consequently the distillery was modified to produce potable alcohol with

70

current production of potable alcohol around 2 million litres per annum, the bulk of which is exported to Australia and Singapore. After years of planning and negotiations however, another Korean company has finally commenced its cassava operation in the country in 2011. Initial plan in 2008 was for the establishment of 40 thousand hectares of cassava crops which will be sent to Korea to be turned into ethanol biofuel. Initial project submission records shows that an ethanol plant would be built in the Central province to process cassava into ethanol fuel

Potential Feedstock for Biofuel Development in PNG. A consultant who has studied the biomass potential in the country stressed that the richness of bioenergy in Papua New Guinea is unquestionable. Potential exists in forestry industries, wood residues, agricultural residues, transportation fuel crops, grass and other wild plants, municipal organic waste, animal manure and human waste. Calculations suggest that wastes of logging alone from the timber industry in PNG have a potential gross energy value of nearly 700 x 104 MJ [10].

Potential feedstock in pNg include: Sago – bioethanol Jathropha – biodiesel Wood - biomass and bioethanol Cocoa and coffee pulps – bioethanol Grasses – bioethanol

It should be cautioned that although some of the feed stocks above be good sources of biofuels but must not unnecessarily put completion on food prices.

5.0. APEC REGIONAL AND GLOBAL TREND OF BIOFUEL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT

AND TRADE.

Biofuel interest and research has increased within the APEC counties and globally as a result of increasing oil prices, environmental benefits to reduced green house gasses (GHG) emissions and security advantages of increased domestic production [12], [13],[14]. Brazil has played a leading role in biofuel (especially bioethanol)development after the Government mandated use of ethanol blend fuels in the mid 1980s, and Brazil continues to be the global leader along with USA [12].

First and Second Generation Biofuels First generation biofuels are normally produced from food crops such as copra, palm oil, rapeseed for biodiesel which can be substituted for diesel while corn, sugar cane, bit which are rich in carbohydrates are fermented to give bio-ethanol which can be substituted for petrol.Global production has decreased to avoid food vs fuel conflict which results in accelerated food prices [12]. Second Generation biofuels are fuels developed from non food raw materials such as agricultural and food factory wastes, woody wastes, grasses, etc which does not contribute to food vs fuel conflict.

This the current global focus and it is projected that volume of bioethanol production by 2020 from conversion of cellulosic materials (biomass) would be twice that from corn (first generation bioethanol) [15]. However, to achieve these a number of hurdles need to be over come. These are sumurized as [12]:

Development of cost effective pre-treatment strategies, size reduction, dilute acid or alkali, enzymatic hydrolysis all aiming at converting hemi-cellulose to glucose for alcoholic fermentration.

Significant reduction in cost of producting cellulose enzymes. Availability of robust recombinant microbes (yeasts and bacteria)for lignocellular hydrolylis. High value fermentation products (such as biopolymers and low calorie sweeteners.

71

Pilot plant scale operations are underway in number of countries in need for technological “ breakthrough” [12] 6.0. CHALLENGES FOR PNG We have government institutions who can play an active role in promoting renewable energy and biofuel such as:

• Office Energy Development • Office of Climate Change • Department of Environment and Conservation • Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries • Department of Commerce and Industry and many more.

Government Support for Research and Development There are scattered research and development through out the country. PNG needs a coordinated body or a research centre with Government funding. The potentials are many such as fuel for cooking and lighting (oil lamps) and many more apart from use in motor vehicles and generators only which seems to be the current focus in PNG. 7.0. CONCLUSION There is potential for biofuels and renewable energy development in PNG which could greatly benefit bulk of the population which are rural based, often having difficulty in source fuel for transportation, lighting and even conversion of abundant raw materials like coconut into economically viable products. This serves as information base and call for coordinated government support for research and development. REFERENCES

1. Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), Country Profile. ( Accessed March 2011, available at http://www.ipa.gov.pg/index)

2. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Papua New Guinea Overview. (Accessed March 2011, available at http://www.aciar.gov.au/country/)

3. Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC), APEC Energy Overview 2009.(March 2010. available at http://www.ieej.or.jp/aperc/)

4. The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) (2005), Understanding Fuel Pricing in Papua New Guinea.

5. Kopial, T and Pumwa, J. (2005). Coconut Biodiesel as a Means of Downstream Processing of

Coconut Oil, Proceedings of the Waigani Seminar, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 6. Thillainadesan, A. P. (1989). Coconut Oil as a Diesel Replacement in Papua New Guinea,

Proceedings of the Second National Seminar on Renewable Energy for Rural Development, Lae, Papua New Guinea.

7. Zapata, V.M (1989). Coconut Oil/Ethyl Alcohol Mixture as Diesel Usage in Papua New Guinea, Proceedings of the Third National Seminar on Renewable Energy for Rural Development, Goroka, Papua New Guinea.

72

8. Puy, A (2008). Coconut Biofuel Activities at Unitech, Coconut Biofuel Symposium, Kavieng, New Ireland Province, PNG.

9. National Fisheries Authority (2007). A Concept Paper- Small Scale Sustainable Energyin New Ireland, PNG.

10. North Queensland And Pacific Biodiesel Ltd, Associated Companies And Ventures: PNG Biofuels Limited, accessed February 2011 at http://www.nqpacificbiodiesel.com/index.html.

11. http://www.islandsbusiness.com/aboutus/ 12. Roggers.P.L and Jeon.J.Y (2011). Ethanol and Higher Fermentation Products from

Lignocellulosic Raw Materials (2011) in APEC-ATCWG International Biofuels Symposium, Thailand.

13. Hoa.D.T., Dien. L.Q., Chung. H.N., Oahnh. L.Mai and Man, D.T (2011).Study on Woody Waste Pretreatment for Cellulose Ethanol Production in APEC-ATCWG International Biofuels Symposium, Thailand.

14. Aroca.G (2011). Current Status of Biofuels Development in Chile in APEC-ATCWG International Biofuels Symposium, Thailand.

15. Us Department of Energy Website (2007): http://www.energy.gov/news/5031.htm



73

HS7-2013-089

Deleterious Elements Associated with Submarine Hydrothermal Deposits in Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea

Dr Kaul Gena

Mining Engineering Department, PNG University of Technology, PMB, Unitech, Lae, Morobe

Province, Phone: 473 4671,

ABSTRACT The Manus back arc basin is well known for hosting submarine hydrothermal deposits of

Vienna Wood, Pacmanus, Onsen site and Solwara 1-12. The Vienna Wood located in the Central Manus basin is a typical Cu-Zn type of mineralization hosted by mid-oceanic ridge basalt and consists predominantly of sphalerite, wurtzite, chalcopyrite and gangue minerals of anhydrite, gypsum and silica. In contrast, the Pacmanus hydrothermal deposit in the eastern part of the Manus basin is hosted by rocks ranging from basalt to dacite and rhyodacite. The mineralization is of the polymetallic Zn-Cu-Pb-Au type consists of ore minerals of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, bornite, wurtzite, pyrite, marcasite, enargite, tennantite, galena, Pb-As-Sulphosalt, gold, covellite, digenite, chalcocite and gangue minerals of barite, amorphous silica, anhydrite and gypsum. The chemical composition of sphalerite, galena, gold and tennantite-tetrahedrite indicate high concentrations of Lead, Arsenic, Silver, Iron, Copper and Antimony compared to their stoichiometric composition. The Onsen site in the Eastern Manus Basin is the first deep sea acid sulfate type of mineralisation and consist of enargite, covellite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, marcasite and gangue minerals of pyrophyllite, alunite, quartz, cristoballite, amorphous silica and native sulfur.

The PNG Government has granted exploration and mining licenses to Nautilus Mineral for commercial exploitation of these deposits and Solwara 1 deposit in the Eastern Manus Basin. Nautilus minerals has done extensive exploration and reports indicated and inferred a mineral resource of 1030 kt and 1540 kt respectively for their Solwara 1 project east of Pacmanus site at a 2.6% Cu equivalent cut off grade. Whether this mineral resource is sufficient to deliver PNG first deep sea mining or not will depend on the success of the trial mining method that is currently being developed. Studies done on nearby Pacmanus and Onsen submarine hydrothermal deposits indicate that the deposits contain a much higher proposition of deleterious elements such As, Pb and Sb. Nautilus did not disclose the full mineralogy and assay results of the Solwara 1 and 2 projects to the public domain apart from Cu, Au, Ag and Zn. Nautilus did not suggest how it will address toxic and heavy metals that are associated with the ore concentrate in its Environmental Impact Studies.

Key words: Back-arc basin, Cu-Zn type, Zn-Cu-Pb-Au type, Vienna Wood, Pacmanus, Onsen, Base metal polymetallic, acid-sulfate,

1 INTRODUCTION

The Manus basin is a back-arc basin with respect to the New Britain Trench system to the south and consists of two major segments: the Central Manus Spreading Centre (CMS) and the Eastern Manus Basin (EMB) located in the northern and eastern parts of the basin respectively (Fig.1) [1]. These spreading centres are offset by the Willaumez, Dyaul and Weitin transform faults and are bounded by Oligocene to Miocene calc-alkaline volcanic islands of Manus to the north, New Ireland to the north- east and New Britain to the south[1,2].

74

Fig. 1 Regional tectonic setting of Manus back arc basin & locality of hydrothermal sites. The Manus back arc basin is well known for hosting submarine hydrothermal deposits of Vienna

Wood, Pacmanus and Onsen site (Fig.1). Over the last couple years, Nautilus Mineral Cooperation discovered additional submarine hydrothermal deposits within the Manus basin and called them Solwara 1 to Solwara 18 [3]. Each of these deposits is hosted by distinct lithologies and displays distinct fluid chemistries and mineralisations. Due to these variations, Vienna Wood, Pacmanus and Onsen sites has distinct mineral assemblages and mineral chemistry. The deleterious elements hosted by these deposits will be discussed in this paper.

2. VIENNA WOOD SITE (CENTRAL MANUS BASIN) The Vienna Wood hydrothermal field is hosted by pillow lava basalt and has an approximate field

diameter of 300 meters. The dead and active chimneys in the venting fields are hosted on top of a 50 cm high broad basal mound of massive sulphide [4]. Local mass wasting and fallen chimney fragments are common features on the mound and within individual chimney structures (Fig. 2).

The tall huge chimneys (10-15 meters high, 3 to 4 meters in diameter) with large edifices are mainly anhydrite-rich and discharge grey smokers (Fig. 2). Temperature measurements recorded in the different vents indicated a temperature ranging from 285° to 300°C with a pH of 4.5 (Fig. 2). The grey smoker active chimneys are composed of porous white to greyish black anhydrite while dead chimneys (Fe-Zn rich) consist of iron oxide in the outer wall and minor beehive diffusive structures on the top [4]. Representative ore samples were collected from the Vienna Wood site using manned submersible (Fig. 2)

75

Fig. 2 The Vienna Wood hydrothermal field as sketched observed from man submersible observations and sampling locations A total of 12 samples from the Vienna Wood site were examined macroscopically for vent

structures, porosity, mineral abundance, zonation’s and thickness of individual minerals [4]. The general appearance of the chimneys varied particularly the thickness and relative position of the mineral layers. However, all the samples have a simple mineral assemblage of pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, wurtzite, chalcopyrite and gangue minerals of anhydrite, gypsum and silica.

Electron microprobe analysis of the sulphide phases indicated that sphalerite, wurtzite, chalcopyrite, pyrite and marcasite has their ideal stoichiometric composition except elevated Mn, Cd and Fe content in sphalerite and wurtzite.

3. PACMANUS SITE (EASTERN MANUS BASIN) The Pacmanus volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit is located in the Eastern Manus Basin (Fig. 1).

The Pacmanus hydrothermal site consist of Tsukushi, Snowcap, Satanic Mill and Roman Ruins hydrothermal fields (Fig. 3) and are hosted by felsic volcanic rocks of geochemically coherent fractionation series that range from basaltic andesite to rhyolite [4,5]

Fig. 3 The four active chimney fields in the Pacmanus site and ODP Leg 193 Drill sites

76

Fig. 4. The mineral assemblage and its abundance in the ore samples from Pacmanus site, Eastern Manus

Basin.

Fig. 5. Chemical composition of sphalerite from Pacmanus deposits. (A) Zn content against Fe, (B) Zn content against Cd, (C) Zn content against Cu, (D) Zn content against Ag, (E) Zn content against As, and (F) Zn content against Sb.

From dive observation, the Pacmanus site covers a total distance of 2.5 km (Fig. 3). The dimensions

of the individual hydrothermal fields are: Tsukushi (200 x 150m), Snowcap (300 x 150m), Satanic Mill (160 x 90m) and Roman Ruins (200 x 100m) [4]. From macroscopic observation of the sulfide ores collected from the Pacmanus site, the ores are categorized into Si-ore, Fe-iron, Zn-ore and Cu-ore depending on the dominant mineral. The Si-ores are sampled from the periphery of the chimney field

Ore types

Minerals assemblages of ore types from the Pacmanus Site

Si - rich

py cp sp gn ten-tet wtz ma en bo cv di Au cc PbAsS ba si an mn

Fe - rich

Zn - rich

Cu - rich

py = pyrite, cp = chalcopyrite, sp = sphalerite, gn = galena, ten-tet = tennantite-tetrahedrite series, wtz =wurtzite, ma = marcasite, en = enargite, bo = bornite, cv = covellite, di = digenite, Au = gold, PbAsS =unidentified Pb-As-sulfosalt phase, ba = barite, si = amorphous silica, an = anhydrite, mn = manganeseoxide

Major Minor Trace

33 33

333 33 333

3

3 3333 33333EE EEEEEEEEE EEE EEE E

EE

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EE EE EEE

EE

E

E

EE

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

EEE

HHHHH

HHH HHHHHH

HHHHHH

H

H

H

HH

F FFFF

F FF FF FF F I III I

I

I

I

30 35 40 45 50 55Zn atom.%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Fe

atom

.%

3EHF

Snowcap

Satanic Mills

Romans RuinsTsukushiKuroko

(A)

33 33

33

3

3

3

33

3

3

3

3

333

333

3

3

EE

E

E

E

E

E

EE

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

EE

E

E

EEEE

EE

E

E

EE

E

EEE

E

E

E

EE

EE E

EE

E

E

EE

E

EE

EE

EE

E EEEEE

HHH

H

H

HH

H

HH

HH

HHH

H

HHHH

H

H

HHH

FF

F

F

F

F

FF

F

F

FF

F III

I

I

I

I

Zn atom.%30 35 40 45 50 55

(B)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Cd

atom

.%

3

3

33

33

3

3

3

33

3

3

3

3

33

3

333

3

3

E

E

E

EEE

E

EE

E

E

EE

E

E

E

E EEE

E

EEEEEE

EEEE

EE

EE

E

E

E

E

EE

E

E

E

E

EE

EE EE

EEEE

EE EEEEE

HHH

H

H

H

H

H

HH

HHHHHHH

HHH H

HHHH

F F

F

FF

F

F

F

F

F

F

F

F

D

DDDD

D

D

Zn atom.%30 35 40 45 50 55

Cu

atom

.%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6(C)

3

333

33

3

3

3

33

33

3

3

33

3

333

33

EE

EEEEEEE

EE

EE

E EE

EE

E

E

E

EEEEEE

E

EE

E

EE

EE

EEE

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

EE

E

E E

E

EE

E

EE

EE

EEEE

HH

H

H

HH

H

H

H

H

HHH

HH

HH

HHHH

HHH

HF

F

30 35 40 45 50 55

0.35

0.3

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0.0

Zn atom.%

Ag

atom

.%

(D)

33

33 333

3

3

33

33

33333333

33

EE

EEEEEEEEE EEE EE

E

E

E

EEEE

EE

E

EEEEEE

EEEEE

E

EEE

EEE

E

EEEE E

E

EEEEE

EEE

E

EE

HHHHH

HH

H

HHHHH

H

HHHHHH HHHHHF

F30 35 40 45 50 55

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Zn atom.%

As

atom

.%

(E)

3

33

3

33

3

3

3

3333 3 3333 333

3

3

EE EEEEEEEE EE EEE

E

E EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

EE

EE

EE

EE

EE

EEE

EE

E

EEE

EE EE

EEE

HHH

H

H

H

H

H

HHHHHH

HHHHHH H

H

HHH

F F0

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

30 35 40 45 50 55

Zn atom.%

Sb

atom

.%

(F)

77

where abundant shimmering water was observed. The Fe-ores were sampled from the mound of the chimney field while Zn-Cu ores were collected from the center of the chimney fields. The present black smokers are discharged through Cu-rich chimneys. Microscopic studies were done on these ore types and their mineral assemblage (Fig. 4) and textural relationship of the various sulfide and gangue minerals are shown above.

Fig.6 (a) Histogram of Ag content in gold from Pacmanus site, (b) Chemical composition of Gold

from Pacmanus, Kuroko and Epithermal type (Koryu, Japan) Fig.7(a) Chemical composition of tennantite from Pacmanus and Kuroko type deposits. (a) Zn

content against Fe content, (b) Cu content against Ag and (c) Sb content against As. Fig.8 (a) Pb content in selected sulfides and (b) Trace element content in chalcopyrite.

IIII

IIIIIII

II

II

IIII

IIICC

C

C

C

C

C

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 20 40 60 80 100

I

C

Pacmanus

Epithermal typeKoyruKuroko Type

Au wt% in electrum

(B)

Zn wt.%0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Fe

wt.% G

G

G

GGG

G

G

EEE

E

E

EE

HHHH

H

HHHH

FFFFFFF

FFFFFFFF

3 3

3

DDD

DDD

CCCC CCC

CCC

C

PPP PPP PPP PPP

PPPPPPPPPPPP

G

E

H

F

3D

C

P

Zn-rich Satanic Mill

Zn-rich Satanic Mill

Cu-rich Satanic MillCu-rich Satanic Mill

Zn-rich SnowcapZn-rich Snowcap

Zn-rich Snowcap

Kuroko

(A)

GGGGGGGG

EEEE

E

EE

HH HHH HH HHHH HH HHFFFF F FFFF

33

3

DDDDD D

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

CC

P

PPP

PPP

PPPP

P

P

PPPP PPP

PP

PP

30 35 40 45 500

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Cu wt.%

Ag

wt.%

(B)

GG GGG G

G

GEEEEEEE HH

H H

H

HHHHH

HHH

HH

FFFF

FF

FF

F

33 3

DDD

D

DD

CC

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

CC

P

P

PP

PPP

PPP

P

P

P

PPPPPPPPP

P

P

0 5 10 15 20 250

5

10

15

20

25

30

As wt.%

Sb

wt.%

(C)

Bi Ga As Se Mo Ag In Sn W Au TlSb0

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

pp

m

J

J J

J

J

JJ

J

J J J

J

E

E

E

E

EH

H

H

HH H

H HH

H H H

J

E

H

PacmanusBent Hill, MV

Vienna Wood

CC

C

C

C

CCCCCCCCCC

CC

CCC

CCCC

C

EEEEEE

EEEEE

II

I

I

I

I

II

II

I

I

IIIII

II

IIIIII

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

AA

A

AA

A

A

AAA

A

A

AA

A

A

A

AA

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

cpy

bn

py tenn(A)

0

1.2

1.1

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

Pb

wt.%

(B)

78

3.1 Chemical Composition of sulfide Minerals The chemistry of the selected sulfide minerals were analyzed using the superprobe JEOL JXA-

8600M of Yamagata University (Japan). There are slight discrepancies in the chemistry of the sulfides from the various fields. X-ray map of sphalerite indicate presence of Pb, As and Fe in sphalerite. It was recognized that sphalerite also contain extremely high Fe, Cd, Cu, Ag, Sb, Pb and As (Fig. 5 A-F). Likewise, Ag and Sb content in galena are also high. The Ag content in gold is much lower than ancient Kuroko and epithermal type (Fig. 6). Similarly, the tennantite-tetrahedrite series of Pacmanus contains high Fe, Ag and Cu compared to ancient Kuroko type deposits (Fig. 7). The result indicate that the mineralization in the Pacmanus site is of the Zn-Cu-Pb-Au type. The chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite and tennantite contain significant amount of Pb and trace elements including magmatophile elements such as As, Sb, In and Te (Fig. 8). The Pb and trace elements in Pacmanus site are much higher than Vienna Wood and other hydrothermal deposits in the Western Pacific (Fig. 8). From all these micro analysis, it can be recognized that the sulphides from the Pacmanus site has a lot of deleterious, toxic and heavy metal content in the sulphides. However, Nautilus Minerals Niugini did not report such elements including S, F and P content for the Solwara 1 project in Eastern Manus Basin.

4. DESMOS CALDERA (EASTERN MANUS BASIN) The Onsen acid-sulphate type of mineralisation is located in the Desmos caldera, Manus back-arc

basin (Fig. 9). Hydrothermal precipitates, fresh and altered basaltic andesite collected from the Desmos caldera indicated that the mineralisation is characterised by 3 stages of advanced argillic alteration. Alteration stage I is characterised by coarse subhedral pyrophyllite with disseminated anhedral pyrite and enargite which were formed in the temperature range of 260°-340°C. Alteration stage II which overprinted alteration stage I form at temperature range of 266°-306°C and consist of euhedral pyrite, quartz, natroalunite, smectite (15Å-14Å mixed layer minerals) and cristobalite. Alteration stage III is characterised by amorphous silica, native sulphur, covellite, marcasite and euhedral pyrite which has overprinted alteration stages I and II [6,7,8]. Electron probe microanalysis indicate high As content in Engarite. The mineralization, alteration and stable isotope studies strongly suggest that the Onsen hydrothermal site in the Desmo caldera is a magmatic submarine hydrothermal system [7,8].

Fig. 9. The three dimensional view of Desmos caldera and the Onsen hydrothermal site.

79

5. SOLWARA PROJECTS (EASTERN MANUS BASIN) The Solwara 1 and Solwara 12 seafloor massive sulphide deposit contain significant resources of

massive base metal sulphides, Au and Ag. From a technical report compiled under NI143-101, Mineral Resource Estimate, Solwara Project, Bismark sea, commissioned by Nautilus Minerals Nuigini Limited, it was recognised that the maiden resource estimated as at December 22, 2007 for Solwara 1 of over 2 million tonnes at 4% Cu cut off grade [3]. From 2010/2011 drilling program, they estimated a maiden indicated resource of 1020 kt and inferred resource of 1540 kt at 2.6% Cu equivalent cut off grade for the Solwara 1 and inferred resource of 230 kt at Solwara 12 [9].

It reported assay grade of Cu (up to 34%), Zn (52%), Pb (12.7%), Ag (682g/t) and Au (40g/t) in their exploration update [4]. However, the same report failed to publish deleterious, heavy or toxic elements such As, Hg, Sb, P and F apart from Pb for its Solwara 1 project [9].

Nautilus Minerals Nuigini spent a lot of money in trying to assemble a mining method that is never practiced anywhere in the world and they are eager to deliver the first PNG deep-sea mining. However, Nautilus Minerals Nuigini, firstly, failed to address the issue of deleterious, toxic and heavy metals associated with Solwara 1 project in the Eastern Manus Basin. Secondly, it also failed to mention anything about the environment impact of ore with such deleterious metals from the mining site to the storage facilities in Rabaul in its Environemental Impact Studies. Finally, the economics of the mining method that Nautilus Minerals Nuigini is planning to use in Manus Basin cannot be established because such mining practice is never used anywhere in the world.

6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The Manus basin host distinct types of mineral deposits ranging from simple Zn-Cu type deposit like

Vienna Wood to polymetallic Zn-Cu-Pb-Au type like Pacmanus and high sulfidation epithermal type like Onsen site. The character of the ores and mineral assemblage of Vienna Wood is simple while those from Pacmanus and Onsen sites are more complex (pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, gold, wurtzite, tennantite-tetrahedrite series, enargite, bornite, covellite, digenite, and PbAsSulfosalt).

A significant negative correlation is observed for Fe, Cd, Cu, Ag, Sb and As content against Zn content in all the sphalerites from Pacmanus. As Zn decreases, all the other elements increase indicating that these elements substitute for Zn in sphalerite. Similar relationship was observed between Pb and Ag and Sb in galena. Pb and magmatophile elements (e.g. As, Sb, In) in the sulfides from Pacmanus are much higher than other hydrothermal sites. Most of these sulphides host deleterious, toxic and heavy metals which needs to be addressed if this type of ores are going to mined and processed on land based downstream processing facilities.

Nautilus mineral resources has failed to report these deleterious elements in its resources nor mentioned anything on how it will address these elements in the ore concentrate in its EIS documents submitted to the government of Papua New Guinea.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to the operational team of Yokosuka -Shinkai 6500 and Natsushima - Shinkai 2000 for their skillful maneuver during sampling. I acknowledged financial support from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, Okayama University (Japan), Akita University (Japan) and Science Technology Agency of Japan and the Ministry of Education, Science, Sport and Culture. Finally, I would like to thanks my employer (PNG University of Technology) for its support during my research.

REFERENCES

Martinez, F., and B. Taylor, (1996): Fast back arc spreading, rifting and microplate rotation between transform faults in the Manus Basin, Bismarck Sea, in Seafloor Mapping in the West, Southwest and South Pacific, edited by J.-M. Auzende and J.-Y. Collot, M.G. Res., Kluwer, Amsterdam, 18, 1/3, Special Issue.

80

Tufar, W. (1989): Modern hydrothermal activity, formation of complex massive sulfide deposits and associated vent communities in the Manus back-arc basin (Bismark Sea, Papua New Guinea), Mitt.Osterr.Geol.Ges., 82, 183-210.

Lipton, I. T. (2008) Mineral Resource Estimate, Solwara 1 project, Bismark Sea, Papua New Guinea. Canadian NI43-101 form F1, February 2008.

Gena K., (2001) Geological and geochemical characteristics of the seafloor hydrothermal mineralization in the Manus back-arc basin, Papua New Guinea, Ph.D Thesis, Akita University, Japan, 1-389

Binns, R.A., J.M. Parr, S.D. Scott, J.B. Gemmell, and P.M. Herzig, (1995): PACMANUS: An active seafloor hydrothermal field on siliceous volcanic rocks in the eastern Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea, Proceedings PACRIM 95, 1995.

Gena K., Mizuta T., Ishiyama D., and Urabe T., (2001). Acid-sulphate alteration and mineralization in the Desmos caldera, Manus back-arc basin, Papua New Guinea, Resource Geol., 51, 1, 31-44.

Gena K., Chiba H., Mizuta T. and Osamu M. (2006) Hydrogen, Oxygen and Sulfur isotope studies of seafloor hydrothermal system at the Desmos caldera, Manus back-arc basin, Papua New Guinea: An analogue of terrestrial acid hot crater-lake, Resource Geol., 56, 2, 183-190.

Gena, K., Mizuta, T., Ishiyama, D. and Urabe, T. (1997): Geochemical characteristics of altered basaltic andesite by sulfuric-acid rich solution from the Demos caldera, Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea, JAMSTEC J. Deep Sea Res., 13, 269-285.

Lipton, I. L., (2012). Mineral Resource Estimate, Solwara 1 Project, Bismark Sea, Papua New Guinea, Technical Report compiled under NI140-101. pp. 1-240



81

HS7-2013-094

Industry-Academia Interaction in Papua New Guinea

Praveen Pandey1,a and Subhash C. Dey2,b

1Department of Mechanical Engineering, PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG 2Department of Applied Physics, PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG

Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The paper emphasizes the need for industry academia interaction as one of the essential requirements for achieving the goal of international accreditation. The authors have identified four areas of existing collaboration with the industry and have sought to highlight measures for expanding such collaboration. The measures suggested include the launching of part time/ evening post graduate courses for serving engineers on self financing basis, opening of community assistance centers, say, for small scale miners, strengthening of computation and library facilities for design, development and troubleshooting consultancy assignments for large industries, and expansion of extension activities in agriculture, forestry and health care sectors. Ambitious measures may not sound initially attractive, but it is necessary for a center of higher learning to think big even if the immediate outcome is not encouraging.

Key words: Industry, academia, accreditation, consultancy, agriculture, healthcare. 1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the PNG Unitech is trying hard for international accreditation of the university. It is natural for a university of more than 40 years’ standing, particularly when this is the only university of technology in the south pacific region. One of the important qualifying requirements for accreditation is close interaction with the industry. The university’s approach in this respect needs further strengthening. The authors analyzed several models adopted by the European countries [1-4]. In Europe the knowledge transfer between universities and industry takes place through several means, such as academic programs, common research projects, internships, seminars etc. The Inter-University Microelectronics Center in Leuven, Belgium, tried out innovative ways of knowledge creation and sharing such as support for individual spin-off companies, strategic collaboration with well known research institutes to virtual networking [1]. The modern relationship between the universities of technology and society in Romania are reported to be expanding by industrial and entrepreneurial actions [2]. A case study from the Czech Republic illustrates an example of interdisciplinary research and the linkage of university research with entrepreneurial working practice [3]. In Germany, examples of even closer linkage of universities with industry are available. For example, former students are employed by a company, but still work at university supervised by a professor on a common project [4]. The structure and organization of Microsoft Research Tablet PC and Pen Computing collaboration partnerships with academic institutions has been discussed in another interesting report, which highlights the vital role academia plays in the

82

future of computing [5]. Many other models are available. However, the models adopted by highly industrialized countries may not be applicable to a newly developing country like PNG. The present paper therefore attempts to analyze the methodology being adopted in PNG so far and seeks to highlight the areas where more intensive efforts are necessary.

2 CURRENT APPROACHES

The university is currently trying to interact with the industry in several ways. These efforts may be summed up as follows;

(i) Manpower training

(ii) Extension service to small scale miners and small scale industries

(iii) Consultancy service to large industries

(iv) Interaction in agriculture, forestry and healthcare sectors. All these approaches are bearing fruits. However, further strengthening of these is necessary for (a)

creation of industrial training and job opportunities for the graduating students, (b) industrial exposure of teachers and sourcing industry sponsored research and development facilities, (c) upgrading the curriculum of the university to suit the needs of the PNG and the south pacific region in general and (d) fund generation for the university.

. 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Manpower training

Currently the subjects for the training programs are generally selected by the teachers themselves, based on their individual expertise. In many cases, the programs are repeated to train a larger number of industrial/ semi government organization personnel. The scope of such programs needs to be broadened. One possibility is to start part time/ evening post graduate courses. In view of the boost in mining, oil and gas exploration and shipyard construction activities, the Lae city and its surroundings have been attracting numerous technically qualified personnel. In addition the existing mining and mineral processing industries engage engineers on flying in and flying out basis. If a proper survey of the potential for starting need based post graduate course is conducted the overall response of qualified candidates for joining such part time/ evening post graduate courses may be assessed. The courses may either be industry specific or general in character based on the response received. Industry specific courses have been a great success in India. For example, one of the Indian Institutes of Technology started a post graduate program in Steel Technology, where only candidates sponsored by the steel industry with full financial support are admitted. After completing the course work, students usually work on the live projects in their own industry under a joint supervision of a teacher from the participant institute and an expert from the relevant industry. Such arrangements is mutually beneficial, Not only the students qualifies for his post graduate degree/ diploma, the teacher also gains valuable experience in industrial problem solving. Several other institutes work on a different pattern, they normally combine their regular post graduate students with the part time students from the industry with the stipulation that the part timers will take less load per semester and may therefore complete the masters’ program in three to four year. Such industry oriented programs in many cases need to be interdisciplinary in character. For example, a mining engineer also needs to possess some background in mechanical, electrical and electronics engineering as well as in business accounting and management. Naturally therefore the faculty has to be drawn from several departments, with one department coordinating the program. Since the curriculum for such a program is multi disciplinary, the students may also be drawn from all relevant specialization. The curriculum, therefore, will have to be split into basic preparatory courses and

83

specialized courses to suit the needs of the individual students. Such post graduate programs are generally self financing. Either the students, who are working professionals, pay enhanced fees to meet the expenses or their employers pay the fees. In either ways such programs have been very successful in India and be tried out in PNG Unitech.

PNG Unitech has already initiated an experiment on arranging Master classes by inviting experts from the industry on specific subjects of mutual interest. The students have welcomed this program wholeheartedly. In view of such encouraging response this program need to be expanded for effective transfer of practical experience and knowledge.

3.2 Extension Service

The extension service currently offered to small scale miners and small scale industries is based on the request for such industries or the individuals themselves. However, there is a scope for expanding such service through establishment of community polytechnic. Once again, an example may be drawn from the mining industry. In PNG small scale miners usually extract gold by the amalgamation process. During the final stage of extraction the mercury is usually is boiled out. Since the cost of mercury is quite high and the mercury vapor is a positive health hazard, an effort may be made to train people in a safe method of recovery of gold from the amalgam, wherein the mercury is also recovered by condensation and recycled for the further use. Similar approaches are possible in other technical disciplines as well. A case in point may be extraction of carbon from waste plastics and preparation of charcoal from the coconut shells. The Appropriate Technology Center of the Unitech already has some facilities. It may need some expansion or modification to accommodate trainees from the micro/ small scale industry sector. There is a wide scope of similar extension services in mechanical, instrumentation, civil, and electrical engineering. The PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum is whole heartedly supporting the mining engineering department of the university in creating an improved infrastructure, superior lab facility for the students and enhanced extension services to both small and large industries.

3.3 Consultancy Services to Large Industries

Such consultancy services may be broadly categorized into (a) design, software development and simulation jobs and (b) laboratory based investigation and industrial trouble shooting assignments. In the former category inadequacy of computation and library facility of the university is a serious bottleneck. This deficiency needs to be removed as early as possible. It is well understood that any such developmental work needs huge funding, which is the main constraint. But it may also be argued that such investments would pay for themselves in future. It may not be possible to take up large jobs at the moment but something is definitely is possible. For example has the necessary competence for satellite data processing for various applications. Similarly the mechanical engineering and applied physics department may very well collaborate with mining engineering department in the area of underground mine ventilation and air conditioning. These large projects may be split up into a number of small undergraduate student projects whereby the students also get an opportunity for hands on training in live industrial projects. It is heartening to learn that the university has already collaborated with some large industries in the country, but with the growth of petroleum mining and mineral processing sectors, the supporting industries like mechanical, electrical and instrumentation industries are bound to grow as well. The university may therefore consider creation of the appropriate infrastructure for such collaborative projects on a priority basis.

3.4 Extension Service to Agriculture, forestry and healthcare sectors

A report of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Government of UK [6], highlights advantages and contribution of livestock farming and associated supply chains in sustainable development. The report calls for (a) support for farming and the encouragement of sustainable food

84

production, (b) enhancing the environment and biodiversity to improve quality of life and (c) support for a strong and sustainable green economy resilient to climate change. The report further points out that concerted efforts of three main stakeholders; the government through its various agriculture research departments and support agencies, industry and farmers is very much vital in achieving a sustainable development. The potential for this sector is enormous in PNG. The land in PNG is fertile and rainfall is adequate. It has wonderfully rich grassland resources, making the ability of livestock to turn into a real significant source of good dairy products and of high dietary value for human consumption as we grapple with feeding an ever increasing global population. Much livestock can be maintained on grasslands that are unsuitable for arable crops. The faculty of agriculture and the forestry department are the most competent people to comment on the scope of this sector, but as visitors to this country, it appears to us that cattle farming is one area which requires more attention. In India and Bangladesh, every village household maintains a few cattle for agriculture, milk production and meat supply. Even the carcasses of the dead cattle provide resources. The hides are sent to the tanneries for leather preparation while the bones are ground to prepare phosphate fertilizer. With so much of greeneries all around, PNG possesses enormous opportunity for cattle forming, while a university of technology needs not get directly involved in such activities, it may create a cell for training of trainers for cattle forming.

In the health care sector, the applied physics department has been running a course on radiation physics for training of qualified health care personnel. The scope of this training program may be further widened. One area where the applied physics department may competently collaborate with medical personnel is in application and interpretation of electromagnetic and ultrasound waves. In advanced countries, interpretations of electromagnetic responses from the brain are being analyzed to identify specific disorders in brain functions. Exposure to magnetic and electro-magnetic fields has also emerged as an advanced technique for bone and spine healing [7-9]. Ferro-fluid loaded drop capsules have been successfully guided under externally applied magnetic field to specific healing points in the physiological systems [10]. The applied physics faculty, with their knowledge of the fundamentals of electromagnetic waves, may be well placed for the collaboration with the medical doctors in such health care efforts. It may be worth mentioning that the development of MRI machine itself owes its origin to development of rare earth magnets through the sustained efforts of physicists and metallurgist.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The paper has tried to highlight the scope of industry academia interaction in PNG. Although some of the ideas mooted in this paper may appear to be of tall order, it is also true that universities all over the world teach their faculty and students to think big. Ambitious approaches may not yield immediate results, but some results do emerge when we learn to think in a big way.

REFERENCES

[1] Bijnens K and Petegem WV, Report of European University - Industry Network; Innovative ways of knowledge transfer between Universities and Industry, (2007) pp 34-40.

[2] Chiriacescu ST, Report of European University - Industry Network; The Relationship between the University and the Business Community in an Ever-Changing Society, (2007) pp 84-91.

[3] Pavelkova D and Knapkova A, Report of European University - Industry Network; Inter-linkage of University Research Activities and Firms´ Practice: a case-study, (2007) pp 98-103.

[4] Söder Alexander, Report of European University - Industry Network; Practical experiences with different cooperation schemes: University –Industry, (2007) pp 128-133.

[5] Oka P and Prey J, Overview of an industry/academia partnership for furthering the advancement of pen-based technology in research and education, Microsoft Research (2007).

[6] Progress towards a sustainable future for livestock farming, Report of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra Ref PB13756), Government of UK, April (2012).

85

[7] Satter Sayed A, Islam MS, Rabbani KS, Talukder MS; Pulsed electromagnetic fields for the treatment of bone factures; Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull, Vol, 25(1) (1999), pp 6-10.

[8] Darendeliler M, Darendeliler A, Sinclair P; Effects of static magnetic and pulsed electromagnetic fileds on bone healing; International Journal of Adult Orthodontic and Orthoganthic Surgery, Vol. 12 (1997) pp 43-53.

[9] Glazer PA, Heilmann MR, Lotz JC, Bradford DS; Use of electromagnetic fields in a spinal fusion. A rabbit model; Spine, Vol. 22 (20) (1997) pp 2351-2356.

[10] Scherer C, and Figueiredo Neto; Ferro fluids: Properties and applications; Brazilian Journal of Physics, Vol. 35,Sept (2005).



86

HS72013-HS-095

Engineering Education in Papua New Guinea

John Pumwa


LAE, MP 411, PAPUA NEW GUINEA


1. ABSTRACT

This paper presents an argument why Papua New Guinea needs to improve engineering education. Starting with the definition of engineering, it argues in favor of the important role played by engineers towards the wellbeing of human society through development of transportation, communications, manufacturing, construction, and resource exploitation and utilization. The paper then concentrates on the status of engineering education in Papua New Guinea, in particular the role played by the PNG University of Technology (Unitech). Various engineering programs of Unitech are mentioned along with quality improvement efforts, challenges, and efforts towards accrediting engineering programs. The need for global engineering education is also briefly mentioned.

Key words: engineering, education, development, engineering program, Unitech

2. INTRODUCTION

Before we consider engineering education in Papua New Guinea (PNG) it is perhaps not superfluous to define what is engineering. Engineering has been defined variously so there is no single common definition. Some define engineering as ‘what an engineer does’. Others define engineering as being ‘the design, construction, and usage of engines, machines, structures, programs, equipment, devices, etc by the application of mathematical, scientific and technological principles’. There are other definitions that include the study of material properties, software design, energy exploration, processing and distribution. The definition of engineering in Wikipedia as “Engineering is the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to design, build, and maintain structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes. It may encompass using insights to conceive, model and scale an appropriate solution to a problem or objective”[1].

An earlier definition by American Engineers Council for Professional Development (AECPD), predecessor of American Board for Accreditation of Engineering and Technology (ABET) has defined engineering as “The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation or safety to life and property” [2]. From the two formal definitions above, it is clear that the field of engineering is extremely broad. It is also to be noted that the terms engineering and technology are often used synonymously; one includes the other.


87

Engineering is a very old profession. Some of the ancient but famous engineering works include pyramids in Egypt, hanging gardens of Babylon, the Acropolis and Parthenon of Greece, the Roman Coliseum, the Great Wall of China, and the Tajmahal of India. Some of the modern engineering works include the airplanes, mega oil tankers, rockets, skyscrapers, hydro dams, turbines, jet engines, computer, international space station, etc.

3. MAIN BRANCHES OF ENGINEERING

Main branches of engineering include chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering, and naval engineering.

Other branches of engineering include acoustical, corrosion, aerospace, automotive, computer, electronic, petroleum, systems, software, architecture, bio-systems, biomedical, geological, industrial, materials, and nuclear engineering. New special branches of engineering are likely to emerge in the future. 4. IMPORTANCE OF ENGINEERING

Some of the more familiar applications of engineering are in transportation, communication, energy exploration, conversion and distribution, manufacturing. Engineering includes such items as roads and highways, bridges, buildings, cars, ships, planes, rockets, computers, mobile communication devices, power plant, medical equipment, agricultural machineries, etc.

The history of our current civilization is but an account of engineering and technological development. Engineering finds its application in all branches of human endeavor, especially in ‘transportation, communications, manufacturing, construction, and resource exploitation’ [3]. Contributions made by engineering have transformed our social, cultural, political and economic situation. One needs to look at countries like Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, etc which have transformed their economy from the status of ‘developing’ to the status of ‘first-world’ economy within a span of five decades. Without engineering it would be beyond imagination how these societies would have developed.

5. ATTRIBUTES OF AN ENGINEER

Engineers are required to create solutions to problems encountered by our human society. An engineer needs to be creative to find solution to a new problem because a solution may not be readily available. An engineer needs to identify a problem, conceive a solution and proceed to design a device, system, or process. The design process may involve visualizing a shape of a thing, determining its size accurately, selecting material, specifying the manufacturing technique, testing a prototype, and improving upon the design. One needs to look at the design of transportation devices such as motorcars, busses, trucks, ships, planes, rockets, roads and highways, bridges, airports, factories, etc. In the communication field, some notable designs may include mobile phones, Internet, ICT technology, satellite, etc.

In today’s technological society, an engineer may be requires to work on highly complex projects, which demand such attributes as teamwork, effective communication, ethical responsibility, environmental conservation and sustainability.

6. ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Engineering education is an engine for national development and innovation. It develops graduates for the needs of business and industry.

Engineering education is the activity in teaching and learning of the principles related to engineering profession. Traditionally, engineering education has three distinct phases. Firstly, it involves the study of basic sciences such as applied mathematics, principles of physics, chemistry, and, in special cases, biology. Secondly, the study of the principles of engineering subjects such as mechanics,

88

thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, materials properties, manufacturing, principles of design, standards, principles of electricity and magnetism, etc. Thirdly, special topics, which involve in-depth studies in any engineering subject area, mentioned above. Engineering education often involves practice training in industrial environment. There are other subjects from the humanity and social sciences that form part of engineering education.

Engineering students must attain certain general and technical attributes at the end of their undergraduate studies. According to ABET [3], the general attributes include: the ability to communicate effectively; work in a multidisciplinary team, display high ethical and professional responsibilities, learn knowledge of contemporary issues; recognize the need for the environmental protection and sustainability, and engage in life-long learning. The technical attributes include: the ability to design a system, component or a process within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, health and safety; manufacturability and sustainability; identify, formulate and solve engineering problems; design an experiment; apply the principles of mathematics, science and engineering to solve complex engineering problems; use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering.

There is growing popularity for engineering education in such fields as mechanical, civil, computer, electrical, mining, petroleum, and other forms of related engineering.

7. ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA (PNG)

Engineering education in Papua New Guinea has a humble beginning. Starting with six technical colleges located in Port Moresby, Goroka, Rabaul, Mt. Hagen, and Madang offering basic technical and vocational training leading to the award of certificates. National Polytechnic Institute (NPI) in Lae offers Diplomas in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. NPI PNG is planning to undertake a project aimed at offering high quality technical and vocational training in popular engineering disciplines. Madang Maritime College offers diploma in marine technology.

The PNG University of Technology is the only degree awarding institution in the country. There are currently four founding engineering disciplines that offer degree programs. These are civil, electrical, mechanical and mining engineering. A fifth discipline in petroleum engineering has been approved as part of Mining Engineering department. A small number of 20 students have been enrolled to do common courses with mining engineering for the first two years. Both undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in the founding four disciplines.

8. IMPORTANCE OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN PNG

Papua New Guinea is a resource rich country. The resources include minerals, energy, agricultural and fish and forest resources. Minerals resources include copper, gold and nickel. Energy resources include petroleum, natural gas, hydro and geothermal energy. Agricultural resources include cocoa, coffee, copra, palm oil, and food crops such as sweet potato. Fishery resources include mainly Tuna. Forest resources comprise mainly timber.

All the resources mentioned above are being exploited to varying degrees. Gold, copper and nickel are extracted, processed and marketed generating a substantial boost to the PNG economy. According to a report on Papua New Guinea ‘could benefit from USD 130 billion of resource-related investment through to the end of next decade, creating more than 100000 new jobs in mining, energy and support services’ [4]. Papua New Guinea is an exporter of crude oil although it imports refined petroleum and diesel. Extraction of natural gas will begin from 2014 through the well-publicized LNG project, one of the biggest in country. The report further said ‘even on more conservative assumptions, the report suggests that annual revenues from resources could reach USD 25 billion by 2030 – more than four time current levels’. Hydroelectricity is also being harnessed and distributed through the national grids. Agriculture comes second to mineral resources in terms of potential growth for Papua New Guinea. Cocoa. Coffee, copra and palm oil are the major agricultural products that are being exported. There are a number of

89

Tuna processing/canning factories. Besides, there are many manufacturing firms that manufacture both industrial and consumer products. Timber is also a major export of Papua New Guinea.

Although PNG is a nation with many islands, there is more than 20,000 km of road networks in the cities that need continuous renovation and maintenance. There are plans to construct new road networks in the mainland PNG.

It is clear that a significant level of engineering activities is going on in the country. But many of the engineering and management activities are performed by expatriate staff due to lack of PNG national staff. From economic and sustainability view point, indigenous engineering workforce will be more beneficial to the country. The national workforce constitutes a very small percentage of the total workforce needed currently, especially in the senior positions. Therefore PNG needs highly educated engineering workforce to manage PNG resources and development activities in all major fields of engineering.

9. ENGINEERING AT PNG UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (UNITECH)

As mentioned earlier, Unitech is the only degree awarding university in engineering. There are four engineering programs in civil, electrical, mechanical and mining engineering. In addition to degree program, students are also admitted to Master and Doctorate programs in engineering. A new department in petroleum engineering is being planned. A program of Master in petroleum engineering has been proposed.

Unitech engineering programs face many challenges. These include shortage of qualified faculty, new entrants lacking sufficient preparatory knowledge in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and English, lack of adequate teaching and learning resources, and sub-optimal campus environment.

Unitech has establishes a quality assurance system in teaching and learning based on a model. The model comprises four elements: the teacher, the student, the curriculum and the campus environment. These elements are interactive, and collectively they determine the program outcomes. The teacher is the facilitator of teaching and learning, the student is the learner primarily responsible for learning, the curriculum outlines the contents of the program and forms the basis for teaching and learning. The environment is a complex element consisting of technological, social, political, and physical environments. Services such as the provision of teaching resource facility, library, ICT, student and staff welfare, etc are also included in the campus environment. The campus environment can significantly influence performance of the other three elements. Quality assurance system must address all the four elements.

Quality assurance monitoring is managed by a set of instruments: lecture plans, peer review of students’ assessments, teaching evaluation by students, computation of statistics such as mean score, standard deviation, maximum and minimum scores, continuous assessment, publication of continuous assessment scores, Quality improvement drive is a continuous activity

10. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND ACCREDITATION OF PROGRAMS

Unitech is well aware of the concern of various stakeholders on the quality of engineering education in Papua New Guinea. It is taking appropriate steps in addressing the quality issues. The steps include hiring of highly qualified academic faculty, admission of freshman students in engineering through stringent admission criteria, revision of curricula, and improvement of campus environment which include various services like the library, internet facilities, student and staff welfare. Unitech has already committed itself to institutional accreditation by a competent external accrediting agency. Assessment of various activities and resources will be vetted against 13 standards for institutional accreditation [5]. A draft self-assessment report for institutional accreditation has been prepared. The final report is due for submission in December 2013.

90

A second initiative to improve the quality of engineering education at Unitech has been undertaken to accredit engineering programs. To this end, Unitech has submitted a proposal for funding from the government. Engineering program accreditation is to be obtained in phases starting with mechanical engineering. To follow the new curriculum, a bridging program has been proposed for the new entrants to engineering at Unitech.

11. CHALLENGES TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION AT UNITECH

There are several challenges that need to be overcome to improve the quality of engineering education at Unitech [6]. The challenges are related to the four elements of the teaching and learning model mentioned earlier. Faculty recruitment and retention remains a major challenge. The remuneration package is often deemed inadequate to attract high quality staff in engineering. Other factors such as security, housing, medical services, staff amenities, etc are often cited as inadequate. The other major challenge is related to new entrants from high schools. They seem to have knowledge gap between Grade 12 and that required to follow the first year engineering curricula. The knowledge gap is most prominent in mathematics followed by physics, chemistry and English. Curricula do not pose a major problem because they can be benchmarked with those of similar disciplines abroad. Campus environment improvement is also a major challenge. Services offered by the Library, ICT department, student welfare departments need significant improvement.

12. FUTURE TRENDS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

One of the trends in engineering profession is that of global engineers [7]. It is not necessary for one to be restricted within the national boundary. A global engineer can move from one country to another in search of a job or work online with colleagues located at a distance. The trend is popular with multinational companies who normally outsource products, processes and skilled engineers and technologists. Such global engineers must not only be technical experts but also skilled in their ability to work with multicultural teams. Multinational companies mainly operate Papua New Guinea industrial sectors. Therefore global engineering education should be included in the engineering curricula offered by Unitech.

13. CONCLUSIONS

Papua New Guinea to develop its various economic sectors such as transportation, communications, manufacturing, mineral and energy resource development, construction, etc will need to rely on engineers. Therefore, well-educated engineers will be needed to develop Papua New Guinea in accordance with Vision 2050 to build a happy, healthy society. Engineering education is therefore imperative.

Technical colleges as well as NPI PNG should be allowed to expand their vocational and technical programs in order to supply much needed technical workforce. Intake of students should be expanded.

For Unitech, the engineering departments should be supported with adequate revenue for its operation. Engineers should be accorded due recognition in terms of their status and remuneration packages. Without well-qualified engineers, it will not be possible to achieve the objectives of Vision 2050.

Quality of engineering education is a concern to various stakeholders, especially that of employers. Engineering programs should be accredited by competent accrediting agencies in order to assure quality of engineering education. Unitech’s decision to undergo institutional accreditation and engineering programs accreditation are welcome steps that will go a long way to improve the quality of engineering education in Papua New Guinea.

Faculty recruitment and retention problems need to be reviewed and addressed satisfactorily. Although staff-housing shortage has improved somewhat with the addition of 23 newly built houses,

91

more houses will be needed in the near future as the University expands in terms of students and staff. Many of the existing houses should be renovated and maintained regularly.

Global engineering education should be included in the engineering curricula. REFERENCES

1. Engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering

2. Wilson A H, “The Importance of Engineering: an Update” www.eic-ici.ca/Importance.pdf

3. ABET, “CRITERIA FOR ACCREDITING ENGINEERING PROGRAMS: Effective for Reviews during the 2013-2014 Accreditation Cycle” www.abet.org

4. Fensom, A. “Papua New Guinea: Riding the Resource Boom”, The Diplomat, http//thediplomat.com/pacific-money/2013/02/o5/papua-new-guinea-riding-the-resource-boom/

5. Commission for Higher Education: Guidelines for Institutional Accreditation-Version 1.3, Office of Higher Education, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

6. Satter M A & Pumwa J, “Some problems and Measures for Improving Mechanical Engineering Education at the PNG University of Technology” proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual conference and Exposition, Session 2160. Copyright ©2002, American Society for Engineering Education.

7. Global Engineering Education- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Engineering_Education

http://www.google.com.pg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEngineering&ei=kclAUsyyFsSOigfyooDgCw&usg=AFQjCNFTbSqLWewRj4M-ZvSp-EN0HpjsFg�

http://www.eic-ici.ca/Importance.pdf�

http://www.abet.org/�

http://www.google.com.pg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEngineering&ei=kclAUsyyFsSOigfyooDgCw&usg=AFQjCNFTbSqLWewRj4M-ZvSp-EN0HpjsFg�

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Engineering_Education�



92

HS7-2013-96

Erosion and Drainage Problems in the Environs of Lae: A Disaster

Waiting to Happen – Again

Graham Peter Atkins

Civil Engineering Department, PNG University of Technology, Lae

ABSTRACT

Lae experienced a disastrous flood on the Bumbu River in 1983. Enormous erosion took place on the banks resulting in the loss of hundreds of houses and at least eight lives. The basic cause of this flood was the lack of land management in the foothills of the Atzera Ranges in the West Taraka area, leading to uncontrolled land use. This resulted in land and bank erosion, loss of land, vastly increased sediment loads, and a rise in the riverbed. There have been some studies of these problems, but there has been no ensuing action. These problems have now spread to other creeks and small drainage paths, especially in virtually all the creeks and drainage lines that cross the Markham Highway between Lae and the Yalu Bridge. There was no significant corrective action to the disaster of 1983. Consequently, a much greater disaster is waiting to happen. This is very relevant to the imminent construction of a four-lane road from the Lae Port to Nadzab. Unless the use of the land on the Markham side of the Atzera Ranges is adequately managed, the inevitable disaster will pose a significant threat to this major project.

Key Words: River mechanics, erosion, floods, land management, sediment.

1. INTRODUCTION Lae experienced a disastrous flood on the Bumbu River in 1983. Enormous erosion took place on the

banks resulting in the loss of hundreds of houses and at least eight lives. The basic cause of this flood, apart from the rain, was the lack of land management in the foothills of the Atzera Ranges in the West Taraka area, leading to uncontrolled land use. The clearing of land for gardens and timber resulted in land and bank erosion, loss of land, vastly increased sediment loads, and a rise in the riverbed.

The natural consequence of this uncontrolled erosion is that for each storm, a greater proportion of the rainfall appears as run off. Even more seriously, the much greater amount of sediment is causing the bed levels to rise significantly. These two factors taken together resulted in the maximum flood levels in the Bumbu River to increase to an alarming and potentially disastrous extent.

These problems have spread to other creeks and small drainage paths. The problems now exist in virtually all the creeks and drainage lines that intersect with the Markham Highway between Lae and the Yalu Bridge. These are on the other side of the Atzera Ranges. Almost all of the creeks have silted up to the extent that the culverts are no longer in use. After even a minor storm, the creeks drain across the surface of the road. This has made it much more costly and difficult to maintain the road and to keep it open. All of these problems are caused by uncontrolled land use, leading to land practices that are damaging to the creeks, bridges, roads, and culverts.

There have been some professional consultations on these problems, but there has been no ensuing action. These studies have all pointed to uncontrolled land use as the root cause of the alarming rise in flood levels and bank erosion.

93

Unless urgent steps are taken to correct this situation, the future problems will become quite horrendous. Further land will become useless, more roads will be washed away, and the Markham Highway will be closed for longer periods for restoration works. The optimum strategy would be a combination of legislation, management, engineering works, and socially sensitive education.

The forthcoming Lae Port to Nadzab Four Lane Highway is under threat even before construction has begun.

There has been no significant corrective action to the disaster of 1983. Consequently, a much greater disaster is waiting to happen.

2. STORM, FLOOD, AND RIVER CHARACTERISTICS

It is well recognised that rivers and other waterways in Papua New Guinea are difficult to control. This is because Papua New Guinea is situated almost entirely in the equatorial region. This region is approximately within 10° of the equator and is characteristically free of tropical cyclones. This leads to a high temporal uniformity of the maximum annual series of rainfall intensities and flood peaks.

Unlike rivers in the temperate and higher latitude tropical regions where the water frequently overflows the channels onto flood plains, this rarely happens in rivers in Papua New Guinea. Most overseas engineers working in Papua New Guinea would be accustomed to rivers having bankfull capacities equivalent to a return period of about two years. The flood plains are the safety valve allowing the excess erosive power of the river in flood to be dissipated as relatively shallow water. Rivers in Papua New Guinea, however, have a very high bankfull capacity resulting in flood flows, together with their erosive power, being contained within the channel.

During the 1983 Bumbu River flood, it was estimated by Atkins (1) that the velocity of flow just up-stream of Butibum Bridge (Chinatown) was 7 m/s and the average erosive shear stress to be at least 150 Pascals. The maximum shear stress would be much greater than that. This shear stress occurs on the bed of the river as well as the banks. No natural material, even in a silt-laden river, can withstand a surface shear stress of more than 50 Pascals.

3. Some Aspects of River Mechanics

The following paragraphs summarise some aspects of the behaviour of rivers and creeks

3.1 Lateral Stability of a River Channel Rivers may be either braided, sinuous, or meandering and these may all occur within a short section

of the same river. A braided river consists of a number of channels that frequently separate from and rejoin each other. All these channels, even though highly mobile, are usually contained within a wide stable overall waterway. A sinuous section of a river consists of a single channel with both straight sections and bends and with a ratio of channel distance to straight line distance less than 1.5. This is the most stable type of river section. A meandering section of a river consists of a single channel with large curves with short connecting straight sections. The ratio of channel distance to straight-line distance is greater than 1.5. Meandering channels tend to migrate downstream and the river can periodically take a short cut thus cutting off a meander. Most rivers on plains in Papua New Guinea, irrespective of whether they are braided, sinuous, or meandering, have considerable lateral mobility, and stable sections suitable for bridge sites are hard to find. Over recent decades, considerable effort has been exerted to enhance the prediction of lateral channel movements. However, even the qualitative understanding remains incomplete. The most effective technique for locating stable channels is from maps and aerial photographs.

3.2 Longitudinal Profile Stability of a River

In considering a prospective site for a bridge, culvert, or causeway, the stability of the bed must be evaluated. If the bed scours during a flood, the foundations and protection works become exposed and

94

susceptible to failure. If the bed silts, the waterway is reduced, and any protection works would to some degree be buried. The stability of a riverbed depends on whether the site is on a river with a stable longitudinal profile.

As early as 1802, Playfair (in Tarr and Martin {2}) described the nice adjustment of rivers and their tributaries to each other. He referred to the interrelationship of channel slopes as being in equilibrium with the capacity flow rate of its channel and its sediment load. Davis (3) used such terms as balanced, adjusted, and organised to describe his cycle of erosion, which he regarded as the result of a balance between erosion and deposition.

The shape of the longitudinal stream profile has been studied extensively. Schulits (4) used Sternberg's abrasion law that states that the reduction of weight of a particle as it travels downstream should be proportional to the work done against friction along the bed. Schulits derived theoretically an exponential longitudinal stream profile for a graded stream. Strahler (5) postulated that the rate at which the stream profile is lowered at any given point is proportional to the slope at that point and he too derived an exponential profile.

Horton (6) stated his classic drainage composition laws. One of these is the law of stream slopes, which states that the average slopes of streams of progressively higher orders decrease in geometric sequence. A stream of first order has no tributaries. A stream of second order results from the junction of two streams of first order. In general, a stream of order N results from the junction of two streams of order N-1.

Another of the drainage composition laws stated by Horton is the law of stream lengths, which states that the average length of streams of progressively higher orders increase in geometric sequence. Yang (7) showed that if Horton's laws of stream slopes and stream lengths were valid, then the longitudinal stream profile would be exponential, thus agreeing with Schulits (4) and Strahler (5). Yang proposed the exponential profile as a criterion of a graded stream. If this criterion is valid, then it follows that Horton's stream laws are also a criterion of whether a stream is graded, that is, in equilibrium.

Strahler (5 and 8) gave impetus to the general systems approach to geomorphology and introduced the concept of dynamic equilibrium of an open system. This was further developed by Melton (9) and Hack (10) and comprehensively examined by Chorley (11) who showed the inadequacy of Davis' (3) closed system approach.

Chorley (11), and Leopold and Langbein (12) introduced the concept of entropy. The latter authors showed that the concept of entropy means that the distribution of energy tends to the most probable state, the least work is done, and the unit energy expended is proportional to the relief. They thus showed that an equilibrium profile would be exponential and they confirmed this with a random walk model. This agrees with the results of Schulits (4), Horton (6), Strahler (5), and Yang (7).

It would appear from the literature that irrespective of whether equilibrium longitudinal stream profiles are analysed from the point of view of Sternberg's abrasion law (4), rate of lowering of the profile (5), Horton's stream laws (6 and 7), or maximum probability and entropy (12), the theoretical shape is exponential.

3.3 Channel Geometry Local deviations from the exponential longitudinal profile can occur when there is a change of capacity

flow rate or sediment load. There are other adjustments a stream can make. Mackin (13) emphasised that channel equilibrium consisted of shape as well as slope. Gilbert (14) conducted flume experiments to observe the interrelationship between width, depth, slope, sediment load, flow, and velocity. Rubey (15) developed a composite equation based on Gilbert's work that expressed the interrelationship between slope, shape parameters, flow parameters, and sediment load. Leopold and Langbein (12) and Langbein and Leopold (16) applied the concepts of entropy and maximum probability to channel shape and obtained results that agreed fairly well with experimental results and other theoretical approaches.

95

4. EROSION FROM THE ATZERA RANGE The Atzera Range is the divide between the Markham River and Bumbu River Catchments. Even if

left in an undisturbed state, the Atzera Range is barely stable. Not all erosion is caused by human activity. Erosion, by both wind and water, is a natural process that has sculptured all natural landscapes.

However, severe erosion has in the last five decades, become obvious on both sides of the Range. This erosion has been induced by human intrusion into the natural landscape. In the Bumbu River Catchment, severe erosion was initiated by human activity in the Taraka Area. In the Markham River Catchment, severe erosion was initiated by human activity along the Markham Highway.

The human activity has taken two forms, timber logging, and the initiation of settlements and suburbs. Human activity on both sides of the Divide has led to excessive pressure on the land, especially in the foothills of the Atzera Ranges. Clearing land for timber harvesting and for gardening had rendered the ground susceptible to erosion. An enormous amount of erosion has subsequently occurred. This has led to very significant changes in the character of the streams that have the foothills of the Ranges as their source.

It was pointed out by Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) (17) that settlers use land differently to traditional landowners. The incentive to preserve the land is lacking.

4.1 Erosion in the Bumbu River Catchment

West Taraka is now a major suburb of Lae with a population of approximately 40,000. It was initiated in 1972. At that time, the Bumbu River was a manageable sinuous river. Upstream of Taraka, about 10 km from the coast, the Bumbu River is substantially undisturbed. It takes on a sudden change of character at the confluence with a creek in the Taraka Area. The Taraka dwellers cleared extensive land for gardens. This has led to massive erosion into mainly just one creek. In about 1985, the author walked this creek to its source.

Downstream of the confluence of this creek with the Bumbu River, this erosion had led to highly significant changes in the river morphology. Upstream of this confluence, the River is unaffected. However, the changes downstream are dramatic. In reaction to the sudden and enormous change in sediment load, the River has straightened, steepened, and widened, and its bed has risen. The widening of the river has occurred by very significant bank erosion leading to a further input of sediment, thus initiating a self-sustaining cycle of events. Only a proportion of the eroded sediment has ever reached the Huon Gulf. Most of it is still contained within the riverbed.

4.2 Erosion in the Markham River Catchment

There has been some commercial timber harvesting which has led to considerable erosional damage to creeks, culverts, and roads. However, the main initiators have been settlers clearing land for gardens. The first major creek along the Markham Highway going from Lae to Nadzab is the Yalu. The bridge deck over the Yalu River is now only slightly above the bed level. Between Lae and the Yalu River, almost all of the smaller drainage lines have creek beds that have risen to, and even above, road level. After each significant storm, of which there are several a year, the culverts are buried and the road drains are full of silt.

5. STUDIES IN THE BUMBU RIVER CATCHMENT

There was a major flood in the Bumbu River in September 1983. After the flood, the author was approached by the Department of Morobe, asking what funds would be required to carry out a comprehensive study of the Bumbu Catchment. Subsequently the Civil Engineering Department at Unitech was given a grant of K15,000. With that grant, an instrumentation network was established in the Bumbu Catchment consisting of eight recording rainfall gauges, and a stream gauging station at China Town Bridge.

This attracted the interest of the Bureau of Water Resources and of the Australian Government. The Australian Government granted A$400,000 to engage consultants to enlarge the scope of our study.

96

SMEC was chosen as the consultant and the author acted on the SMEC Team. The project was carried out over the wet seasons of 1987 and 1988.

The outcome of that study was a very incisive report presented by SMEC (17) in 1989. Unfortu-nately, none of the recommendations has been implemented.

Even though the investigation of land use was not a major factor in the terms of the reference of the study, SMEC did give a warning that a major cause of problems was the lack of control of land use. SMEC recommended that a further study be carried out to focus on appropriate land use control measures, and how they could be implemented. Unfortunately – again – this has never been implemented.

Subsequent to this, SMEC was given the task of reviewing the hydrology of the Bumbu Catchment. The new Chinatown Bridge had already been designed.

In about 1990, the author received a telephone call from the Office of Works (Port Moresby). SMEC had given the opinion that the level of the deck may need to be raised, as the data and criteria use for the design flood level, had been superseded by recent floods.

SMEC had pointed out, as they had previously in 1989, that uncontrolled land use in many parts of Lae, had led to very serious erosion problems which besides resulting in the loss of land, was also causing a much greater amount of sediment being carried down the various creeks and rivers in the environs of Lae. This uncontrolled erosion has the consequence that for each storm, a greater proportion of the rainfall was appearing as run off. In addition, the much greater amount of sediment was resulting in the bed levels of the rivers and creeks rising significantly. These two factors taken together mean that the maximum flood levels in the various rivers and creeks have increased to an alarming extent.

In response to the telephone request, the author, without hesitation, endorsed the opinion given by SMEC.

6. SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE SMEC REPORT (1989)

The following are some extracts. As the extracts speak for themselves, the author offers only minimal comment. SMEC comments as follows on erosion.

---- The Atzera Ranges are likely to have a high rate of natural erosion and mass movement and this is confirmed from air photo analysis. While man-induced erosion from land clearing and agriculture will exacerbate natural erosion, in total it will contribute less depositional material to the catchment than will natural erosion. However, the amount is still likely to be significant.

The Report comments on current land use as follows. Most significantly, for this investigation, the photos clearly indicate that that the Atzera Ranges were,

at least to 1956, untouched. The 1973 Skaipiksa, however, show that at some stage in the intervening period the area of the Atzera Ranges within the Lae urban boundary had been totally cleared of the medium-crowned lowland hill forest and converted to garden and secondary vegetation. Landsat and 1985 photography showed that this clearing of the Ranges has also extended rapidly into the adjoining customary land. Extrapolation of this 1973-85 rate of clearing indicates that the whole of the Atzera Ranges watershed surrounding the Bumbu catchment will be cleared of the original natural forest within the next 10 to 20 years.

The Report comments as follows on land use controls. Although subject to legislative control, unoccupied or unused alienated land, such as that area of the

Atzera Ranges within the Lae city boundary, is in practice effectively available for informal “uncontrolled” use. Incidentally, the use of the term “squatting” for this type of informal use of alienated or customary land ignores the sharing aspect of PNG Society under which it is traditional to allow travellers, associates, and migrants from other areas to use the land and facilities at least in the short to medium term.

The basic problem in land-use control is that the intensity and type of periurban development on customary land now taking place around the major towns, including Lae, involved non-traditional and non-conservative land-use activities that can lead to quite rapid and massive land degradation. Planners

97

and some customary owners are aware of the problem but are powerless to tackle it in the absence of any legislative control mechanism.

While the possibility of informal discussion and persuasion as a means of achieving some form of catchment control should not be discounted, every support should be given to the enactment of formal water catchment management legislation.

The Report comments as follows on catchment management requirements. The problem for catchment management for the Atzera Ranges sector of the Bumbu lies in the fact

that land-use practices applied there differ from traditional use in two important aspects. Firstly, traditional use requires a long fallow rotation to conservation and hence sustainable production. Current users come from town settlements, including Taraka and Boundary Road and because of lack of land and pressure to ensure continuing occupancy of the portion they currently garden, they maintain the land in near continuous production. This is possible due to the high mineral reserves in the soil and the fact that agriculturally induced small scale slumping and shearing is beneficial to short-term continuation of gardening. However, apart from the short stage of grass and weed growth there is no normal fallow and hence no tall protecting regrowth. This leads inevitably to land degradation and ultimately to the establishment of permanent low fertility grassland which in the environment would lead to considerable increases in soil erosion, slumping and landslips.

The effect of the non-traditional intense use of the Atzera Ranges is already apparent. On the slopes, landslips partly induced by land-use intensification have led to water quality deterioration and major degradation of some areas of town land. On occasions, debris from major slips blocks the Highlands Highway. To the east, protective vegetation cover has been removed and movement and slumping is common. This process must in future, if not now, be an important contributing factor to changes in the Bumbu catchment hydrology and morphology leading to the probability of increased flood damage in Lae and surrounding settlements.

Many of these comments have proved to be prophetic. Most significantly, however, the comments are also very relevant to the more recently developing problems on the Markham Catchment side of the Range.

7. SOLUTIONS

The main consequence of the problems outlined is recurring damage to roads at intersection points with drainage lines. The possible solutions are as follows. They are in order of least to most desirable. a) After each significant storm, clear the debris from the road, excavate the drainage channels, clear the

culverts, clean the road drains, and repair the road damage. This is currently almost the only solution used. It is the easiest to execute, the shortest-term solution, but the most expensive in the long term.

b) Raise the road level near the drainage line, sufficient to maintain its level relative to the raised drainage line bed level. This has been done at one creek crossing. It gives a respite probably for a few years. However, the rising bed level will eventually induce the same problem. The construction can be quite costly, but in the long term would probably be less costly than (a).

c) Modify the road alignment such that it crosses the drainage lines near the foothills. Most of the deposition of silt, gravel, and debris will take place downstream of the road. This involves significant cost and the problems of land acquisition. However, in the long term. It would more economical than (a) or (b).

d) Establish sound land restoration and management strategies. Whereas (a), (b), and (c) attempt to address the symptoms of the sickness, the establishment of land restoration and management strategies attempts to address the basic cause of the sickness. This is the most difficult strategy involving, as it does very basic land issues.

8. CONCLUSIONS Many parts of the environs of Lae are suffering severely from the following.

a) Degradation of land and quality of life of its people. b) Road damage at intersection points with drainage lines.

98

c) Increasing danger of injuries and loss of life. The basic cause is deficient land management practices. The clearing of land for gardens and timber

has resulted in land and bank erosion, loss of land, vastly increased sediment loads, and a rise in the riverbeds. There have been some studies of these problems, but there has been no ensuing action.

Unless urgent steps are taken to correct this situation, the future problem will become quite horrendous. Further land will become useless, more roads will be washed way, the Markham Highway and other roads will be closed for longer periods for restoration works, etc. More lives will be lost.

One such urgent step should be to establish a Consulting Team. This Consulting Team need not be large, perhaps even as small as two.

The expertise required to investigate this problem thoroughly and recommend a strategy exists within this Country. This need not rule out the possibility of an international aid supported project. The consulting team could consist of an engineer experienced in the behaviour of rivers, and a specialist in land use problems, such as zoning, and social implications. The recommended strategy would probably be a combination of legislation, management, engineering works, and socially sensitive education.

There has been no significant corrective action to the disaster of 1983. Consequently, a much greater disaster is waiting to happen.

REFERENCES

1. Atkins, G.P. Three Aspects of Water Engineering. Seminar on Water and Envir. Eng., Civ. Eng. Dep., Univ. Technol., Lae. 1983.

2. Tarr, R.S. and Martin, L. College Physiography. MacMillan, New York. 1914. 3. Davis, W.M. Geographical Essays. Binn and Co., Boston, reprinted 1954, Dover Publ. 1909. 4. Schulits, S. Rational Equation of a River Bed Profile. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 22, 622-631. 1941. 5. Strahler, A.M. Dynamic Basis of Geomorphology. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 63, 923-938. 1952. 6. Horton, R.E. Erosional Development of Streams and their Drainage Basins: Hydrologic Approach to

Quantitative Morphology. Geol. Soc. Am. bull. 56: 275-370. 1945. 7. Yang, C.T. Potential Energy and Stream Morphology. Water Resour. Res., 7(2), 311-322. 1971. 8. Strahler, A.N. Equilibrium Theory of Erosional Slopes. Am. J. Sci., 248, 673-696. 1950. 9.. Melton, M.A. Concept of State of a Drainage System. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 71, 1928. 1960. 10. Hack, J.T. Studies of Longitudinal Stream Profiles in Virginia And Maryland. U.S. Geol. Surv., Prof.

Pap. 294-B. 1957. 11. Chorley, R.J. Geomorphology and General Systems Theory. U.S. Geol. Surv., Prof. Pap. 500-B.

1962. 12. Leopold, L.B. and Langbein, W.B. The Concept of Entropy in Landscape Evolution. U.S. Geol.

Surv., Prof. Pap. 500-A. 1962. 13. Mackin, J.H. Concept Of a Graded River. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 59, 463-512. 1948. 14. Gilbert, G.K. The Transport of Debris by Running Water. U.S. Geol. Sur., Prof. Pap. 86. 1914. 15. Rubey, W.W. Geology and Mineral Resources of the Hardin and Brussels Quadrangles (In Illinois).

U.S. Geol. Sur., Prof. Pap., 218. 1952. 16. Langbein, W.B. and Leopold, L.B. Quasi-Equilibrium States in Channel Morphology. Am. J. Sci.,

262, 782-794. 1964. 17. Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC). Papua New Guinea Lae Flood Mitigation

Study. Published.



99

HS72013-HS-097

Curriculum development in the Technical Education Supply Chain of Papua New Guinea

H. S. Srivastava1 and Praveen Pandey2

Department of Mechanical Engineering, PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

This paper argues the importance of quality in technical education supply chain of Papua New Guinea because in recent years employers are continuously criticizing about decline in quality of graduates. Absence of robust education supply chain could be a reason for inefficiency and poor performance of students. As quality is a dynamic phenomenon that changes over time therefore, there is a requirement of dynamic approach for students’ assessment and curriculum development. In this study role of advisory committee is highlighted with an innovative evaluation tool to understand students’ requirements and weaknesses. Output obtained from students’ evaluation can be used as an input for effective development of curriculum and course materials for meeting industry requirements in terms of quality and delivery of accomplished tasks.

Keywords: technical education supply chain, quality, curriculum, and evaluation

1 INTRODUCTION

There are six Universities (4 Public and 2 private) in Papua New Guinea. PNG University of Technology is the only technical University in the country that provides specialized courses in different areas of engineering and architecture [1].

Universities can develop strategies for growth and sustainability on the foundations laid by political environment and policies implemented by the government. Sustainable growth is important to cater for educational needs of 6.5 million citizen of this country [2]. Hannum et al. [3] suggest that desired level of economic growth can be achieved through the development of technical human resources. This suggestion highlights the importance of technological Universities for developing necessary human and intellectual capital. In addition, education plays a critical role in enhancing personal development and economic growth. Government of Papua New Guinea has outlined importance of skilled human resources in vision 2050 to promote growth in the education sector and to facilitate economic development [4].

On the one hand vision 2050 sets the target for growth in the education sector and on the other hand quality of recent engineering graduates have been declining due mainly, to obsolete and inadequate infrastructure, instability in academic environment, reduced funding, lack of support from Government, lack of innovative research output, and weak University- industry linkage [5].

One of the reasons for reduced quality, ineffective learning outcomes, and poor performance of students in industry is due to weak technical education supply chain system. .Supply chain integrates all actors involved in producing engineering graduates in an effort to optimize outcomes. Technical education supply chain links different actors from ‘families-to-employers’ including parents, primary school teachers, Polytechnic teachers, vocational school teachers, University lecturers and perspective

100

employers responsible for developing human resources with adequate knowledge, technical skills and ethical perspective to satisfy employers’, examination’s and accreditation bodies’ requirements in terms of quality and promptness in delivering completed tasks. Consequently, technical education supply chain development can affect major part of the society where growth is dependent on the technically skilled human resources. The main purpose of this paper is to propose an innovative student evaluation system for capturing dynamic aspect of quality to redesign curriculum and improve learning outcomes.

2 TECHNICAL EDUCATION SUPPLY CHAIN

Development of definition of quality is a first step toward its measurement, however, Harvey et al.

[6] found that there is no single correct definition of academic quality, but he suggests quality should be seen as stakeholder’s relative weightage assigned to different variables of quality. Karapetrovic et al. [7] defined quality of education as “The ability of student’s knowledge to satisfy requirements determined by employers, examination, and accreditation bodies.” We will use this definition of quality for our model development.

Quality improvement techniques borrowed from industries usually focus on customer requirements, however, in academic setting defining customer is difficult. Review of literature reveals that most researchers have found difficulty in defining higher education customers and this formed major barrier for quality improvement efforts. In a survey conducted by Helms et al. [8] students considered themselves as the major customers and in another study carried out by Sahney et al. [9] students were reported as major customers followed by employers, society, faculty, and families in descending order of relative importance. So, higher education deals with multiple customers and it is necessary to address all customer groups.

Ewell et al. [10] suggested students as raw materials. Reavill et al. [11] proposed a product/ process model where educational establishments produce a product known as graduates. This model suggested employers as major customers. Mazur et al. [12] pointed out that instructors view students as raw material rather customers and employers as ultimate customers that consumes the product. So, students as raw material moves through the process and developed into end product.

Using inputs from literature technical education supply chain model is proposed in figure 1 considering students as raw materials, secondary school graduates as semi-finished products, and employers as consumers of higher education establishments.

Figure 1: Conceptual Higher education supply chain

101

3 OVERVIEW OF PROBLEMS IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION SUPPLY CHAIN Universities need funds to perform their primary function to impart knowledge through teaching

and research. Education funding is required for new capital works, infrastructure development, and payment of salaries to support education activities. In recent years government funding in Papua New Guinea is reduced, as evident in National Education Plan III, which demonstrate 51% of reduction in funding over the last twenty years [13]. Reduction of funding poses enormous pressure on Universities to effectively manage their operations. Lack of funding might be another reason for low quality of graduates as reported by employers.

In addition to reduced funding from government that creates a lot of operational constraints, Universities are also facing problems in producing good quality engineers. Employers are constantly criticizing local Universities for their inability to produce quality graduates compared to their overseas counterparts. There is an urgent need for developing an action plan to understand the limitations produce high quality graduate engineers. Present research on the application and development of quality models to the higher education is inadequate because these models do not take theoretical and psychometric issues into consideration for quality management [14]. Objective of this research is to model a technical education supply chain with inputs from students, employers, and government organizations. This research project is proposed to be completed in several steps. Firstly, students’ perspective of quality will be examined through a newly developed evaluation tool. Secondly, a research instrument in a form of survey questionnaires that will be developed to capture employers’ perspective of quality because this research seeks to understand different aspects of quality in education important to employers particularly in Papua New Guinea and gathering secondary data after accessing government databases will be used to ascertain amount and effect of funding. Thirdly, most importantly, inputs obtained from students’ evaluation and employers’ survey will be used to develop a model highlighting relationship between quality policies and funding using system dynamics approach in higher education supply chain.

4 ROLE OF STUDENTS’ EVALUATION AND CURRICULUM

Quality is a dynamic phenomenon and requirements for quality change over time, management

changes its decision style, and faculty need new information and data about courses outcome and students’ understanding. Therefore, foremost requirement for producing quality engineers is achieved through the availability of adequate facilities and equipment for effective learning, teaching and research. Universities must have adequate number of lecture theaters, seminar rooms, broadband internet, well equipped library, and good laboratories for effective learning process.

It is assumed that educational outcomes can be measured after completion of the particular learning process [15]. Adequate Outcomes of the learning process is mandatory for an engineering graduate to perform competently in domestic and international job markets. Considerable efforts are required towards preparing quality engineers possessing technical skills as well as developing the ability to function in global environment. In addition to benchmark their performance against world’s top Universities, educational Universities are required to provide qualified courses to keep up with the current trend. In preparing up-to-date curriculum Universities need to interact with multiple constituents including students and perspective employers with government organizations that require the assessment of the students. It is also suggested that advisory committee for every engineering discipline needs to be formed. The committee should include experts from the industry; some of them may preferably be former students of the university. Since the employment needs of the country are continuously changing so, the role of the advisory committee includes suggesting diversification of engineering courses. For example, Mechanical engineering student may be allowed specialize through a set of elective courses in Marine engineering, which is essentially an extension of Thermal engineering. Similarly Mineral engineering students may be allowed to opt for a set of elective courses on Material processing. Such courses may be offered in third and fourth year. This

102

requires a framework to modify existing curriculum in line with the industry requirements. Although there have been efforts in collecting data from various players of education supply chain, a systematic approach to connect student learning outcomes with inputs from industry for curriculum revision has not been suggested.

Current evaluation system of PNG University of Technology targets psychological and behavioral aspects (Punctuality, Maintaining discipline, Attitude, and Knowledge of subject) of a lecturer rather than true learning outcomes. Following present system, it is difficult to ascertain where students face problems, what are their weak points and their learning styles. Inadequate science and mathematics background of a section of student’s community and frequent absence of some students from classes are additional constraints for assessing students objectively. In addition, present performance measurement system does not reflect full range of requirements of stakeholders and are not linked to the strategic vision of the country therefore; a questionnaire based performance evaluation is proposed to evaluate true outcomes of learning (Annexure 1). It will be an effective tool which will demonstrate students’ perspective and transform their weaknesses into strengths by improving Universities capabilities involving all members of the technical education supply chain. As quality is the dynamic in nature and it is mandatory to capture right variables at the right time.

5 FUTURE RESEARCH

Since this is an ongoing project, there are several other aspects that have to be examined. Next step

is to use proposed evaluation tool to understand students’ requirements and weaknesses. A user friendly visual basic program will be developed to combine results from the students’ evaluation reports. Another step is to include inputs from employers and organizations into system dynamics model to evaluate various scenarios. Neural network, statistical techniques, machine learning, and system dynamics are identified as alternative methods to address quality issues in higher education supply chain. First three methods appears to be time consuming and complex, requires continuous updates and difficult to initiate [16].Hence, it is important to consider recent trends to evaluate improvements before implementing any policy decision. System dynamics is a perfect methodology to analyze time dependent relationships in complex scenarios like higher education supply chain, business, IT and public policy [17].

6 CONCLUSIONS

Education output plays an important role in the development and growth of a country. Williams et

al. [18] argued that economic development depends on knowledge, not on muscle and machine. In present information age power of a nation is determined by its knowledge capacity and ability of its people to understand, develop, and create knowledge. This research has proposed a performance evaluation tool to monitor students’ progress and take corrective actions. System dynamics is identified as a suitable methodology to understand dynamic perspective of quality and its relationship with funding.

REFERENCES

[1] Gannicott, K., Higher Education Finance in Papua New Guinea, (February Draft), Aus AID ERF, Canberra, Australia, 2010.

[2] Department of Education, Annual Report 2008, Department of Education, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 2008.

[3] Hannum, E., Buchmann, C., Global Educational Expansion and Socio-economic Development: An

Assessment of Findings from the Social Sciences,World Development, Vo. 40, No. 3, 2005, pp. 333 – 354.

103

[4] National Strategic taskforce,Papua New Guinea vision 2050, Government of PNG, Port Moresby,2010.

[5] PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum,Position Paper on PNG Tertiary Education Specific to the Mining and Petroleum Industry, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 2008.

[6] Harvey, L., Plimmer, L., Moon, S., and Gell, V.,Students Satisfaction manual, Buckingham Society for Research into Education, Open University Press, 1997.

[7] Karapetrovic, S., and Willborn, W., Creating Zero defect Students,The TQM Management Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1997, pp. 287 – 291.

[8] Helms, S., and Key, C. H., Are Students more than Customers in the Classroom?,Quality Progress, Vol. 27, 1994, pp. 97 – 99.

[9] Sahney, S., Banwet, D.K., and Karunes, A SERQUAL and QFD Approach to Total Quality Education: A Student Perspective,International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 52, No. ½, 2004, pp. 143 – 166.

[10] Ewell, P. T., Total Quality and Academic Practice: The Idea We Have Been Waiting For?, Change, Vol. 25, 1993, pp. 49 – 55.

[11] Reavill, L. R. P., Quality Assessments, Total Quality Management and the Stakeholders in the UK Higher Education System,Managing Service Quality, Vol. 8, No.1, 1998, pp. 55 – 63.

[12] Mazur, G., The Application of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to Design a Course in Total Quality Management (TQM) at the University of Michigan College of Engineering,Proceedings of International Conference on Quality, Yakohama, JUSE, October 15 – 18, 1998.

[13] Office of the Higher Education,Draft National Higher Education Plan III, 2008 – 2012, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 2004.

[14] Caruana, A., and Money. A., Service Quality and Satisfaction – The Mediating role of Value, Proceedings of the Academy if Marketing Conference, Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, July, 1997, pp. 157 – 167.

[15] Stephan, K.D., All This an Engineering Tool: a History of Accreditation Requirements, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 21(3), 2002, pp. 8-15.

[16] Kennedy, M., A Pilot System Dynamics Model to Capture and Monitor Quality Issues in Higher Education Institutions: Experience Gained, Proceedings of 15th System Dynamics Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, 1998.

[17] Kim, Y. G., A Shift of Higher Education Paradigm with Scientific Development from Isolation to Integrative/ holistic Global Education in Twenty – first Centaury,International Research Journal, Vol. 4, 2010, pp. 75 – 87.

[18] Williams, D.,An Application of System Dynamics to Requirements of Engineering Process Modeling, Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, London, South Bank University, 2002.

104

Annexure 1

COURSE EVALUATION FORM

DEPARTMENT__________________________ SEMESTER: _______ YEAR: _________ TAUGHT BY________________ 1. Has the entire content covered? No Yes

If No,

Is it? On schedule Delay by………….. Days

2. Do you attend lectures of this course regularly? No Yes If No, why?

-I don’t like it

-Lectures are usually boring

-I have some idea of the subject

3. Most of the Lectures delivered with the help of:

-Handouts

-Examples

-Audio- visual aids

-Experience sharing

-Demonstration

-Interactive teaching

4. Are corrected assignments, quizzes, and test papers returned on time? No Yes

5. Course content covered so far is:

105

-Lucid and understandable

-Difficult to understand

6. Do you find hard to solve problems given in assignments? No Yes If yes, Select from the following:

-Need more examples

-Discuss the concept in more detail

-Need demonstration, if possible

7. Which topic/s do you find difficult to Understand? ____________________________________________________________

8. What needs to be done to overcome this problem?

_____________________________________________________________

9. I learned most about the subject when:

-I studied it individually

-I studied it in a group

-I discussed it with a friend

-I discussed it with the lecturer

10. Do you visit your lecturer for clarifying doubts regularly? No Yes If No, why:

-He is not available in his office

106

-I am scared of him

-He is not friendly

-He clears all doubts in the class

11. Do you have required textbook?: No Yes

If No, How do you manage?

-Lecturer provides notes either on the student web server or handouts

-I download some from the internet

-I use senior’s lecture notes

-I have no means to get it and find it very hard to manage

12. In terms of knowledge gained after attending the course, how do you rate yourself in the scale of 1-10? (1- Min. and 10- Max.)

13. Do you feel confident confidence in answering questions in the examination? No Yes



107

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Relevance of Life Sciences in Achieving PNG Vision 2050

Macquin Kilagi Maino

Acting Pro Vice Chancellor (Administration)


We all are aware that knowledge on life sciences is immense in scope. I do not intend to even ‘brush’ the

surface of that knowledge, but to give a glimpse of areas I feel should be pursued by practicing scientists

and policy makers in PNG to facilitate this nation’s journey towards its set vision.

THE NATIONAL VISION

A national vision has been set. That by 2050, “We will be a Smart, Wise, Fair, Healthy and Happy

Society”. The theme of the 7th Huon Seminar is “Achieving Vision 2050 through Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology.” You will agree with me that the theme offers a direction. It

announces that there exists a vision and then provides a quartet of action ‘tools’ that are essential to

reaching an agreed destination. The mental refinery process achieved through “Higher Education”,

information-gathering fulfilled through the process of “Research”, application of the tools and language

of “Science” and utilization of appropriate “Technology” are foundational to achieving the national

vision of PNG: The PNG Vision 2050.

The former prime minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill once said: “The further backward you look

the further forward you can see.” We are reminded to sometimes pause in our developmental tracks and

take a good look backwards. When we do, we will soon realise that the essence of higher education,

research, science and technology were captured in PNG’s first national goal and directive principle:

“Integral Human Development – Liberation and Fulfillment”. That, “All activity of the state must be

directed towards the personal liberation and fulfillment of every citizen, so that each man and woman will

have the opportunity of improving him and her as a whole and achieve integral human development.”

This number one national pillar of human empowerment was established to capture the agenda of our

sovereignty. The intent of the pillar has been variously expressed more recently in several destiny

documents such as (i) national (PNG Vision 2050 and PNG Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030), (ii)

sectoral (National Higher Education Plan III), and (iii) institutional (UniTech 2030). These documents

provide essential instruments that set out a pathway towards the national vision.

When we unpack these destiny documents and view them in their condensed format, we find that all

thoughts cascade similarly into vision, mission, pillars and enablers. It is interesting to note that there are

strategic questions that run parallel to these features. For enablers: “What will make things work?” and

[Type text]

108

for pillars and mission: “What will we do to get us there?” These questions are strategic because they

demand reason and logic.

Reason and logic happen to be conceptual inputs and outputs of scientific enterprises. The vision 2050

calls for rational scientific enquiry and logical reasoning to have it materialise. We may be engineering

scientists or we may be life scientists or we may be social scientists, vision, mission, pillars and enablers

of our national destiny demand our concerted academic and professional efforts.

LIFE SCIENCES AND VISION 2050 Applied life science for physical nourishment

We are led to behold a vision of our future as a nation. We are guided to believe a dream that come 2050,

“We will be a Smart, Wise, Fair, Healthy and Happy Society”. We will immediately realise that italicized

terms are descriptive vocabs of personality. That is, there is a hope that at a certain space-time destination,

a certain population of human beings who occupy a destined landmass in this world will attain a status the

vision beholds. Essentially, the vision is for us, human beings who are politically referred as Papua New

Guineans.

If the vision is for the people of PNG, and if the pathway for the people towards the vision requires

rational scientific enquiry and logical reasoning, then application of the tools and language of life sciences

is highly essential and relevant. For people to reach the conditions prescribed in the vision, people must

first live. For people to live, they need physical sustenance, and this ‘fuel’ is accessed through

appropriation and consumption of food. Policy makers, law enforcers, engineers, technologists, scientists,

and people of all convictions and affiliations depend on food to physically remain alive.

The applied life science and an ancient occupation that ensures that there is sufficient and quality food

available for physical sustenance is the culture called Agriculture. The knowledge, skills and technology

from this life science have evolved from an era of hunting and gathering to molecular farming in the 21st

century. Conventional research in various disciplines within this life science has started to shift towards

the usage of modern biotechnological techniques. All these changes have been necessary to attain food security for human sustenance.

There is a biblical record that the first historical human was put in a Garden “…to work it and take care of it”. In this revealed historical instruction to humankind is a connotation pertaining to food security. Rapid

responses by governments worldwide to disease and insect pest outbreaks or effects of natural disasters

on farmlands, are acts to protect food, the basic human need. Appreciation of this need is expressed in

two common statements in PNG, that: “Agriculture is the backbone of PNG” or “Markham valley is the food bowl of PNG”. And on economic terms, Giunnar Myrdal, Nobel Laureate in Economics once said:

“It is in the Agriculture sector that the battle for long term economic development will be won or lost.” It

appears that he had in mind not only well-nourished, energy-filled people actively serving their nation,

but also economically empowered societies who embrace the importance of numerous agricultural

enterprises.

[Type text]

109

Applied life science for physical wellbeing

Human physical wellness, and research and development (R & D) to ensure sustainability of this status is

a global concern. Lifestyle changes in the 21st century have made this issue critical. People throughout the

world are confronted with ever-changing dietary choices, employment demands requiring significant

commitment and interpersonal relationships, where people become increasingly predisposed to

detrimental medical conditions.

Throughout the world, major diseases such as AIDS, cancer of different kinds, tuberculosis, diabetes,

malaria, heart diseases, and stroke are becoming a menace to the population. These diseases are also a

concern for people living in PNG. Scientific knowledge, skills and technology required to address these

physical threats is of high priority. In PNG, there is some relief in the news that the national government

has placed health services as one of its priorities and this is reflected in the 2014 national budget

appropriation handed down recently. This provides an opportunity for scientists and technologist in this

country to venture into collaborative research to derive tangible solutions to the stated medical conditions

that confront this nation.

The health and wellbeing of people, particularly in PNG must not be compromised but protected to realise

this country’s national vision. A nation is as progressive and dynamic as its people hence the people must

be able-bodied to advance its developmental goals.

Other life sciences Several other life sciences of importance exist and for convenience are grouped as: plant sciences

(forestry, floriculture, horticulture, microflora) and animal sciences (marine sciences, avian sciences,

microfauna). The lead professions that are involved in studying, developing and protecting the existence

of higher plants and animals, as well as micro-organisms play a crucial role in perpetuating and

conserving the web of life. There are human benefits such as food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and

pharmaceuticals that can be derived from stated categories of life sciences. Support rendered to respective

life sciences that study them is of paramount importance if people and the nation are to realise these

benefits.

Applied biotechnology

Biotechnology is defined as ‘any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms

or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products and processes for specific use.’ This technology offers

a new direction in R & D in life sciences. Significant contributions can be realized in the areas such as: (i)

enhanced food security, (ii) better health care, (iii) more efficient industrial development processes for

transforming raw materials, (iv) support for sustainable methods of reforestation, (v) detoxification of

hazardous wastes, and (vi) bio-prospecting and utilization of biodiversity for medicinal needs.

This technology majors in three R & D areas namely genomics (relates to genes of living systems),

proteomics (relates to different categories of proteins), and bioinformatics (relates to utilization of protein

and genetic databases). These opportunities provide scientists and technologists from universities and

[Type text]

110

research institutions throughout PNG to conduct collaborative research for national, regional and

international benefit.

In PNG, this technology is practiced at limited scale in laboratories located at the National Agricultural

Research Institute (NARI), PNG University of Technology (PNGUOT), Medical Research Institute

(MRI), Goroka, and several commodity research institutions. There is opportunity for researchers to

venture into discovering novel genes and proteins for biological applications to enhance human life.

CONCLUSION PNG is privileged to have been blessed with mineral resources, natural gas, marine resources and forest

products. We have and will continue to, in the meantime, reap the monetary benefits from these blessings.

This nation’s annual budget is now in double-figure billions. We now have the opportunity to prudently

invest the revenue from the mining and petroleum sectors into the agriculture, health and other renewable

sectors to insure our livelihood. We ought to sometimes wonder: What will all the chatter and hype matter when the anaesthetic fog we call ‘economic security’ emanating from precious metals and fossilised hydrocarbons fades away and we are confronted with reduced ration on the dining table, or medically unhealthy populace?

It is true that life sciences also rely on cross-sectoral contributions from engineering and social sciences.

This demands more collaboration and participation between the three categories of sciences to advance

institutional and national research agenda for overall development and progress towards the established

national vision: The PNG Vision 2050.

Forums such as the Huon Seminar provide avenues for scientists and technologists to share and exchange

knowledge and ideas for academic and professional empowerment. It is hoped that recommendations

derived from this seminar will be utilized to positively influence relevant national policies so that the

theme for 2013 Huon Seminar: “Achieving Vision 2050 through Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology”, is realized.



111

HS72013-HS-014

Ethnomycological Documentation of Mushroom Diversity of Wopkola in Mul District of Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea and Investigation

of Antimicrobial Properties of Selected Species

Kik A1, Jeyarathan P2, DeBritto S3.

Division of Biological Sciences, School of Science & Technology, University of Goroka, P.O. Box 1078, GOROKA, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea.

[email protected] 1, [email protected] 2, [email protected] 3

ABSTRACT

Culturally important mushrooms found in Wopkola in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, particularly among the Nenga Engamb people were considered for the study. Ethnobiological techniques such as free listing and qualitative interview questions were used to identify the most important or most common species of mushrooms. Thirty ethnomycologically important species were identified, among which twenty three were considered edible and two species were considered medicinal while as many as five species were considered potentially dangerous. Knowledge distribution on mushrooms across individuals has been measured and statistically evaluated using SPSS software. Seven different species of mushrooms were randomly selected based on the indigenous knowledge for the investigation of antimicrobial activity. Solvent extracts of the mushrooms were screened on a gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and some gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae and Salmonella typhi). Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the agar disc diffusion method and the amount of inhibition for each extract was measured. The seven extracts showed varying degrees of inhibition. However, Tylopilus sp. exhibited moderate to very strong antibacterial activity against all microbial isolates, while Salmonella typhi was found to be the most susceptible bacteria. The results obtained in the study suggest that Tylopilus sp. possesses broad spectrum activity against all microbial isolates used in this study.

Keywords: Mushroom, antimicrobial, antibacterial, and ethnomycology. 1 INTRODUCTION Ethnomycology is the study of the use of fungi by human. It studies the relationship between

traditional societies and fungi [1] especially looking at how the traditional societies utilise fungi in their respective local environments. In a narrow sense, mushrooms are found to be one of the important natural resources on which local people of all nationalities rely heavily [2]. However, not all mushrooms found in a local environment are useful to man [3,4]. Only few out of numerous mushroom species found in a natural environment are culturally important. Within the frame work of ethnomycology, the various reasons that mushrooms receive attention can be addressed, including edibility, toxicity, their potential to use as traditional medicine, their economical importance, and so forth [5]. The use of mushroom as traditional medicine is an important ethnobiological information where it can serve as a guide to scientists for generating hypotheses [1]. Researchers have already found some mushrooms to be potential

mailto:[email protected]%201�



112

antimicrobial agents [6-14] which have led to the discovery of new pathogens with varying degrees of microbial resistance [8].

In Papua New Guinea, few researchers have conducted ethnomycological studies but their studies

only concentrated on the hallucinogenic mushrooms in the Western Highlands Province [15,16]. On the other hand, no attempt was made to investigate the antimicrobial properties of the mushroom population in Papua New Guinea. In fact, the information on documentation of indigenous knowledge of mushrooms is limited and poor. Before the ethnomycological knowledge disappears, it has to be preserved as this knowledge is the accumulation of many generations of perceptions and it greatly contributes to conservation, species inventory and the discovery of new species [1]. The present study was undertaken to document the ethnomycological knowledge and to analyse the antimicrobial properties of selected mushroom species found in the study area.

1.1 Study Area The study area lies in Mul District of Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea (Fig. 1).

The Wopkola village is about 30 min. drive from Mount Hagen city, and the Wopkola forest is 5 min. walk from the village. It is ~2 sq.km. of mini-forest which is part of the Hagen range. The topography consists of mostly undulated forest ranging from 600 to 1000 m [17]. The Hinbilg River flows through the forest. The dominant soil is red-yellow in colour and sedimentary soil is found in the lower regions.

Figure 1: Map of the study area

The forest has a tropical humid climate with wet and dry seasons. During the dry season, the maximum mean temperature is ~27oC and the minimum average temperature is 24oC. In wet season, the

Wopkola village

113

maximum mean temperature is ~20oC and minimum average temperature is 16oC. Frost is sometimes experienced irregularly. The average rainfall varies between 2200-4000 mm per annum, expecting heavy rainfall during November to February [17]. Due to excess amount of rainfall and sunshine in that area, the forest type found in there is of tropical nature. The typical tropical montane forest is made up of tall trees spread to take optimal use of sun which is the emergent. Below the emergent are the higher canopies followed by the lower canopies. Beneath these lower canopies, the place looks dark which is filled with life specially adapted to take advantage of the low light conditions. The village is populated by approximately 1000 of the famed Nenga Engamb people who speak the Melpa as well as Kagul language as they live in the frontier of Mul Baiyer and Tambul Neiblyer districts. The economy of the Nenga Engamb community is agriculture and animal husbandry.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1 Documentation and Collection Ethnobiological techniques such as free listing and qualitative interview questions [4] were used

to obtain information from the residents in the study area. A total of thirty five respondents within the age of 14-80 years were interviewed in which age, gender and lineage were at most equally considered. The questionnaires were constructed to obtain vital information such as (i) ages and sexes of the respondents, (ii) local names of culturally important mushrooms, (iii) whether there are medicinal, hallucinogenic or economical mushrooms found in the area, (iv) whether they use mushroom for religious purpose, and (v) whether there are cases of mushroom poisoning in the area. The culturally important mushrooms identified by the locals were collected from Wopkola forest (Fig. 1). Fully matured mushrooms were collected by uprooting their substratum with the aid of a sharp knife. Prior to collection, photographs were taken in their natural settings. Data on ecological parameters such as altitude, forest type, etc. and morphological features such as colours, shapes and sizes were recorded. The mushrooms were placed in zip bags and tag numbers were assigned to them. The specimens were identified in the laboratory using the reported procedures [18,19] and with the help of mycologist [20]. 2.2 Antimicrobial analysis A locally identified wild medicinal mushroom with six others in good quantity and quality were screened for antimicrobial activities. The mushroom samples were thoroughly washed with clean distilled water and cut into pieces, and air dried [11]. Photographs were taken for each mushroom sample. The samples were then weighed and packed in 600 ml beakers with identification codes (WMS1-WMS7; WMS means Wopkola Mushroom Sample). Mushroom samples were soaked in the mixture of ethanol and dichloromethane (4:1) and left for 48 hrs. A 40 ml of each extract was introduced to the heater for dryness for 7 hrs. The residues were stored at 4o

C in the sterile container for further use.

Indicator organisms Pure culture of Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Haemophilus influenzae) and Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) [source: PNGIMR, Goroka] were sub-cultured on nutrient agar medium. Disc diffusion method was employed in which sterile discs prepared in the crude extracts were placed over the inoculated plates and the plates were incubated for 24-48 hrs at 37o

C in the incubator. Finally, plates were observed for “zone of inhibition”.

2.3 Statistical analysis The data obtained were coded and analysed using SPSS version 19 program for various statistical analyses. For antimicrobial analysis, all experiments were carried out in triplicates. Data obtained were

114

analysed by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means were compared by Dunnett’s multiple range tests. Differences were considered significant at p<0.05 [8,11,21]. 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Recognition and naming of mushrooms

Mushrooms are called “Nonda” in Kagul language. During mushroom season (November –

January/July-September), the local forests supply abundance of various mushroom species that are unbounded to the local people. However, the study through free listing technique indicated that the Nenga Engambs recognise and name only few groups of mushrooms (Table 1) with a detailed and shared knowledge of these groups [1,22,4]. On the other hand, the mushrooms that are not well known receive idiosyncratic names or called “Kit Nonda” in Kagul language. This indicates that only the mushroom species that are culturally useful or potentially dangerous are well known [4]. This is because the knowledge of recognising and naming the useful mushrooms and dangerous mushrooms is passed on from generation to generation through oral history, experimentation and management of the domain. It is mostly the parents and the elders (70%) who teach the younger generation how to recognise and name a particular mushroom. The respondents also reported that the ecological growth requirements such as wood, soil, moisture, and morphological features of mushrooms such as colour, shape and size give rise to the designation of their respective names.

Independent samples test, based on the interview with the locals indicated that the knowledge of the macrofungal domain with respect to mushroom ecology and seasonal availability was consistent across the Wopkola community regardless of gender, age and lineage as the significant probability was: σ(2-tailed) = 0.653 > 0.05. It was reported that most edible mushrooms appear when there is plenty of rain. These mushrooms fruit within a short range of time and do not reappear until the same months in the following year. The mushrooms that fruit all year round are mostly the inedible or “useless” ones. 3.2 Medicinal mushrooms

The availability of medicinal mushrooms in Wopkola is also well known and highly shared across

the community. This is so as the majority of the respondents (97.2%) agreed that there were medicinal mushrooms available in their local environment. However, only few people have the knowledge of the uses of mushrooms in local traditional medical practices [22]. Few (2.8%) of those who hesitated to mention that there were medicinal mushrooms available in local environment were the young respondents. This could mean that the scientific traditional knowledge is slowly disappearing, or the younger generation never learnt from the elders about the medicinal use of the mushrooms as it was practiced before.

Two species of medicinal mushrooms mentioned by the respondents in Kagul language were Nonda Pi (Ganoderma sp.) and Pu Molg Nonda (Unidentified). This observation is in line with the finding of Giri and Rana (2) in which two medicinal mushrooms were recognized and used widely throughout the Sherpa community in Nepal. Montoya et al. (23) similarly reported that Lycoperdon perlatum and Ustilago maydis were used for traditional medicinal purposes in La Malinche National Park of Mexico. The Nonda Pi was normally used as a skin cosmetic in which it is rubbed against the skin that cleanses pimples and blackheads. This report is also similar to the finding of Giri and Rana (2) in which the spores of Lycoperdon perlatum was used as powder to cure baby rashes and pimples. Montoya et al. (23) also reported that Ustilago maydis is used for cosmetic purposes. Equally important is the Pu Molg Nonda which is mostly found in the stump of sugar cane hence its name is useful in curing various diseases. The juice of the mushroom is taken orally to cure sore throat, stomach upset, and treating sore lips. This report is in line with Ayodele et al. (22) that Termitomyces letestui is used for malaria fever, stomach upset, eye problems and tooth ache.

115

Table 1: Local names, scientific names and uses of wild mushrooms

S.No. Local name Scientific Name Cultural Use

1 Mura Kowakatep Boletus edilus Edible 2 Nonda Kalg Boletus sp. Edible 3 Kowakatep Ping Boletus sp. Edible 4 Kungurum Unidentified Edible 5 Kiapulga Boletus sp. Edible 6 Kungambelga Lge Boletus sp. Edible 7 Pu Molg Unidentified Medicinal 8 Nonda Pi Ganoderma sp. Medicinal 9 Mumgau Paxillux sp. Edible

10 Mai Pakana Polypore sp. Edible 11 Kundul Pakana Polypore sp. Edible 12 Hunt Pakana Polypore sp. Edible 13 Kung Mik Polypore sp. Edible 14 Palga Pelg Unidentified Edible 15 Lgambina Lentinula edodes Edible 16 Nonda Kund Rhodocollybia sp. Edible 17 Mai Pil Lentinula sp. Edible 18 Waut Pangia Russula sp. Edible 19 Waut Pop Kundul Russula sp. Edible 20 Pengi Ramaria sp. Edible 21 Lgupiambelg Unidentified Edible 22 Kintkint Trametes sp. Edible 23 Erewei Angin Boletus sp. Edible 24 Ambina Pombra Lepista sp. Edible 25 Kwang Boss Boletus sp. Edible 26 Atbulg Pingamb Boletus sp. Edible/Poisonous when

uncooked 27 Ambina Kundul Lepista sp. Poisonous 28 Nonda Tupak Tylopilus sp. Edible/Poisonous when

uncooked 29 Nonda Buning Boletus sp. poisonous 30 Ana Mong Boletus sp. Hallucinogenic

3.3 Economical mushrooms

Mushrooms are also found to be important in terms of the economical aspects. Nonda Erewei

(Boletus sp.), Nonda Kiapulga (Boletus sp.), Nonda Kowakatap (Boletus edulis) and Nonda Kalg (Boletus sp.) in Kagul language are referred as economical mushrooms, and they are in high demands [2]. During mushroom season, the mushroom hunters rush to the forests in search of these mushrooms because they know that a promising amount of money will pay them off. Mushroom hunting is not restricted to certain group of people which means everybody regardless of gender, age and lineage have access to hunting mushrooms [22]. They go and sell their collection in the local markets or if in the main market in Mt Hagen city. The prices of the above mushrooms depend on the sizes, freshness, age and attractiveness due to the colours of mushrooms. Mushroom can generally be sold for K5 at about 400 grams and it is usually

116

the mothers or sisters who sell the mushrooms. Since the city is just 30 min. drive from Wopkola, the mushrooms collected are put in billums and taken to the market, at the same time as mushrooms are fragile and vulnerable to decay [4]. The main customers who used to buy mushrooms were the working class people, expatriates and tourists sometimes. Those expatriates especially the catholic priests living near the community (Kuruk station) ask the locals to find mushrooms for them. Teachers and nurses who live in the station are of no exception.

In some parts of the world, some mushroom species are used for religious purposes [5,24,25]. In this study no mushroom was used for religious purpose. This is so as the bulk of the Nenga Engamb population is rooted with the Christian norms and principles that no gap is created for any foreign deity. The respondents also claimed that there are certain mushrooms (for example, colourful mushrooms) possessed by vulture spirits that anyone disturbs or touches them is normally visited by the spirits that result in the victim going insane. The mushrooms that are never used by the Nenga Engambs are referred to as poisonous mushrooms. However, it was found that no deaths were reported in relation to consuming poisonous mushrooms. Anyone found to be consuming poisonous mushrooms is bathed for long hours. Two informants at the age of 65-70 reported a mushroom known as Ambina Kundul (Polypore sp.) in Kagul language was used as a poison to kill enemies. A person, who attempts to kill his or her enemy goes to the forest and collects the mushroom, and left it on the roof of his or her house. In a matter of month, the mushroom dried by the heat of the fire was crushed and powdered into dust and kept in containers for the targeted enemy. Two Boletus sp. (Ana Mong and Nonda Buning in Kagul language) reported to have psychotropic effects. The hallucinogenic effect is seemingly high in males than females in which the males are more aggressive [15].

3.4 Antimicrobial studies Seven mushroom extracts (Polypore sp. [WMS1], Boletus edulis [WMS2], Tylopilus sp. [WMS3], Boletus sp. [WMS4], Ganoderma sp. [WMS5], Trametes sp. [WMS6] and Boletus sp. [WMS7]) were investigated for their antimicrobial activities. Table 2 presents some sign of antimicrobial activity of these mushroom extracts. The activity for inhibition up to 10 mm zone was considered weak, 11-20 mm was considered moderate, and 21-30 mm was considered strong and >30 mm inhibition was considered very strong [10]. In this study, Tylopilus sp. has shown significantly high (P <0.05) antimicrobial activity than the rest of the extracts as it could show very strong activity (31 mm) against Salmonella typhi and strong activity against Haemophilus influenza (29 mm). This report is similar to the findings of Manjunathan and Kaviyarasan [13] which showed that the extracts of the edible mushroom, Lentinus tuberregium were the most active to inhibit the growth of Salmonella typhi and Salmonella flexineri. The high susceptibility of these bacteria (Salmonella typhi and Haemophilus influenza) to the mushroom extracts could mean that the specific bioactive or antimicrobial compounds such as terpenes, lectins and polysaccharides [10,13] are found in mushrooms act on the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane [12]. Also, the gram negative bacteria generally have a cell wall composed of peptidoglycan thinner than that of the gram positive bacteria and hence their high susceptibility [26]. On the other hand, finding of Quereshi et al. [12] is contrary to the above trend which showed that the aqueous fruiting body extract of Ganoderma lucidium exhibited minimum zone of inhibition against Salmonella typhi. This report is in agreement with the mushroom extracts which exhibited weak or no antimicrobial activity in this study. The Ganoderma sp. (WMS5) was used as a medicinal mushroom by the Nenga Engambs and the neighbouring tribes (Table 1). However, this practice was not really proven scientifically or experimentally as there was no outstanding antimicrobial activity apparent for this mushroom in this study. The likely cause of the weak or no exhibition of the antimicrobial activity of the mushrooms might be due to the differences in their bioactive compositions or concentrations found in those mushrooms [9], the methods employed to do the actual extractions of the mushrooms, and the mechanism of action of active compounds in these mushrooms [11,27]. Alternatively, the organisms might possess a mechanism for detoxifying the active components [11]. However, the mushroom extracts apart from the Tylopilus sp. which have shown at least a sign of antimicrobial activity should not be ignored but antibacterial

117

concentrations can be prepared. In future, these mushrooms species could constitute an alternative for different strains of bacteria as these bacteria become resistant to antibiotics these days [28].

Table 2: Mean diameter zone of inhibition for the triplicate

Local Name

Scientific Name

Extraction Code

Zone of Inhibition# (mm)

Haemophilus influenzae

Salmonella typhi

Staphylococcus aureus

Escherichia coli

Kundul pakana

Polypore sp.

WMS1 7 6 6 5

Nonda kowakatep

Boletus edulis

WMS2 - - 2 9

Nonda tupak

Tylopilus sp.

WMS3 29 31 14 14

Kowang bos

Boletus sp. WMS4 - 2 6 5

Nonda pi Ganoderma sp.

WMS5

5 9 3 2

Nonda kintkint

Trametes sp.

WMS6 3 5 5 2

Nonda kiapulga

Boletus sp. WMS7 4 6 5 -

Gentamycin (5.0µg/ml)

49 71 24 27

#Values shown are averages of three replicates observed. (-) indicates no inhibition 3.5 Broad spectrum activity

According to the results in Fig. 2 for the seven mushroom extracts, Tylopilus sp. has shown

outstanding broad spectrum activity by inhibiting all the test organisms. This is quite contrary to the studies reported earlier [13,21,26] where the mushroom extracts have exhibited inconsistent antibacterial activities against test microbial strains. In other words, the extract showing high activity against a particular test microorganism did not maintain its activity in the other test organisms. Nevertheless, Nwachukwu and Uzoeto [11] reported that an edible mushroom Pleurotus squarrosulus had shown broad spectrum activity against the microorganisms tested. Yamac & Bilgili [7] also reported that the chloroform extract of Hygrophorus agathosmus and dichloromethane extract of Suillus collitinus were the most active extracts against both yeast and bacteria tested. Bhosle et al., [10] reported a similar finding when the sesquiterpene extracts of Ganoderma samples were highly active against the gram positive as well as negative bacteria. These reports are in agreement with the current study in which ethanol-dichloromethane extract of Tylopilus sp. has shown broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against the test microorganisms. When comparing broad spectrum activity of gentamycin (positive control) against that of the seven mushroom extracts (Fig. 2), Tylopilus sp. has shown a wider antimicrobial activity in which no significant difference (P <0.05) was seen against the reference antibiotic gentamycin (positive control).

118

Figure 2: Comparision of antimicrobial activities of WMS1-WMS7 against Gentamycin In recent years, most pathogenic bacteria exhibit multi-resistance to some antibiotics. Such resistance pose a serious threat to the treatment of infectious diseases. Remarkable diversity of chemicals present in biological samples leads to the search for new effective antimicrobial agents as they have tremendous potential against pathogens. Health Protection Scotland [29] has reported that Salmonella typhi is a multi-resistant bacterium which is a threat to human beings when 62% of the isolates of the bacterium have shown multi-resistance to antibiotics. Aissa and Al-Gallas [30] also reported that amongst seventy two Salmonella isolates, 62·5% of the isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobials. On the other hand, Haemophilus influenza is also a multi-resistant bacterium and hence a threat to the human beings [31,32]. A bonus for this study is that Tylopilus sp. extract can be able to exhibit a wider zone of inhibition against the two potentially dangerous bacteria mentioned above.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Mushrooms have been a common source of food, medicine and income to the people of Wopkola and hence ethnomycological documentation of such mushroom activity is very important, which is unfortunately not available as of yet. Traditional medicines are one form of immediate remedy to diseases and this may lead to drug discovery and improved drugs in the future. The Nenga Engambs have an extensive knowledge on the macrofungal domain concerning economical, hallucinogenic, poisonous and medicinal qualities as a result of close interaction, experimentation and management of the domain. The study has revealed that the mushroom species have promising applications as antimicrobial agents. Without disregarding the other six mushroom extracts, Tylopilus sp. presents a valuable source in the fight against the tested pathogens. It could be employed to combat several diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms. Since this mushroom is abundantly found in Papua New Guinea, the present findings can serve to stimulate further investigation to encourage mass domestication of this rich source of bioactive secondary metabolites for the use as therapeutic agents, nutrition and income generation, and thus be incorporated into the Papua New Guinea Vision 2050 policy.

01020304050607080

Inhi

bitio

n Zo

ne (m

m)

Mushroom species and Gentamycin

Test MicroorganismsHaemophilus influenzae Salmonella typhiStaphylococcus aureus

119

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We express our profound gratitude to Centre for Natural Resource Research Development (CNRRD),

University of Goroka for the financial support. Our special appreciation goes to the people of Wopkola.

REFERENCES [1] Cardoso, B.D., Queiroz, P.L., Banderia, P.F., and Neto, G.A. Correlations between indigenous Brazilian folk classifications of fungi and their systematic. Journal of Ethnobiology, Vol.30/2 (2010), pp. 255-265. [2] Giri, A. and Rana, P. Ethnomycological knowledge and nutritional analysis of some wild edible mushrooms of Sagaramatha national park (SNP), Nepal. Journal of Natural History Museum, Vol.23 (2008), pp. 65-77. [3] Zent, L.E., Zent, S., and Iturriaga, T. Knowledge and use of fungi by a mycophilic society of the Venezuelan Amazon. Economic Botany.Vol.58 (2004), pp. 215-225. [4] Lampman, M. A. Tzeltal ethnomycology: Naming, classification and use of mushrooms in the highlands of Chiapas. Ph.D. thesis. The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 2004. [5] Nicholson, M. Some spiritualistic uses of mushrooms. Ethnomycology, Vol.2/2 (2009), pp. 27. [6] Quang, N.D., Hashimoto, T. and Asakawa. Y. Inedible mushrooms: A good source of biologically active substances. The Chemical Record. Vol. 6 (2006), pp. 79-99. [7] Yamac, M. and Bilgili, M. Antimicrobial activities of fruit bodies and/or mycelial cultures of some mushroom isolates. Pharmaceutical Biology, Vol. 44/9 (2006), pp. 660–667. [8] Barros, L., Baptista, P., Estevinho, M.L. and Ferreira, C.F.R.I. Effect of fruiting body maturity stage on chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Lactarius sp. mushrooms. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 55 (2007), pp. 8766– 8771. [9] Akyuz, M. and Kirbag, S. Antimicrobial activity of Pleurotus eryngii var.ferulae grown on various agro-wastes. EurAsian Journal of BioSciences, Vol.3/8 (2009), pp. 58-63. [10] Bhosle, S.R., Gauri, B., Vaidya, J.G., Garad, S.A. and Sonawane, H.B. Antimicrobial activity of terpenoid extracts from Ganoderma samples. International Journal of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Vol.1/4 (2010), pp. 234-240. [11] Nwachukwu, E. and Uzoeto, O.H. Antimicrobial activity of some local mushrooms on pathogenic isolates. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, Vol.4/23 (2010), pp. 2460- 2465. [12] Quereshi, S., Pandey, A.K. and Sandhu, S.S. Evaluation of antibacterial activity of different Ganoderma lucidum extracts. People’s Journal of Scientific Research 9, Vol.3/1 (2010), pp. 1-12. [13] Manjunathan, J. and Kaviyarasan, V. Optimization of mycelia growth and antimicrobial activity of new edible mushroom, Lentinus tuberregium (Fr.). International Journal of PharmTech Research, Vol.3/1 (2011), pp. 497-504. [14] Tammina, B.P. and Hariprasad, A. Preliminary phytochemical and antimicrobial activity of Agaricus bisporus. Asian Journal of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Vol.1/2 (2011), pp. 102. [15] Treu, R., and Adamson, W. Ethnomycological notes from Papua New Guinea, McIlvainea, Vol.16/2 (2006), pp. 3-9. [16] Thomas, B. Boletus manicus (Nonda gegwants Nyimbil). http://www.shaman- australis.com/~benjamin-thomas/index.html (05/04/2012).

120

[17] Western Highlands Province. (2011). Western highlands provincial government (WHPG) has a new website. http://whponline.blogspot.sg/2011_01_04_archive.html (12/06/2012). [18] Phillips, R. RogersMushrooms. http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/ (05/04/12). [19] Peterson, J.H. Welcome to MycoKey – the mycological information site. http://www.mycokey.com/ (05/04/12). [20] Treu, R. Athabasca University, personal communications, 2012. [21] Oyetayo, V.O., Dong, C.H. and Yao, Y.J. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of aqueous extract from Dictyophora indusiata. The Open Mycology Journal, Vol.3 (2009), pp. 20-26. [22] Ayodele, S.M., Akpaja, E.O. and Adamu, Y. Some edible and medicinal mushrooms of Igala land in Nigeria, their sociocultural and ethnomycological uses. International Journal of Science and Nature, Vol.2/3 (2011), pp. 473-476. [23] Montoya, A., Kong, A., Torresl, E.A., Cifuentes, J. and Caballero, J. Useful wild fungi of La Malinche National Park, Mexico. Fungal Diversity, (2004), pp. 115-141. [24] Wasson, R.G., Hofmann. A. and Ruck, A.P.C. The road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries, 30th Ed., North Atlantic Books, California, 2008. [25] Flores, A.R., Comandini, O. and Rinaldi, A.C. A preliminary checklist of macrofungi of Guatemala, with notes on edibility and traditional knowledge. Mycosphere Vol.3/1 (2012), pp. 1-21. [26] Ndyetabura, T., Lyantagaye, L.S and Mshandete, M.A. Antimicrobial activity of ethyl acetate extracts from edible Tanzanian Coprinus cinereus (Schaeff) S. Grays.lat. cultivated on grasses supplemented with cow dung manure. Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science, Vol. 5/5 (2010), pp. 79-85. [27] Iwalokun, B.A., Usen, U.A, Otunba, A.A. and Olukoya, D.K. Comparative phytochemical evaluation, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Pleurotus ostreatus. African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol.6/15 (2007), pp. 1732-1739. [28] Gezer, K., Duru, M.E., Kivrak, I., Turkoglu, A., Mercan, N., Turkoglu, H. and Gulcan, S. Free-radical scavenging capacity and antimicrobial activity of wild edible mushroom from Turkey. African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol.5 /20 (2006), pp.1924-1928. [29] Health Protection Scotland. Antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in Scotland, 2005 (excluding S.typhi and S.paratyphi). http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/index.aspx (26/09/2012). [30] Aissa, B.R. and Al-Gallas, N. Molecular typing of Salmonella enterica Serovars Enteritidis, Corvallis, Anatum and Typhimurium from food and human stool samples in Tunisia, 2001–2004. Epidemiology and Infection, Vol.136/4 (2007), pp. 468–475. [31] Dimopoulou, I.D., Kraak, W.A., Anderson, E.C., Nichols, W.W., Slack, M.P. and Crook, D.W. Molecular epidemiology of unrelated clusters of multi-resistant strains of Haemophilus influenza. The Journal of Infectious Disease, Vol.165/6 (1992), pp. 1069- 1075. [32] Senok, A., Al-Zarouni, M., Al-Najjar, J., Nublusi, A. and Panigrahi, D. Antimicrobial resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae isolates in the United Arab Emirates: 2004-2006. Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, Vol.1/3 (2007), pp. 296-302.

http://whponline.blogspot.sg/2011_01_04_archive.html�

http://www.mycokey.com/�

http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/index.aspx�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=PubMed&term=%20BEN%20AISSA%20R%5Bauth%5D�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=PubMed&term=%20AL-GALLAS%20N%5Bauth%5D�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Dimopoulou%20ID%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1583325�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Kraak%20WA%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1583325�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Anderson%20EC%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1583325�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Nichols%20WW%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1583325�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Slack%20MP%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1583325�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Crook%20DW%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1583325�



121

HS72013-HS-016

PEOPLE, PIGS AND PNG VISION 2050: A GLIMPSE OF MOROBE PROVINCE

Stanley Amben1*, Michael Dom2,3 and Workneh Ayalew2

1. National Agriculture Research Institute, Highlands Regional Centre - Tambul, P.O Box 120, Mt

Hagen, Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. 2. National Agriculture Research Institute, Momase Regional Centre - Labu, P.O. Box 1639, Lae,

Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. 3. The University of Adelaide, School of Animal and Veterinary Science,

Roseworthy Campus, Roseworthy South Australia 5371

*Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT

The majority of pigs in Papua New Guinea to date are raised by about 360,000 smallholder farmers,

while the domestic chilled pork meat market is dominated by about 100 commercial piggeries. The fast human population growth is driving the demand for pork nationwide. Major market opportunities also arise with the current mineral resource boom, expansion of the economy and associated growth of the middleclass and its changing food habits. Drawing results from a survey in Morobe Province where 348 smallholder pig farmers were interviewed, this paper aims to describe smallholder pig production in terms of farmer objectives, challenges and opportunities and offers suggestions for increased farmer participation in agricultural development. Although pigs continue to play significant roles in PNG’s rural communities; it is argued that available research information on the status of pig farming is either inadequate or outdated. Past research efforts were generally directed at improving feeding systems via Lehman feeding regimes contingent with introducing exotic breeds for crossbreeding. From findings in the Morobe survey, traditional ways of raising pigs extensively have evolved towards greater uses of supplementary feeding, housing, external inputs such as formulated feeds, medicaments and tools, for increasing production and investment returns. These trends should set the agenda for pig research for development as the multifaceted role of pigs in rural livelihoods and its relevance is expected to continue. Understanding current and changing trends in pig farming systems and farmer perceptions is essential for livestock research for development to directly contribute to national development objectives of food security, wealth creation and rural prosperity. The sweet potato ensiling technology demonstrates how such information can be used to develop and deliver effective technologies. Empowering rural livelihoods through increasing productivity, efficiency and stability of smallholder pig production systems will contribute to realising PNG Vision 2050 targets.

Key Words: Pig production, Smallholder farmers, Research for Development, PNG Vision 2050,

122

BACKGROUND In recent decades there has been enormous growth in livestock production, driven by increasing

demand for animal-source foods among large segments of the world’s population [1] Developing countries account for the main share of this increase [2] and Papua New Guinea (PNG) is no exception. Tthe pig (Sus scrofa spp.) is apparently the most important with the country’s rural populace given its versatile functions in both culture and economics. The PNG native pig (Sus papuensis) is estimated to have been first domesticated in the inland highlands of New Guinea some 6000 years ago [3]. Based on current estimates, there are at least 1.8 million pigs in the smallholder sector raised by over 360,000 smallholder farmers [4]. They are responsible for producing an estimated 27,000 tonnes of pig meat annually [5] as opposed to 3,200 tonnes in commercial production with a combined market value of over PGK 200M [6].

With an 85 percent agrarian population, pigs are inseparable in many smallholder farming systems where sweet potato based gardening and small livestock keeping are the mainstay. In their functional application, the bulk of these animals are used in societal cultural occasions with periodic slaughtering and exchange of large numbers of animals as well as being sold live in the informal markets. Native and a mix of unidentified grades of native and exotic crossbreds are kept in various management systems; hence, larger or rather older animals that are unfavourable for formal market consumer meat preferences, have excessive fat deposits and lower quality meat traits. These unfavourable attributes continue to remain relevant in the informal live pig markets where size matters and appears to be favourable to smallholders providing them with a solid income from minimal inputs despite being irregular. Opportunities arise for smallholder pig farming to sustain the formal pork meat markets currently being served by semi-commercial and commercial piggeries. The in-country demand for animal and fish protein is steadily increasing [7] with the recent economic boom in the mining and petroleum sector as well as the rapid population growth. The majority smallholder pig farmers continue to use low inputs, relying heavily on local feed resources, pastures and garden fodder [7]. Regardless, these farmers supply over 93% of the estimated pork consumed in the country [7]. While, the commercial meat sector remains inadequate in meeting market demands. Regardless, disparities between the different levels of production are of little consequence as constraints are cross-cutting in production as well as meeting market demands. By 2009, one-third (30,000 tonnes) of all pork consumed in the country was imported [5]. Wider participation is needed from smallholder farmers to respond to market deficits and foster import replacement. PIGS’ CHANGING ROLE IN PNG

The general perception of pig keeping at household level is to cater for cultural exchanges, cash income or alternatively a ‘live bank’ as well as for protein. However, with the latter, pigs contributed very little to diets of people in the past, as very little meat was consumed in the highlands region [8]. A recent household survey in 1996 shows that an average person consumed 11kg of pork per year [9]. However, this amount is questionable and may be an underestimate of actual figures. Regardless, pigs were mostly used for societal functions [8] or cultural exchange. Apart from this, its role as the most preferred protein source in PNG is becoming increasingly apparent and its relevance will continue so long as it continues to convert garden waste into valuable protein. Hence, more effective production methods are needed to sustain these key roles in the PNG society without being too much of a ‘burden’ in rural agricultural systems given its behavioural affinities. Pre-independence research efforts were directed solely at increasing pig numbers without considering its role in social exchange and minimal contribution in human diets. Decline in village1 pig numbers after the effects of World War II prompted the need to revitalise pig numbers in the occupied areas in the ‘Territory2

1 Village refers to localities ravaged by WWII and under colonial control. 2 Pre-Independence period when PNG was a Territory of Queensland, Australia

. The convenient option for increasing pig production at that time was through a government

123

policy of genetic improvement with the objectives of increasing pig numbers by capitalising on hybrid vigour. However, without consistent breeding, genetic selection and controlled matings as well as minimal interventions in improved feeding and management systems coupled with the lack of understanding on the locals’ motives for rearing pigs, objectives were not adequately met. Preceding, pig research objectives in the 1970’s and early 1980’s were based on improved feeding using the Lehman feeding regime and husbandry systems to improve village pig production using locally available resources [10]. A pig farmer’s survey was conducted in 2009 in Morobe Province to identify key constraints and opportunities. The survey was conducted in eight (excluding Lae and Menyama) of the ten districts of the province through individual farmer interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 348 smallholder traditional pig farmers were interviewed and publications of results are forthcoming while all results shown here are preliminary. From these findings, results show that pigs continue to be important in the establishment of new household or family units in rural settings given the background demographic information of interviewed households that raise pigs.

Table 1. Demographics of a Morobe Pig Farmer Survey

Categories No. of respondents

(N) Parameters Freq. (%)

Gender 348 Male 247 (71)

Female 101 (29)

Age group 348

<20 4 (1.1)

20-30 86 (24.7)

31-45 156 (44.8)

>46 102 (29.3)

TOTAL 348 (100)

Marital status 348

Single 21 (6.0)

Married 312 (89.7)

Divorced 3 (0.9)

Other 12 (3.4)

TOTAL 348 (100)

Education level 348

Primary school 170 (48.9) High school 41 (11.8)

Secondary 2 (0.6)

Technical college

24 (6.9)

Other trainings 6 (1.7) None 105 (30.1)

TOTAL 348 (100)

Apart from pig keeping, other livestock are also kept by these households and their roles are important in contributing to food security and rural household welfare. The role of pigs in rural PNG settings is not only crucial but paramount in establishing households. As such, this commodity has the potential to transform rural livelihoods. Table 2 below shows the different livestock kept and their numbers by the interviewed households.

124

Table 2. Livestock kept by farmers in Morobe

Livestock kept Respondents No. (N) Sum Max-Min Mean ± SEM Pigs 3433 1232 18 3.6±0.173 Chickens 120 1082 51 9.02±1.305 Fish ponds 32 82 7 2.56±0.345 Others pigs4 16 55 14 3.4±1.076 Sheep 6 50 31 8.3±4.876 Cattle 3 42 6 14±2.0 Ducks 7 22 9 3.14±1.28 Goats 2 15 5 7.5±2.5 Others chickens5 3 15 11 5±3.512 Rabbits 3 3 1

Pigs continue to be highly relevant followed by chickens and inland fisheries in the Morobe Province.

Pig farming can capitalize on the increased interests for poultry and fish farming, as these two monogastric livestock are making large contributions to households as regular protein and income generating options while pigs can continue to represent a longer term savings asset and business interest. Opportunities in addressing constraints in production must be investigated simultaneously and holistically especially in terms of improved feeding, management and animal health. The herd structures of pigs kept by the respondents are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Herd structure of pig farmers interviewed in Morobe

Class Respondents No. (N) [%] Sum Max-Min Mean ± SEM Sows 172 [50.1] 243 5 1.41 ± 0.061 Male grower castrate 156 [45.5] 281 8 1.80 ± 0.101 Female growers 147 [42.9] 240 5 1.63 ± 0.83 Female piglet/weaner 115 [33.5] 239 7 2.08 ± 0.134 Male piglet/weaner 82 [23.9] 184 6 2.24 ± 0.158 Male grower 34 [9.9] 43 2 1.26 ± 0.88 Young boar (breeder) 22 [6.4] 26 2 1.18 ± 0.107 Old boar (breeder) 8 [2.3] 9 1 1.13 ± 0.125 TOTAL 343 [100] 1265 - 1.59 ± 0.107

Respondents in the Morobe survey have a greater tendency to retain their sows with a high correlation of 73% between female pigs and flock size. Relatively large numbers of castrates are kept by respondents to increase growth rates, improve docility and better disposal options through slaughter, exchange or sales. Thus, active boar numbers are very limited with farmers reluctant to maintain breeding boars. Regardless, the continuity of smallholder pig farming is guaranteed. Respondent pig farmers in Morobe province clearly state the current role of pigs when asked what benefits were derived from the raising pigs as per Figure 1 (n=Number of responses).

3 2 semi commercial pig farmers from Situm were excluded due to larger flock sizes while 3 farmers interviewed were no longer keeping pigs 4 Other pigs refer to livestock that are cared for by the respondent but do not have ownership privileges 5 Other chickens refer to livestock that are cared for by the respondent but do not have ownership privileges

125

Figure 1. Frequency of reported benefits derived from raising pigs in Morobe province (n=1044) Most pig farmers interviewed in Morobe raise pigs for cash income and social welfare. Social welfare includes both cultural needs as well as welfare needs that require cash such as school fees and other family obligations. Regardless, the pigs’ role in both cash income and as a protein source is increasingly apparent and is expected to be similar in other localities in PNG. UNDERSTANDING THE PNG PIG FARMER

To better understand the PNG pig farmer; let us consider their motives in rearing pigs. Cash income precedes all other benefits in Morobe at 37% as indicated by respondents. This can be an indication for other areas of PNG. This is followed closely with cultural importance classified under social welfare at 30%. Society today is more cash orientated unlike in the recent past. Cash (Kina and Toea) is the dominant exchange factor for the acquisition of goods and services, hence perceptions of subsistence farming is arguably changing its modus operandi into being more cash orientated.. As such, cash is also being incorporated into traditional ceremonial exchange systems as an exchange valuable [11]. However, cash has not completely replaced the role of pigs; both go hand in hand during these exchanges. The majority of rural farmers continue to raise their pigs with minimal inputs over a long period of time (5 to 6 years) for greater output. Hence, this prevents rural farmers from improving their productivity due to the pigs’ extended need for inputs and competition for garden produce. Interestingly, farmers reported substantial returns from the sale of their pigs per classes in the Morobe survey as per figure 2.

Figure 2. Frequency of reported selling price of pigs by class of pigs in Morobe

Cash income37%

Social welfare30%

Meat20%

Savings10%

Others 3%

5

10

15

20

25

30

K50 K100 K50-K100 K150 K150-K200 K200 K200-K300 K300-K400 K400-K500 >K600

Piglet

Weaner

Grower

Finisher

Old stock

126

With minimal inputs and high cash returns in pig farming, farmers are expressing their intentions for intensifying their production. This was evident in the general trend of keeping pigs enclosed for better monitoring of their growth and reproduction performance ( Figure 3). (n=Number of responses).

Figure 3. Frequency of occurrence of observed pig husbandry systems in Morobe (n=348)

The shift in traditional free ranging systems towards keeping pigs enclosed on intensive management

is increasing rapidly throughout rural Morobe and PNG. However, in keeping the pigs mostly enclosed, constraints arise with little knowledge of growth requirements of pigs in terms of feeding and general welfare. A number of studies have reported the most common production constraints of pig farming in developing countries to be high mortality rate, low off take, absence or minimal health care, supplementary feeding and improper housing [12]. These constraints are also faced by PNG’s rural farmers and similar expressions were made by pig farmers in Morobe as their perceived constraints captured in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Farmer perceived constraints in pig production in Morobe province (n=1044)

Despite reporting high cash returns from the sale of pigs, farmers are reluctant to reinvest returns in improving production. The irregularity of the informal market demands coupled with the utilization of locally available resources as well as the lack of facilitation for domestic meat markets has hindered farmers from improving their productivity. Hence, smallholder farmers continue to capitalise on minimal investment for greater output over a longer period of time. Farmers are now realising the need for more investment to obtain greater output and the trend is being set.

Pig farmers understand variable growth performances of different breeds and their response to management levels. Native pigs continue to hold high value due to their hardiness and low input management and their niche as assets for cultural exchanges. Crossbreds of native and exotic breeds are recognised to have preferable meat traits for formal markets. Exotic breeds are noted to be more suitable to formal markets with high inputs; farmers aspire to have such breeds but their attainment is mostly impractical and too costly. The native breeds will fetch higher prices if sold in the ‘informal pig exchange market’ where pigs are bought and sold specifically for cultural exchanges. Native pigs take much longer (3 to 5 years) to reach

Free ranging30%

Enclosed44%

Integrated13%

Semi-Intensive1%

Others12%

Feed and water 39%

Breeding stock35%

Technical skills12%

Finance9%

Others 5%

127

their full mature body size and weight as compared to crosses and exotic breeds and are better valued during cultural exchanges. A growing number of smallholder pig farmers are becoming market-orientated as seen in the steadily growing semi-commercial sector as well as the generally vibrant informal market. Access to formal markets is minimal for the bulk of smallholder pig farmers throughout the country. Information on the informal pig exchange market and pig meat market is inadequate to make assertions but the trend is clear that smallholders will produce pigs for all purposes. ADDRESSING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN SMALLHOLDER PIG PRODUCTION

Understanding current and changing trends in pig farming systems and farmer perceptions is essential for livestock research for development to directly contribute to national development objectives of food security, wealth creation and rural prosperity. As such, important constraints highlighted by farmers in the Morobe pig farmer survey as shown in figure 4 need to be systematically addressed.

The main challenge in all livestock enterprises is feeding. Feeding constitutes more the 60% of costs involved in raising livestock and pig farming is no different. NARI has responded with two improved feeding technologies in livestock farming. They are the Sweet Potato Silage for pig feeding and the NARI Broiler Concentrate. The advantages of these two technologies are in: 1) significantly reducing the cost of feeding animals; 2) opening up viable value addition opportunities to garden produce; 3) creating employment opportunities for available household labour; and 4) enhancing farm integration towards greater farm production. [7].

Sweet potato continues to have dual roles in both food and feed supply. Greater integration of sweet potato and pig farming is justified by: 1) the ubiquitous presence of this crop in most pig-sweet potato mixed crop-livestock farming communities, 2) the high feed value of vines, leaves and tubers as well as its perishable attributes; 3) due to lack of suitable technologies for preserving fresh sweet potato tubers after harvest, up to 50% its yield is lost along supply chains to major market outlets [7]. As such, NARI has adapted a sweet potato ensiling technology as suitable for smallholder farmers in PNG.

The role of chicken and fish (especially inland fisheries) in providing household protein requirements as per findings in the Morobe pig survey (refer to Table 2) is becoming increasingly important. Due to their inherent demand for higher nutrient density diets, they require better feeds. The chicken or rather the broiler meat industry in PNG is well established. However, its high quality feed requirements continue to be controlled by international grain prices. Domestic grain production is minimal, thus utilizing locally available tuber crops as an energy source will help reduce the high dependence on imported grains. As such, the NARI Broiler Concentrate technology was developed to minimise costs in raising broiler birds by replacing the grain component of commercial broiler finisher feeds with locally available sweet potato or cassava. This lower cost feeding option led to cutting feed costs by almost 25% [13]. This concentrate can be used in broad spectrum for pigs and fish with appropriate balancing for essential nutrients. Further trials have been carried out by NARI to attain wider use of this concentrate and promising results are forthcoming.

These two feeding technologies can adequately cater for the growing smallholder pig sector and its utilization is also being promoted in neighbouring countries, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. However, the availability and accessibility of these concentrates to most rural farmers poses a challenge. A recently developed feed mill project in NARI with the funding support from ACIAR, seeks to address this challenges. Given the high nutrient demands of chicken and fish, quality feed can be processed at community level via mini feed mills. This is expected to add value to crops such as sweet potato and cassava in providing alternative markets for these important staples. Chicken and fish represents most daily household protein requirements and the availability of high quality locally produced feed will empower rural farmers to improve their production while minimising costs. Pig feeding systems can take advantage of this by utilizing feed derivatives from feed mills.. Studies of how this system can improve

128

smallholder livelihoods while helping farmers to better adapt to food security risks associated with climate change and variability is currently in progress via a European Union funded project in NARI.

Exotic diseases and pests also pose a threat to smallholder livelihoods as experienced with cash crop commodities in the country. In responding to this constraint, NARI, NAQIA and other important stakeholders have embarked on a project for improving the delivery of animal health and production services in the country with the support of ACIAR.

Other realistic challenges lie in building market value chains with the availability of abattoirs, road access and meat inspection mechanisms. A previous scheme initiated by the Pelgens Smallgoods Company in the Situm area of Nawae District in Morobe is worth revisiting. Local farmers were given weaned piglets from the company to rear and supply the abattoir, but the project was unsuccessful. This out-grower scheme needs some improvement based on similar concept applied by the Niugini Tablebirds with broiler chicken.

Overall, the greater challenge lies in minimising production burdens imposed by this livestock species on farmers by making it more complementary to rural agricultural systems. As such, current livestock research and development focus in NARI is directed at realising this outcome for this commodity. THE FUTURE OF SMALLHOLDER PIG PRODUCTION IN PNG

The pig is well embedded in the socio-cultural fabrics of Papua New Guinea, thus, will continue to

hold relevance in the eons to come. Pork has the highest quantity, value (K189M) and popularity as meat protein in PNG followed by chicken and fish [6]. Consequently, the demand for food will increase as population increases and pork meat will continue to be on the menu.

Large scale intensive pig production will become more competitive with the incorporation of local feed resources. As such, smallholder village farmers will have the competitive advantage in markets as collectively they can supply much of the deficit in pork production in-country by adopting available improved feeding and housing practices to enhance growth and reduce pre-weaning mortality. The current contribution of commercial piggeries to national pork production is only 4%, but this is expected to grow rapidly as more and more smallholder farmers are encouraged to start commercial and semi-commercial piggeries [6]. A 25% increase in market orientated pig farming will increase national pork production to 16% [6].

Pig farming is at the crossroads in PNG and farmers need to make assertive decisions. Despite constraints in infrastructure, extension and animal health services, farmers need to step up and take up the challenge. The future of smallholder pig production is looking bright, and farmers need to take advantage of this opportunity in supplying both domestic meat markets and live pig market demands, lest we continue to rely on imports.

PIGS IN PNG VISION 2050

In realising targets of PNG Vision 2050 the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector must be

empowered. This sector is synonymous with the bulk of the rural population in the country. Empowerment of this sector will uphold pillars of Wealth creation, Natural Resources and Growth Nodes, Human Capital Development, Gender, Youth and People Empowerment and will influence other cross-cutting issues of Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change [14]. Pig farming is at the epicentre of rural agricultural development and to foster developments in this sector will strengthen these identified pillars of development.

Wider citizen participation is needed in achieving PNG Vision 2050 targets; hence, the bulk of the ‘subsistent’ population must be empowered to produce for the ever increasing demands for food. This direction must be mandatory for all levels of farming. Pig farmers must take the lead in this exercise and be in the driver seat for stakeholders to facilitate on all fronts.

Current policy environment is conducive for small to medium enterprises (SME) and the challenge to meet market demands must be taken on board by farmers. Import replacement should be the drive for

129

stakeholders to actively encourage smallholder pig productivity. This will provide a roadmap for addressing deficiencies in infrastructure, extension, market value chains linkages, agricultural subsidies and animal health and biosecurity issues. The pig is now at the crossroads to influence all sectors in achieving realistic targets in Vision 2050. REFERENCES

[1] Robinson, T.P., Thornton P.K., Franceschini, G., Kruska, R.L., Chiozza, F., Notenbaert, A.,

Cecchi, G., Herrero, M., Epprecht, M., Fritz, S., You, L., Conchedda, G. & See, L, (2011). Global livestock production systems. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 152 pp.

[2] Delgado, C., Rosegrant, M., Steinfeld, H., Ehui, S. & Courbois, C. (1999). Livestock to 2020 the next food revolution. Food, Agriculture, and the Environment Discussion Paper 28. Washington DC, International Food Policy Research Institute; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; and International Livestock Research Institute.

[3] Quartermain, A.R. (2002). Conservation of Domestic Animal Genetic Resources in Papua New Guinea. NARI Technical Bulletin No. 4. NARI, Lae., Papua New Guinea.

[4] Kohun, P.J. & Quartermain, A.R. (2002) Pig Production in Papua New Guinea. In: Priorities for Pig Research in South East Asia Pacific. ACIAR Working Paper No. 53. ACIAR. Canberra. Australia

[5] Bourke, R.M. and Harwood, T. (eds) (2009). Food and Agriculture in Papua New Guinea ANU E Press, The Australian National University, Canberra.

[6] Ayalew, W. (2013). Challenges and opportunities of smallholder livestock production in PNG, 15th Australasia/Oceania CVA Conference on Sustainable Animal Health and Production in Australasia / Oceania: the role of veterinary education, disease control, food safety and security and animal welfare 2-6 September 2013, Nadi, Fiji.

[7] Ayalew, W. (2011). Improved use of local feed resources for mitigating the effects of escalating food prices in PNG: a contribution for food security policy dialogue. National Food Security Conference on High Food Prices in PNG. 6-8 September 2011, Port Moresby, PNG. National Research Institute (In Press).

[8] Purdy, D.J. (1971). Changing patterns in pig production in Papua New Guinea. Australian Veterinary Journal, 47, 481–484.

[9] Gibson, J (2001),The Economic and Nutritional Importance of Household Food Production in Papua New Guinea, University of Waitako, NZ

[10] Hide, R. Pig Husbandry in New Guinea, A literature review and bibliography, ACIAR Monograph No. 108, 2003.

[11] Karakita, Y, (1992), Mediation and Modes of Exchange in the acceptance of a cash economy in Papua New Guinea, Kagoshima Univ. Res. Center S. Pac, Occasional Papers, No. 23, 67 - 72, 1992 67

[12] Wabacha J K, Maribei J M, Mulei C M, Kyule M N, Zessin K H and Oluoch-Kosura W (2004), Characterisation of smallholder pig production in Kikuyu Division, central Kenya. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 63(3-4): 183-195.

[13] Pandi, J. 2007.Local feeds for broilers. http://spore.cta.int/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&lang=en&id=1344&catid=32(17th February, 2012).

[14] Papua New Guinea Vision 2050, (2009), GoPNG

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Maribei%20JM%22%5BAuthor%5D�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Mulei%20CM%22%5BAuthor%5D�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Kyule%20MN%22%5BAuthor%5D�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Zessin%20KH%22%5BAuthor%5D�

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Oluoch-Kosura%20W%22%5BAuthor%5D�

http://spore.cta.int/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&lang=en&id=1344&catid=32�



130

HS7-2013-019

Assessment of Vulnerability and Impacts of Climate Change on Forests in

Papua New Guinea

Eko Maiguo1 2, Rodney Keenan1, Craig Nitschke1

1Melbourne School of Land and Environment, University of Melbourne, Melbourne.

2Department of Forestry, PNG University of Technology, Lae

Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

ABSTRACT The vulnerability and impacts of forests in Papua New Guinea (PNG) due to climate change were assessed using Tree and Climate Assessment (TACA) model, which predicts the suitability for plants to regenerate and grow under varying climate scenarios. Twenty key tree species were tested using the secondary sourced climate and soil parameters from 15 sites in PNG. The results showed that by the year 2080 the lowland tree species are expected to shift to high altitudes, leading to alterations in species composition. It is predicted that sites between 800 m to 2000 m in altitudes to be rich in plant species, while shrinkage in species composition and even extinction in the lowland. It was also observed that Nothofagus and conifers currently found in the upper montane zone are likely to have narrow chances of migrating upslope as treeline is predicted to be at about 3500 m elevation. Species which have similar ecological niches to the 20 tree species used in this study are expected to behave comparably. The predicted climate change is likely to cause negative impacts on the species composition and distribution of forests of PNG which are expected to affect the current states of national economy, biodiversity and community dependency for goods and services. Therefore, tree planting and effective natural forest conservation should be undertaken in PNG to ensure sustainable forestry that supports ecosystems, national economy and community livelihood under the changing climate. Keywords: adaptation and mitigation, climate change, Papua New Guinea, TACA model, tropical forests.

1.0 INTRODUCTION Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a geographically complex country comprised of a number forest and vegetation types [1], which are floristically rich in species, harbouring about 7.5% of world’s plant diversity, about 15,000-20,000 plant and about 2,000 trees of which 400 are currently used as commercial timber trees [2]; some species are endemic to PNG [3]. PNG is regarded as having some of the most extensive areas of tropical forests in the world [4]; some areas still unexplored [5]. The distribution of these forests are governed by temperature and rainfall [6, 1] with the main factors that influence climatic patterns being the northwest and southeast monsoons, South Pacific Convergence Zones, and El Nino [7]. Future climate change predictions for PNG suggest a warmer and wetter climate, with the projected temperature increases from 0.7oC to 0.9oC by the 2030s and 1.9oC to 2.7oC in 2080s, and increases of precipitation by 9% by the 2030s and 19% in 2080s [7]. The predicted change in climate is expected to have considerable impacts on PNG’s forests. The expected responses of forest ecosystems to climate change include changes in phenological patterns, growth,




131

morphology, delay or absence of germination and seedling establishment, migration of species to new ranges, invasion of exotic species, outbreaks of pests and diseases and species extinction [8]. Changes in climatic conditions, particularly temperatures and precipitation may not only influence the mature plants, but germination and regeneration as well [9]. These early phases of plants can be adversely affected by the harsh climatic and other environmental conditions. Thus, sensitivity of species during establishment can be effective indicators for detecting the impacts of climate change. 2.0 METHODOLOGY 2.1 TACA Model This study assessed the vulnerability and impacts of climate change on forests in PNG, using a mechanist modeling approach. The model to be used in this research is tree and climate assessment model (TACA) which was developed and used in British Columbia (BC) forests [10] and South East Australia [11]. The model predicts the suitability for plants to regenerate and grow under varying climate scenarios. 2.2 Study Area The study comprised an altitudinal and latitudinal transect across PNG. A total of 15 weather stations selected were between the northern coastline in Wewak and Madang ascending through Mount Wilhelm and descending to the southern coastline of Daru. Figure 1 shows details of the selected sites. The numbers in the map relate to the order of the stations in the graph.

Figure 1a: Location of selected sites Figure 1b: Cross-section profile 2.3 Biophysical parameters Relevant biophysical parameters for this study were trees species, climate and soils. Details of each data are provided below.

0500

100015002000250030003500400045005000

Mad

ang

Eram

Hag

en

Mt G

iluw

e

Den

glag

u

Kund

iaw

a

Faig

a

Alt

itud

e (m

)

Sites

132

2.2.1 Selected tree species Twenty tree species were selected are summarized in Table 1. They were selected based on the commercial importance [12], historical adaptability [13], representative of altitudinal zones [2] and availability of botanical and ecological information [2, 14] Table 1: Details of selected tree species Trade Name Scientific Name Ecological Zone Altitude (m)

Mersawa Anisoptera thurifera Blume Lowland 300-1000 Hoop Pine Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton Mid montane 1500-2700 Klinkii Pine Araucaria hunsteinii K.Schum Mid montane 1500-2700 Calophyllum Calophyllum papuanum Lauterb Mid montane 1500-2700 Oak PNG Castanopsis accuminatissima (Bl.) Mid montane 1500-2700 Podocarp Dacrycarpus imbricatus Blum Upper montane 2700-3200 Dacrydium Dacrydium novoguineense Gibbs Upper montane 2700-3200 Ebony Diospyros hebecarpa Benth Lowland 300-1000 Walnut Dracontomelon dao Merr. & Rolfe Lowland 300-1000 Wau Beach Elmerrillia tsiampacca (L.) Dandy Mid montane 1500-2700 Kamerere Eucalyptus deglupta Blume Lowland 2700-3200 Kwila Intsia bijuga Kuntze Lowland 300-1000 Mango Mangifera minor Blume Lowland 300-1000 Beech Nothofagus carrii Steenis Upper montane 2700-3200 Erima Octomeles sumatrana Miq. Lowland 300-1000 Pencil cedar Palaquium galactoxylum (F.Muell.) Lowland 300-1000 C-top-Pine Phyllocladus hypophyllus Hook f. Upper montane 2700-3200 Brown Pine Podocarpus neriifolius D. Don Upper montane 2700-3200 Taun Pometia pinnata J.R.Forster Lowland 300-1000 Rosewood Pterocarpus indicus Wild Lowland 300-1000 2.3.2 Climatic parameters Climatic parameters used in TACA model were minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, radiation, drought, frost, growing degree day and projected climate variables. The use of each parameter in the model is detailed in the subsequent sub-headings. 2.3.2.1 Temperature and precipitation Mean annual climate data for PNG were obtained from [6]. Information on daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation and radiation were gathered from [7] for the selected sites which are shown in Figure 1. Apart from Port Moresby and Madang, daily climate data for all weather stations in PNG were not available. Due to lack of daily climate data, Madang was used as base weather station to extrapolate daily climate at all other weather stations. All regression models were developed based on relationships for temperature and precipitation between Madang and all other weather stations. All regression models were significant (P<0.05) and 95% confidence interval for temperature was (5.4, 47.20) and for precipitation was (46.3, 256.8). Climatic change inputs were from [7].

133

2.3.2.2 Radiation The solar radiation of 160 m W-h/cm2 per year based on [6] was used for all the weather stations. 2.3.2.3 Annual heat moisture index (AHMI) Annual heat moisture index is also called the moisture index and it is calculated as: AHMI = Mean annual temperature (MAT) + 10/Annual Precipitation/1000. (1) 2.3.2.4 Growing degree day (GDD) Growing degree days (GDD) is a way of allocating heat values to each day, and is added to give an estimation of the amount of seasonal growth of plants [15]. Equations for calculating GDD are below: GDD = maximum temperature (Tmax) + minimum temperature (Tmin)/2 – base temperature (Tbase) (2) Maximum GDD = (Tmax) + Tmin)/2 –Tbase)*(365 days * 1.25) (3) Minimum GDD = (Tmax) + Tmin)/2 –Tbase)*(365 days * 0.75) (4) Base temperatures (Tbases) in this study used are shown below:

i. Low altitude species: Tbase of 10oC; ii. Mid altitude species: Tbase of 5oC; and iii. High altitude species: Tbase of 3oC.

Annual mean maximum and minimum temperatures from [6] were used to calculate GDD. 2.3.3 Soil types and parameters 2.3.3.1 Soil types

Major soil types of PNG based on [16] used were: Low altitude: Tropaqualf and Hapuldoll; Mid altitude: Eutropepts; and High altitude: Drytropepts and Eutropepts

2.3.3.2 Soil parameters Soil parameters used were soil texture, soil rooting depth and coarse fragment content. Three soil textures used were clay, clay loam and sandy clay loam. 2.4 Prediction periods

The TACA model was used to predict changes in forests in PNG for the time periods of current, 2020s, 2050s and 2080s.

134

2.5 Data analysis Data analysis was done using the model output and the statistics using student’s “t test” from the Excel Microsoft to compare regeneration probabilities of species at different sites between the current and 2080s. Prior to performing “t tests”, all data were transformed into logarithm as they were in probabilities. The transformations were made using formula given below: Normal value = log(y+0.005)/ (1-y+0.005). (5) 3.0 RESULTS For brevity, selected tree species were summarised into one of three forest types: lowland, mid altitude and high altitude forests. The TACA model provides scores from 0 to 100% which represent the ability of a species to regenerate and grow given the climate and soil conditions modelled. 3.1 Lowland species Walnut, Kamarere, Erima, Pencil cedar, Taun and Rosewood are lowland species found along the valley floors and on the lower valley sides, while Mersawa, Ebony, Kwila and Mango occur along the well-drained hill tops and in the shallow soils on the ridge tops [1]. The graph below shows the trends of regeneration and distrubtion of these species at various sites over the time period from the current to 2080s.

Figure 2: Regeneration of lowland tree species between current and 2080s The results suggest that by the 2080s lowlnd tree species have an 8% chance of regenerating in their current sites as indicated by the probabilities of Madang, Wewak and Daru. The results also suggested that Eram which is about 268 m altitude seems to have conditions ideal for the regeneration of the lowland tree species at present and also by the 2080s, as this site experienced less soil moisture loss under the predicted climate change. It was further observed that by the 2080s lowland tree species are likely to migrate into higher altitude areas such as Kundiawa and Hagen which are not within their current natural range.

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

Reg

ener

atio

n Pr

obab

ility

Sites

Current

2020s

2050s

2080s

135

3.2 Mid altitude species

Figure 3: Regeneration of mid altitude tree species between current and 2080s The mid altitude species were Calophyllum, Wau Beach, Castanopsis, two Araucrias and Nothofagus. They are currenly found in the altitudinal range between 268 m (Eram) and 2500 m (Wabag). The results showed that in future these species are unlikely to regenerate and occur in the areas below 800m (Koinambe) by 2080s, but they are likely to shift to 2500 m altitude (Denglagu), which they are currently absent. 3.3 High altitude species

Figure 4: Regeneration of high altitude tree species between current and 2080s The model showed that, at the moment, conifers namely Dacrycarpus, Dacrydium and Phyllocladus are found in areas between 2500 m (Denglaugu) and 3500 (Mt Giluwe). However, by the 2080s, the regeneraion of these species are likely to be only in areas about 3500 m elevation which should be treeline of PNG.

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

Pres

ence

/Abs

ence

Pro

babi

lity

Sites

Current

2020s

2050s

2080s

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

Wabag Denglagu Giluwe Mt WilhelmReg

ener

atio

n Pr

obab

ility

Sites

Current

2020s

2050s

2080s

136

3.4 Species distribuition trends btween now and 2080s

Figure 5a: Current forest type Figure 5b: Distribution of forest type by 2080s

dsitribution Figure 5 shows the distribution of species between now and 2080s. Figure 5b illustrates that by 2080s, lowland tree species are likely to have only 8% chance of regenerating in current sites below 800 meters, but they are expected to shift to about 1700 m altitude at which they are currently absent. The mid altitude tree species are expected to regenerate and occur between 800 m to 2500 m elevation suggesting they may be able to expand their range witth suffering a climate driven contraction a lower elevations. The high altitude conifers and Nothofagus were found to be the most vulnerable to climate change with a possible contraction in their range from 1900 m to 2500 meters and the inability to increase their range above 3500 m due to the occurrence of frosts and drought as result of the thin soils on Mount Wilhelm. The results suggest the encroachment of the studied tree species on the treeline of Mount Wilhelm will be limited underr the range of climate change used in this study. 4.0 DISCUSSION 4.1 The vulnerability and impacts of climate change on forests 4.1.1 Tree Species

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Alt

itud

e (m

)

Sites

2080s species distribution

Lowland species

Altitudinal limit of lowland species

Altitudinal limit of mid altitude species

Tree line

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Alti

tude

(m)

Sites

Current species distribution

Lowland species

137

Our analysis suggested that there is a potential for a shift in species composition across PNG as the result of predicted climate change. Lowland species will likely experience more favourable for regeneration and growth at higher altitudes as the climate change though they may suffer declines in regeneration and growth below 800 meters. Our results suggest that lowland species may contract from lower elevations and migrate to higher elevation which is similar to predictions for South America tropical forests [17]. It is anticipated that species such as Ebony and Pencil Cedar however, may be unable to migrate successfully as they are shade tolerant species [18] that may not be able to adapt or migrate fast enough under the rapid rate that climate change is predicted to occur at. These two species have relatively large seeds which will likely constrain migration, in comparison with tree species which have small seeds that are easily dispersed by wind. Even if these species are successful in dispersal, our results suggest that regeneration will be confined to sites with deep soils as those found in gullies [1]. The most vulnerable species were found to be the high altitude species, particularly the conifers and Nothofagus which are already confined to upper montane to subalpine zones. These species are currently at the tree line and with their inability to expand above the current treeline under a warmer climate. It is likely they will suffer contractions in their ranges as mid elevation species become established above 2000 meters. Past histories have revealed however that these species have adapted well through changes in the climatic conditions [14], suggesting they may able to adapt to the changing climate in the absence of disturbance or competition from other species. 4.1.2 Forest types Two forest types predicted to be vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are lowland and upper montane. The model predicted changes in the climatic conditions may cause migration of species from the lowland to the high altitude. The results suggested that the species which are currently dominant in the lowland will have about an 8% chance of being able to regenerate there by the 2080s. It is likely that the species with the similar environmental niches to the ones being used this study are expected to migrate as well, leading to likely alteration on the species composition in the lowland forests [19]. On the other, secondary forest species are likely to be less affected by climate change; therefore, these species may become more dominant in the lowland forests as have been found in Amazonian rainforests [20]. Upper montane forests are also vulnerable to climate change. This forest is rich in species and exceptionally high endemism, and a great sensitivity to climate. Global climate change threatens all ecosystems through temperature and rainfall changes, with a typical estimate for altitude shifts in the climatic optimum for mountain ecotones of hundreds of meters by the time of temperature increases. This suggests complete replacement of many of the narrow altitude range cloud forests by lower altitude ecosystems and even into extinction. However, the upper montane forest will also be affected by other climate changes, in particular changes in cloud formation [21]. A number of global climate models suggest a reduction in low level cloudiness with the coming climate changes. This will lead to biodiversity loss, altitude shifts in species' ranges and subsequent community reshuffling, and possibly forest death [22]. In this ecosystem, changing climate is likely to cause forest species’ ability to regenerate and migration will be slim. 4.2 Consequences of changing forest types 4.2.1 Biodiversity

PNG is highly regarded for its biodiversity richness [3, 5]. Forests are important habitats for biodiversity in PNG [23] and [24] describes critical habitats and biodiversity values that are threatened by development or natural disaster and damage or loss would have a profound implication on the stability

138

and viability of local ecosystems [25]. The model suggested that the current states of forests are likely to change in the future and this is expected to have implications on biodiversity. It is expected that some biodiversity will shift correspondingly with the shifts in plant species. However, organisms which have very specific natural range may suffer severely or even become extinct. 4.2.2 Tree species preferences for the commercial and local consumption purposes Twenty tree species used in this study are currently classified as having high commercial values. Hardwoods are in groups 1 and 2 of the export list [12], while Ebony and conifers are banned from round log export, but they can be processed domestically. Currently, PNG depends almost entirely on natural forests for the income generation and wood and timber consumption [26]. As lowland sites become warmer in the future, causing trees to shift to high altitudes; it is most likely that preferences on the use of tree species are likely to change. It is doubtful which tree species may be present in the lowland in the future. It could be possible that tree species which are currently considered as minor timber trees [27] and lesser known timber species [28] might become major dominant commercial timber trees. Even secondary forest trees such as Anthocephalus chineensis and Canaga odorata may become commercially useful as they are light demanding species [29] and can adapt to warmer conditions. 4.2.3. Forest dependent communities Local people who depend on forest resources are vulnerable to the changes in forest ecosystems due to climate change. Approximately 85% of the people of PNG live in rural areas depend on forests for income generation and timber [30] and other social economic and cultural uses of forests [31] will be affected. Impacts of changing climate have already been experienced by local communities and the situation is expected to worsen if climate change continues [31]. According to our results, communities in lowland and high latitudes may suffer due to changes in species composition while communities in mid altitude will likely to benefit from the species richness due to the migration of species from lowland. 4.3 Adaptation and mitigation To help the forests of PNG adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change, both tree planting and conservation of natural forests are essential. In over 50 years of commercial forestry, PNG has now planted only about 70,000 hectares of forest plantations. This reflects that the country over the years has depended heavily on natural forests. Under climate change, the future use of natural forests is under threat. Therefore, tree plantings in small, medium and large scales are needed. The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA) has formulated reforestation policy and implementation program, which identifies that the forest resource of PNG is depleting at a faster rate and the country is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol for carbon sequestration under the clean development mechanism (CDM) for planting trees for climate change issue [32]. However, still today, tree planting is not yet effective in PNG. Under climate change, growth of trees is expected increase with increases in solar radiation, air temperature and increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) [33]. Thus tree planting seems to a sound option for both ecological and socio-economic reasons under climate change. PNG’s efforts in the management of forests for conservation purposes have been poor over the years. Burning of PNG’s first National Park -McAdam National Park in 1997 and 1998 El Nino fires is an indication of PNG’s perception about conservation efforts [34]. A number of conservation areas have not been managed and even local people who are the owners of forests do not prefer to allocate their forest land for conservation as benefits offered are not attractive.

139

In recent times, developed nations have shown willingness to provide financial support to developing nations in order to protect biodiversity. This is in the form of payment for environmental services (PES) [35], and there are also funds available for allocation of forests for reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) projects as well [36]. Opportunities are available to PNG to benefit if attractive gains are offered to local communities. Currently, areas identified for REDD+ projects are in Sandaun, Eastern Highland, West New Britain and Milne Bay Provinces and are only in the northern part of PNG. The southern part of PNG has some of the only pristine lowland rain forests in the world [4] and also has areas of high biodiversity values [5] which need to be considered as well. Attempts should be made to maintain forest biodiversity and ecological functions, with emphasis on protecting climatic refugia and providing connectivity [37]. Conservation to protect As indicated by the results that species contraction particularly in lowland is expected to alter due climate change, thus future states of natural forests will be under threat. Tree planting is necessary to ensure forest resources are maintained and protected. Tree planting is also necessary to enhance, create or link habitat refugia. 5.0 CONCLUSIONS The results of our study suggest that predicted climate change is likely to have impacts on the species composition and distribution of PNG. The future use of forests under changing climate highlights vulnerability and resilience as all modeled species were able to be persisting. Some species, in particular, species located in a mid elevation may benefit under climate change with expansion to higher elevations and the maintenance of regeneration at lower elevations. The mid elevation species may “March” and “Lean” in response to climate change [38]. The high elevation species appear to be the most sensitive as they are predicted to contract from lower elevations but only “Lean” upslope versus “March” above the current treeline. The lowland species may suffer contractions at lower elevations but should “March” upslope. The major implications of species shifts are on PNG economy, local people’s dependence on forests and biodiversity. Currently, industries and communities are relying on timber and wood materials from natural forests, and these resources will be impacted by climate change. Tree planting and effective natural forest management for REDD+ projects and biodiversity conservation should be undertaken in PNG to reduce the impacts of a changing climate. REFERENCES [1] Paijmans, K. New Guinea Vegetation, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1975. [2] Havel J.J. Training Manual for Forestry College, Vol. 3/2 Botanical Taxonomy, Department of Forests, Port Moresby, 1977 [3] Sekhran, N. and Miller, S., (Eds). Papua New Guinea Country Study on Biological Diversity, Department of Environment and Conservation, Port Moresby, 1994. [4] Conservation International. A Biological Assessment of the Lakekamu Basin, Papua New Guinea, Rapid Assessment Program, Conservation International, Washington DC, 1998. [5] Miller, S., Hyslop, E., Guy, K., and Burrows, I. Status of biodiversity in Papua New Guinea. In Sekhran, N. and Miller, S., (Eds). Papua New Country Study on Biological Diversity, Department of Environment and Conservation, Port Moresby, 1994. [6] McAlphine, J.R. and Keig, G.G. with Falls, R., The Climate of Papua New Guinea, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization with Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1983. [7] Papua New Guinea National Weather Service. Current and future climate of PNG,

140

National Weather Service, Port Moresby, 2011. [8] IPCC. Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007. [9] Walck, J., Hidauyati, S., Dixon, K.W., Thompson, K. And Poschod, K. Climate change and plant regeneration from seed, Global Change Biology, Vol. 17, (2011). [10] Nitschke, C.R. and Inns, J.L, A tree and climate assessment tool for modeling Ecosystem response to climate change, Ecological Modeling, Vol. 201 (2008). [11] Mok, H.F., Arnadt, S. and Nitschke, C. Modelling the potential impact of climate variability and change on species regeneration potential in the temperate forests of South-Eastern Australia, Global Change Biology, Vol. 18, (2012). [12] PNF Forest Authority. MEP List: species list, PNGFA, Port Moresby, 2005. [13] Kershaw, A.P., van der Kaars, S. and Flenley, J.R. The quaternary history of far eastern rainforests. In Bush, M.B. and Flenley, J.R., 2007. Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climate Change, Chichester, 2007. [14] Conn, B.J. and Damas, K.Q. Guide to Trees of Papua New Guinea http://www.pngplants.org/PNGtrees , (23/01/12) [15] Miller, P., Lanier, W. and Brandt, S. Using Growing Degree Days to Predict Plant Stages, Montana State University Extension Services, Montana USA, 2001. [16] Bleeker, P., Soils of Papua New Guinea, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Canberra, 1983 [17] Feeley, K.J. and Silman, M. Biotic attrition from tropical forests correcting for truncated temperature niches, Global Change Biology, Vol, 16, (2010). [18] Whitmore, T.C. An Introduction to Tropical Rain Forests, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992 [19] Feeley, K.J., Evan M. Rehm, E.M. and Machovina, B. The responses of tropical forest species to global climate change: acclimate, adapt, migrate or go extinct?, Frontiers of Biogeography, 4/2 (2012). [20] Laurance, W.F., Oliveira, A.A., Laurance, G.S., Condit, R, Nascimento, H.E.M., Sanchez-Thorin, A.C., Lovejoy, T.E., Andrade, A., D’Angelo,S., Ribeiro, J.E. and Christopher W. Dick, C.W. Pervasive alteration of tree communities in undisturbed Amazonian forests, Nature, 428 (2004). [21] Rull, V. & Vegas-Vilarrubia, T. Unexpected biodiversity loss under global warming in the neotropical Guayana Highlands: a preliminary appraisal, Global Change Biology. 12/1 (2006). [22] Foster, P. The potential negative impacts of global climate change on tropical montane cloud forests, Earth Science Reviews Vol. 55/1 (2001). [23] Alcorn, J. B. "PNG Conservation Needs Assessment". The Biodiversity Support Program, Washington, D.C., 1993 [24] Nicholls, S. The priority environmental concerns of Papua New Guinea, IWP- Pacific Technical Report No. 1 SPREP, Apia, Samoa, 2004. [25] Salm, R.V. and Mcleod, E. Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystem Resilience and MPA Management in Melanesia. In Leisz, S.J. and Burnett, J.B., (Eds). Climate Change and Biodiversity in Melanesia, Bishop Museum Technical Report 42/7 Bishop Museum, 2008. [26] Nadarajah, T. The Sustainability of Papua New Guinea’s Forest Resource, National Research Institute, Boroko, 1994. [27] Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Soerianegara, I. and Wong, W.C. (Eds). Timber trees: Minor Commercial Timbers, Plant Resources of South-East Asia, Djakarta, Indonesia, 1995. [28] Sosef, M.S.M., Hong, L.T. and Prawirohatmodjo, S. Timber trees: lesser known timbers, Volume 5/3 PROSEA, Djakarta, 1998.

http://www.pngplants.org/PNGtrees�

javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss%7E%7EAR%20%22Pru%20Foster%22%7C%7Csl%7E%7Erl','');�

javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss%7E%7EJN%20%22Earth%20Science%20Reviews%22%7C%7Csl%7E%7Erl','');�

141

[29] Edwin, P. Investigation of processing characteristics of hardwood timber from secondary forests in PNG, Master of Wood Science Thesis, Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, Melbourne School of Land and Environment, The University of Melbourne, 2011. [30] Yosi, C., Keenan, R.J, and Fox J.C. Forest dynamics after selective harvesting in Papua New Guinea, Forest Ecology and Management 262 (2011). [31] Osman-Elasha, B., Parrotta, J., Adger, N., Brockhaus, M., Colfer, P.C.J., Sohngen, B., Dafalla, T., Joyce, L.A., Nkem, J. and Robledo, C. 2009. Future Socio-Economic Impacts and Vulnerabilities. In Seppälä, R., Buck, A. and Katila, P. (Eds). Adaptation of Forests and people to climate change – a global assessment report Prepared by the Global Forest Expert Panel on Adaptation of Forests to Climate Change, International Union of Forest Research Organizations, Vienna, Austria, 2009. [32] PNGFA. National Reforestation Policy, Ministry of Forests, Port Moresby, 2005. [33] Lloyd, J. and Farquhar, G.D. Effects of rising temperatures and [CO2] on the physiology of tropical forest trees, Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society Vol. 14/1 (2007). [34] Orsak, L. and Balun, L. El Nino drought destruction: the death of Papua New Guinea’s McAdam National Park, A newsletter for Conservation Areas in the Pacific, South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SREP), Apia, Samoa, 1999. [35] Meizlish, M. & Brand, D. 2008. Developing Forestry Carbon Projects for the Voluntary Carbon Market. In: Streck, C., O’Sullivan, R., Janson-Smith, T. & Tarasofsky, R. (Eds). Climate Change and Forests. Emerging Policy and Market Opportunities., Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, 2008.. [36] Portela, R., Wendland, K.J. and Pennypacker, L.L. The Idea of Market-Based Mechanisms for Forest Conservation and Climate Change. In Streck, C., O’Sullivan, R., Janson-Smith, T. & Tarasofsky, R. (Eds.). Climate Change and Forests. Emerging Policy and Market Opportunities. Chatham House London and Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, 2008. [37] Hannah, L., Midgley, G.F. and Millar, D. Climate change-integrated conservation strategies, Global Ecology & Biogeography Vol.11 (2002). [38] Breshears, D.D., Huxman, T.E., Adams, H.D., Zou, C.B. and Davison, J.E. Vegetation synchronously leans upslope as climate warms, PNAS Vol. 105/33 (2008).



131

HS7-2013-039

Potential health risks induced by volcanic dust: An appraisal of exposure

to cadmium through food sources in the East New Britain, Papua New Guinea

K.Hundang1, A.Pue2, and L.P.Werry2

1Department of Applied Sciences, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Private Mailbag,

Lae, Morober Province, Papua New Guinea. Corresponding author; Email: khundang.pgsappsci.unitech.ac.pg

2The Papua New Guinea University of Natural Resources & Environment, Private Mail Bag, RABAUL, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.

ABSTRACT

Health risks associated with exposure to emissions from volcanic activities may be serious and detrimental to the health of people living within its vicinity. Cadmium is a heavy metal that is physiologically toxic in humans and is known to be distributed widely in volcanic areas. This study therefore was aimed at establishing the background concentration of Cadmium in the soil and Cadmium concentration in some staple food crops and fish common in diets from the Gazelle Peninsula, Papua New Guinea to see whether Cd concentration is within World Health Organization standards. Staple foods were collected from sites within the 10 km radius of the volcano in the Gazelle Peninsula. Samples were digested with nitric acid and heavy metal cadmium (Cd) was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

Total metal concentration in food samples ranged from 0.194 mg/kg to 0.635 mg/kg for root tubers, sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) while leafy vegetable aibika (Abelmoschus manihot) ranged from 0.862 mg/kg to 2.16 mg/kg. The Cd concentration in fish ranged from 0.46 mg/kg to 1.38 mg/kg. The A. manihot from Karavia and Rabaul area has high levels of Cadmium. These results exceed the World Health Organization’s cadmium tolerable level of 2.5 µg/kg[1] body weight, although other countries have values higher than those reported here. Results of this study suggest that people living in the Gazelle Peninsula are exposed to high levels of cadmium through diet from the food and fish collected from within the area. The health impact on people due to the exposure of Cadmium is beyond the scope of this study. However, data obtained from the local hospital showed a high prevalence of Type II Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) and incidences of lung cancer and kidney diseases. Further work may be needed to explore the possible hypothesis that there may be a relationship between cadmium exposure and those prevalent hospital-reported diseases. These are only preliminary results of an ongoing work currently being undertaken.

INTRODUCTION Cadmium (Cd) accumulation in food crops and animals can lead to human exposure to this

carcinogenic metal [2,3]. The uptake and accumulation of Cd in food items depend on the type of environment these items are extracted; such as from areas of high volcanic activities [4,5] and also from various anthropogenic sources [6,7]. Areas of high volcanic activities elsewhere have shown levels of heavy metals (including Cd) in food crops [6, 8, 9, 10], tobacco [11], fish ( [12], farm animals [13] and in the general environment [14, 15, 10, 16].. Cadmium can be taken up into the human body through

143

various medium, however, dietary intake through foods and smoke inhalation from cigarettes are two major routes [4, 17]. It can also be absorbed from polluted air in the environment [18].

In animal such as lambs [19] and fish[12], the concentrations are greatest in the kidneys, gills and liver. Long term exposures to Cd by fish are known to result in larval mortality and temporary reductions in growth [18].

In humans, uptake of Cd from the environment results in accumulation in various tissues and organs.

Cadmium can attack kidney, liver, bone, affect female reproduction system [8] and periodontal diseases [17]. The kidney and lung are the two main organs affected by Cd uptake leading to various dysfunctions and chronic obstructive airway in the lung [20]. It is also suggested that Cd enhances the genotoxicity of other agents by interfering with antioxidant defense mechanisms and may induce gene expression and apoptosis [3]. Further, Cd mediated inhibition of DNA repair mechanism and cell-death turn to increase the mutation rate and genomic instability [21].

With high volcanic activities in the Gazelle Peninsula and other parts of Papua New Guinea (PNG),

exposures to heavy metals and associated health symptoms require monitoring. Physical devastation, loss of infrastructure and livelihood have often been costly to individuals and the nation. Thus, long-term health consequences induced by pollution have often been ignored over more pressing and immediate concerns associated with volcanic activities and losses. One such long term adverse physical effects of volcanoes is the widespread deposition of ash from eruptions, where the size of an area affected by eruptions can be determined by the magnitude of an eruption and wind direction. Over time, however, different areas are likely to be affected depending on the climatic condition and the time of year in which volcanic activity continues emitting dust into the air.

This study was therefore aimed at; firstly, establishing potential exposure levels to cadmium in staple

food items extracted from volcanic soils within the Gazelle Peninsula, Papua New Guinea; and secondly if such levels are within World Health Organization recommended values or as a baseline information.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study Area Samples food items were collected at different locations surrounding the volcano Mt. Tavurvur. Zone 1 are areas within 5 km radius of the volcano and included parts of Rabaul town, Matupit and Talvat. Zone 2 includes areas within the 10 km radius and included Rabaul town and neighboring villagers of Malaguna, Tavana, Bai, Matalau and Nordup. Zone 3 are villages outside of the 20 km and up to 40 km radius which included villages like Kulau, Rakunai , Raluana, Navunaram, Vunamarita, Ngunguna and Kokopo. Zone 4 are villages outside the 40 km radius including the hinterlands of the Gazelle Peninsula (Keravat, Vudal, Kokopo town), extending to the Baining (Fig. 1).

144

Figure 1. Map of Gazelle Peninsula showing sampling zone

Food samples collected are cassava, sweet potatoes, green leafy vegetable aibika (Abelmoschus

manihot) (L.) Medik and commonly caught marine fish species. All the food are collected or purchased from locations within specific zones in the East New Britain. The people were interviewed to work the location from which the food were collected or harvested. Sampling of food items was based on the assumption that the soil within the precinct of the active area was generally contaminated with toxic elements from volcanic dust

The location of where the samples are harvested or collected are plotted on the map (Figure 1). Fresh vegetables and fresh fish were collected from the three districts of the Gazelle Peninsula (Rabaul, North Coast in Gazelle and Kokopo), accessible by three major road routes. Selections of food items were based on their popularity, demand and their frequency or common occurrence in the sampling location. Fish (sardines or pilchard) specimen commonly known as malabur was selected for this particular study as it was sold cheaply for a good quantity.

Food samples were dried at 40o C and packed in moisture-proof sandwich polybags and transported to the laboratory for further analysis. Information from the analytical results will be used as a baseline data for comparison against those recommended by FAO/ WHO [22]

Determination of moisture

Ground food or fish samples were weighed accurately (~2 gms) into pre-dried aluminum moisture trays and dried at 130oC for 2 hours. Samples were weighed and the percent moisture was calculated.

Determination of cadmium in food and fish samples

Powdered samples of food and fish (duplicates) were accurately weighed (2g) into 250mL beaker and digested using concentrated nitric acid (15-20mL) for dissolution. Digested samples were then transferred to volumetric flask and diluted with distilled water (100 mL). Samples were analyzed for cadmium by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (spectra AA 240).

145

RESULTS

Results of cadmium (mg/kg) concentration in common food item in the Gazelle Peninsula indicated the following trend Aibika>fish>sweet potato>Cassava. High cadmium results were present in Aibika (Abelmoschus manihot) (L.) Medik (1.60 mg/kg) on average for Rabaul, fish (1.20mg/kg) on average for Kokopo and Duke of York, Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas), (1.00mg/kg) for Vunawatika and Cassava (0.53 mg/kg) on average overall

Figure 2: Cadmium (mg/kg) in fish

Figure 3: Cadmium (mg/kg) in Cassava

-0.200

0.000

0.200

0.400

0.600

0.800

1.000

1.200

KoC KeC VkC KaC RaC

conc

.in m

g/kg

sample location

level of cadmium in cassava

ave

max

min

-0.500

0.000

0.500

1.000

1.500

2.000

2.500

DyF KoF KbF NoF KaF RaF

conc

.in m

g/kg

sample location

level of cadmium in fish

ave

max

min

146

Figure 4: Cadmium (mg/kg) in sweet potato

Figure 5: Cadmium (mg/kg) in Aibika

DISCUSSION

Most people in the rural areas cultivated small plots of land for gardens to meet the household consumption and excess product is sold at the local market. The results showed that root tubers such as sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) contain lower cadmium concentration compared to aibika (Abelmoschus manihot ). In root tubers, skins were peeled off while in Aibika the whole plant was used for analysis. High results were obtained in aibika from Rabaul and Karavia while other locations are slightly lower (Figure 5). High cadmium concentrations were recognised in aibika from Karavia and the Rabaul town followed by Navunaram and Vunavatika. The result generally indicates that there is high cadmium concentration within 0-10 km zone but decreases as the distance increases further away from the volcanic zone. This clearly indicates the element (Cd) is of volcanic origin [23].

-0.500

0.000

0.500

1.000

1.500

2.000

2.500

3.000

KeS NaS VkS KaS RaS

conc

.in m

g/kg

sample location

level of cadmium in sweet potato

ave

max

min

0.000

1.000

2.000

3.000

4.000

KoA NaA VkA KaA RaA

Conc

.in m

g/kg

sample location

level of cadmium in aibika

ave

max

min

147

Since the eruption of Mt.Tavuvur in 1994, volcanic is continually discharging magmatic gas through the open crater with frequent high volume of lava eruption. The volcanic is still actively degassing gas and volcanic ash over East New Britain. This study hypothesized that heavy metal contamination in the environment results in human uptake of cadmium from bioaccumulation in the food chain may be contributing to adverse health effects of the surrounding population and to find out if the cadmium value is within tolerable level.

It appears from this study that the origin of cadmium dispersion is related to the distance from the crater as well as the prevailing wind direction. Weather report taken from Vudal Weather station in 2011 indicated wind direction were mostly blowing from North West and South West directions taking into account the average speed of wind at 1821 km/h (Appendix 1).

This has been confirmed from the result that the dispersion wind direction is more often blown from

the south and North Western side of the province. However, the cadmium content in fish indicated that the cadmium concentration in the following order of abundance, Kokopo> Duke of York >Karavia>Kabaira>Rabaul>Nonga. The result also shows more variation in Kokopo fish samples while less variation is observed in Rabaul fish sample. Cadmium levels for fish in Kokopo was reported the highest of 1.337 mg/kg (ppm) and the Duke of York 1.029mg/kg (ppm).

According to literature, cadmium accumulates in kidney and liver of fish. However, results of this

study; indicated that fish muscles showed high cadmium level exceeding the WHO tolerable level.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION The results from this study have shown that there is significant amount of cadmium concentration

present in fish and food samples collected from the East New Britain Province. These result ranges from 0.194mg/kg – 2.162 mg/kg for food and 0.463 mg/kg – 1.377 mg/kg for fish. These results exceed the acceptable tolerable weekly intake for cadmium as endorsed by EU’s former scientific committee for food in 1995.

The tolerable weekly intake of cadmium level as accepted by the joint FAO/WHO expert committee

on food additives (JECFA) established a provisional TWI for Cadmium of 7ug/kg bw in 1988 and this was reconfirmed by the JECFA in 2001 [22]. The TWI was also endorsed by the EU’s former scientific committee for food in 1995[23].

People living within the Gazelle Peninsula were excessively exposed to Cd, exceeding the tolerable

weekly intake for cadmium as accepted by joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives [22]. There are more admitted to the hospital for diabetes cases than for lung cancer, kidney disease, brain and nervous system (personal com., CEO Nonga Base Hospital). Exposures to cadmium and other heavy metals through diet may be related to the reported incidences.

Therefore, further indepth studies are recommended based on the findings of this research include; Wider area of the province to establish a baseline data. Representative soil analysis Human exposure analysis Lifetime observations Appropriate remedial approaches and attention can then be recommended for authorities (both the

provincial and national governments) to consider.

148

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTs The authors would like to thank colleagues, Technical Officers of Applied Science Department, both

from PNG University of Technology and the PNG University of Natural Resources & Environment Science laboratories for their assistance. We would also acknowledge the Chief Executive Officer and medical staff of Nonga Base Hospital for providing the statistical data on related diseases which added valuable results for this presentation.

REFERENCES

1. Rufus, L.C., A.R. James, and G.R. Phillip. Cadmium in Soils and its Transfer to Plants and the

Human Food Chain. USDA-ARS-EMBUL, Beltsville, MD. 2US-EPA. 2012. 2. Martelli, A., et al., Cadmium toxicity in animal cells by interference with essential metals.

Biochimie, 2006. 88(11): p. 1807-1814. 3. Waisberg, M., et al., Molecular and cellular mechanisms of cadmium carcinogenesis. Toxicology

2003. 192(2-3): p. 95-117. 4. Queirolo, F., et al., Total arsenic, lead, and cadmium levels in vegetables cultivated at the Andean

villages of northern Chile Science the total environment, 2000. 255(1-3): p. 75-84. 5. Cronin, S.J. and D.S. Sharp, Environmental impacts on health from continuous volcanic activity

at Yasur (Tanna) and Ambrym, Vanuatu. International Journal of Environmental Health Research 2002. 12(2): p. 109-123.

6. Taylor, M.D., Accumulation of cadmium derived from fertilizers in New Zealand soils. Science of the total environment, 1997. 208(1-2): p. 123-126.

7. Megharaj, M., et al., Bioavailability and toxicity of cadmium to microorganisms and their activities in soil: a review. Advances in Environmental Research, 2003. 8(1): p. 121-135.

8. Peralta-Videa, et al., Review: The biochemistry of environmental heavy metal uptake by plants: Implications for food chain. The International journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 2009. 41(8-9): p. 1665-1677.

9. Xian, X., Response of kidney bean to concentration and chemical form of cadmium, zinc, and lead in polluted soils. Environmental Pollution, 1989. 57(2): p. 127-137.

10. Lalor, G.C., Review of cadmium transfers from soil to humans and its health effects in the Jamaican environment. Science of the total environment, 2008. 400(1-3): p. 162-172.

11. Louon-Moulin, N., et al., Critical review of science and Options for Reducing Cadmium in Tobacco (Nicotiana Tobacum L) and other plants. Advances in Agronomy, 2004. 83: p. 111-180.

12. Klinck, J.S. and C.M. Wood, In Vitro characterization of cadmium transport along the gastro-intestinal tract of freshwater rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquatic Toxicology, 2011. 102(1-2): p. 58-72.

13. Milhaud, G. and S. Mehennaoui, Indicator of lead, zinc, and cadmium, exposure in cattle. Results in a polluted area. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 1988. 30(6): p. 513-517.

14. Coppola, S., et al., Effect on Cadmium-bearing sewege sludge on crop plants and microorganisms in two different soils. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 1988. 20(3): p. 181-194.

15. Panuccio, M.R., et al., Cadmium adsoption on vermiculite, zeolite abd pumice: Batch experimental studies. Journal of Environmental Management, 2009. 90(1): p. 364-374.

16. Jarup, L. and A. Akesson, Current status of cadmium as an environmental health problem. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2009. 238(3): p. 201-2008.

17. Arora, M., et al., Association of environmental cadmium exposure with periodontal disease in U.S.adults. Environmental Health Perspect, 2009. 117: p. 739-744.

18. ATSDR, Toxicological profile for cadmium. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 1998.

149

19. Reykdal, O. and A. Thorlacius, Cadmium, mercury, iron, copper, manganese and zinc in the liver and kidney of the Icelandic lamb. Food Addit Contam, 2001. 18(11): p. 960-969.

20. ATSDR, Public Health Statement, cadmium. 2011. 21. Filipic, M., Mechanisms of cadmium induced genomics instability. Mutation

Research/Fundamentals and Molecular Mutagenesis, 2012. 733(1-2): p. 69-77. 22. JEFCA, WHO procedural guidelines for the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food

Additives, Geneva. 2003. 23. Zukowska J, B.M., Methodological evaluation of methods for dietary heavy metal intake.

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE R1, 2008. Vol. 00. APPENDIX-1

150

APPENDIX-2

APPENDIX-3



151

HS7-2013-048

A survey on the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of goats in the highlands and lowlands of Papua New Guinea

Lena W. Yual, and Dr. Jayaprakash

The Papua New Guinea University of Technology [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to identify the common species of gastrointestinal parasites of goats in the Highlands (1200-2400m above sea level) and lowlands (600msl) of Papua New Guinea. Forty five small holder farmers were selected using the stratified sampling methods with a sample size of 151 goats in total. The effects of season, age and the location on the prevalence of parasites were studied. The results indicated that animals at both sites had similar incidence with Haemonchus (42% and 36%) Oesophagostomum (38% and 31%) and Trichostrongylus (37% in both areas) being predominant in high and low lands respectively. Effect of sex on parasitism was inconclusive in both the areas as the number of male goats included in the study was very limited. There was a predominance of Haemonchus, Bunostomum, Oesophagostomum and Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus among both the sexes. Prevalence of these parasites was higher in younger animals. Though the prevalence of different parasites showed seasonal and geographical variations, these variations were not significant. In the present study Haemonchus, Bunostomum, Oesophagostomum, Ostertagia and Strongyles were shown to be major species of parasites affecting goats in PNG.

Key words: gastrointestinal parasites, Haemonchus, Bunostomum, Oesophagostomum, Ostertagia,

Trichstrongylus Papua New Guinea INTRODUCTION At present there is no or updated information available on the animal health and disease especially for

the small ruminants in the country (Vincent and Low 2000 and Asiba 1995). Though sheep and goats have been introduced in the early missionary era, the production rate has been very slow. The number has slowly increased but how long is a question and what is the cause of this? There are factors that are involved in the slow increase yet cannot be verified as no recorded information is available. It is assumed that cause of the low productivity could be through lack of proper nutrition, limited skills in animal husbandry, poor knowledge on animal health and diseases (Rural Industry Weekly 2007). It is said that parasitic gastrointestinal nematodes in ruminants is a major problem in the developing country (Agricola etal 2007). Again the environmental conditions in the tropics are highly conducive to any parasites (Waller 1997). Having mentioned all the factors that would result in the slow growth of livestock production, the research project was established with the following objectives:

1. To identify the common species of gastrointestinal helminthes in goats at highlands (1200-2400m) and lowlands (600m)

2. To identify the contaminant level of the areas/pastures through fecal egg count 3. To determine the helminthes species variation in different age group of goats, different sites

and the time of year MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

152

Sample sites The sites selected were based on the availability of goats. These sites were, Situm in the Morobe

Province (600m asl) and Goroka, Bena and Henganofi in the Eastern Highlands province (1200-2400m asl) Papua New Guinea (PNG). The areas were selected because of extreme differences in the rainfall received and the temperature. Situm is found along the Huon Peninsula of Morobe and is an hour and Goroka, Bena and Henganofi are 3-4 hours away from the Biotech Laboratory at The University of Technology (UNITECH) PNG.

Sample collections A baseline study was conducted using the stratified method and selected 21 farmers with 78 goats in

total in Situm in the Morobe Province and 28 farmers with 73 goats in the Eastern Highlands Province. Faeces collection was done twice, in the early weeks of September till October 2011 and second collection of faeces started towards the end of January till the end of February 2012. Rainfall data collected from National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) Aiyura and Bubia and Unitech Lae were used.

The faeces collected were either directly from the rectum of the goats or freshly dropped. The faeces collected were put into labeled zip-lock bags and placed in an eski cooler. They were than taken into the Biotech Laboratory, UNITECH for further work. The feces samples that were not worked were placed into a refrigerator below 4 degree Celsius. The age estimation was done through teeth examination (MacDonald and Low 1985).

Culture Techniques Fecal Nematode Egg and Larval Culture Technique Scheonian (2010) protocol was used for faeces cultures at the UNITECH biotechnology laboratory.

The feces were weighed and mashed using ice cream stick. Then added 30% saline water into 20 mL vial, and was strained the debris. The brown liquid was then transferred into a test tube to the rim and put slide on the top of each tube for minimum of 30 minutes. Then each slide was observed under the microscope for egg identification. After the slide was removed and observed, pipetted 300um using micro pipette from the remained sluggish liquid in the tube and put it into the haemocytometer. This was sat for five minutes before observed under the microscope for egg count. After the required periods were over, they observed and recorded accordingly. The observation done was magnification of 100 (10x10) under the microscope (Australia Wool Innovation&TheUniversityofSydney2003and http://www.rvc.ac.uk/review/parasitology/RuminantEgg/Common.htm and Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp 2011)

Further, three to four pellets of faeces were mashed, moist and left in petri-dish for a period of 14

days under room temperature for larvae culture. Each day the sample cultures were kept moist. The cultured samples were then transferred to prepared petri-dishes that had filter paper and added warm water to merge the faeces. Covered and sat for 1 and half hour and observed under microscope for larval identification. The larvae that were present were isolated and identified (http://www.rvc.ac.uk/review/parasitology/RuminantL3/ID_Overview.htm).

Analysis The data collected were placed in a MS Excel and results were obtained and presented below. RESULTS Geographically Variations

153

Table 1: Percentage distribution of Gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites in goats of PNG: Situm (n=75) and Bena, Goroka & Henganofi (n=76)

Situm, Morobe Province (less than 600m asl) Korefeigu, Henganofi &

Goroka, EHP (16-1800m asl) Names of the GI parasite No. goats

with GI parasite

percentage No. goats with GI parasite

percentage

B. trigonocephalum 21 28 19 25 Chabertia sp 7 9.33 7 9.21 Cooperia sp 0 0 17 22.37 Dictyocaulus sp 5 6.67 2 2.63 Haemonchus contortus

32 42.67 28 36.84

Marshallalia sp 1 1.33 0 0 Nematodirus sp 4 5.33 0 0 Oesophagostomum sp 29 38.67 24 31.58 Ostertagia sp 15 20 18 23.68 Strongyloide sp 8 10.67 21 27.63 Trichostrongylus sp 28 37.33 28 36.84 Toxocara sp 4 5.33 5 6.58 Fasiola sp 2 2.67 1 1.32 Schistosoma sp 1 1.33 0 0 Cotylophoron sp 0 0 1 1.32 Moniezia expansa 1 1.33 2 2.63

Individual species of GI parasite was counted in each goat that was used for the study. In this case 21 goats from Situm had B.trigonocephalum and the other 45 had no indication and etc.

Cooperia and Cotylophoron were only recorded in MP while Marshallalia, Nematodirus and

Schistosoma were in EHP. Haemonchus was the highest (42.67%) followed by Oesophagostomum (38.67) and Trichostrongylus (37.33) in MP. The other parasites were lower than 10% except for Bunostomum (28%) and Ostertagia with 20%. In EHP, Haemonchus and Trichostrongyles were highest at 36.84 followed by Oesophagostomum 31.5% Strongyloide 27.6 and Ostertagia 23.6 % and Cooperia 22.3%. The presences of other parasites were insignificant.

Management systems practiced by goat farmers of Situm, and Korefeigu, Henganofi & Goroka of PNG Table 2: Percentage distribution of goat management systems practiced by the farmers in MP and EHP Extensive

system combined arable cropping

intergration with tree crops

cut and carry

tethering Early morning

during rainy day

sun rises

after the rain stops

others 1 to 2

3 to 5

all in a room

others

Mean Percentage of MP (n=21)

0 11.2 10.1 20.2 10.1 1.1 0 9.0 7.9 5.6 1.1 3.4 15.7 4.5 100

154

Mean Percentage of EHP (n=24)

9.6 4.3 0 23.4 7.4 0 0 22.3 4.3 3.2 0 0 25.5 0 100

In MP majority of farmers practiced cut and carry system (20%) management which was followed by

the practice of arable cropping, integrated with tree crops and tethering (10% each) while no one practiced extensive system. Cut and carry system seemed to be predominant in EHP with extensive and tethering being next popular methods of management.

In all the areas studied, usually animals were let out for grazing after sun rise and housed while raining. In most cases all animals were housed in a single enclosure.

Variation between the seasons, the age group and the sites Table 3: Percentage distribution of GI parasites in Aug-Sept 2011 and Jan-Feb 2012 in Goats; MP: Aug-Sept (n=33) &

Jan-Feb (n=42) and EHP: Aug-Sept (n=25) & Jan-Feb (n=51) Situm of Morobe Province (MP) Korefeigu, Henganofi, and Goroka of Eastern

Highlands Province (EHP) Aug-Sept 2011 (n=33) Jan-Feb 2012

(n=42) Aug-Sept 2011 (n=25)

Jan-Feb 2012 (n=51)

Names of the GI parasites Total Percentage mean

Total Percentage mean



B. trigonocephalum 5 15.2 16 38.1 7 28 12 23.5 Chabertia sp 3 9.1 4 9.5 5 20 2 3.9 Cooperia sp 0 0 0 0 2 8 15 29.4 Dictyocaulus sp 3 9.1 2 2.4 0 0 2 3.9

Haemonchus contortus 18 54.6 14 33.3 8 32 20 39.2

Marshallalia sp 0 0 1 2.4 0 0 0 0

Nematodirus sp 2 6.1 2 4.8 0 0 0 0 Oesophagostomum sp 11 33.3 18 42.9 7 28 17 33.3

Ostertagia sp 6 18.2 9 21.4 7 28 11 21.6

Strongyloide sp 2 6.1 6 21.3 8 32 13 25.5 Trichostrongylus sp 9 27.3 19 45.2 6 24 22 43.1

Toxocara sp 4 12.1 0 0 4 16 1 2

Fasiola sp 2 6.1 0 0 0 0 1 2

Schistosoma sp 0 0 1 2.4 0 0 0 0

Cotylophoron sp 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0

Moniezia expansa 0 0 1 2.4 0 0 2 3.9

An example is that in Aug-Sept 2011 five goats had B.trigonocephalum which is 15.2 percent and in Jan-Feb 2012 16 goats (38.1%) in the Morobe Province (MP).

The prevalence of parasites varied in two different seasons studied in both the areas which are

presented in Table 3. In Morobe Province (MP) there was an increase in the prevalence of Haemonchus in Aug-Sept as compared to Jan-Feb. (54.6 Vs 33.3%) while there was an increase in the prevalence of Bunostomum (38 Vs 15%) Oesophagostomum (42.9 Vs 33%),Trichostrongylus (45 Vs 27%) and Stongyloidea (21 Vs 6% ) during Jan-Feb as compared to Aug-Sept.

Whereas EHP, there was an increase in Chabertia 3.9 to 20% and Strongyloidea from 25% to 32% in

Aug-Sept as compared to Jan-Feb. But Haemonchus, Oesophagostomum and Trichstrongylus showed an increased presence in Jan Feb as compared to Aug-Sept which was marginal. The prevalence of other parasites did not differ much in both the seasons in the areas where study was carried out.

155

Table 4: Percentage distribution of GI parasites in adult female, male and young goats of Morobe and Eastern Highlands

Provinces (Female: MP n=57 and EHP n=46, Male: MP n=8 and EHP n=7, and Young: MP n=10 and EHP n=23)

B.

trigonoceph

alum

Ch

abertia sp

Cooperia sp

Dictyocaulus sp

H. con

tortus

Marsh

allalia sp

Nem

atodirus sp

Oesoph

agostomu

m sp

Ostertagia sp

Stron

gyloide sp

Trich

ostrongylus sp

Toxocara sp

Fasiola sp

Sch

istosoma sp

Cotyloph

oron sp

Mon

iezia expan

sa

Situ

m; A

ug-

Sep

t 2011

Female (n=27) 7.4 7.4 0 11.1 51.9 0 7.4 33.3 11.1 7.4 22.2 7.4 7.7 0 0 0

Male (n=4) 50 25 0 0 50 0 0 25 25 0 50 25 0 0 0 0

Young (n=2) 50 0 50 0 100 0 0 50 100 0 50 50 0 0 0 0

Situ

m;

Jan-

Feb

2012

Female (n=30) 36.7 6.7 0 3.3 36.7 3.3 3.3 46.7 23.3 13.3 40 0 0 3.3 0 0

Male (n=4) 25 0 0 0 25 0 25 50 25 25 75 0 0 0 0 0

Young (n=8) 50 25 0 12.5 25 0 0 25 12.5 50 0 0 0 0 0 12.5

EH

P;

Aug-

Sep

t 2011

Female (n=16) 37.5 31.3 12.5 0 43.8 0 0 37.5 37.5 43.8 31.3 18 0 0 6.3 0

Male (n=2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Young (n=7) 14.3 0 0 0 14.3 0 0 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 0 0 0 0

EH

P;

Jan-

Feb

2012

Female (n=30) 23.2 3.3 40 6.7 33.3 0 0 30 23.3 20 43.3 3.3 0 0 0 0

Male (n=5) 60 0 0 0 20 0 0 40 20 40 20 0 0 0 0 20

Young (n=16) 13 6 19 0 56 0 0 38 19 31 50 0 6 0 0 6

The above table is showing, individual age groups of goats with GI parasites through teeth

examination. Example: B.trigonocephalum has 7.4% in Aug-Sept in female, 50% in male and 50% in young.

Each period had its own total number of animals worked with. There were 27, 30 and 16, 30 females;

4, 4 and 2, 5 males; and 2, 8 and 7, 16 young goats in Situm and in EHP in Aug-Sept and Jan-Feb respectively.

Fig 4: Graph showing the comparison of GI parasites of goats in Situm and EHP

156

The prevalence pattern (Table 4 and Figure 4) remained similar to the trend seen when the prevalence

was analyzed for the entire group in different seasons (Table 3) in both the areas. In the female goats Haemonchus was the predominant parasite (52%) followed by Oesophagostomum (33%) during Aug-Sept in MP while Oesophagostomum was highest in Jan-Feb. The other parasites which were found in higher percentage were Trichostrongylus (40%), Bunostomumand Haemonchus (36% each) (Table 4 and Figure 4)

In EHP Haemonchus and Trichostrongylus (43.8% each) were of highest prevalence in the months of

Aug-Sept. followed by Bunnostomum, Oesophagostomum and Ostertagia with 37% each. While in the months of Jan-Feb prevalence of Trichostrongylus was highest (43%) followed by Haemonchus (33%) and Bunnostomum and Ostertagia (23% each) (Table 4 and Figure 4)

The numbers of male animals were very limited in both the areas. But the trend of parasitism was similar (Table 4 and Figure 4). The absence of many parasites in both the locations and in different seasons may be due to limited number of animals.

The prevalence of parasites in younger animals appeared to be higher in MP as compared to EHP

Except for Strongyloide. No statistical analysis was made due to very small number of animals in MP especially in Aug-Sept indicated in Table 4.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120Th

e figures in Percentage

The names of GI parasites of Goats

Comparision of GI Parasites of Goats in Situm and EHP

Situm; Aug‐Sept 2011 Female (n=27)

Situm; Aug‐Sept 2011 Male (n=4)

Situm; Aug‐Sept 2011 Young (n=2)

Situm; Jan‐Feb 2012 Female (n=30)

Situm; Jan‐Feb 2012 Male (n=4)

Situm; Jan‐Feb 2012 Young (n=8)

EHP; Aug‐Sept 2011 Female (n=16)

EHP; Aug‐Sept 2011 Male (n=2)

EHP; Aug‐Sept 2011 Young (n=7)

EHP; Jan‐Feb 2012 Female (n=30)

EHP; Jan‐Feb 2012 Male (n=5)

EHP; Jan‐Feb 2012 Young (n=16)

157

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The parasite Haemonchus sp was recorded highest (42.67%) and (36.84%) Situm and EHP

respectively, followed by Oesophagostomum with (38.67%) and (31.58%). Trichostrongylus sp was evenly recorded (37.33% and 36.84%). The rest of the GI parasites were below the 20% in both areas. The reason for Haemonchus sp recorded the highest in Situm would be that all its factors for growth were provided (Table 1). The egg count was not a success due to power failure however, little was done with the survey carried out (Table 2), and recommendation can be made. The eggs counts made were less than 200 per gram. Cut and carry system was practiced in both areas (20.2% and 23.4%) and the goats are only let out after the rain as the sun rises (Table 2). Also both areas provide drugs either herbs or from the stores, thus has lead to the low egg count. Haemonchus sp was recorded the highest (54.6%) in Aug-Sept, and Trichostrongylus sp with (45.2%), Oesophagostomum sp with (42.9%) and Bunostomum sp was recorded the highest in the month of Jan-Feb in Situm (38.1%). Cooperia sp (29.4%) was only recorded in Jan-Feb in EHP (Table 3). The most of GI parasites recorded the highest was in the female goats followed by young and followed by male (Table 4). Again Haemonchus sp was recorded (56%) in young goats in EHP followed by (51.9%) in female goats in Situm. The rest fall in the same trend or female goats with highest. Male goats had the least, this could be because of less number of male goats were worked with.

The present study indicated that though the prevalence of GI parasites was about 67% in both the areas of study, the parasitic load was quite lower as evidenced by egg count. The parasitic prevalence/ load were affected by the season/ rain fall but the variation seemed to be limited.

The predominant parasitic spp recorded were Haemonchus, Bunostomum, Oesophgostomum, Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus across the geographical location and during different times of the year.

Though Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus and Strongyloids were major parasites followed by Bunnostomum and Ostertagia.

Among the adult males and adult females parasitism showed similar trends with Haemonchus, Bunnostomum, and Oesophagostomum being most prevalent.

REFERENCES

Agricola O, Joseph M G, Charles K G and Amos O, (2007), Risk factors of gastrointestinal nematodes parasites infections in small ruminants kept in smallholder mixed farms in Kenya, Biomed central, Kenya, Africa. Asiba B.G, 91995), Health problems of sheep in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, Harvest 17 (1&2) 24-30 Australia Wool Innovation &The University of Sydney, (2003), Parasites and Disease, http://sydney.edu.au/vetscience/sheepwormcontrol/topics/parasites/cooperia.html. Gibbons LM, Jacobs DE, Fox F M and Hansen J, The RVC/FAO guide to veterinary diagnostic parasitology feacal examination of farm animals for helminth parasites, Royal veterinary college, London, http://www.rvc.ac.uk/review/parasitology/RuminantEgg/Common.htm Koinari, M, Karl,S, Ryan, U and Lymbery, A.J, (2012), Infection levels of gastrointestinal parsites in sheep and goats in Papua New Guinea, Journal of Helminthology, Australia MacDonald, I and Low, J, (1985), Livestock rearing in the tropics, MacMillan Education, London, UK. Macfarlane, D.C, (1998), Grazing livestock in the Southwest Pacific, FAO Sub-Regional Office for the Pacific, Apia. Samoa.

158

Merck S and Dohn Corp, (2011), Gastrointestinal parasites of sheep and goats, Merck & Corp Inc, NJ, USA Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, (2004), State of the Animal Genetic Resource, FAO, Rome, Italy. Owen, I.l, (1988), Field trial with Closantel and Haemonchus contortus in sheep in Papua New Guinea, Aust.Vet.Journal, 65(9):267-70. Quartermain, A.R, (2004).Worm control of small ruminants in tropical Asia, pp. 241-248.ACIAR, Canberra, Australia. Rural Industries Weekly, (2007), Parasite study on livestock vital, http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20070419/rural05.htm. Scheonian, S, (2010), Livestock Parasitology 101, University of Marland Extension small ruminant program, www.sheepandgoat.com. Vincent D and Low, S, (2000), A review of Papua New Guinea’s Red Meat Industry, ACIAR, Canberra, Australia. Waller, P.J, (1997), Nematode parasite control of livestock in the tropical/subtropical, need for novel approaches, Int. J.Parasitol., (10):1193-201.



159

HS7-2013-060

Study on the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. on the growth of bean and tomato plants under greenhouse condition

Gwendolyn Ban*, ShamsulAkanda and MacquinMaino

Department of Agriculture, PNG University of Technology PMB Lae 411, Papua New Guinea

Phone: 473 4451 *Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The bio-control agent Trichoderma spp. has been reported to have stimulating effect on the growth of plants. A greenhouse study was conducted at the Papua New University of Technology (PNG Unitech)to test the effectiveness of three Trichoderma isolates on the growth and development of bean and tomato plants.Polystyrene pots with 2 kg of steam sterilized soil were inoculated with 100 ml (approx. 5.2 x 105CFU/ml) of Trichoderma spore suspension and covered with polyethylene sheet for a week before planting of bean and tomato at 5 seeds per pot. Each of the three Trichoderma isolates was replicated three times along with the same number of pots as un-inoculated control for each of the crop. The pots were arranged in a completely randomized design. Trichoderma inoculation of bean plant on harvest at 33 days after planting showed root length, shoot length and total fresh weight increased by 10.5 to 16.5, 6.75 to 20.79 and 10.26 to 21.37 %, respectively over the control treatment. Similarly, inoculated tomato plants on harvest 61 days after planting increased the root length, shoot length and total fresh weight by 13.2 to 26.14, 0 to 9.4 and 7.64 to 19.44 %, respectively over the un-inoculated treatments. This encouraging preliminary greenhouse results need to be tested under field conditions before making any conclusive recommendations to the growers.

INTRODUCTION The use of biological disease control is a promising strategy in controlling soil borne and foliar

diseases in several crops. The practices involved in biological control are compatible with the aim of achieving sustainable agricultural system with no adverse effects on the environment. Among all beneficial microorganisms, Trichoderma spp. is one of the most common biocontrol agents against many plant pathogenic fungi that cause soil-borne, air-borne and post-harvest diseases in a number of crops [1, 2, 3].

Trichoderma spp. is antagonistic fungi that are free - living and widespread in soil and root ecosystems. Trichoderma works as a biological control agent through mycoparasitism, antibiosis, competition, plant growth promotion and induced resistance. Recently, Trichoderma was discovered to be an opportunistic, avirulent plant symbionts and parasites of other fungi. Some Trichoderma strains develop strong and long lasting colonisations of plant root surfaces and penetrate into the epidermis and a few cells below this level. Trichoderma produces and releases a variety of compounds that provoke localized or systematic resistance responses and therefore explains their lack of pathogenicity to plants. Their associations with plant roots cause sizeable changes to the plant proteome and metabolism. The colonisation of roots by Trichoderma spp. habitually improves plant growth and development, crop productivity, resistance to abiotic stresses and the uptake of nutrients by plants. The increase in the growth of crops induced by Trichoderma spp. has been reported for many kinds of crops, such as bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), pepper (Capsicum annum L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) [4, 5].

The hcrops, parinvestigatconductedgrowth an

MATERI

An exTechnologdrum for diameter ufilled withofTrichodbefore plawereprevispecific MAgar (PDsame numcompletel

Bean at 61 DAPand tomatassessed f

Statissoftware(STrichoderparameterfollowing

Figure

harvest at

A) The co

Perce

hormonal actirticularly for tte the plant gd to investigand developme

IALS AND Mxperiment wagy (PNG Uni24 hours andused in the grh two kilogra

derma spore santing of beaniously isolate

Media (TSM) DA) media. Ember of potsly randomizedplants were h

P. Data on roto plants. Aftfor different ptical analysiSTATISTIX rma and thors of the plan

g formula;

e 1: shows tht 33 DAP.

ontrol (No Tr

entage plant gro

A)

ivities of the the vegetablegrowth promate the plant ent of bean an

METHODS s conducted aitech). Soil cod then allowereenhouse exams ofsterilizsuspension. Tn and tomato edfrom the diwere used in

Each of the ths as un-inocud design. harvested afteot length, sho

fter uprootingparameters. is of data o8.0) to see ifose withoutTnts inoculate

he marked im

richoderma) a

Tr

wth =

B)Tric

Trichodermas. However, n

moting potentigrowth prom

nd tomato plan

at the greenhoollected earlied to cool bef

xperiment werzed soil and wThe inoculateat 5 seeds perifferent croppthe experime

hree Trichodeulated contro

er 33 days ofoot length andg the bean an

on the variof there were aTrichoderma.d with Trich

mprovement of

and B) Inocul

richoderma inoc

choderm

160

a spp. could no research isial of Tricho

moting potentints.

ouse of the Deer from the PNfore andused re also sterilizwas inoculated pots were cr pot. Three Tping areas at ent. The isolaterma isolates

ol for each o

f planting (DAd total fresh w

nd tomato pla

ous growth any significan. The percehoderma was

f root and sho

lated with Tri

ulated plants – C

Control

be effectivelys being done ioderma spp. ial of the thre

epartment of NG Unitech fto fill the polzed using 70%ed with 100 covered with

Trichoderma ithe PNG Un

tes were laters was replicaof the crop.

AP), while thweight were cants, they wer

parameter wnt difference entgrowth im

also calcula

oot growth in

ichoderma

Control (no Trich

(no

y used for thin Papua NewA greenhousee Trichoderm

Agriculture, Pfarm was stealystyrene pot% ethanol.Eaml (approx.

h polyethyleneisolates namenitech farm ur maintained oated three tim

The pots w

he tomato plancollected by hre thoroughly

were done ubetween plan

mprovement ated over the

n case of the

hoderma)

X100%

he growth of w Guinea (PNse experimenma isolates o

PNG Universamed sterilizes. Pots of 200

ach of the pot5.2 x 105CFUe sheet for a ely T2, T7 andusing Trichodon Potato Dex

mes along witwere arranged

nts were harvharvesting they washed and

using a statints inoculatedof the meacontrol usin

bean plants d

X %

many NG) to

t was on the

sity of ed in a 0 mm ts was U/ml) week

d T10 derma xtrose th the

d in a

vested e bean d then

istical d with asured ng the

during

161

RESULTS

The results for the growth parameters of bean plants are presented in Table 1. The results indicate that there were no significant differences between the Trichoderma isolates and the control in terms of root length, shoot length and total fresh weight. However, inoculation of Trichoderma has increased the root growth by 10.25 to 16.57%; shoot length by 6.72 to 20.79%; and the fresh weight by 10.26 to 21.37% over the control. Table 1: Effect of Trichoderma inoculation on root length, shoot length and total fresh weight of bean plant at 33 DAP. Trichoderma isolate

Root length (cm)

Root length increase over control (%)

Shoot length (cm)

Shoot length increase over control (%)

Total fresh wt. (gm)

Total fresh wt increase over control (%)

T2 17.52 a

16.57 40.61 a

20.79 2.84 a 21.37

T7 16.57 a

10.25 39.73 a

18.17 2.69 a 14.98

T10 16.79 a

11.71 35.88 a

6.72 2.58 a 10.26

Control (no Trichoderma)

15.03 a

- 33.62 a

- 2.34 a -

*Means followed by the same letter in a column are not significantly different at p≤ 0.05 (LSD) Similarly, the results for the growth parameters of the tomato plants on harvest at 61 DAP are

presented in Table 2. The results indicate significant difference between Trichoderma isolate 2 and the control (un-inoculated) in terms of root development. However, no other significant differences were found among the three isolates. Inoculation with Trichoderma isolates showed increased root length by 3.2 to 26.4%, shoot length by 2 to 9.6% and fresh weight by 8.3 to 18.8% over the un-inoculated control.

Table 2: Effect of Trichoderma inoculation on root length, shoot length and total fresh weight of tomato plants at 61 DAP.

Trichoderma isolate

Root length (cm)

Root length increase over control (%)

Shoot length (cm)

Shoot length increase over control (%)

Total fresh wt. (gm)

Total fresh wt increase over control (%)

T2 15.8 a 26.4 54.4 a 2 5.7 a 18.8 T7 14.9 ab 19.2 58.4 a 9.6 5.2 a 8.3 T10 12.9 ab 3.2 55.7 a 4.5 5.7 a 18.8 Control

(no Trichoderma)

12.5 b - 53.3 a - 4.8 a -

*Means followed by the same letter in a column is not significantly different at p≤ 0.05 (LSD)

162

DISCUSSION Trichoderma spp. is popular as biocontrol agents for control of many crop diseases [1, 6, 7].

Trichoderma spp. with biocontrol ability and increased plant growth is a desirable trait for selection of biocontrol agents.

The current greenhouse study showed improvement of root length, shoot length and fresh weight both for bean and tomato plant when inoculated with Tricholdermasp. compared to un-inoculated control. This confirms other studies where enhanced root growth and plant vigour was observed after the application of Trichoderma species in other crops. Borjkman [8] reported that Trichoderma increased both root and shoot growth of corn. A greenhouse research done by Lo and Lin [9] showed the application of Trichoderma strains increased percentage growth of bitter gourd, loofah and cucumber in terms of seedling height, root exploration, leaf area and dry weight over the control. Lo [6] also reported that Trichoderma strain 1295-22 increased plant vigour of bentgrasses.

The increase in plant growth in response to Trichoderma is not fully understood. However, there are several mechanisms that can best explain the phenomenon of increased plant growth. These factors may include; direct production of growth stimulating factors (i.e., plant hormones or growth factors), increased nutrients uptake through enhanced root growth or promoted availability of necessary nutrients, reduction of the concentrations of substances in soil that are inhibitory to plant growth [10, 11]. The growth promotion of Trichoderma in this case can be said that it is not attributed to its biological control ability as sterilized soil was used in this experiment. Improved root development andconcomitant increases in plant growth are probablycaused both by biocontrol and related effects on root associated microflora, and by a direct improvement inplant growth [1].In addition, Trichoderma increases the nutrient uptake of plants which indicates an improvement in plant active-uptake mechanisms and help in overcoming abiotic factors. Root colonization by strains of Trichoderma have resulted in the increased levels of defence-related plant enzymes, which includes various peroxidases, chitinases, β-1, 3-glucanases, and the lipoxygenase-pathway hydroperoxidelyase [1]. The increased growth response inoculated by Trichoderma has been reported be due to combination of factors [10].

CONCLUSION

Inoculation of sterilized soil with Trichoderma before planting of bean and tomato seeds showed improved growth of root length, shoot length and fresh weight over un-inoculated control. These preliminary trials need to be tested under the field condition for the performance of the Trichoderma spp.

REFERENCES [1] Harman, G.E., Taylor, A.G., and Stasz, T.E. (1989). Combining effective strains of Trichoderma

harzianum and solid matrix priming to improve biological seed treatments. Plant Disease 73: 631- 637. [2] Lo, C.T., Nelson, E.B., and Harman, G.E. (1996). Biological control of turfgrass diseases with a

rhizosphere competent strain of Trichodema harzianum. Plant Disease 80: 736-741. [3] Lo, C.T. (1998). General mechanisms of action of microbial biocontrol agents. Plant Pathology

Bulletin 7: 155-166. [4] Baker, R. (1991). Induction of rhizosphere competence in the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma.

Pages 221 – 228. In: The Rhizosphere and Plant Growth. D.L. Keister, and P.B Crgan, Eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston.

[5] Chang, Y. C., Baker, R., Kleifeld, O. and Chet, I. (1986).Increased growth of plants in the presence of the biological control agent Trichoderma harzianum. Plant Disease 70: 145-148.

[6] Lo, C.T., Nelson, E.B, Hayes, C.K, and Harman, G.E. (1998). Ecological studies of transformed Trichoderma harzianum strain 1295-22 in the rhizosphere and on the phylloplane of creeping bentgrass. Phytopathology 88:129-137.

[7] Papavizas, G.C. (1985). Trichoderma and Gliocladium: Biology, ecology and potential forbiocontrol. Annual Review of Phytopathology 23: 23-54.

163

[8] Bjorkman, T., Price, H.C., Harman, G.E., Ballerstein, J., and Nielsen, P. (1994). Improved performance of shrunken-2 sweet corn using Trichoderma harzianum as bioprotectant. Hort Science 29:471.

[9] Lo, C.T., Lin, C.Y. (2002). Screening strains of Trichoderma spp. for plant growth enhancement in Taiwan. Plant Pathology Bulletin 11: 215-220.

[10] Kleifeld, O. and Chet, I. (1992). Trichoderma harzianum- interaction with plants and effects on

growth response. Plant and Soil 144: 267-272. [11] Windham, M. T., Elad, Y. and Baker, R. (1986). A mechanism for increased plant growth

induced by Trichoderma spp. Phytopathology 76: 518-521.



164

HS7-2013-069

Mineralization and Leaching of Nitrogen from Animal Manures and Urea Applied to Sweetpotato under Humid Tropical Conditions

P. Kaupa* and Rajashekhar Rao B.K.

Department of Agriculture, PNG University of Technology, Private Mail Bag, Lae 411 Papua New Guinea

*E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam.) is the major staple crop of Papua New Guinea and very often nitrogen (N) deficiency is a problem under humid tropical conditions. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of urea fertilizer and animal manures on sweetpotato to find out whether different animal manures can be used alone or in combination with urea fertilizer to optimize N use of sweetpotato crop. The research involved a laboratory incubation study and a field trial which took place on a sandy, Typic Tropofluvent soil at the University of Technology. Three sources of nitrogen (urea, chicken manure and goat manure and co-application of manures and urea) were applied at a moderate rate of 50 kg N ha-1. We monitored N mineralization and N flux to sub-soil (>15 cm soil depth). Peak mineral N content was noticed on the 90th day after starting the incubation experiment. Co-application of chicken manure and urea produced the highest amount of mineral N (20.76 mg N kg-1) at 90th day, while, the lowest mineral N (18.01 mg N kg-1) release was recorded for sole application of goat manure. Maximum mineral N flux from top soil (0-15 cm) towards sub- soil was observed during the first 6 weeks after application of manures and fertilizer under the humid conditions. Mineral N flux was greatest (1.08 kg N ha-1) toward sub-soil from sole goat manure applied plots at 50 kg N ha-1 while, the lowest amount of mineral N flux (532 g N ha-1) recorded in sole chicken manure amended plots. The results of the study provide important insights into the better nitrogen nutrition management under the lowland, humid conditions of Papua New Guinea. In these soils, most of the N fertilizer can be transformed to NH4

+ N and NO3--N within 7 days of application, and therefore a high amount of nitrate-N

could be potentially lost by leaching under field conditions during that time. Consequently N fertilizer recommendations for the studied Entisols must consider timing of N application and weather conditions in order to minimize N losses by leaching processes in the soil-plant system.

Key words: Nitrogen mineralization; leaching; sweetpotato; humid tropics 1. Introduction Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (Lam.) LAM.) is the most important staple food crop in Papua New

Guinea (PNG) and it is the primary source of dietary energy for 60% of the population [1]. Besides its primary importance for human consumption it is also important as fodder for pigs as well as a cash crop even though long distance marketing is still limited. It is grown for household consumption and surplus is sold for cash at the markets. Given the increasing demand for sweetpotato, measures to increase the productivity of sweetpotato based systems will ensure that future supply can match rising demand. Today population increases by 3% each year (2000 PNG Census) there is high demand for sweet potato in the main centers like Port Moresby and Lae and in the mining townships. This has forced farmers to place an increased pressure on land, and as a result fallow periods are progressively shortened and soil fertility is on decline. In the long-term, this increasing population will lead to further shortening of fallows. There is now some evidence that soil fertility run-down is impacting on the productivity of the areas main staple, sweet potatoes; a crop which accounts for 55-90% of land under arable agriculture [2].

165

Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for plant nutrition and an indispensible input for sustainability in

agriculture [3]. The present structure and output of agricultural systems could not be maintained without the advent and widespread use of synthetic or mineral fertilizers. Of the major plant nutrients N, not only provides the greatest responses in crop yield from fertilizer addition but is also most readily lost from the agro-ecosystem [4]. Its use has increased dramatically in recent decades, but so are its losses as it cannot be fully utilized in any production system [5]. In the nitrate (NO3

- -N) form it is readily transported through the soil in water and it is therefore at risk from leaching [6]. Thus, a large dose of fertilizer N is more susceptible to losses than a small dose of N fertilizer or manure. Mineralized nutrients maybe leached in high rainfall regimes before plant’s roots are able to take them up [7]. Therefore an understanding of the mineralization rates of fertilizers and manures can help minimize the possibility of N leaching [8] and help to improve fertilizer management to meet crop N demand. Hence, the combination of knowing the drainage flux and solute concentrations in leachate solutions allows leaching losses to be quantified [9].

Besides, unfortunately, the imported mineral N fertilizers are expensive in PNG and subsistence

farmers may not afford to buy and transport them to the gardens in remote parts of PNG. Therefore, since farmers in PNG incorporate both livestock and food crops, it could be a sustainable way to recycle animal manures to their sweetpotato crops for higher yield and to improve the fertility of their soil. Therefore improved production systems involving inorganic fertilizers are an important option to increase sweepotato yield to counteract yield decline of sweetpotato under continuous cultivation. Therefore a study was designed to evaluate the fate and influence of two types of animal manures (chicken and goat manure) with urea fertilizer application to sweetpotato. The aim of this study was to determine the decomposition and mineral N release patterns from chicken and goat manure and urea fertilizer under sweetpotato crop and how the combination of these fertilizer materials influence leaching in the humid lowlands of PNG.

2 MATERIAL AND METHODS

2.1 Manure sampling, preparation and analysis

Chicken manure from laying birds and goat manure each were collected from the experimental farm

of the University of Technology (Unitech) in the beginning of February, 2013. Manure samples were air-dried for 3 days and random sub-samples were processed and analyzed at the Unitech Analytical Services Laboratory (UASL) for the properties of the manures. Before the analysis, the samples were ground and sieved to pass through 2 mm- sieve and sieved material was analyzed for moisture, ash, and total nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in triplicate.

Manures samples were dried at 70 oC and analyzed for phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) contents

after wet digestion with di-acid method in an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical-Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-OES), N content by Micro Kjeldahl method [10]. Total carbon (C) was analyzed by Australia Soil and Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC) method using CS analyzer (Lab Fit, CS2000). Samples were ashed for 4 h at 500 oC in a muffle furnace to quantify ash content. The results of these analyses are presented in Table 1. The goat manure had high N and K contents compared to chicken manure; however, goat manure had lower P content than chicken manure. Besides, goat manure had a narrow C: N ratio of 7.50:1 compared to chicken manure with a wider C: N ratio of 12.96:1.

After analysis and based on nitrogen content in the manure, the amount of manure to be used for soil

application was calculated. Nitrogen application rate of 50 kg N ha�¹ was considered as a moderate nitrogen dosage [11]. Amount of these manures required for the supply of 50 kg N ha�¹ was calculated and the urea and animal manures were weighed and used for both field and incubation experiments. For

166

the calculation purpose, N analysis of urea was taken as 46% according to supplier’s specifications and accordingly, the amount of urea needed for 50 kg N ha -1 was computed.

Table 1 Chemical properties of manures used in this study

Manure Type

Total C (%)

Total N (%)

Total P (%)

Total K (%)

Moisture (%)

Ash (%) C/N ratio

Goat 17.65±0.54 3.0±0.01 1.1±0.10 9.7±0.35 13.7±0.19 38.1±0.01 5.9:1 Chicken 23.68±0.48 2.7±0.01 3.4±0.15 5.5±0.27 17.2±0.04 39.0±0.64 8.8:1

2.2 Soil sampling, preparation and analysis Soil sampling was done by collecting 20 soil cores from randomly selected spots within the

experimental site prior to the field experiment. Surface samples (0-15 cm depth) were taken using an Edelman auger. Soil cores were composited in a clean container, thoroughly mixed and air-dried. Later, a sub-sample of 500 g was taken for laboratory analysis at the UASL. Soil samples were sieved (< 2 mm) and analyzed for pH, total carbon, mineral N (NO2

--N+ NO3--N+ NH4

+-N), available P, available K and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in triplicates.

Soil pH was measured by potentiometric method with 1:2.5 (w/v) soils: water suspension; total C by

ASPAC method; available P by NaHCO3 extraction (Olsen method) and estimated by ICP-OES; and cation exchange capacity (CEC) by ammonium acetate saturation method [12]. Mineral N was extracted with a 1 N KCl solution and quantified colorimetrically with a multi-discrete analyzer (AQ2 Seal Analytical, USA) using the sulphanilamide method after reducing NO3

--N in a cadmium coil [13]. Berthelot reaction method [14] was employed for NH4

+ -N. 2.3 Experimental Site A field experiment was conducted at the experimental farm of the Unitech in the Morobe Province of

Papua New Guinea. The farm (6º41'S, 146º98E) is located at an altitude of 65 m.a.s.l. The soil at the experimental site is well drained and derived from alluvial deposits. It is classified as Entisols or Typic Tropofluvents (USDA Soil Taxonomy). Some physical and chemical properties of the soil at the experimental site are given in Table 2. The top soil is slightly gravelly and has sandy loam texture with moderately acidic soil reaction, low in available P and K. The soil had fair levels of mineral N and total C.

The experiment was conducted between February and July of 2013. Rainfall was measured during

crop growth period using a standard rain gauge in an open area near the study site. During the four months of the experimental period 1532.9 mm of rain was recorded (Fig. 1). It can be observed that except for the weeks 9, 10, 21 and 22 each meteorological week recorded greater than 40 mm rain.

167

Figure 1 Weekly rainfall during crop growth period.

Table 2 Initial soil properties at the experiment site (sampling depth: 0-15 cm)

Total

C (%) Mineral N (mg kg-1 soil)

Available P (mg P kg-1)

Available K (meq100g-1)

CEC (meq100g-1)

pHw

0.74 2.67 0.70 0.19 6.2 6.24

2.4 Experimental set-up and management

The experimental design consisted of a replicated (n=3) Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three sources of N (urea fertilizer, chicken manure and goat manure) at a rate of 50 kg N ha�¹. The six treatments used were: absolute control with no N (T1), urea at 50 kg N ha�¹ (T2), chicken manure at 50 kg N ha�¹ (T3), goat manure at 50 kg N ha�¹ (T4), urea at 25 kg N ha�¹ + chicken manure at 25 kg N ha�¹ (T5), and urea at 25 kg N ha�¹ + goat manure at 25 kg N ha�¹ (T6).

A sweetpotato cultivar locally known as ‘Bulet’ was chosen and used in the experiment, on the basis

of its widespread use by most farmers in the region. The vines were planted at a spacing of 0.4 m x 0.8 m (630 plants/216 m²). Planting material consisted of 0.3 m of vine tips, and vines were planted at about 0.1 m depth. No mounds were constructed which is in accordance with normal farmers’ practices in the area. The crop was harvested 112 days after planting. During the experiment, weeds were pulled out manually and not removed from the plots to avoid nutrient removal. Insecticide (lambda) was used to control leaf defoliators. Manure was broadcasted on each treatment plots one week before planting and urea was also broadcasted at planting. Basal dosage of 25 kg P2O5 ha�¹ (triple superphosphate) and 75 kg K2O ha�¹ (Muriate of potash) was broadcasted on all treatment plots at planting and complete N dosage was supplied as basal application [15].

Nitrogen loss through leaching was monitored using a zero-tension lysimeter which was constructed

according to the method described by [16, 17]. The preferred design used a plastic funnel partly filled

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Weekly rainfall (m

m)

Standard meteorological weeks

168

with 2 mm quartz sand to facilitate drainage during leaching. Briefly, the materials used for the construction of zero-tension lysimeter include; 30 cm diameter polyethylene funnels, 2 mm quartz or silica sand, 50 mm diameter tygon tube, collecting bottle (polyethylene wash bottle), nylon screen (25 x 50 mm) and solvent glue (silicone glue). The materials were relatively inexpensive compared to commercially available lysimeters and the schematic diagram of the lysimeter is presented in Fig. 2. Lysimeters were carefully stationed in every plot (1 per plot) at the time of planting bed preparation prior to planting and nutrient application. Funnel filled with the quartz sand was positioned 15 cm below the soil surface and soil was carefully leveled over the funnels. A small pit was made beside individual bed to position leachate collection bottle.

Figure 2 Diagram of Zero-tension lysimeter constructed from tygon-tubing using quartz sand filled

funnel as a solution collection device. Leachate was collected every day after rainfall events using a polyethylene bottle and was transported

to the laboratory where the leachate volume was measured. Subsample aliquots of the leachate were filtered through Whatman no. 48 filter paper and stored at -5 oC until chemical analysis. The mineral N content of the leachate were quantified colorimetrically with a multi-discrete analyzer by the sulphanilamide method and the Berthelot reaction method for NO3

--N and NH4+ -N, respectively.

2.5 Laboratory incubation study

Bulk soil samples (approximately 40 kg) from experimental site were collected at 0-15 cm depth and

used for incubation studies. The samples were air-dried and sieved to pass through 2 mm -sieve. About 2 kg of the sieved soil were filled in plastic boxes (60 cm diameter, 19 cm height) and were treated with fertilizer materials (urea, chicken and goat manure) at rates equivalent to field applications of 50 kg N ha-1 with same treatments and replicates as the field trial. Distilled water was added to moisten the soil to about 85% of field capacity. Field capacity was calculated by the laboratory method [18]. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications was used. Moisture content of the incubated soil were checked every 5th day, by weighing the moist soil and moisture content was adjusted as and when needed. The plastic boxes were partly covered with their lids to allow unrestricted gas exchange but to minimize water loss.

The experiment was maintained for 90 days at a constant temperature of 25± 4 0C in the laboratory. Samples were collected for analysis from the incubated material five times- 7, 15, 30, 60 and 90 days after initiation of the experiment. About 10 g moist samples were used to extract NO3

--N and NH4+-N by

shaking in a rotating shaker at 200 rev min-1 for 15 minutes with 30 ml of 1 N KCl [19]. The extracts were frozen and stored until analyzed for mineral N using the sulphanilamide method and the Berthelot reaction method for NO3

--N and NH4+ -N, respectively.

Tygon tube

Leachate collecting bottle

Silica sand-filled f lNylon screen

169

2.6 Statistical analysis Results of mineral N and N flux with different incubation time intervals were analyzed by Split Plot

method for Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using Statistix software (Version 8.0; Statistix, Tallahassee, Fl.). Wherever, ANOVA detected significant differences among the various sources of variation, the means were compared in Least Significance Difference (LSD) test at 0.05 probability level.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 N mineralization

Results presented in Table 3 shows the mineral N content in soil treated with manures and fertilizer nitrogen for a period of 90 days of incubation. Statistically there was significant difference (p< 0.05) between the mineral N produced from different sources of N. Co-application of urea and chicken manure produced the highest amount of mineral N (20.76 mg N kg-1) in 90 days followed closely by the soil amended with sole urea at 50 kg N ha-1 and the soil amended with urea at 25 kg N ha-1 + goat manure at 25 kg N ha-1. While the lowest mineral N release (18.01 mg N kg-1) was recorded for sole goat manure amended plots and sole chicken manure amended plots (18.41 mg N kg-1). Goat manure had low C: N ratio (Table 1) compared to the wide C: N ratio of chicken manure. Several studies have documented relationship between N mineralization potentials of organic materials and C: N ratio of the organic materials used [20]. Mineralization potentials of the organic manures were altered when they were used in combination with urea. It was apparent that combined application of chicken manure with urea improved mineralization of chicken manure.

Table 3 Mineral N released (on 90th day of sampling) from manures and fertilizer nitrogen

The symbols * and ** indicates that F test was significant at p<0.05 and p<0.001 respectively;

similar values with the same alphabets within a column indicates that there is no significant difference.

Both fertilizers and manures underwent rapid mineralization under laboratory conditions. This agrees

with findings by [21] which state that when manures are poor in nutrients, the presence of fertilizer is essential to increase soil organic matter with time and increased available N concentration in soil. According to [22], the uses of organic and inorganic fertilizers hold the key to sustainable agricultural productivity and have proved a sound fertility management strategy in many countries of the world. Also apart from enhancing crop yield, the practice has a greater beneficial residual effect than can be derived from the use of either inorganic fertilizer or organic manure alone.

Mineralization was fast in the initial 7 days; later the rate of release was comparably slower (Table 4). This trend is very well expected as fresh addition of manures provides food for N mineralizers and other microbial communities in the soil. Soil microbes convert most of the easily decomposable organic N

Source of N Mineral N (mg N kg-1 soil) Mean T1 13.04 10.83b T2 20.39 13.21a T3 18.41 12.24ab T4 18.01 12.20ab T5 20.76 13.39a T6 20.27 13.21a

F test significance

*

LSD0.05 1.50

170

sources in short periods. The decrease in the release of NH4+-N with days of incubation was due to exhaustion of mineralizable organic forms of N. An increase in NO2- -N + NO3- -N and mineral N contents after 90 days of incubation may be due to there being no sink for the mineralized N. In general NH4+-N forms were initially high and decreased rapidly through time as labile organic pools are depleted, leaving progressively more recalcitrant organic matter to be mineralized [23]. However, at all sampling intervals the NO2--N + NO3--N forms represented the major fraction of available N in soil indicating that NH4+-N has been oxidized. This agrees with findings reported by [24] which states that in agricultural normal soil conditions the NH4+-N form is rapidly transformed (oxidize) into NO3--N form [24]. Hence, peak mineral N contents were noticed after 90 days of incubation.

Table 4 Rate of mineral N production (mg N kg-1 soil day-1) Days of incubation

Source of N 7th day 15th day 30th day 60th day 90th day T1 1.69 1.12 0.67 0.40 0.48 T2 1.71 1.23 0.78 0.53 0.68 T3 1.79 1.25 0.58 0.49 0.61 T4 1.77 1.28 0.61 0.46 0.60 T5 1.78 1.32 0.70 0.52 0.65 T6 1.89 1.27 0.65 0.51 0.68

3.2 N movement

Results presented in Table 5 indicated that there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the N flux

during different growth stages of sweetpotato crop. The highest cumulative mineral N flux (1.08 kg N ha-

1) from top soil (0-15 cm) towards sub-surface soil was from sole application of goat manure at 50 kg N ha-1 followed by co-application of chicken manure and urea (894 g N ha-1) at 50 kg N ha-1 during the crop’s growth period. Most of the mineral N flux below top soil occurred after application of manures and fertilizer through to tuber initiation stage, which is the 6th week after planting. On an average the cumulative mineral N flux moved as much as 360 g N ha-1 from sole application of goat manure, while, the lowest flux of 178 g N ha-1 was recorded from chicken manure amended plots during the crop’s growth period. These results correspond with the N mineralization pattern from the incubation study. It is also comparable to findings from previous studies [25] where application of farmyard manure resulted in a large increase in nitrate content in the top soil within a month, and N input and surplus was much larger when farmyard manure was applied with mineral N fertilizer than that obtained with mineral N alone.

There was also statistically significant (p<0.05) differences in N movement during different growth

stages of sweetpotato owing to variations in N sources used. The movement of mineral N from bulking stage of the sweetpotato to maturity stage is comparatively low indicating that the crop absorbed greater proportion of mineralized N for meeting growth requirements. More than 48% of the N flux occurred before the tuber initiation stage (6th week of planting). This trend is in accordance with the observations of [26] that the risk of nitrate leaching during the growing season is low because of high crop demand on N. Thus rapid absorption of nitrate N could have resulted in less likelihood of leaching. Nitrate-N is mobile in soil and immediately plant available and thereafter is susceptible to leaching during high rainfall [27]. Capillary rise can bring some nitrates back into the root zone and also movement of nitrate-N below 15 cm of the soil could be still accessible to the roots of sweetpotato [27]. Hence, movements below 15 cm cannot be necessarily equated to leaching losses of nutrients occuring due to deep drainage. [28] pointed out that the use of fertilizer N leads to greater mineralization of soil N and this process may be partly responsible for N losses from fertilized plots, although the greatest influence on the movement of fertilizer materials must have been the direct effect of the timing and amount of rainfall. The rate and the

171

combinations of N applied may also have an effect on the movement of N from top soil to sub-surface soil. However, the application rate of 50 kg N ha-1 may have been too small to influence a greater loss of N through leaching.

Table 5 Effect of manure and fertilizer nitrogen on mineral N flux (g N ha-1)

Mineral N flux from top soil (g N ha-1) Source of N Flux up to

tuberization Flux during bulking Flux during

maturity Total flux Mean

T1 35 219 164 418 139c T2 553 50 255 858 286ab T3 205 208 119 532 178c T4 597 328 155 1080 360a T5 419 275 200 894 298a T6 299 172 97 568 190bc Mean 351a 209b 165b F test significance

Source of N Growth stage Source of N X Growth stage

** *** ***

LSD0.05: Source of N, 98; Growth stage, 49 The symbols *, ** and *** indicates that F test was significant at p<0.05 and p<0.001

respectively; similar values with the same alphabets within a column indicates that there is no significant difference.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The objective of this study was to compare and quantify N mineralization from urea fertilizer and

animal manures under laboratory conditions and to assess N leaching potential under sweetpotato crop. Results of the incubation study indicated that nitrogen fertilizer materials mineralized to mineral N under laboratory conditions. Mineralization of organic forms of N increased with time and rapid mineralization rates were seen in the initial week after incubation. The greatest mineral N movement from top soil towards sub-surface soil under sweetpotato crop occurred after application of fertilizer up to tuber initiation and decreased from bulking stage of the sweetpotato to maturity stage. More mineral N from sole application of goat manure (2.04 kg N ha-1) amended plots moved below the top soil during the crop’s growth period, followed by co-application of urea and chicken manure (1.68kg N ha-1) while the lowest flux of 1.00 kg N ha-1 leached from chicken manure amended soil. Yet, the amount of NO3

-

produced and transferred is quite small compared to studies done in other parts of the world and there would not be any environmental risks anticipated from any of the treatment combinations.

These conclusions have agronomical implications for decisions on the management of N in cropping

systems in the humid lowlands of PNG having sandy soil with low native N levels and excessive rainfall. In this soil most of N fertilizer can be transformed to NH4

+ N and NO3--N within 7 days of application,

and therefore a high amount of nitrate N could be potentially lost by leaching under field conditions during that time. Consequently N fertilizer recommendations for the studied Entisols must consider not only the amount of N potentially available for plant growth and timing of N application, but also weather conditions in order to minimize N losses by leaching processes in the soil-plant system. On sandy soils, other decisions such as N source, and method and time of application are of equal concern to ensure that N is not lost by nitrate leaching during the growing season.

172

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research is financially supported by the New Zealand Overseas Development Aid scheme and

the Agriculture department of the University of Technology. Assistance of the staff of the Agriculture department of the University of Technology is kindly acknowledged.

REFERENCES

[1] Hughes, M.J., Coleman, E.A., Taraken, I.T., Igua, P. 2009. Sweet potato agronomy in Papua New Guinea. In G, Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweet potato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, ACIAR Technical Reports No. 71. pp. 12-23. ACIAR: Canberra

[2] Kirchhof, G., Taraken, I.T., Ramakrishna, A., Ratsch, R., Igua, P. 2009. Biophysical contstraints of sweet potato-based cropping systems in Papua New Guinea. In G, Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweet potato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. ACIAR Technical Reports No. 71. pp. 95-109. ACIAR: Canberra.

[3] Curley, E.M., O’Flynn, M.G., and Macdonnel, K.P. 2009. Nitrate leaching losses from Miscanthus x giganteus: Impact on ground water quality. Journal of agronomy 8 (3): 107-112.

[4] Merrington, G., Winder, L., Parkinson, R. and Redman, M. 2002. Agricultural Pollution-Environmental Problems and Practical Solutions.Spon Press, London, pp:11-42.

[5] Galloway, J.N. 1998. The global nitrogen cycle: Changes and consequences. J. Environ. Pollut., 102:15-24.

[6] Christian, D.G., and Riche, A.B. 1998. Nitrate leaching loss under Miscanthus grass planted on a silty clay loam soil. Soil Use Manage., 14: 131-135.

[7] National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI - PNG). 2008. An Evaluation of Soil Fertility Constraints in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Technical Bulletin No. 22.

[8] Crohn, D. 2004. Nitrogen mineralization and its importance in organic waste recycling. In: Proceedings, National Alfalfa Symposium, San Diego, CA, University of California.

[9] Brye, K.R., Norman, J., Bundy, L., and Gower, T. 2000. Nitrogen leaching losses from conventional and no-tillage corn. http://www.soils.wisc.edu (15/07/2012)

[10] Bremner, J.M. and Malvaney, C.S. 1982. Nitrogen total. In: Methods of soil analysis Part 2. 2nd Edition (eds. A.L. Page, R.H. Miller and D.R. Keeney). ASA. ASSS. Monograph No. 9 Madison. USA. PP. 595-624.

[11] Talopa, P and Gurnah, A.M. 1992. The effect of four levels of nitrogen and the time of harvest on the yield of sweet potato, NiuginiAgrisaiens, Journal of the Depart. Of Agric. PNG UNITECH, 1 (1).

[12] Thomas, G.W. 1982. Exchangeable cations. In: Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. 2nd edition. (Eds. A.L. Page, R.H Miller and D.R Keeney) ASA. SSSA. Monograph. No. 9. Madison. Winconsin, USA. PP. 159-165.

[13] Keeney, D.R., Nelson, D.W. 1982. Nitrogen – inorganic forms. In: Page Al et al. (eds) Methods of Soil Analysis, 2nd edition, American Society of Agronomy, Madision WI pp 643-693.

[14] Searle, P.L. 1984. The Berthelot or indophenols reaction and its use in the analytical chemistry of nitrogen: a review, Analyst, 109, pp: 549-568.

[15] Onwueme, I.C and Charles, W.B. 1994. Tropical Root and Tuber Crops, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.

[16] MacDonald, J.D., Be´langer, N., and Hendershot, W.H. 2004a. Column leaching using dry soil reproduces solid-solution partitioning observed in zero-tension lysimeters. 2. Trace metals. Soil Sed. Contam. 13: 361–374.

[17] MacDonald, J.D., Be´langer, N., and Hendershot, W.H. 2004b. Column leaching using dry soil reproduces solid-solution partitioning observed in zero-tension lysimeters. 1. Method Development. Soil Sed. Contam. 13: 375–390.

173

[18] Sarkar, D and Haldar, A. 2010. Physical and Chemical Methods of Soil Analysis, 2nd Edition, New Age International Publishers, India.

[19] Norman, R.J., Edberg, J.C., and Stucki, J.W. 1985. Determination of nitrate in soil extracts by dual-wavelength ultraviolet spectrophotometry, soil sci. Am. J., vol. 49.

[20] Castellanos, J.Z., and Pratt, P.F. 1981. Mineralization of manure nitrogen-correlation with laboratory indexes. J. Soil Sci. Soc. Am., 45:354-357.

[21] Tittonel, P., Corbeels, M., van Wijk, M.T., Vanlauwe, B., and Giller, K.E. 2008. Plant available nitrogen from poultry manure as affected by timing of application. Agron. J. 100:5.1318-1326.

[22] Agbede, T.M., Oladitan,T.O., Alagha, S.A., Ojomo, A.O., and Ale, M.O. 2010. Comparative evaluation of poultry manure and NPK fertilizer on soil physical and chemical properties, leaf nutrient concentrations, growth and yield of yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir) in South Nigeria. World journal of Agriculture Sciences 6 (5): 540-546.

[23] Bridgham, S.D., Updegraff, K., and Pastor, J. 1998. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus mineralization in Northern wetlands, Ecology 79 (5), pp.1545-1561.

[24] Mengel, K. 1996. Turnover of organic nitrogen in soils and its availability to crops. Plant soil 181: 83-93.

[25] Guo, S., Wu, J., Dang, T., Liu, W., Li, Y., Wei, W., and Syers, J.K. 2009. Impact of fertilizer practices on environmental risks of nitrate in semiarid farmlands in the Loess Plateau of China, Plant Soil, 330: 1-13.

[26] Marschner, P., and Rengel, Z. (eds): Nutrient cycling in Terrestrial Ecosystems. 2007. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg & Berlin, Germany.

[27] Mosier, A.R., Syers, J.K., and Freney, J.R. (eds): Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle: Assessing the impacts of fertilizer use on food production and the environment. 2004. Island Press, Washington DC, USA.

[28] Addiscott, T.M., Whitmore, A.P. and Powlson, D.S. 1991. Farming, fertilizers and nitrate problem. CAB International, Wallingford, pp: 55-72.

7th HUON SEMINAR

ACHIEVING VISION 2050 THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION, RESEARCH, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY November 13th to 14th 2013, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea

174

HS72013-HS-078

Identification of plant materials used in the general construction of traditional houses in serongko village, finschhafen district, morobe

province, papua new guinea

Michelle Anania#1, Mex M. Peki#2* and Artis Vinas#3

#1C/- Denis Kone, P.O Box 233 University, NCD [email protected]

#2#3PNG University of Technology, Department of Forestry #[email protected]; #[email protected];

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

In the face of modernization and inappropriate western housing models that are introduced into the country, we should document our traditional architectural knowledge and materials before it’s too late. All traditional houses are constructed using timber and non –timber products from natural forests in Papua New Guinea (PNG), however in some areas where people have access to cash and infrastructures such as roads and transportations, people have built houses using timber from the village-level sawmill. Other typical products used are adzed hardwood posts, sand and gravel excavated from river beds, small scale saw-milling, treated saplings, treated roofing shales and treated woven mats from sago, bamboo and cane. All houses are small and therefore inherently use fewer resources. This paper documents and preserves traditional building culture and materials knowledge in the Serongko area of Finschhafen District in the Morobe Province. The approach used in data collections were questionnaires, interviews and personal observation and collection of plant specimens from the nearby forests for further confirmation at Unitech herbarium. It was found that in general a total of 41 plant species were used in building a typical traditional house in this village (Serongko). Of these, 31 are tree species while 10 are non – timber species. The importance of preserving these 41 species in the Serongko village is paramount for the sustainability of the plant building materials and conservation for future generations. Cultural heritage in the traditional architectural knowledge will be preserved and will be pass on for future generations.

Key words: Traditional house, architectural heritage, cultural sustainability, plant species, conservation 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background With around 400 billion trees on earth, found on every continent except for the Antarctic, it is no

surprise that humans have turned to them for various uses. Wood has been used as a building material since the Neolithic period (between 4,000 to 11,000 years ago) when humans first used trees to build shelters. Wood has many qualities that make it ideal for building houses and furniture: it can provide insulation; it is flexible, light but strong. Aside from wood from well known species such as Pometia pinnata (Taun), Instia bijuga (Kwila), Tectona grandis (Teak) and many other tropical species, there are many other building materials that are derived from plants as Calamus spp (rattans), palms, bark, bamboos and others. Papua New Guinea (PNG) lies in the tropics and still a developing (Third World) country as 85% of

its population is rural based; thus, “most construction materials used in (the building of ) traditional buildings are local materials including timber, sago palm leaves and grass for roofing as well as bamboo and bush vines, tree barks, etc..”[1].

Housing climate anand culturof the arelocation expenditusteel and gthe cheape1.2 TradMost trageneral cof PapuaprovinceconstructSoutherntypes of used dep(Fig. 1) i

There is

and settlemend resources wral pride [6]. Tea and its peoof the area,

ure of the builglass whereasest building m

ditional housaditional housconstruction oa New Guineae and discustion of these h

n region has mhousing tech

pends on the bis taken from

Figu

only one doo

ent traditionswhich exist inThus, when aople. The ma climate, prlding owner. Fs rural areas dmaterial-woodes in Papua Nses constructof traditional a; Southern, Msed the typehouses. many provinchniques. Althbuilding type,Mamalo villa

Figure 1: Ty

ure 2: Cross an

or and no wind

s are, howevn a particular a house is builaterials used reference, cuFor example,due to lack ofd and non-woNew Guineated in PNG houses. By wMomase and e of traditio

ces, howeverhough the ma, its purpose aage of the ma

ypical Mamal

nd longitudinSo

dows as show

175

er, varied in area. It is an lt in a certain in the constr

ulture and tr, urban areas f accessibility

ood forest pro

are associateway of review

Highlands. Fonal housing

r we chose Caterials used mand preferenc

ainland Rigo D

o traditional h

nal section of urce: [5]

wn in the front

PNG. They outward signarea, it reflec

ruction of sheraditions, avawill have bui

y and money,oducts.

ed with the pwe briefly lorom each of ttechnique a

entral Provinmaybe similaces of the ownDistrict.

house: Sourc

a Mamalo vil

t and side ele

reflect the sn of communicts the cultureelter will varailability of ildings compr will have bu

plant materiaooked at threethis region, wand materials

nce as it has mar, where andner. The follo

ce: [5]

llage home

vations in Fig

social patternty self-reliance and traditionry according

materials anrising of woo

uildings built o

als used in the regional areawe selected ons used in th

many differed how they aowing examp

g. 3.

ns, ce ns to nd d, of

he as ne he

nt are ple

176

Figure 3: Front and side elevation of a common Mamalo village home: Source: [5]

Each house component is made up of different plant materials. The following table depicts the different plant materials used in the different components of the house (Table 1).

Table 1: Plant materials used in the different components of a traditional Mamalo house

Structure of a house Building Components Traditional Names Botanical names

Post a) Floor support roof b) Roof support post c) Main/ centre post

Kwaraugu*

Rakwa Sega* Kea*

Kwila (Intsia bijuga)

Floor structure a) Bearer b) Flooring

Gala Vuata* Vuata*

Kwila (Intsia bijuga)

Wall/roof structure a) Main rafter b) Minor rafter c) Main batten d) Minor batten e) Wall bracing f) Ridge beam

Lovusina#

Lovu#

Vane#

Reva#

Kabe#

Mani Pava#

Black Palm

End wall structure a) Lower front wall lining

b) Front wall studs (Upper)

Ko‛ge Kapana*

Papaku Peakanna#

Kwila (Intsia bijuga) Black Palm

Fixings Tie roof cover and tie of bracings, batten e.tc

Punata Bamboo (Bamboosa sp)

Bracing Horizontal bracing/ struts Iruva ? Roof lining roofing/ hatch Kunai Grass

(Imperata cylindra)

Source: [5] Note: #* Same plant species with different local names when applied to different

components of the structure of a house

A command a sinof the ho

The hbuildi

In Momasarchitecturmore thansignificancparamount The villagin the claylong) and h

CertaiFor esuspereinfo

mon Mamalo vngle large rooouse as shown

house componing is depicted

Figure 4:

se region, thre of their famn 10 metres ice to the cot purpose is fo

es of the midy of the riverhave a single

in technical cxample, in thnded curtains

orced with ear

village homem with a fire

n in Figure 2.

nents where td in Fig. 4.

: Cross sectio

he Sepik Promous “Haus in height, 15

ommunity andor the familie

ddle Sepik Rivrbank. The faroom, which

Figure 5:characteristicshe middle Ses allowed airrth are protec

e consists of aplace in the

the above sta

on denoting m

ovinces-West Tambaran” o

5 metres in wd the provins to shelter.

ver consists oamily houses h shelters the e

A traditionals of a house aepik region, lr to circulate cted from the

177

an outdoor dcentre of the

ated plant ma

materials used

and East Sor spirit homwidth and upnce in which

of large housare usually l

extended fam

l Sepik home are determinedlong, narrow freely. Theseheat and coo

deck, storage room which a

aterials are us

in the buildin

Sepik, are renmes. These map to 30 metreh they are lo

es built on solarge (5-8 me

mily as shown

Source: [4]d by the type

buildings we buildings woled by the br

area for foodaccommodate

sed in a tradi

ng: Source: [

nowned for agnificent bues in length, ocated [4]. F

olid stilts thateters wide byin Fig. 5 [4].

] of habitat fou

with walls mawhen borderereeze. The ho

d and firewooes the residen

itional Mama

5]

their splenduildings excee

are a culturFurthermore,

t are deeply sy 12-20 mete

und in the areade of lath aned by trees anouses were als

od nts

alo

did ed ral

a

set ers

ea. nd nd so

“resispieces More of largframeThe dplant managlife anfutureFinallThrouand unPapuagrasseformsThesebuildi Even

1.2.1 In tradenomunlimHighlknowhouseAll Hsuppowithoeitherwith linvarihave officeprovidburninThe wbeen eof the

stant to the eas of framewor

- over, vast qge tree trunks

e and the floodifferent partsmaterials in vge their foresnd family line use [4]. ly, we look aughout the Hinderstanding a New Guineaes, reeds, etc.s- each closee traditional bing and severi

today, much

Componentsaditional as wminator for al

mited possibililands houses n as karap an

es [6]. Highlands buorting the rooout windows tr two layers olayers of woviably airtight walls constru

ers and missiode any insulang throughou

wall beams arestimated. The wall beams

arthquakes thrk bound toge

quantities of s for the stiltsors. Hundreds were tied togvillages havinst under patrineage and we

t plant materighlands, therof the behav

an indigenous.) to satisfy t

ely related tobuildings tooity of exposur

of this knowl

Figus of a house well as modell buildings inities for additto support l

nd bande, whi

uildings haveof. The wallsto minimise hof closely spaven pit pit maand their thic

ucted of a sinonaries) whichation, therefout the eveninge initially ere

he corner colu. The wall b

at occur frequether by Lian

plant materias, beams and jds of sago andgether by kilong about a hunmony system

ere tendered i

ials used in mre is evidenceiour and chars builders usethe collective o their socialok into accoure as they are

ledge is still e

ure 6: Typical

ern buildingsn Papua New tion and improads of the bich may often

walls of cls of the Higheat loss to taced timber pats or barks wckness usuallngle layer of h are climaticre requiring t [6].

ected after theumns and dooeams placed

178

uently in the a spp” [4].

als are neededjoists, dozensd borass palmometres of trendred buildin

ms carefully. Tin the wild o

making of tra that the indig

racteristics of ed locally ava

building nee, cultural, ec

unt the forcese affected by w

evident as sho

l round house

s, the basic Guinea is the

rovisation. Inbuilding, then times have b

losely spacedghland housesthe outside duplanks with gwith grass andy increases wwoven pit pi

cally inappropthe occupant

e site has beenor frame colum

across the co

area because

d to build thes of palm andm leaves to coeated liana crengs each meanTrees were in

or planted and

aditional housgenous builde

f the materialsailable buildineds and produconomic and s of climate, weather cond

own in Fig. 6.

e Source: [8]

of structural e post and the

n the construc building is been previous

d planks or s are built inuring the coorass and fern

d infill betwewith altitude (it mat (a techpriate as theys to either us

n levelled andmn are erecteorner column

e they were a

ese houses incd bamboo trunover the roof eeper. Such cnt that the inhnextricably lind cared for w

ses in the Higers had a precs they employng materials (uced a divers

philosophicaaspect, and

ditions [6].

.

]

systems ande beams. It of

ction of ceremincorporated sly used in ot

posts with sn layers for

ol evenings. Tn infill or timben the layers(Fig. 7). Somhnique intrody are not airtigse blankets o

d the buildinged first and thns and firmly

assembled fro

cluding dozennks for the roof and the wallconsumption ohabitants had nked to huma

with an eye fo

ghlands regiocise knowledgyed. Hence, th(timber, palmsity of buildinal backgrounsite, height o

d the commoffers a base fo

monial Westerwith column

ther ceremoni

sloping rafteinsulation an

They consist ober posts line. The walls ae houses toda

duced by patrght nor do the

or keep the fi

g perimeter hahen the erectioy fastened wi

m

ns of ls. of to an for

n. ge he

ms, ng

nd. of

on for rn ns ial

ers nd of ed

are ay rol ey re

as on th

179

Hoya sp vines. The top ends of the interior studs of the building are then secured with vines to the wall beams in order to hold them firmly together.

Figure 7: Wall details in a Highlands house: Source: [8]

Round plan houses have one doorway, which are traditionally, closed by horizontal planks stacked between two pairs of posts as shown in Figure 8. Some houses in other parts of the Highlands region have banana or similar leaves attached to a horizontal plank above the doorway and hanging over the planks on the inside to inhibit cold air from being blown in between the planks. It also served as a warning device as the removal of the planks would cause the leaves to rustle and awaken the occupants who would arm themselves in case it was an enemy [6].

Figure 8: Typical highlands house doorways; Source: [8].

However, many houses today use hinges, plank doors with padlocks and other closing devices. The most common type of flooring is earth. However, some households may have low level platforms for the occupants to sleep and carry out other household activities. The roofing materials in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea use similar to lowland savannah areas, which is usually made from tall savannah grass Imperata cylindrica, which is commonly known as kunai. In the construction of ceremonial houses, the kunai thatched roof is a low-pitched gable construction and is much shallower than the typical residential buildings, which usually have a maximum slope of 8 to 10 degrees (Fig. 9) [6].



180

1.2.2 Durability It must be noted that the structural timber used in contact with the ground is extremely durable hardwood, which are not susceptible to wet, rot or insect attack. These local timbers are used in preference against less durable species and they may be bought from the neighbouring communities if the resources in the neighbouring and adjacent forests have been depleted. The expected life span of these durable species is usually between 12 to 15 years, thus, they can be reused for subsequent buildings, as the life span of a house is usually between 4 to 5 years, and this is due to the breakdown of the grass thatching and wall linings [6]. In this way, the community itself contributes to the continued usage of the timber and its conservation from its resource. The review of literature associated to the topic has lead to the drawing of the following conclusion; the case studies researched, are all aimed at documenting the architectural styles of the building and pay little or no attention to the plant materials used in their construction. However, due to changing times, many Papua New Guinean people have resorted to the usage of modern building materials and techniques. This has lead to the loss of knowledge in traditional building materials and housing techniques. Therefore, the aim of this research is to initiate the identifying and documenting of the priceless knowledge of the plant species used in traditional buildings before it is lost to westernization.

Figure 9: Cross section through a round house roof: Source: [8].

1.3 General Site Information Serongko Village is located approximately 10 km from the township of Finschhafen and 2100 km from Lae, the provincial capital of Morobe Province. It takes an average of 7 hours travelling time, 4 hours by ship from Lae and 3 hours by vehicle from Finschhafen town, depending on the weather and road conditions. The geography of Serongko Village is situated on a ridge in the mountainous region of Finschhafen. The area has gentle slopes. According to [6], the general climate of the area is humid with heavy to light rainfall (500-1400 mm) which occurs the most between the months of May to August. The area has a mean maximum temperature between 25-30°C and a mean minimum temperature between 14-20°C. The forest type of the Serongko area is in the Lower Montane as it is located between 1500-3000 metres above the sea level. According to [2], the main features of this forest type include; low cloud cover, impression of wetness, low forest canopy which is more regular

[Type text]

181

and dense in appearance, the vegetation reflects damp conditions with moss covered trees and fallen branches and the most dominant tree species are Castonopsis, Lithocarpus and Nothofagus species. The Serongko area has eutropeptic and dystropeptic soil types. This soil type is most common in PNG and occurs throughout humid areas at low to mid altitude. Soils of this type have thick dark topsoil and the “A” horizon has a dark reddish colour which is due to the heavy presence of iron oxide concentrations released by the weathering of primary materials [2].The village has a population of about 1000 people. This population is not concentrated in one area but is scattered around the Serongko area. In this study a research was carried out in Serongko Village, Finschhafen District, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The purpose is for identifying and documenting the scientific and local names of plant species from which plant materials are used for traditional house construction. The implications of this study include need for conservation of these tree species from which most of these plant materials originate from; and somewhat preserve traditional local knowledge of the usage of these species for future reference. 2.0 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Qualitative Approach Data collection was carried out through the qualitative approach. This approach used observation, description, interview transcripts, field notes and diaries and narratives to get the results. Data was qualified with accurate observation and description and also subjective and relative to research. 2.1.1 Informal Interview This method of data collection involved the selection of 10 different traditional home owners. This sample included both male and female home owners. This form of interviewing enabled the interviewer (researchers) to personally interact and fully understand the interviewee and their perspective and behaviours. It also enabled the interviewee to fully express him/herself on the above stated topic without any limitations. However, the questions which the researchers asked were pre-designed to obtain maximum and vital information only within the given time limit. 2.1.2 Personal Observation This method involved personal observation of the traditional homes and the materials used in the general construction of these buildings. The execution of these methods of data collection involved the researcher travelling to the site and obtaining additional information through photographs, sketching and measurements and building identification. 2. 2 Sampling and Sampling Technique 2.2.1 Sampling The study focused on 10 different traditional home owners who were randomly selected. The original proposed number of interviews to be carried out was 25, however, after the questionnaires were reviewed it was discovered that most plant materials used were common in all traditional house constructed. It must be noted that Serongko village consists of 20 houses, thus collecting information from 10 houses seemed adequate to provide the researchers with the information they needed to start specimen collection. The researchers were only able to interview 50% of the above stated number of home owners as well start specimen collection only when the weather permitted.

[Type text]

182

2.2.2 Sampling Technique The sampling technique employed was the simple random sampling method. The representative 10 random home owners provided enough information for the researcher to draw adequate conclusions relating to the study and its objectives. 2.3Data Analysis The data obtained from the questionnaires and observations were analysed using Miles and Huberman’s Interactive Model of Data Analysis (Fig.10).

Figure 10: Process of data analysis

The model consists of three concurrent activities: Data Reduction, Data Display and Drawing Conclusion and Verification (Fig.10). The following steps were taken to analyse the data collected:

1. After collecting the completed questionnaires, the researcher went through the process of selecting, focusing, simplifying and transforming the raw data. Individual questionnaires were reviewed to extract information. Closed questions required a tallying system while open ended questions were written out in simple sentences.

2. The next step involved the displaying of data. This was where all simplified data was projected in some form to establish a clear picture from which conclusions were drawn. These displays comprised of organized assembly of all information to cater for conclusions and verifications were drawn from any trends and patterns in the data. The researcher displayed all the data collected on a table.

3. The third step involved the drawing of conclusions. These were derived from the tables displaying the data.Data analysis for this study was carried out according to the described process as it is an effective guideline and makes data analysis very apparent and efficient.

3.0 RESULT AND FINDINGS

The following cross section (Fig. 11) depicts the main components of a traditional house in the Serongko area. The project was aimed at identifying the plant materials used for these components.

Data Reduction

Data Display

Conclusion: Drawing/ Verfying

Data Collection

[Type

text]

Fi

Figu

# Family

1 Cunnon

2 Myrtac

igure: 11 Cros

ure 12: Typica

y G

niaceae W

ceae Z

ss section of a

al Serongko tr

Table 2: Genus

Weinmania

Zanthomyrtus

183

a traditional S

raditional hou

Species used

Species

blumei

angustifolia

Serongko hou

use (left) with

for posts Vernacu name Zing

a Zazae

use.

h floor plan (r

ular HComPosts

Posts

right)

House mponents

s

[Type text]

184

8 Tilliaceae Microcos oblongifolia Kakao Posts

9 Podocarpaceae Nagia wallichianus Saundong Post

11 Rubiaceae Neonauclea obversifolia Qedebang Posts

16 Sapindaceae Pometia tomentosa Bizo-ngiric Posts

19 Rhizophoraceae Gyntraches axillaris Waweqac Posts

20 Rubiaceae Wenlandia panniculata Feng/Boketic Posts

30 Sapindaceae Pometia pinnata Bizo-wanzong Posts

Table 3: Species used as bearers

# Family Genus Species Vernacular name

House Component

7 Melastomataceae Astronia montana Obo Bearer 13 Cunnoniaceae Ceratopetalum sucirubrum Titi-qeqec Bearer 15 Clusiaceae Calophyllum Fitac Bearer 21 Fagaceae Castonopsis accuminatissma Zazibu Bearer 22 Theaceae Adinandra brassii Firic 1 Bearer 23 Elaeocarpaceae Elaeocarpus angustifolia Qozaric Bearer 24 Theaceae Ternstroemia merrilliana Firic 2 Bearer 25 Fabaceae Serianthes novoguinensis Maro Bearer 26 Ulmaceae Trema orientalis Mumung Bearer 28 Rhamnaceae Alphitonia macrocarpa Sowing Bearer 29 Fagaceae Lithocarpus celebicus Boring Bearer 32 Rubiaceae Neonauclea chalmansiae Qoru-biri Bearer 33 Burseraceae Canarium indicum Waha-

haluhahac Bearer

34 Euphorabiaceae Glochidion sp. Ninigang Bearer

Table 4: Species used as floor joists, starts, poles, rafters and beams Family Genus Species Vernacular

name House

Component 13 Cunnoniaceae Certopetalum sucirubrum Titi-qeqec Floor joists, Starts

15 Clusiaceae Calophyllum Fitac Starts, Beams, Rafter

16 Sapindaceae Pometia tomentosa Bizo-ngiric Starts, Floor joists

19 Rhizophoraceae Gyntraches axillaris Waweqac Poles, Beams

21 Fagaceae Castonopsis accuminatissma Zazibu Floor joists, Starts, Beams, Rafters

22 Theaceae Adinandra brassii Firic 1 Floor joists

23 Elaeocarpaceae Elaeocarpus angustifolia Qozaric Floor joists

25 Fabaceae Serianthes novoguinensis Maro Floor joists

26 Ulmaceae Trema orientalis Mumung Floor joists, starts

28 Rhamnaceae Alphitonia macrocarpa Sowing Floor joists, Rafters, Beams

29 Fagaceae Lithocarpus celebicus Boring Rafter

30 Sapindaceae Pometia pinnata Bizo-wanzong Starts, Floor joists

32 Rubiaceae Neonauclea chalmansiae Qoru-biri Floor joists

33 Burseraceae Canarium indicum Waha-haluhahac Floor joists, Rafters

[Type text]

185

34 Euphorabiaceae Glochidion sp. Ninigang Floor joists, Rafters

Table 5: Species used for flooring # Family Genus Species Vernacular

name House

Component 5 Palmae Orania lauterbachiana Diwic Outdoor Flooring

35 Bamboosaceae Bamboosa sp. Qaring Indoor Flooring

38 Palmae Metroxylon Sagu Gai Outdoor Flooring

39 Palmae Kife Outdoor Flooring

Table 6: Species used for walls or weatherboards

Family Genus Species Vernacular name

House Component

Burseraceae Canarium macadamii Waha Wall

12 Myristicaceae Myristica fatua Kaselaong Wall

14 Myristicaceae Myristica womersleysii Qangborong Wall

15 Clusiaceae Calophyllum Fitac Wall

17 Meliaceae Toona sureni Fitic Wall

18 Apocynaceae Alstonia scholaris Zopang Wall

21 Fagaceae Castonopsis accuminatissma Zazibu Wall

29 Fagaceae Lithocarpus celebicus Boring Wall

31 Lauraceae Cinnamomum culilawan Musi Wall

36 Bamboosaceae Bamboosa Sp. Honing Wall

Table 7: Species used for roofing # Family Genus Species Vernacular

name House

Component 37 Bamboosaceae Bamboosa sp. Bac Roof

38 Palmae Metroxylon sagu Gai Roof

41 Poaceae Sarchurum spontaneum Sapaproc Roof

Table 8: Species used for door construction # Family Genus Species Vernacular

nameHouse

Component 1 Cunnoniaceae Weinmania blumei Zing Door

2 Myrtaceae Zanthomyrtus angustifolia Zazae Door

4 Lauraceae Litsea gupyii Qonzang Door

11 Rubiaceae Neonauclea obversifolia Qedebang Door

17 Meliaceae Toona sureni Fitic Door

[Type text]

186

18 Apocynaceae Alstonia scholaris Zopang Door

22 Theaceae Adinandra brassii Firic 1 Door, door frame

Table 9 : Species used as fasteners # Family Genus Species Vernacular

name House

Component 3 Flagellariaceae Flagellaria indica Sowangang Fasteners

40 Pandanus Bohong Fasteners

Table 10: Summary of plant materials used in construction of traditional houses in Serongko

# Family Genus Species Vernacular name

Common Name

1 Cunnoniaceae Weinmania blumei Zing Weinmania 2 Myrtaceae Zanthomyrtus angustifolia Zazae Zanthomyrtus 3 Flagellariaceae Flagellaria indica Sowangang 4 Lauraceae Litsea gupyii Qonzang Litsea 5 Palmae Orania lauterbachiana Diwic Palm 6 Burseraceae Canarium macadamii Waha Galip 7 Melastomataceae Astronia montana Obo Astronia 8 Tilliaceae Microcos oblongifolia Kakao Microcos 9 Podocarpaceae Nagia wallichianus Saundong Brown Podocarp 10 Sapotaceae Planchonella montana Naru Planchonella 11 Rubiaceae Neonauclea obversifolia Qedebang Yellow Heartwood12 Myristicaceae Myristica fatua Kaselaong Nutmeg 13 Cunnoniaceae Ceratopetalum sucirubrum Titi-qeqec Pink Birch 14 Myristicaceae Myristica womersleysii Qangborong Nutmeg 15 Clusiaceae Calophyllum Fitac Calophyllum 16 Sapindaceae Pometia tomentosa Bizo-ngiric Taun 17 Meliaceae Toona sureni Fitic Red Cedar 18 Apocynaceae Alstonia scholaris Zopang Milky Pine 19 Rhizophoraceae Gyntraches axillaris Waweqac Gyntraches 20 Rubiaceae Wenlandia panniculata Feng/Boketic Wenlandia 21 Fagaceae Castonopsis accuminatissma Zazibu White Oak 22 Theaceae Adinandra brassii Firic 1 Oriomo Redwood 23 Elaeocarpaceae Elaeocarpus angustifolia Qozaric Quandong 24 Theaceae Ternstroemia merrilliana Firic 2 Ternstroemia 25 Fabaceae Serianthes novoguinensis Maro Wild Albizia 26 Ulmaceae Trema orientalis Mumung Silkwood 27 Palmae Gulubia coasta Mong Palm 28 Rhamnaceae Alphitonia incana Sowing Alphitonia 29 Fagaceae Lithocarpus celebicus Boring Brown Oak 30 Sapindaceae Pometia pinnata Bizo-wanzong Taun 31 Lauraceae Cinnamomum culilawan Musi Cinnamon 32 Rubiaceae Neonauclea chalmansiae Qoru-biri Yellow Heartwood33 Burseraceae Canarium indicum Waha-haluhahac Galip 34 Euphorabiaceae Glochidion sp. Ninigang Glochidion 35 Bamboosaceae Bamboosa sp. Qaring (roofing) Bamboo 36 Bamboosaceae Bamboosa sp. Honing (wall) Bamboo 37 Bamboosaceae Bamboosa sp. Bac (flooring) Bamboo 38 Palmae Metroxylon sagu Gai Sago

[Type text]

187

4.0 DISCUSSION New home construction comes at a tremendous expense to planet. Building 1.7 million homes with traditional wood, steel and concrete frames consumes the same amount of energy as heating and cooling 10 million houses each year, according to the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial materials [3]. The environmental costs stem largely from the manufacture of the materials. Cement production, for example, requires an astounding amount of energy and results in water and air pollution and industrial waste that is usually not recycled. Using natural materials that require minimal processing or refining reduces these environmental impacts [3]. Therefore, natural building such as using traditional plant materials as seen in Serongko village offers a way to construct a home with renewable, naturally occurring and locally available materials, as opposed to industrial or man made products. Many of these are available throughout natural forest around Serongko village, so the cost and pollution associated with the transportation of these materials across the country falls. Using natural materials also reduce toxins in the home. As a bonus, many of these methods are energy efficient, inexpensive and easy to build with little construction knowledge. We’ll look at 41 species of building materials that are being used in Serongko village. From the above summarised tables 2 to 8 show different parts of the house where plants species are used. The general architecture of houses in Serongko village is depicted in Figs. 11 and 12. It must be noted that the different materials used in the different house components is due to the different physical properties and the availability of these materials, for example, Weinmania blumei is used as a post due to its high durability and strength. The different parts of house found in a typical Serongko house comprised of posts, bearers, floor joists, wall, studs, top plate (beams), rafters, buttons and roof thatch. There are a total of six species used for post (table 2), some of these species are also used in other parts of the house e.g., Weinmannia blume specimen number 6, is also used in door construction (table 8). From the tables 2 to 9, one will see that if same number is seen to occur in different tables then that means this species can be used in other parts of the building too. Table 10 is the summary information on a total of 41 plant species collected. Of this total, 31 specimens were tree species, most of which are currently deemed as lesser-known-species (LKS) in Papua New Guinea timber market. This includes genera such as; Weinmania, Zanthomyrtus, Astronia, Microcos and Gynotroches. However, there were a few commercial tree genera such as Castonopsis, Lithocarpus, Nothofagus, Nagia, Planchonella, Myristica, Pometia, Elaeocarpus, Trema, Neonauclea and Canarium also collected. Most of these trees species are used as posts, bearers, (refer Tables 4 and 5), floor joists, starts, poles, rafters, beams, (Table 6), walls (Table 8) and as doors (Table 9). The remaining 10 specimens are minor forest products such as Pandanus, Bamboos, Sago and Lianas, which are commonly used as flooring (Table 5), roofing (Table 7) and as fasteners (Table 9). There is no form of timber preservation carried out prior to these plant materials being used in traditional house construction. The materials were still green or wet when they were used to construct a house or building. However, one factor that does contribute to the durability of the timber is the “smoke from indoor fires” (Mamana; 2011 personnel communications).

5.0 CONCLUSIONS This paper tried to identify and document the plant materials used in the general construction of traditional houses in Serongko village. A total of 41 different plant species most of which are commonly unknown on the forestry commercial scale are identified. Of these, 31 are tree species while 10 are non

39 Palmae Kife Palm 40 Pandaneace Pandanus sp. Bohong Pandanus 41 Poaceae Sarchurum spontaneum Saparac Pit-pit

[Type text]

188

tree species. Furthermore, most of the species are commonly unknown on major forestry commercial scale, however, others have the potential to be developed as commercial species.

Finally, these plant materials are used over other materials because of: 1. Availability of materials- these materials are closely available to the villagers. As one of the villagers

stated, why would we use kunai (Imperata cylindrical) to make our house roofs when it doesn’t grow here or when there is not enough for all the houses in the village;

2. Traditional knowledge about these species were passed onto the next generation, therefore, they have some knowledge on how to use these plant materials compared to other unknown plants;

3. These species are better suited for making houses than other materials due to their durability and ease of processing-for example Castonopsis is the better suited wood for making walls as it is easily sawn into planks than other woods;

4. The villagers evolved from using certain materials in the past (e.g. Bamboo sp. for roofing) which proved to be failures to more resilient materials (e.g. Sago palms);

5. It is recommended that similar study to be carried out in rural areas such as Serongko village in order for us (Papua New Guineans) to start identifying and documenting our traditional knowledge before it is lost.

6. It is also recommended that the next step is to assess these species to find out their sustainability for future generations to know and take pride in. It is a prestigious part of our heritage and should be documented. Acknowledgments We thank anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript. We thank villagers of Serongko for providing their time and hospitality in engaging in this research. We also thank Mr. Russell Tarutia for accompanying and assistance us in data collection. This work was supported by funding from the ACIAR project: FST/2006/120 “Increasing down streaming value adding in PNG’s forest and wood products industry” REFERENCES

[1] Amevo, S. Traditional house forms in Papua New Guinea. Architecture and Building Faculty,

PNG University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1986. [2] Bleeker, P. Soils of Papua New Guinea. Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research

Organization, Canberra, Australia, 1983. [3] Coiffer, C. From exploitation of the forest to urban dependence in PNG. Oxford University Press,

London, United Kingdom, 1992. [4] Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials. "Environmental costs of home

construction lower with wise choices, reuse of building materials." Aug. 24, 2004. (March 4, 2008) cited on 02/08/2013 at http://www.corrim.org/reports/pdfs/UWArelease.pdf

[5] Kew Royal Botanical Gardens. Building Materials, cited on 02/08/2013 at http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/useful/building-materials/ , 2013

[6] Lavia, J. Traditional domestic house in Central Province. Architecture and Building Faculty, PNGUOT, Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1993.

[7] Loupis, G. Architecture of the Central Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Traditional Technology, Series # 3, LiklikBuk Information Centre, PNGUOT. Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1976

[8] McAlpine, J.R. Climate of Papua New Guinea. Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization, Canberra, Australia, 1983.

[9] Milani, R. Traditional Western Highlands Architecture. Architecture and Building Faculty, PNGUOT.Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1994.



189

HS7-2013-098

Volume table for pinus caribaea in Bulolo Wau forest plantations of Papua

New Guinea

Mondo Karmar*, Peter Damba, Arinaso Pilisi, Elizabeth Malabuo, Alois Jenkiau

Papua New Forest Authority, Forest Research Institute, and Forest Development Directorate

Email: *[email protected]

ABSTRACT The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA) has an extensive program of forest plantation

establishments using both exotic and indigenous timber tree species. However, for the division to effectively manage these plantations, a number of management tools are crucial. Volume table is surely one of these very important tools for estimating forest yield and enhancing implementation of forest management approaches. A tree plantation without volume and yield tables, the valuation of the tree plantation could be over or under estimated and so the true value is denied (Karmar, 2002). Furthermore, the ethics of forest management plans will certainly be complicated and so could not be appropriately done.The volume equation for Pinus caribeae was developed using 300 stems data collected in Bulolo Wau forest plantations, Papua New Giunea (PNG). The formula used was the logarithmic volume equation introduced by Schumacher and Hall (Thomas et al, 1958). This formula is popular in PNG, Japan as well as other parts of the globe (Karmar, 2006). The formula is detailed symbolically as; V = a1 + b1 logD + c1 log H, where V denotes total volume, D denotes diameter at breast height, H denotes the total height, a1 is regression constant and b1 and c1 are regression coefficients. The attained volume equation for Pinus carribeae is, V = 10-4.49241 X DBH 1.78711 X H 1.19868. with the Adjusted Regression squared (Adjusted R2) of 0.957. The Adjusted R2 of 0.957 means that the volume estimation of Pinus Carribeae using the derived volume equation will be 95.7% closer to the exact volume. This Adjusted R2 value is comfortably above acceptable point for implementation. Hence this volume equation can now be used for estimating the volume for standing Pinus Carribeae in Bulolo Wau Forest plantations.

Key words; volume equation, Logarithmic formula, volume regression, regression constants,

regression coefficient.

INTRODUCTION The natural forest trees in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are depleting at a faster rate than the recovery

speed, as the endemic of logging operations have reached nearly 90 percent of the country’s natural forest. This natural forest resource is crucially a significant resource as it is levelled third highest foreign earning resource (Kanawi Pouru, 2009). The PNG Forest Authority (PNGFA) the organization responsible for this important natural resource is doing all it can to manage this vital resource on a sustainable basis and promotes down stream processing to maximize benefits. Development of forest plantation is certainly a big step forward to release the pressure on the natural forest. The tree species in the forest plantation are either native or exotic. For the PNGFA to effectively manage these plantations, a number of management tools are crucial. Volume table is surely one of these very important tools for estimating forest yield and improve implementation of forest management approaches. A tree plantation without volume and yield tables, valuation of the tree plantation could be over or under estimated and so

the true vbe compldeveloped

The nHonduras

Figur

Figur Addit

America,

value is deniedicated and sod using 300 st

natural distribus, and Nicarag

re;1. A juveni

re; 2. PNG m

tional informathe Bahama I

d (Karmar, 20o could not btems data coll

ution of Pinugua (David Lo

ile Pinus cari

map indicating

ation were preIslands and C

002). In additbe appropriatelected in Bulo

Th

of PNgrass diamethe mLoren

Th

equatithen, volumBulolostems

us caribaea inorence,2010)

ibaea, 2 year

study site, B

ecisely detaiCuba retained

190

tion, the ethicely done. Tholo forest plan

he Pinus cariNG for comm

and degradedeter at breast maximum heince,2010).

he prime objion for the Cbe used for

me table will o Wau forest of Pinus car

nternationally.

rs old, Bulolo

ulolo Wau (K

led by Ambthe name Pin

cs of forest mhe volume eqntations, PNG

ibaea is exotimercial purpod land. The trheight (DBH

ight ranges f

ective of thisCaribbean pitabulation ofassist the fo

t plantation tribaea.

y covers, M

o forest planta

Karmar, 2006)

brose et. al (nus caribaea.

management puation for Pi

G.

ic and is planose as well aree species reH) 60 to 100 from 30 to

s research is tne. The voluf the tree speorest manageto estimate v

Mexico, Bel

ation

(II) StTh

latitudlongitThe from m.a.s.rainfaml.

Akilomof LaMorob

)

(1992).The s Subsequentl

plans will cerinus caribaea

nted in certainas rehabilitatieaches a maxi

centimetres 40 meters (D

to develop voume equationecies volumeers and officeolume of sta

lice, Guate

tudy site he study de 7◦ 13’ soutude 146◦ 45

altitude r1158 to

l and aall is 1615 to

A distance ofmetres south

e, head quarbe Province, P

species in Cly, Pinus cari

rtainly a was

n parts ion of imum while David

olume n will e. The ers in

anding

emala,

site, uth to 5’east. ranges

1300 annual

1700

f 130 h-west rter of PNG

entral ibaea.

191

was separated into three varieties: caribaea, bahamensis, and hondurensis. The hondurensis variety has been the most widely introduced in plantations in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world; it grows vigorously in the various climates of the tropics and covers more than 80% of the world's plantations listed under Pinus caribaea. The tree species was introduced into PNG, and most initial plantings were done in the Highlands, particularly in Eastern Highland and Enga Provinces. In the coastal area the species is concentrated in Bulolo Wau area where the research was executed. The caribaean pine in Wau Bulolo was planted since 1962 and 1973 respectively for rehabilitation of degraded and grass land. However, since 2003 the company PNG Forest Products (PNGFP) is harvesting Pinus caribaea as well as other plantation tree species in the plantation for commercial purpose.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

1. Field data collection Field measurements data for 300 stems were gathered by PNGFRI and Bulolo Wau Pine Project. The

basic data was from Bulolo Wau forest plantations as shown in Figure.2. The sampling was systematically covering every geographical condition of the plantations. The diameters at breast height (DBH) were taken while the stems were still standing.

The butt logs were one meter and the successive sectional measurements commenced from there with

diameter tapes until the last diameters were ten centimetres or less. The length of the top end of every stem was

recorded. The volumes of the standard sections were calculated by applying Smalians formula and for butt logs were calculated by computing cross - sectional area.

Standard section volume formula, V =

80000

22

dD

(1) Where, D stands for big diameter at meter, d

denotes small diameter.

Figure; 3. Field sectional measurement of felled Pinus caribaea. The volumes for the top ends were moreover computed by cross-sectional area but multiplied by

length and divided by three. The Caribbean pine is an excurrent tree species and tops of most ex-current species are paraboloid frustums (Hush et. al, 2003).

The heights were measured using measuring elastic tapes while stems were on the ground. Accurate field data collection is absolutely important to avoid as much as possible errors in the final result. Not only this but also minimization of resources like, time, effort, and money.

Accurate data is always a consequence of close supervision, full concentration, using well function

tools and equipments. This data collection was executed in compartment Inakanda 11, a 25 years old stand.

Table

2. Sta a) D b) T

caS

c) TTfo

e 1. Frequenc

atistical comp

Data check by

The standard alculated fTATISTICA

The formula aThis formula iormula is deta

y distribution

putation

both descript

error of estfor the e

(version six)

applied was this popular in ailed symboli

n of DBH and

tive statistics

timate and thquation de a statistical c

he logarithmiPNG, Japan cally as;

192

d height classe

and distribut

he standard erived fromcomputer soft

ic volume equas well as ot

es

ion of variabl

errors of them the leat-wear.

uation introduther parts of

le (Table 1).

e regression ast-squares

uced by Schuthe globe (K

coefficients solutions

umacher and Karmar, 2006)

were using

Hall3. ). The

lo (2

where

regressiondetermine

The frthe data is

RESULT

The d V = 1

(

The v

not only

og V = a1 + b1

2)

e V denotes ton constant aned by least-sqfrequency dists of quality an

TS AND DISC

derived param

10-4.49241 X DB3)

volume tablesby the adjust

1 logD + c1 lo

otal volume, nd b1 and c1 uares solutiontribution of Dnd spread mo

CUSSIONS

meters (Figure

BH 1.78711 X H

formula haoff to whol

s constructed ted R2 values

og H

D denotes diare regressio

n. DBH and Heigderately acro

. 4) were fitte

Ht 1.19868

as nearly excele number.

from the equs given by th

193

iameter at breon coefficient

ght classes wss the engage

ed into the ma

ellent linear r

uation derivedhe derived fo

east height, Hts. Utilizing t

were done usined various var

arked volume

reliability, sho

d could be usormula but al

H denotes thethe basic data

ng pivot tableriable groups

e formula as o

wRegr(Adju

Tsquarthe evolum(OmaThat to uwill volumweremeas

F

PinuAdjuThis estimvolum96% volumThe coeffusing

ould the R2 v

sed with conflso based on

e total height,a a1, b1 and

e. This is to e

outlined below

with the Adjression squsted R2) of The regrere was done t

effectiveness ome equasa et al, 1is, it has indi

us how closbe to the

me if the e felled sured.

For instanceus caribaeausted R2 of 0

means thamation usingme table wiclose to the

me with 4 % corre

ficients deg Logarivalues are rou

fidence becauestimated vo

, a1 is c, are

ensure

w,

justed quared 0.957 ession to test of the uation 1998). icated e we exact trees and

, the has

0.957. at the g the ill be exact error. lation erived ithmic unded

use of olume

differencelocations

Figur

e by existing become avail

re; 5. The re

volume equlable, the volu

elationship be

ations for othume equation

etween the me

194

her species en will be revis

easure and es

evidenced in sed to cover th

stimate volum

evis

fowtwsocP

HWbthth

Figure .6. Ahe various dat

Thparam(Figurinto thequatiequatiUsingvolumestimacompufigure

Thbetweestimaderivewhichthe acpercenmeansdifferemeasuvolum

me (m3)

The difexisting volumvolume equatis 2.1 percent.

Hence, the

for P. caribwelcomed for wenty plus pecies growin

of them have constructed. TP. caribaea.

However, apWau, this volbe used to eshe tree speciehe country.

As data from ta collection s

he sigma restmeters dere 4) were he marked voion as displayion (3) a

g the deveme equationate volume uted used

e (5).

he correeen measureate voed R2 of 98 peh is clearly acceptable limnt. The R2 of s that ence betweenure and est

me is 2 percen

fference betme equationsion for P. car

e volume equbaea is cer

utilization. Oplantation

ng in PNG ontheir volume

The eleventh o

part from Blume table castimate volumes in other pa

other sites.

tricted erived fitted

olume yed in above. eloped n the

were for

elation and olume ercent above

mit 90 f 98 %

the n the timate nt.

tween s and ribaea

uation rtainly Out of

tree nly 10 e table one is

Bulolo an not me of arts of

Figur Table The u

the table tthe estimavolume eqwith DBH

(V) C T

(4) T

in

re; 6. Compa

e 2. Part of th

user of the voto estimate thate volume. Iquation (B) abH and Ht figu

Conclusions a

The volume eq

V = 1

This volume en Bulolo Wau

arison with fiv

e actual volum

lume table cahe volume. Thf the volumebove. Use Ex

ures collected

and Recomm

quation for Pi

0-4.49241 X With the A

equation can bu Forest Plant

ve existing vo

me table for P

an measure thhe Y-axis is D table is not a

xcel enter the in the field w

mendations

inus caribaea

DBH ^1.787

Adjusted R squ

be used to genations.

195

olume equatio

Pinus caribae

he DBH and hDBH and the available, thederived equatwhich genera

a has been de

11 X Ht ^1.1

uared of 0.957

nerate estima

ons in PNG.

ea in Bulolo W

height of the PX-axis is hei

en the volumetion and repla

ate the estimat

eveloped and

9868

7

ate total volum

Wau forest pl

P. caribaea iight, where the can be estimace DBH andte volume.

is expressed

me of standing

lantation.

in the field anhe two axis mmated by usind Ht in the equ

as,

g Pinus carib

nd use meet is ng the uation

baea

196

Volume table for Pinus caribaea in PNG can be developed separately due to growth performance in various geographical site conditions.

The procedures used to develop this volume equation can be used to construct volume tables for

other plantation tree species in PNG.

REFERENCE [1] Ambrose O. Anoruo; Graeme P. Berlyn

Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 1540-756X, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1992, Pages 1 – 23 [2] David Lorence, (2010, website) Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, 1pp [3] Hush, B. Beers, T. W and Kershaw, J. A. (2003) Forest mensuration ,119 –150pp [4] Karmar J, M. and Ishibashi,(2002),Volume Tables for Selected Plantation Tree Species of Papua

New Guinea, 2pp [5] Karmar, M. J. (2006) Volume table for Araucaria hunsteinii and Yield table for Araucaria cunninghamii in Bulolo Wau Forest plantations in Papua New Guinea (Masters thesis) 4pp

[6] Kanawi Pouru (2009) Corporate Plan 2007 – 2012 Papua New Guinea Forest Authority, 1-3pp [7] Omasa, Y. and Yelu, W. (1998) Volume tables for selected plantation tree species of Papua New

Guinea, 2-6pp [8] Thomas, B. W. and Ginrich, S. F (1958) Construction of cubic-foot volume tables for Red

Oak in Pennsylvania – Journal of forestry, 210–214pp

Acknowledgments

We would like to greatly acknowledge the biographer of the above publications as we gathered some very important phrases and parts for this paper from them

.



197

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Higher Education Reform in PNG as Enhanced Public Value: A Preliminary Analysis

D. Kavanamur

Office of Higher Education, Papua New Guinea

[email protected]

Note: The views expressed are those of the authors as individual academics. ABSTRACT

The dynamics of successful public sector reform in Papua New Guinea are not yet well-enough understood, although the barriers to reform have been extensively mapped. We aim to improve understanding of these dynamics, using emerging higher education reforms as a work-in-progress example. The specific case of higher education is used to highlight factors and events that influence the process of reform.

Our analysis interprets the reform activities underway in the higher education sector as a managerial task of enhancing public value [1, 2]. It indicates how reform activities contribute to achieving an alignment between the political environment, operational activities and the desired ends. This construct takes account of earlier studies of specific PNG factors that hinder or assist the process of reform. As the outcomes of higher education are achieved by a range of institutions, our analysis is augmented by recent work on the delivery of public good services by external providers [3].

The exploration of public value creation not only interprets but also informs the higher education reform activities in PNG, providing a guide to elements where further intervention or activity is required and risks to the achievement of reform. We suggest that the strategic model of public value, when coupled with an understanding of the ‘triggers’ for reform [4] and specific in-country barriers to reform [5], offers a useful approach to conceptualising and implementing public service reform in developing countries. The current reforms to the PNG higher education sector are still at a very early stage, so we caution that this analysis is preliminary. Future studies may identify additional factors or relationships that moderate this tentative proposition.

Key words: reform, higher education, public value, public service, universities

1 INTRODUCTION Momentum is gathering for reform of higher education in PNG and for new approaches to post-

secondary education more generally. Previous efforts at reform have stuttered or have had only partial impact, while former national plans for higher education have not been able to be thoroughly implemented [6].

Over the last two years, however, a combination of activities and factors has awakened hopes for a more significant and sustained reform of the higher education system. In reflecting on these activities and experiences to date – and especially on the effects ofdiverseexternal and internal influences – we suggest that the emerging reform processcan be characterised as one of‘creating public value’ [1, 7].


198

The barriers to public sector reform in PNG have been extensively mapped over some years [5, 8, 9]. Factors in the external environment that work against sustained reform include: the electoral cycle and political allegiances in PNG; the ongoing financial pressures of a restricted economic base; delays in approval of policy; corruption and expectations of immediate benefit.

Public sector agencies in PNG frequently are unable to implement reforms effectively. Underlying factors include: uneven and variable ideas about the role of the public service; pressures for private use of public funds; a desire to preserve the status quo among those fortunate enough to have secured public employment; a shortage of experienced managers; frequent positional turnover; a lack of skills in implementation; longstanding organisational silos; and under-use of ICT. A lack of data and systems for effective monitoring and evaluation inhibits agency capacity to provide informed policy advice and accountability to government.

Despite previous studies, the methods of successful public sector reform in PNG are not yet well-enough understood. In this paper, we use reform of higher education as a work-in-progress example, to augment our sense of how public sector reforms could make headway. In this context, reform is conceived as a dynamic and fluctuating set of activities, rather than implementation of a fully pre-formed plan.

2 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK – PUBLIC VALUE

The literature on public administration provides a model that is based on the need for public sector

reforms to engage practically with volatile political demands, namely the ‘strategic triangle’ of public value creationdeveloped by Mark Moore and colleagues at Harvard University some years ago [1].

The premise of this model is that the central task of public managers is to generate ‘public value’, or agreed outcomes, by gaining and maintaining agency legitimacy from its political and legal ‘authorising environment’ while at the same time ensuring operational capabilities to deliver these outcomes. The model is shown schematically in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The Strategic Triangle of Public Value [2] The essential and dynamic feature of Moore’s triangle is an absolute requirement for the public

manager to align all three elements and to continuously realign them, as one or more elements change. Moore states:

199

“…use of the concept encourages public sector managers to: scan their authorizing environments for potential changes in the collective, political aspirations that guide their operations; search their substantive task environments for emergent problems to which their organizations might contribute some part of the solution; and review the operations of their own and other organizations in search of new programs or technologies that their organizations could use to improve performance in existing (or conceivably new) missions”[1, p.72].

The concept of public value draws attention to the need for a consensus on the desired end results, or

the value that will be created by the agency and by its co-producers including other providers and citizens. Views about public value willto change over time and such value can be multi-faceted. The concept maintains an ongoing focus on outcomes, and can thus help avoid the process of change becoming an end in itself.

Most reforming public managers will wish to enhance operational capabilities of their agencies and co-producers but Moore’s strategic triangle supplies the idea of tension between these capabilities and ‘push’ and ‘pull’ elements from the authorising environment and the task environment respectively. These elements are significant to any internal change management process.

The ‘strategic triangle’ model of public value is applied as the primary analytical framework for an emergent process of reform in the PNG higher education sector. Although originally a project for public sector managers, the model has been used more widely as a planning and diagnostic tool across wider public policy settings [10].

3 PNG HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMAS ‘STRATEGIC TRIANGLE’

In this section, we outline features of the PNG higher education system as components of the

‘strategic triangle’. The ‘authorising environment’ for the PNG higher education system includes, firstly, the PNG

political system, the Prime Minister and ministers in the unicameral National Parliament. There is a Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, but other ministers are responsible for other public institutions that provide higher education, such as teachers’, and nursing and fisheries/maritime colleges. These ministers and their public service agencies are an important element of the authorising environment for higher education, as are ministers responsible for private technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and resource sectors.

The authorising environment includes to some extent donor agencies, as well as the four State and two non-State universities, given a longstanding tradition of university autonomy. The churches and business and industry are relevant other actors, and provincial and local level government is gaining in significance.

The primary legislation is the Higher Education Act 1983, which establishes the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) and the Office of Higher Education (OHE), giving the former a broad mandate to develop policy and advise the minister. OHE gained, through the Act, an agency status separate to the national Department of Education. Other relevant legislation includes the enabling acts of the universities; the education and health acts; and legislation for private training organisations. Separate laws establish a number of national research institutes.

‘Operational capabilities’ of the system rest with theOffice of Higher Education and otherpublic service agencies, together with the service delivery institutions. It should be noted that these other agencies and institutions help create the authorising environment as well as providing service delivery capabilities. The role of CHE as a buffer body has been limited by its reliance on OHE as its executive arm, at the same time as OHE’s other executive functions and support of the Minister have expanded considerably. At the start of 2012, new legislation was in limbo and a new national higher education plan, to replace the 2004-2010 plan, had stalled. An attempt at funding reform through a student loans scheme had been discontinued.

200

The higher education institutions include the six universities, public colleges, and a range of not-for-profit and for profit providers, including institutions that provide TVET qualifications. There are no international universities with a physical presence in PNG but online studies are available from overseas institutions and there is franchising of programs. The legislative and policy base to regulate the quality of provision is incomplete.

Generally, agencies and state institutions responsible for higher education have been unable to significantly increase their operational capabilities. (Donor agencies have provided specific technical assistance from time to time.)Among the state universities and colleges, pressures for improvement have not been strong. Rapidly increasing student numbers, limited operating capital, insufficient filled positions, insularity, and a dearth of comparative information and self-review have exacerbated this situation, leading in some cases to a culture where preservation of existing practice may appear the safest route to organisational survival.

‘Public value’ in PNG higher education has been defined by Government through the National Vision 2050 [11]and related mid-term plans. All these plans make reference to the quality of graduates and increasing research butthe emphasis in KPIs is on total numbers of graduates.

The term ‘higher education’ is not used consistently within PNG: at times it refers to all post-secondary education, including TVET, while in other contexts it is taken to mean university-level education in a more limited sense. Moreover, the concept of a higher education system is not well understood by the public, although there is respect for the title ‘university’. TVET is regarded as having a lower status.

The setting of targets through the national planning process is a strength but also a potential weakness, if the specification of desired outcomes is too limited. An emphasis on total graduates does not control for the quality of graduates, the level of the qualification (many graduates receive diplomas), labour market needs or employability outcomes. Moreover, this emphasis has encouraged universities to take ever more students, despite a known inability to provide adequate learning and teaching resources [12]. Public opinion understandably has supported an ‘access above all’ approach, equating numbers of enrolments with numbers of graduates.

Universities may define ‘public value’ in ways additional to the national planning targets, variously as individual institutional reputation, as the reputation of selected individuals, and as providing astronghold of civil society.

Over time, there has been a lack of alignment within the ‘strategic triangle’, manifest an absence of creative tension among the three spheres. A limited definition of ‘public value’has not fostered the improvement of operational capabilities within institutions. The national plans may have encouraged a ‘set and forget’ approach to public value, militating against political engagement andcreating periodic vacuums in political and financial signalling from the authorising environment. This lack of signalling in turn has dampened any demand for greater accountability by service providers: State universities have been only too willing to maintain their tradition of autonomy, while agencies have focused on observing existing protocols for pre-determined outputs. For PNG higher education, the lack of alignment seems likely to have resulted in broken links to the ‘value chain’ shown in Figure 2[13].

201

Figure 2: The Value Chain. Source: [13, p.101]

At the same time, we should not forget that progress has been made. Those politicians, agencies and

institutions most invested in reform have done what they can. Funding has been released periodically for infrastructure redevelopment at the universities; recurrent funding for universities has increased (but not funding per student); quality assurance policies have been developed and implemented; and there has been a demonstrated expansion of access. Further reform can build on these initiatives through a continuing process without requiring wholesale transformation [5, note 6].

4 STARTING POINTS ANDTRIGGERS CONDUCIVE TO REFORM

Since 2012, but with some antecedents, a more favourable climate for higher education reform has emerged [14], affecting alignment of the higher education ‘strategic triangle’. There is much stronger signalling from government and politicians, at more than one level of government, to those responsible for ensuring operational capabilities, including more evident desire to ensure that wider public value outcomes can be demonstrated. The example below highlights factors and events that we believe have influenced the process of higher education reform thus far.

4.1 Operational capability: agency and providers Within OHE, the renovation of operational capabilities commenced prior to the changes in the

authorising environment. That is, actions to improve processes under the direct control of OHE were initiated, for use as the political conditions changed. A first step was to fulfil the Office’s obligations to central agencies, i.e. to start to realign relations between OHE and the authorising environment. Completion and improvement of financial and management reporting was made a priority, to manufacture confidence in the credibility and capacity of OHE. A subsequent step has been the establishment of an OHE audit committee.

Another early step was to complete the next National Higher Education Plan, building on work already commenced. The Plan was developed in-house by young officers, and built their confidence, and it was consulted on widely, to improve ownership by service delivery agencies. Other early reform activities were completion of a review of the TESAS scholarships scheme, a pre-condition for funding reform, and a capacity diagnostic of existing and required capabilities for OHE. The establishment of new information systems is underway, as is the dissemination of better public information on higher education.

Higher education reform requires various enablers,financing, quality assurance and governance being someof the most important[4]. Therefore, specific reforms within OHE are targeting the enablers of system reforms as well as building internal operational capability. A new sectoral funding model is under development, for government and donor agencies, while the CHE has commenced a process to review academic salaries.

202

An increased political appetite for sectoral change means the Office is now able to progress other reforms, including new legislation and a clarification of its own role in respect of CHE and regulatory responsibilities for quality assurance.

Significantly, the Office is recalibrating its relationship with service providers, which as co-producersultimately deliver the public value outcomes [15]. The Office has for a long time engaged operationally with the universities on matters such as scholarships, infrastructure funding and data, but there has been a disconnect on strategic goals and on improvinguniversities’ internal capabilities. OHE recognises a need to give leverage to vice-chancellors who are seeking to revitalise their universities, to break down entrenched internal rivalries and to improve governance and financial accountability.Reform strategies include the conduct of quality assessments of the universities and joint training activities with OHE personnel, e.g. project management, quality assurance. The Office of Higher Education has improved its alliance with champions of change, and responded to requests from industry for assistance to mobilize for improvement.

The relationships between a public service agency and its service providers can take many forms, including collaborations, partnerships, directives, contracts for material rewards or actual sanctions. Directives and sanctions may not always be the best way to ensure compliance. Rather, relationships can build on the intrinsic motivations of service providers [3] and use financial incentives. In a PNG higher education context, these ideas suggest ways in which OHE can continue to structure its engagement with different types of service provider.

The Office has been careful to maintain and expand good relations with donor agencies, including AusAID which for a range of reasons is highly supportive of higher education reform.

4.2 Public value – refining the narrative Of necessity, public value in PNG higher education continues to be judged formally on the aggregate

total number of graduates. However, ‘better access’ is emerging as a new number one goal, to meet current public and political demands. There is a growing recognition that, if access is to be expanded quickly and at reasonable cost, provision of TVET programs is where the emphasis must lie.

Concurrently, some politicians have come to acknowledge that the quality and employment outcomes of higher education, rather than absolute numbers of graduates,are the most important elements for longer-term public value creation.

These changes provide an opportunity to refine the public narrative about the ‘public value’ of higher education, and to embrace TVET within this narrative. While there are tensions between the ‘access’ and ‘quality’ conceptions of public value in higher education, there is potential to accommodate both. The development of a new funding model will offer one way to engage politicians and the public in more extended discussions of ‘public value’ in higher education, to reorient political and public attitudes towards TVET and to refine a social consensus on expectations of PNG’s universities and colleges.

4.3 Changes in the authorising environment After a period of particular political instability in the lead-up to national elections in 2012, there is

now a secure government with a very large parliamentary majority. Despite the risks inherent in the lack of robust opposition, there is the promise of political stability for a time. A period of comparative financial stability also appears likely, although government revenue constraints will continue to place a brake on the pace of wider reforms. However, new programs to reduce corruption, review the taxation system and improve supply chain infrastructure will indirectly assist reform of the higher education sector.

National leadership has emphasised, in particular, a need for better service delivery. This call has been accompanied by a devolution of funding, bringing new actors in provincial and local level government to prominence in the authorising environment. There is now significant pressure from some provincial and local level governments to establish additional universities and colleges, reinforcing a conception of public value as ‘better access’ to higher education. The conception is doubly reinforced by

203

politicians concerned at the lack of post-secondary education opportunities for the ever-increasing number of high school graduates.

There has been movement too, in political recognition of the sorry situation of State universities [16], described in the joint PNG and Australian Government Review of the PNG University System [12] and highlighted by a series of governance crises and incidents of student unrest at several universities.

Reforms important to higher education are being driven politically by the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Minister for HERST and others at national level. These actors have already assistedthe reform process in a number of ways, while better information from OHE has given politicians the evidence they need to make a case for change. A suite of ‘legacy’ submissions has been approved by the NEC, including a National Qualifications Framework and the establishment of a Science and Technology Council to drive research and development. New higher education legislation has political support, while significant infrastructure funding for universities is likely to be included in the 2014 budget. These actions have been taken with the expectation that OHE, followed by other agencies and the institutions,hasan improved capability and will to implement change.

5 CHALLENGES AND RISKS TO REFORM

The analysis above encapsulates core elements of an evolving higher education reform process for

PNG and, we believe, demonstrates the utility of the ‘strategic triangle’ in modelling a reform process in action, as activity shuttles between meeting the demands of the authorising environment, improving operational capabilities and remodeling of notions of public value. We caution, however, that our analysis is preliminary only, as current reforms to the PNG higher education sector are an early stage.

The ‘strategic triangle’ helps to interpret but also to inform the higher education reform activities under way, providing a guide to future intervention and where risks remain to the achievement of reform. One difficulty with plans for reform, certainly not confined to developing countries, is ‘excessive optimism about the expected outcomes’ [5, p.10]. In PNG, the obvious gap between aspirations and progress in higher education is likely to produce either cynicism or panic, neither of which may be helpful to the reform process.

The crisis in state university governance referred to above, although important to drive change, has the potential to undercut sustainable reforms by heavy-handed intervention in internal governance processes that will only generate resistance. Similarly, pressures on politicians at national and provincial level to improve access may result in hasty promises of support without consideration of the implications of a rash of new, small and possibly underfunded institutions. There is an ever-present danger of policy reversals if the degree of rationality in policy development is not optimised, including the potential for groupthink to override a balanced appraisal of the best course action for sustainable development.

Some of the most significant elements of better alignment are as yet under-developed or incomplete. The key challenges of better inter-agency coordination and embedding a holistic view of higher education have still to be addressed. New legislation will take time and effort to be understood and embraced, especially given likely cultural resistance among some providers. Neither OHE nor the Department of Education are well-equipped to respond quickly to a change of public support towards TVET provision.A sector funding model, which may assist inter-agency coordination in the longer-term, is just starting to be developed.

To overcome these challenges will require trade-offs, for example a willingness to support the agendas of other agencies, and may require waiting for an opportune time in the political or economic environment. Pragmatic accommodation of specific political decisions on new provision will be needed as well as considerable work to re-balance community expectations.

6 LESSONS LEARNED TO DATE After 18 months experience, key elements of the reform project are becoming clearer, as is the

interplay of forces among the nodes of the ‘strategic triangle’. Some early lessons to emerge from the

204

process concern satisficing andchoosing which battlesto fight, focussing operational capabilities, the presence of ‘triggers’ for reform, engaging with champions in service delivery institutions, helping central agencies,

Effective alignment of the strategic triangle requires the use of ‘satisficing’ [17] outcomes, acceptable at any point in time for all three nodes of the triangle, given fluctuating political, capability and service delivery situations. Ongoing alignment thus requires fine judgment of the most useful outcome at a particular point in time, given the need for the agency and service providers to maintain legitimacy with important players in the authorising environment. In making these judgements, the operational agency needs to be aware of wider reform agendas of government and of donor agencies, with a view to capitalising on them and garnering further support.

When operational capabilities are limited, as they so often are in developing countries, it is crucial to focus on those activities that have most potential to maximise productive alignment of the strategic triangle, despite other reforms to capability that, of themselves, are urgently needed.

Ignition factors or ‘triggers’ for reform have proved significant in combination [4, 18]. In PNG, such factors have emerged at the political level, e.g. the Garnaut-Namaliu report and a perception of crisis in the State universities, and have been reinforced by committed political leadership. At agency level, and among some service providers, empowering leadership is proving a potent force for change. Assiduous attention to meeting the requirements of central agencies for timely reporting and accountability, an early priority, has helped build the credibility of the Office of Higher Education and facilitated a willingness of these agencies to engage seriously with the Office.

7 IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM MORE GENERALLY We suggest that the strategic model of public value may offer a useful approach to conceptualising

and implementing public service reform in developing countries. However, this model needs to be coupled with a sense of the ‘push’ factors that catalyse change and awareness of specific in-country barriers to reform [5]. Others have drawn attention to the significance of Moore’s strategic triangle model for sustaining reform [4] but may overestimate the role of systemic planning and underestimate the difficult of continuing to make progress in turbulent circumstances. The implementation of reform is not neatlysequenced: activities commence before a vision coalesces; some elements sail along but others arebecalmed for a time.

Much has been written about the process of public service reform in developing countries butthere is usually more analysis available of the failures than of the successes [19, 20].There is comparatively little in the development studies literature to explain the managerial approaches most useful for those asked to implement public service reform in a service delivery agency in a problematic context.

For a reforming public service manager in a developing country, Moore’s model suggests a way of selecting points of intervention depending on possibilities at the time. It highlights a need to act opportunistically to seize openings in the authorising environment, but also a need to moderate reform efforts so as not to prejudice outcomes. The approach is strategic and contingent: although there is likely to be a ‘menu’ of known improvements, the specific activities may emerge slowly from an appreciation of the existing effects, influences and pressures. If there is a relationship of co-production, insights from related literature [3] can be used to redesign relationships with service providers.

Some preliminary lessons from emerging higher education reforms in PNG resonate with managerially-focused studies of successful reforms in other contexts [18], implying that insights from these different accounts could be combined.

We observe that Moore’s model could provide a productive link between case studies of reform in individual agencies and studies that adopt abroad political economy perspective. Such an approach may be of value to donors or aid agencies in identifying ‘ignition factors’that are sensitive to local conditions [4]. The model has limited applicability to whole of government reform, however, due to the difficulty of aligning all three nodes across differing forms of public value [cf. 7, 21].

205

Supplementation of the model by other approachesis desirable, as the model is not designed to take account of specific circumstances in developing countries. The‘strategic triangle’ model is likely to have been conditioned in its development by background assumptions that frequently do not apply in developing countries, e.g. social acceptance of the primacy of government, minimal corruption, adequate infrastructure, a well-developed public sector, and a large resource base.

As an example, wider application of the model in a PNG context would need to rely on an appreciation of the background situation, and in particular ‘the intimate but complex coexistence of the society and the state’ [5, p.13] and weak acceptance of national redistributive purposes in the use of collective revenues.

Notwithstanding the need to augment the model, we consider the ‘strategic triangle’ introduces a new elasticity and vibrancy into analyses of public sector reform in developing countries, with the promise of better implementation.

REFERENCES

[1] Moore, M. Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1995.

[2] Benington, J. and Moore, M. Public Value: Theory and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke,

Hampshire, 2010. [3] Alford, J. and O’Flynn, J. Rethinking Public Service Delivery: Managing With External Providers,

Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, Hampshire, 2012. [4] Salmi, J. The Political Economy of Tertiary Education Reforms. Policy Note prepared for AusAID,

April 2013.http://ausaiderf.com.au/wp-content/files_mf/1373507034Policynote4_EffectiveChangeStrategiesinTertiaryEducationReform_FINAL_26062013.pdf

[5] Kavanamur, D. and Okole, H. Understanding reform in Papua New Guinea: An Analytical

Evaluation. Global Development Network, Foundation for Development Cooperation, Institute of National Affairs, 2004.

[6] OHE [PNG Office of Higher Education] National Higher Education Plan III 2014-2024, 2013. [7] Moore, M. Recognizing Public Value. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 2013. [8] GoPNG [Government of Papua New Guinea] Final Report of the Review of the Public Sector

Reform Programme. Final Report to the Chief Secretary, prepared by Kavanamur, D. and Robins, G., 2007.

[9] Turner, M. and Kavanamur, D. Explaining Public Sector Reform Failure: Papua New Guinea 1975–

2001, in Policy Making and Implementation: Studies from Papua New Guinea, ANE U Press, Canberra, 2009. http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ch0268.pdf(24/08/2013).

[10] Coats, D. and Passmore, E. Public Value: The Next Steps in Public Service Reform. The Work

Foundation.http://www.theworkfoundation.com/assets/docs/publications/201_pv_public_service_reform_final.pdf(18/08/2013).

http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ch0268.pdf�

http://www.theworkfoundation.com/assets/docs/publications/201_pv_public_service_reform_final.pdf�



206

[11] GoPNG PNG Vision 2050. http://www.treasury.gov.pg/html/publications/files/pub_files/2011/2011.png.vision.2050.pdf (25/03/2013).

[12] Garnaut-Namaliu Report of an Independent Review of the Papua New Guinea University System

(prepared by Professor Ross Garnaut and Sir Rabbie Namaliu), 2010. [13] Moore, M. Recognizing Public Value: The Challenge of Measuring Performance In Government

(Chapter 8). Harvard University, Lecture presented 9 November 2006. [14] Mel, M. A. and Baird, J. Raising Quality in the Land of the Unexpected. 12th UKFIET

International Conference on Education and Development ‘Education & Development Post 2015: Reflecting, Reviewing, Re- Visioning’, Oxford, UK, 10-12 September 2013.

[15] Alford, J. Towards a New Public Management Model: Beyond ‘Managerialism And Its Critics.

Australian Journal of Public Administration, 52 (1993), pp.135–148.

[16] MacWilliam, S. Destroying Capacity: A Cautionary Tale from Papua New Guinea. Part 1, Pacific Media Centre, 5 July 2012 http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/articles/destroying-capacity-cautionary-tale-papua-new-guinea(25/08/2013).

[17] Simon, H. A. (1956). Rational Choice and the Structure of the Environment. Psychological Review

63/2 (1956), pp. 129–138.

[18] Mourshed, M., Chijioke, C., and Barber, M. How the World’s Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better. McKinsey and Company, London (2010). http://mckinseyonsociety.com/how-the-worlds-most-improved-school-systems-keep-getting-better/ (21/06/2013).

[19] Schacter, M. Public Sector Reform in Developing Countries: Issues, Lessons and Future

Directions, Policy Branch, Canadian International Development Agency, December 2000. http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan017800.pdf(22/08/2013).

[20] World Bank Public Sector Reform: What Works and Why? An IEG Evaluation of World Bank

Support (2008).http://go.worldbank.org/9BYFEK3KW0 (17/08/2013).

[21] Christensen, T. and Lægreid, P. The Whole-of-Government Approach to Public Sector Reform. Public Administration Review,Vol. 67/6 (2007), pp. 1059–1066.

http://www.treasury.gov.pg/html/publications/files/pub_files/2011/2011.png.vision.2050.pdf�

http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/articles/destroying-capacity-cautionary-tale-papua-new-guinea�

http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/articles/destroying-capacity-cautionary-tale-papua-new-guinea�

http://mckinseyonsociety.com/how-the-worlds-most-improved-school-systems-keep-getting-better/�

http://mckinseyonsociety.com/how-the-worlds-most-improved-school-systems-keep-getting-better/�

http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan017800.pdf�

http://go.worldbank.org/9BYFEK3KW0�



207

HS72013-HS-004

The role of state in economy through human capital development in research science & technology

Francis Hualupmomi

Office of Higher Education

Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Note: Views expressed herein are of the author’sown and not the official position of the Office of

Higher Education. ABSTRACT

The role of State in a globalized knowledge-based economy is to strategically economize human capital in higher education, research science and technology to drive economic growth, industrialization and modernization. Most developing economies such as PNG within the category of low income status are now in a transition period of modernization and industrialization, however, are seriously trapped with an acute syndrome of human capital deficit to attain their national aspirations. It is argued on this premise that for PNG as a developing economy to experience rapid transition from a low income to a middle income economy, the State should strategically invest in higher education, research science and technology.

Key Words: human capital development, research science and technology, modernisation,

industrialisation, economic growth, economic development 1. INTRODUCTION While we transit through a reconfigured face of complex web of globalized and interdependent world

characterized by what we call “knowledge-based economy” yet we a have a big gap between North-South Divide in terms of industrialization and modernization.

Why is that developing countries such as PNG geo-economically rich in resources trail behind great transformation in human history? This paper is an attempt to explore this fundamental question as a premise to inform policy making.

1.1. Objective The framework of this paper is premised on these following main objectives:- • Highlight human capital development issues and challenges confronted by PNG; • Outline strategic interventions by the State in human capital development in modernisation and

industrialisation to drive economic development and growth; and • Outline strategic significance of the role of State in driving economic transformation through

human capital development in science and technology (ST).

1.2. Significance The paper provides some strategic insights and foresights to inform policy making process of

prioritising human capital development in the areas of research science and technology (RST) that is necessary to stimulate economic development and growth. Higher education in PNG still remains a less significant policy focus area as far as development is concerned, until recently. The issues and challenges faced in PNG are common in developing countries. Investment by the State in human capital development in the areas of science and technology is well argued by development economists(1) in particular human



208

capital theorists as one of the smart strategies in accruing higher returns to the economy so as social development.

This paper identifies major gaps in human capital development so that a well-informed policy planning by the Government is given primacy.

1.3. Scope The central focus of the paper is on Higher Education, Research Science and Technology from a

developing country perspective. Since scientific and technological ideas matter most in the modern global market economy, it would be more rational to give primacy on how best we couldlogically stimulate innovative discourse in strategic thinking in the context of modernizing the higher education frontier to drive the agenda of economic advancement in PNG.

1.4. Problem statement PNG, in fact, since localisation policy is facing one of the most fundamental challenges of acute

syndrome of human capital development in the process of rapid economic growth and development. While economic growth is growing at an unprecedented rate there is lack of skilled labour force to implement some of the high impact economic projects currently on stream due to some of the associated issues such as lack of political support in terms of investment in higher education socio-economic infrastructures to address the issue of access including governance and management issues at institutional level.

1.5. Question The key questions underpinning the framework of this paper are: • What is the role of State in knowledge-based economy? • What is the relationship between human capital development and economic growth? • What is the current state of affairs in PNG as a developing economy? • How can PNG as a developing economy intend to modernize? • How can PNG as a developing economy achieve its strategic intent?

1.6. Hypothesis The central hypothesis of this paper underpins the key proposition that economic development driven

by State’s investment in human capital development in science and technology is necessary for modernisation and industrialisation.

1.7. Theoretical Framework This paper employs a political economic State centric approach while appreciating interrelated

disciplines of development studies, economics, higher education and strategic. The theoretical assumptions synthesising this approach are that

• State as a rational actor must play a central role to drive economic development through human capital development in ST.

• The premise of this theory logically links to modelling of economic growth articulated by Rostow(2).

• Strategic thinking conceptualises the modelling into strategies. In sum, the State is a rational strategic actor in driving economic growth by crafting smart strategies.

ST is a strategic tool employed by the State to create wealth as it manoeuvres through the process of modernisation by taking an industrialisation route.

1.8. Methodology A desk-top methodology is employed to research and analyse literature on this subject by deducing

relevant data on the role of State in economic development through human capital in ST. A literature review of experiences in other developing economies and PNG policy issues and

challenges through the internet and policy documents in the PNG Office of Higher Education has been done to frame this paper hence it remains generally inconclusive. Although this paper appreciates that

209

developing countries have, at certain juncture, experience different development routes, issues and challenges are common in nature.

1.9. Organisation of the Paper The paper commences with key definitions, literature review, role of State in economic development,

issues and challenges faced in PNG, strategic interventions, policy implications and conclusion. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Ample research on State-led science and technology in economic development concludes that there is a stronger relationship between research, science and technology and economic growth in developing countries as technological and scientific innovations become available. Below are some of the interesting literatures that confirm this argument. • Edernby in one of his research shows that science, engineering, technology and innovation are the

bedrock of socio economic development. He argues that SETI is important to developing countries in raising standards, creating wealth and managing natural resources and protecting bio-diversity(3).

• In establishing the relationship between IT and productivity Brynjolfsson and Yang argue that IT not only increases productivity but also contributes towards economic growth(4).

• A working paper by University of UN World Institute of Development Economics also argues that SMEs is one of the drivers of economic growth due to innovations in technology. More so, it notes that technological innovation is the key factor to firms’ competitiveness(5).

• Bisel and Oral argue that development of science and technology policy in higher education supports economic development(6).

• A research on the role of state-led science and technology economic development since 1960s concludes that since WWII state-led technology-based economic development demonstrates impressive practices on economic development including changes in finance, higher education, etc.(7).

3. KEY DEFINITIONS 3.1. Income Group Defining Income in this context is necessary to delineate levels of income countries are categorised

based on their growth by World Bank (WB) indicators. Hence in this context, it would be more appropriate to define PNG’s ranking.

The WB defines the development status of country into group of income economies based on GNI (Gross National Income) using Bank Atlas Method. According to 2011 WB measureIncome group is categorised as follows: low income, $1,025 or less; lower middle income, $1,026 - $4,035; upper middle income, $4,036 - $12,475; and high income, $12,476 or more(8).

PNG by this standard measure has a GDP – Per capita of $2200 (est. 2012 PPP) hence she falls between lower middle and upper middle income group of economy, though this does not really depict real social and economic indicators. PNG’s economic development characteristics still fall below poverty line despite it recently being tagged as the big fast-growing economy in the Pacific. Economic trend indicates that in 1996 some 25% of people live in poverty and increased to 37% in 2006(9). There is appealing state of poor living standard, unequal distribution of income, and huge gap between rich and poor(10). However, there is an indication of increase in middle class due to LNG projects(11), one might argue.

3.2. Modernisation The concept of modernisation is generic with ample interpretations, however, in this context,

modernisation in political theory defines it as the process of transformation from traditional society to a modern society, which basically involves social change in terms of political, social, economic and cultural, for instance, evolution of new political, social and economic structures. Most development theorists see it as a three prawn strategy of infrastructure development – dams, transport etc.; social

210

change – replacing traditional beliefs and practices by revamping education with modern science and rationality; and political institutionalisation – bureaucracy and State apparatus(12).

It basically implies a rapid social shift from agrarian to industrialisation as part of the modernisation process. Hence the concept of modernisation and industrialisation has an inevitable marriage disposition in the whole scheme of development.

3.3. Industrialisation Industrialisation as stated in precedence intertwines with modernisation theory in development,

especially economics and development studies. Most social theorists define it as the process of movement from manual labour to mechanical and technological labour(13), for instance, the use of printing press instead of handwriting. Economists define it as “1. The process by which traditionally nonindustrial sectors (such as agriculture, education, health) of an economy become increasingly similar to the manufacturing sector of the economy. 2. Sustained economic development based on factory production, division of labor, concentration of industries and population in certain geographical areas, and urbanization”(14).

Several definitions in development literature were observed of which two notable definitionsconstructed by Krugman and Obstfeld (1991) appear interestingin the interest of economic development. Both articulate a strategic attempt by government to encourage resources to move into particular sectors viewed as important to future economic growth(15). What appears interesting is that industrialisation according to most development theorists is a catch-up-race between under developed countries and developed countries.

Some developing countries have mastered industrialization as an economic strategy to influence economic transformation, for instance, developing smart industrial policy to drive infant manufacturing industries to produce economy of scale, BRICS1

4. THE ROLE OF STATE IN ECONOMY THROUGH HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

countries are a good case.

4.1. Functions of State, Education and Economy One of the main functions of the State is to provide public goods such as education, health and others.

The role of education can be conceived as a tool of training and educating the smart minds to drive development imperatives and for self-consciousness. Economics is concerned about how to allocate and distribute resources in a most efficient fashion, while education on the other hand plays an important role to translate State’s strategic intent expressed through its manifestos by educating and training human resources to drive economic development.

There are two main extreme schools of thoughts in development or political economy studies that argue on the role of State and Market in the economy. The State theory basically argues that the economy should be left alone to the State. This basically implies that the State alone has the necessary capacity and capability to provide public good and manage the economy efficiently through good policies. The market theory on the other hand argues that the economy should be left alone to Adam Smith’s logic of ‘invisible hand’. It asserts that the market forces or dynamics influence positive outcome of economic development(16).2

4.2. Relationship between Human Capital Development and Economic Growth

Despite these opposing arguments, one would generally agree that the State should play a central role

in economy given the argument that there is tendency of market failures which may distort economic functioning in the overall development of State co-existence.

1BRICS is an acronym first coined by Goldman Sacs as an association ofthe world’s fastest growing economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and recently South Africa. 2 Read more on state-led vs. market theoretical arguments http://blogs.law.uiowa.edu/ebook/uicifd-ebook/part-1-iii-competing-theories-economic-development

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/process.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/sector.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/agriculture.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/education.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/health.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/economy.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/manufacturing-sector.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/economic-development.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/production.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/division-of-labor.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/concentration.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/industry.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/population.html�

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/urbanization.html�

http://blogs.law.uiowa.edu/ebook/uicifd-ebook/part-1-iii-competing-theories-economic-development�

http://blogs.law.uiowa.edu/ebook/uicifd-ebook/part-1-iii-competing-theories-economic-development�

211

Economics and education play a fundamental co-functioning role in modernization and industrialization. Human capital plays an important role in economizing ideas into wealth which is assumed to be highly necessary to drive economic development. In order to drive development the State creates a condusive environment by basically developing smart economic policies such as human capital investment strategy with an assumption to incur high returns(17).

Ideally, the State’s role in this logic is perceived as a “public good provider”. Education is both an economic and a social good provided by the Statein this logic. This logic intertwines with the notion of ‘public value’ whereby the public good must be valued at the expense of development. The State therefore must invest in human capital to ensure ideas are commoditized into wealth which is necessary to drive economic and social development.

5. STRATEGIC ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN PNG Generally, policy makers and academics in development literatureagree that developing countries

face similar issues and challenges, however, at different development pathways. Issues of stagnant economic growth, governance, high illiteracy rate, poor health condition, access in higher education, to name a few are a concern for most governments.

Some of the newly industrialised countries have made drastic investments in higher education to drive economic modernisation such as those in Asia, Latin America and South America(18). For instance, Singapore, Indonesia, Brazil, etc., one would argue have rapidly excelled in such economic development process within a short period of time.

In policy circle, human capital development in terms of government’s investment or expenditure has been given less prominence by the previous governments consequently affecting the current state of higher education sector.

Comparably, the education sector has been given much attention than the higher education sector. However, the impact of general education as we have noticed over the years has significantly affectedhigher education in a symbiotic logic. Higher education, instead, of focusing on higher level knowledge formation and development is caught in a dilemma of fixing the mass constructed by the lower and secondary level education hence fuelling the issue of quality controversy. For instance, poor quality assurance at elementary or primary level has generally affected Grade 12 outputs and university inputs. Many studentsare still having difficulty in mastering English and Mathematics as a consequence(19).

The issues and challenges faced by our higher education sector range from political, economic and social factors:

• Lack of political will and support from government; • Frequent changes in bureaucracy and government thus affecting policy focus and consistency; • Poor governance and management by universities and institutions of higher education; • Dilapidated or deteriorating state of infrastructures and learning resources; • Weak quality assurance system; • Capital flight or capital migrant (brain drain); and • Lack of skilled manpower. In the context of higher education, as argued elsewhere, the issues and challenges faced by the sector

are common in other developing countries. Numerous policy papers such as Higher Education White Paper, National Higher Education Plan II and III, Vision 2050, Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030 and others acknowledge the same and propose some strategic interventions. Although some attention has been given by the past governments, focus is generally on scholarship with less emphasis on institutional development. General education we have noticed has become the centre nerve of the government - an unhealthy development route which must be balanced. Some of the notable problems such as access, weak quality assurance, dilapidated infrastructure, etc., currently faced by the higher education sector are legacy issues which need immediate arrest by the government.

212

Moreover, frequent political changes prior to legislation of the Organic Law on Integrity of Political Parties and Candidate (OLIPAC) have structurally affected policy and legislative regimes at political and bureaucratic levels. Over the years, we have had experiences of numerous votes of no-confidence and election of new governments influencing changes in bureaucracy thus affecting good policies set in motion(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). In essence, political-bureaucracy marriage by design has generally affected consistency in effective policy implementation.

Good governance is another strategic issue and challenge, which the government of PNG and

international Aid donors such as AUSAid have over the years attempted to combat at different levels of our system in PNG. University and other Institutions of Higher Education faced the same syndrome of lack of good governance and management. Although inadequate funds are allocated to State institutions, imprudent financial management has adversely affected their operations in delivering quality education as per their mandates. Managing inadequate funds to produce economies of scale efficiently in a sustainable logic is still a major challenge.

In sum, it would be more logical to argue that the deteriorating state of universities and colleges are an outcome of lack of political will and support, frequently political instability and unstable policy regimes, and poor good governance (25).

6. DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY 6.1. Government Policy and Strategic Directions The development pathway currently undertakenby PNG to achieve a “middle income economy’ by

2030’ and transiting into a “Happy, Wise, Healthy and Prosperous Nation” by 2050, is clearly articulated in the overarching political and strategic directions in Vision 2050 and cascadingly translated in Development Strategic Plan 2050 and Medium Term Development Strategy 2010-2015. The Higher Education Plan III is the strategy of strategy or basically the implementation strategy of the government political aspirations which focuses on driving the economy through science and technology in a sustainable fashion.

The growth model depicts the ideal pathway consistent with the overarching government policy and strategic directions.

6.2. Type of Model This paper adopts a model of Economic Development, Industrialization and Modernization premised

on Rostow’s 5 Stages of Economic Growth (Rostovian Take-Off Model) in Modernization Theory(26). Economic Development Model: Rostow’s Model

The five stages of economic growth theorised by Rostow, although contentious in academia3

3Opponents of this development model argue that Rostow’s model has some theoretical deficits in relation to real world situation given that its central premise is a liner modelling of historical evidence based on European experiences. They disputed and defend the argument that European experiences may not necessarily depict other countries development pathways such as those from developing countries as their development pathways are quite different. More so, histories do not necessarily depict a liner development pathway as argued by Rostow, because events do change influenced by pattern of prevailing conditions at different junctures. Therefore, one should not be conclusive in modelling of historical events in strategic calculus for development purposes.

, logically explains the strategic directions the State should be focusing on in terms of modernisation and industrialisation. First, understanding the modelling of it is necessary. Rostow’s model in simple logical definition is a modelling of historical events in explaining and predicting development pathways based on European experiences. He proposed five stages of growth which ultimately leads to the final stage of development. He argues that European experiences could well explain the general pattern of other countries.

He commences with traditional society. 1. Traditional societyis based on subsistence, barter and agriculture. 2. Preconditions for take-offfocus on specialization, surplus and infrastructure.

213

3. Take-off stage connotes industrialization, investment growth, regional growth and political change. 4. Drive to maturity depicts diversification, innovation, less reliance on imports, and investment 5. Age of High mass consumptionis where you witness high consumer orientation, durable goods

flourish, and consumer sector becomes dominant.It follows liberal economics modern concept of free trade proposed by Adam Smith which argues that to drive take-off stage countries depend on raw materials for export to finance non-competitive industry sectors. It supports Keynesianism – state intervention in the economy to drive development is imperative(27).

PNG has a unique strategic mix in this model, where she rests somewhere between stage 1 and stage 3 generally, I argue. Although PNG is experiencing impressive economic growth in the region driven by LNG with a mix of small scale manufacturingand expected surplus, the spatial landscape is still populated by about 80 per cent of agriculture and subsistence living in rural areas and lesser scale of barter system in some parts of the country,while heavy investment in basic services such as infrastructure, health and education is continuing.

6.3. Modelling and Logic

Growth Model

Logic

Tradtional Society

Pre-conditions for take-off

Take-off

Drive to Maturity

Age of High Mass Consumption

214

The logic is simple:if the State can invest in human capital in strategic core areas of higher

education, research science and technology we expect rapid economic growth, industrialisation and modernisation.

7. STRATEGIC INTERVENTION 7.1. Strategic Foresight Strategic thinking and planning focuses on the political directions our politicians intend to foresee the

ideal future. This can be in the form of wishes or intent translated into generic goals which should be logically cascaded into strategic insights.

It is predicted that most developing economies may perhaps be positioned between take-off to drive-to-maturity

In this economic growth model logic, should the State inject technological dimension into its calculus at take-off stage we expect rapid shift from low level income to middle income until it reaches maturity.

This can follow two paths: 1. Economic development of ‘Take off ’into sustained growth, and 2. The development in trend of industrialization and modernization. However, it is calculated that by synthesising the two pathways one should produce a balanced hybrid

strategic calculus for economic modernisation. The premise is that PNG is uniquely positionedsomewhere between traditional society and take-off stage but possesses huge potential to take-off and by balancing the equation with industrialisation and modernisation in a sustained fashion appears appealingly logical. How does human capital fits into this equation? The most logical response is by way of injecting research, science and technological dimension blended with sociological and cultural underpinnings into the equation.

The strategic calculus constitutes thinkers and implementers who are scientifically and technologically, and sociologically conscious of development imperatives.

7.2. Strategic Insight: Plausible Future Options The strategic insight element of strategic planning fundamentally focuses on the question of how

should it be done? In practical terms, it refers to translating political directions into organizational strategies in business or corporate environment or sectorial and agency levels in public service.

We then calculate how we should modernize the higher education sector through SMART4

4 SMART indicates smart, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.

strategies. Given the issues and challenges, specific strategies are fundamental to translate the political foresight or political directions:-

State Investment HC HERS&T

Economic Growth,

Industrialization & Modernization

215

• Develop a comprehensive strategic policy direction defining the insight and foresight of human capital development;

• Invest in RS&T; • Improve socio-economic infrastructure; • Invest in international scholarship (internationalization and global mobility) • Public and Private sector massification; • Promote and encourage entrepreneurial culture; • Support strategic industry alliance; • Establish a human capital park; • Support cross-border partnership; • Support Open and Distance Learning; • Provide incentives and motivation to academic staff; • Sectoral coordination; • Create an academic heartland and steering core; • Strengthen quality assurance system; and • Strengthen governance and legislative mechanisms.

8. POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES

Developing economies such as PNG that are in the process of rapid growth are geo-economically

driven by massive resource boom however, lack coherent policy framework to drive economic growth, e.g., lack of down-streaming capacity and capability (knowledge and technology) of mining and petroleum sectors. As a result, becoming more highly dependent on developed economies.

The major conundrum now is how to employ and deploy available national resources to economize human capital to drive modernization agenda within the age of globalization where idea matters most. The stable political and economic regimes provide a conducive economic environment for investment in human capital development given massive receipts from our high impact economic projects which are currently progressing in parallel. The future seems bright and getting the strategic calculus right is essential.

9. CONCLUSIONS

PNG as a fast emerging economy should develop a specific human capital base consistent with its

strategic directions and global trends to attain its modernization agenda. Although some recognition has been given to higher education by previous government more emphasis is needed in the areas of research science and technological advancement. The NHEP III gives primacy to research science and technology as the driving vehicle to progress economic modernization agenda in a logical sequence from small to mega scientific and technological advancement by 50 years time.

Although this paper recognizes other development strategic routes, it generally concludesthat“the State should be the captain of the ship powered by research, science technology to reach the destiny”. RST is a strategic choicethe government should anchor in its strategic calculus while maneuvering through uncertain future.

REFERENCES

1. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/HumanCapital.html . [Online] econlib.or, 2012. [Cited: 5 22,

2013.] http://www.econlib.org. 2. http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Global_economics/Linear_growth_theories.html . [Online]

economicsonline.co.uk, 2013. [Cited: 8 29, 2013.] http://www.economicsonline.co.uk.

216

3. J, Edernby. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12185&page=5. http://www.nap.edu. [Online] nap.edu, 2008. [Cited: 7 23, 2013.] http://www.nap.edu.

4. Yang, Brynjolfsson, et.al. http://ccs.mit.edu/papers/CCSWP202/. ccs.mit.edu/paper. [Online] ccs.mit.edu, 1996. [Cited: 6 1, 2013.] http://ccs.mit.edu.

5.http://www.wider.unu.edu/.../working-papers/2010/.../wp2010-03/_.../wp2010. http://www.wider.unu.edu. [Online] wider.unu.edu, 3 2010. [Cited: 6 1, 2013.] http://www.wider.unu.edu.

6. Oral, Bisel and. http://fie2012.org/sites/fie2012.org/history/fie95/4c4/4c44/4c44.htm . http://fie2012.org. [Online] /fie2012.org, 2012. [Cited: 8 29, 2013.] http://fie2012.org/.

7. Plosila, Walter H. http://edq.sagepub.com/content/18/2/113.abstract. http://edq.sagepub.com. [Online] edq.sagepub.com, 2 18, 2013. [Cited: 7 13, 2013.] http://edq.sagepub.com.

8. WB. http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications. http://data.worldbank.org. [Online] WB , 2013. [Cited: 6 17, 2013.] http://data.worldbank.org.

9. l. http://www.indexmundi.com/papua_new_guinea/economy_profile.htm. http://www.indexmundi.com. [Online] indexmundi, 2013. [Cited: 8 13, 13.] http://www.indexmundi.com.

10. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2797.htm. http://www.state.gov. [Online] state.gov, 2013. [Cited: 8 29, 2013.] http://www.state.gov.

11. https://www.google.com.pg/#q=png+moving+into+middle+class+2013. www.google.com.pg. [Online] Google, 2013. [Cited: 7 23, 2013.] https://www.google.

12. Joshi, Sharmila. http://infochangeindia.org/defining-development/theories-of-development-modernisation-vs-dependency.html. http://infochangeindia.org. [Online] infochangeindia.org, 2005. [Cited: 29 8, 2013.] http://infochangeindia.org.

13.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081220110104AAedKWY. http://answers.yahoo.com. [Online] Yahoo, 2013. [Cited: 7 12, 2013.] http://answers.yahoo.com.

14.http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/industrialization.html#ixzz2dKvbWcmn. http://www.businessdictionary.com. [Online] businessdictionary, 2013. [Cited: 7 12, 2013.] http://www.businessdictionary.com.

15. Joshi, Sharmila. http://infochangeindia.org/defining-development/theories-of-development-modernisation-vs-dependency.html. http://infochangeindia.org. [Online] infochangeindia.org, 2005l. [Cited: 29 8, 2013.] http://infochangeindia.org.

16.http://blogs.law.uiowa.edu/ebook/uicifd-ebook/part-1-iii-competing-theories-economic-development . http://blogs.law.uiowa.edu. [Online] uiowa.edu, 2013. [Cited: 7 12, 2013.] http://blogs.law.uiowa.edu.

17. Hanushek, Woessmann, etal. http://educationnext.org/education-and-economic-growth/ . http://educationnext.org. [Online] educationnext.org, 2010. [Cited: 7 12, 2013.] http://educationnext.org.

18.Sam,M http://www.academia.edu/1228730/Financing_Higher_Education_in_Developing_Countries 29/08/13. http://www.academia.edu. [Online] academia.edu, 2012. [Cited: 8 29, 2013.] http://www.academia.edu.

19. Office of Higher Educatioon. Draft National Higher Education Plan III. s.l. : Office of Higher Education , 2013.

20. Office of HigherEducation. White Paper on Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology: Enterprise and Education, Vol. 1. Port Moresby : Goverment Printry, 2000.

21. Office of Higher Education. National Higher Education Plan II. Port Moresby : Government Printry, 2000.

22. Orovu, S. http://epress.anu.edu.au/ssgm/global_gov/mobile_devices/ch22.html#d0e11935. http://epress.anu.edu.au. [Online] 2005. [Cited: 8 23, 13.] http://epress.anu.edu.au.

23. Department of Prime Minister and NEC . Vision 2050. Port Moresby : Government Printry, 2010.

24. Department of National Planning andMonitoring. Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030. Port Moresby : Goverment Printry, 2010.

25. Garnaut and Namaliu.Namaliu-Garnaut Report on PNG Universities Review . Port Moresby : Government Printry, 2010.

217

26. http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Global_economics/Linear_growth_theories.html . http://www.economicsonline.co.uk. [Online] economicsonline, 2013. [Cited: 8 13, 2013.] http://www.economicsonline.co.uk.

27.http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Global_economics/Linear_growth_theories.html. http://www.economicsonline.co.uk. [Online] economicsonline, 2013. [Cited: 8 12, 2013.] http://www.economicsonline.co.uk.



218

HS7-2013-008

Technological drivers of (r)evolutionary change in modern societies and how developing countries might productively respond to them via intentional,

thoughtful “leapfrogging”

Eric Gilder

Communication and Development Studies Department Papua New Guinea University of Technology

[email protected]

ABSTRACT Over the time since he was a fresh graduate student in the early 1980s till now, this academic

has seen the world being totally transformed from an analogue into a digital “format”. It all started innocently enough with large computers in rooms doing tedious counting and data-tabulating tasks on Hollerith cards while we humans carried on our analogue lives in relative peace. From 1985-1995, the world did change from an (largely) unseen tsunami begun from the small waves made by these nascent digital technologies. By 1995, the CD, audio digital recorders and DVD player had replaced earlier technologies. Computers (of a second or third generation) had replaced the typewriter; the Soviet bloc and its (long-decaying) governance models were only a bad memory (its economic model undone by technologies and demands of the new “third wave” post-industrial knowledge society). Finally, the worldwide web Internet 2.0 was arriving, which would surely change the means and modes of the communicative acts, affecting the economic, political and social/cultural spheres in turn.

Using Kenneth Boulding, Marshall McLuhan and Johan Galtung as sage guides, the paper will outline the transformations these technical inventions wrought in the economic, political and cultural spheres in rapid order over the noted decade, considering how the “developed” world has been affected by these changes, both negatively and positively. Following this, it will briefly consider how the disruptive effects of the digital revolution experienced can be counter-balanced by looking at how “developing” communities and economies have been able to “leap-frog” barriers in how they use digital technologies for both individual and collective humanistic gain.

Keywords: analogue to digital transition; Social change (appreciating or deteriorating);

Developed/Developing countries; Utopia/Dystopia

1. Introduction

The Dodo Didn’t Make It: The Disappearance of Developmental Niches in Society

In a provocative article in 1971 [1], social futurist Kenneth Boulding offered insights to the possible fostering of a sustainable socio-economic world order, versus the (very real) possibility that, like the proverbial Dodo, we would not “make it,” i.e., survive, for we might, like the dodo, find that changing circumstances might do us out of the “niches” we (and our social-cultural orders) have come to inhabit. Boulding was not confident of knowing how to answer this larger question of ultimate human survival and, as for the issue of “human betterment”, he was only slightly more encouraging:

I frankly despair of finding any single or simple rule of universal betterment. So I am proposing something a little more modest, that is, to try to identify subsystems within the total framework of the Universe and particularly within the framework of our society within which it is easier to determine whether things are going from bad to better or from bad to worse. For the total system of the Universe

219

this may be very difficult to do, but for subsystems within it we may have some kind of chance. Can we identify what I would call deteriorating systems on the one hand or appreciating systems on the other? That is, can we identify particular processes within a society where there is wide agreement that things are either going from bad to worse or from bad to better? I think I have identified about eight of these. [2]

These eight items or vectors of either appreciating or deteriorating change, Boulding identified were: 1. Consumption/production systems; 2. “Goods” and “bads” (with bads increasing due to informational overloads); 3. Joint production of goods and bads; 4. Invisible (externalities) by-products of intended ‘goods” production; 5. Failures in the knowledge-generating and distribution process; 6. Knowledge pollution; 7. The growth of malevolent (versus benevolent) value systems; and, 8. The payoff system (how are powerful people in the society paid, and from what area of the economy?) [3]. By walking through these eight vectors Boulding laid out the (r)evolutionary changes brought on by new technological drivers in our increasingly global society can be best revealed and described, and how certain social developmental niches that had worked well under one technological/economic system, came undone in the next.

2. Changing Consumption/Production Systems: The Three “Waves” Reconsidered

In The Third Wave [4], Alvin Toffler detailed the transition of human societies from hunter-gather societies (in which people were more of one with nature and the other animals of it, because they just passively took what nature provided them) to agricultural societies (where humans began to systematically cultivate or change the natural environment to increase productive outputs). This transition formed the first revolutionary wave of social, economic and political change (marked by settlements, formation of a priestly class funded out of excess food production and the rise of city-states and then feudalism). Following this same line of thought, the famed communication theorist, Marshall McLuhan [5], remarked that this first transition marked the move from a primitive oral culture to the invention of alphabets and a small, elite manuscript culture dominated by the literate priestly class. Under this schema, the “goods” produced (excess agricultural production) lead to the beginning of a larger “culture” or civilization, in that not all people had to hunt, gather, or engage in subsistence agriculture. What calculation of “bads” versus “goods” that came out of this transition (such as growing social divisions and the scramble for the increased resources created) were subject to Malthusian economic law; that is, the population would grow and then fall in line with available resources [6].

The second revolution (or “wave” in Toffler’s terminology) of industrialization was much more extreme and rapid, based on the exponential power of steam engines and their progeny mechanisms (large-scale, fast textile looms, locomotives, etc.) [7]. In the communication sphere, this development lead to what McLuhan called the “Gutenberg Galaxy” [8] by which the further mechanization of Gutenberg’s single-page printing press was transformed into a mass-media production machine, engendering a matching need for literate consumption. In his introduction/summary of his comprehensive and compelling essay “On The Social Costs of Modernization: Social Disintregation, Atomie/Anomie and Social Development” [9], Johan Galtung describes the process:

The modernization project launched by the West two centuries ago, was based on three pillars: State-logic, Capital-logic and Ratio-logic; formulated in part by Montesquieu (France), Smith (Britain) and Kant (Germany). The logic of the State implied centralization of coercive power, tempered by democracy. The logic of Capital implied market forces for economic power, tempered by anti-monopoly clauses. The logic of Ratio implied secularization for normative power. The result was spectacular, with bureaucracies, corporations and universities being major carriers of the triple logic, with ring-effects all over.

All of this was colored by Western deep culture, with its focus on dominion over nature; a sharp body-spirit division mirrored in a social division between merchants catering to the body, clergy catering to the spirit and aristocracy protecting both but also having ultimate power

220

(whence grew Capital, Ratio and the State); social atomism (individualism) with hierarchic organization of people; epistemological atomism and hierarchic organization of ideas (deductive systems); a very dichotomous world image; and a religion/ideology seen as singularist (the only Truth) and universalist (valid for the whole world). Abroad "modernization" became Westernization, and with the recent predominance of Economic Man became identified with economic growth as the key program for the whole world [in] the last decades. [10] Herein, one sees Boulding’s development dilemmas very clearly laid bare; In the realm of

technology (ratio-power), industrial wonders in the here-and-now undermined religious belief beyond; in the realm of economics, the abstractness of market forces undermined the mutual social obligations of feudalism (and the later development of global corporate capitalism has undermined local social democracy) [11]; in the realm of politics, a false removal of economic structures from debate in the civic square has made the coercive power of the state [12], in turn, serve those corporate interests more than the social ones. Hence, industrialization processes have exponentially multiplied (in scale as well as reach) both the production of “goods and “bads” in Boulding’s schema over what held in the agricultural revolution.

One item that marked the 19th and 20th centuries was the development of mirror-image societies created by social/economic divisions created by modernity. Out of the dislocations caused by the transition from feudalism to modernity, the divide between liberal market economics and individualism versus the command economies and collectivism of both fascism and then Leninist-Stalinist communism came to be [13]. While one could say that fascism was a retrograde irrational outgrowth of feudalism plus industrialization (but with a weak bourgeois class) [14], communism (first seen by Marx as a rational, evolutionary outcome of technologically advancing capitalist industrial societies, but then short-circuited by Lenin and Stalin to the case of Russia, still a feudal, agricultural society in the early 1900s), could be argued was the modernist progressive twin of market capitalist democratic societies [15]. The differing views of human nature that were revealed by these mirror societies (unique and individualist versus malleable and collectivist) derived from and then drove further what could be considered malevolent or benevolent values in their respective societies. But, as studies by a Byelorussian colleague and myself have shown [16], the core modern value that undergirded both systems was a resolute belief, almost mystical, in continuous human progress aided by expanding technology. And, up to the high point of post WW II “second-wave” industrial economies, both the USSR (reached in the mid-1950s) and the USA (reached in the mid-1960s), both modern industrial economies did well, productivity wise [17].

McLuhan too prophetically saw that the new technologies of communication in the 20th century (radio, film and particularly television) were not just different (neutral) ways to convey the same information that a manuscript or newspaper did, but modes of communication that would change the way humans processed information [18]. (Lenin, for example, did not get the ‘message’ that the “message was the medium,” in promoting the development of radio in the nascent Soviet Union, he gave as his rationale that with it, “all Russia will be able to hear a newspaper read in Moscow” [19].) Through varied “hot” (radio and film) and “cool” media (comic strips, telephone and television), humans would either, in a psychological sense, be dictated to by the media (hot, high-definition media) or invited into it (“cool” low-definition media). This shift towards a more self-constructed psychology became the hallmark the third-wave cognitive psychology of Maslow, Rogers and Kelly, which all had as their goal the avoidance of two of the twin “Gods” of modernity, i.e., the “irrational” lure of Freud (with its matching social system in fascism) or Skinner (with its matching social system in either totalitarianisms of centralized external control –think Orwell—or internalized self-management—think of Huxley) [20].

In a recent article [21], Gilder and Hagger have explored the challenges facing such “situated selves” as Orwell and Huxley placed as they are between the modern Gods of individualism and collectivism as he or she tries to “make sense” of the fast-changing world that envelopes one, from which he or she, for a limited time in specific encouraging spaces (active adulthood in a free social-political state) perhaps can achieve an “episode” of consciously chosen free-born status. During the modern period, the West largely embraced the negative-freedom values of unencumbered liberty to speech and for freedom of conscience, while the modern East trumpeted the positive-freedom values of freedom from

221

want and freedom from fear. It is, in this author’s view, no accident that these four values (two negative freedoms and two positive freedoms) were the articulated aims of the Allies in fighting WW II, in which the two “rational” versions of scientific modernity were (temporarily) united in fighting “irrational” fascism and nationalism [22].

3. The Apex and Decline of a “Working” Modernity: 1945-1990

These modern values of World War II both deployed and were saved by adroit use of technological might, leaving (in the West) the United States (and by the 1960s, a rebuilt Western Europe) supreme economically. The combination of private economic corporations and large-scale regulatory governance structures, combined with an optimistic, trusting mindset on the part of the general populace (steeped in the self-regulating values of WWII era solidarity), lead to the creation of the welfare state, what Walter Russell Mead [23] has recently called the “blue state” model of social functioning. This social contract provided some space for guaranteed markets for corporations at agreed prices (a pattern set by military contracting in the War period) and good labor conditions for workers (guaranteed by union contracts). This was “second wave” industrially based social model that “worked” for most of the WW II generation and the baby boomers’ generation afterwards [24]. While computers and the coming digital world was not far off, it seemed as if it were, even into the adulthood of this author. He thus calls this the modern, analogue world, drawing upon the technologies that were in most homes and businesses, up to the 1990s: analogue record players, tape recorders, televisions, and typewriters. In sum, the technologies employed by such appliances up to the 1980s were different only in degree from technologies used by their predecessors fifty years earlier. Many improvements were made in each, but the underlying analogue operating principle was the same, whether one discusses (in phonographs) the mechanical reproduction system used by an antique Victorola, the tube/valve-based circuitry used by a Webcor hi-fi from the 1950s, or the transistors and integrated circuits used in a Bang & Olufsen stereo from the 1980s. For phonographs (and industries based upon them such as radio broadcasting), the major change came with the introduction of the digital compact disc in 1987. In a very short time frame of ten years, major manufacturers of phonograph players and changers (specifically lower-cost and mid-range ones) had either changed their manufacturing output or were forced out of business [25].

A similar analogue to digital transition affected other sectors, such as television and film, but perhaps most dramatically, the telephone. Before deregulation it the 1980s caused it to be largely dismantled, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) and its subsidiary, the Bell Telephone system was a shining example of the reach, reliability and innovation of American technology corporations [26]. Under “common carrier” legislation [27] derived from the postal service and railroads that had covered the USA, almost all homes in the USA had a fixed/wired phone by 1970 [28]. The phone company owned and maintained the equipment in the system, all the way from the switching station to the subscriber’s bedroom; it was rented to the customer. Cross-subsidies of provided services meant that local phone service was universally cheap (even in far-flung rural areas) while long distance services were expensive [29]. Phone workers, from the operators and technicians to the engineers, were all well paid and secure in their unionized employment. It was a “blue-state” utopian welfare system in miniature. A 1974 anti-monopoly court case (ironically brought by the same federal government that had happily overseen its birth in 1875 and its expansion into the mid 20th century) was the immediate cause leading to AT&T and the Bell telephone system being divested of their co-monopoly in the USA on 1 January, 1984 [30]. What combination of forces speeded its demise, leading to what Mead calls a “red-state” (social-Darwinist, winner-take-all) system?

One force was the changing technology from analogue to digital, which made, by its vast expanse of the quantity of data being able to be transmitted for the same cost, competition easier (especially for long-distance phone services) [31]. The second was political change towards economic neo-liberalism in the USA (and Britain) [32], brought about by certain “bads” of growing globalization (oil embargoes in the early 1970s that quickly quadruped the price of oil products in the US being an exemplar [33]) and high-level political failures grounded in colonial fantasies (such as the Suez Crisis for Britain and the Vietnam War, Watergate and the Iranian hostage crisis for the USA). By the 1990s, these forces had

222

coalesced to form several specific drivers of far-reaching technological, economic, social and cultural change that have only amplified and extended the eight factors of social adaptation (for good or for ill) that Boulding had given us earlier on.

4. The Coming a “Brave New” Digital Atomistic/Anomistic World These drivers of ongoing, exponential change into a “brave new” digital and digitized world include,

first and foremost, the technology shift from analogue to digital just described (allowing for greater spectrum capacity and data transmission/copying without added distortion). Globalization (which is enabled by these lower data and memory costs, via Moore’s Law [34], leading to ever-more communicative traffic capacity and lower costs, thus leading to more self-service customer interfaces and off-shoring of telecommunication-based services); Neo-liberal “economistic” politics which place abstract profits for abstract persons (corporations) before embodied, situated persons, due in part because, since 1990, TINA (“There is No Alternative”) has become the acronym marking the “End of History/”The End of a Counter-Utopia” to mark the downfall of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union itself in rapid succession [35].

In turn, this neo-liberal turn in economic politics has lead to the movement of ever-greater unknown systemic “manufactured” yet “incalculable” risks [36] from government to the individuals, with “casino” promise of high returns for the lucky or well-placed. Indicators of this process include factors such as: A. the move from defined-benefit pension plans and health-care insurance tied to stable jobs to “portfolio careers” for the prepared entrepreneurial few and lowly “McJobs” for the rest, with minimal health care insurance and defined-contribution retirement plans provided, if at all) [37]. B. the “unbundling” and “deskilling” of former professional “craft” (or “free”) careers into “managed” semi-professional piece-work jobs (medical doctors working for profit-making Health Maintenance Organizations or HMOs, tenure-track full time professors being replaced by part-time and/or contingent instructors with low pay, while well-paid administrative ranks grow, and now even lawyers having professional opportunities dwindle in the face of preference for paralegals on-site and offshore document reviewing) [38]; and, C. what Robert Reich [39] had called “symbolic analyst” jobs (that were to be the oasis of secure work in the post-industrial age now upon us) have become ever more subjected to “extremistan” global market pressures as the knowledge “value-added” output becomes increasingly “scaleable” [40].

These macro-level shifts have occurred alongside micro-level movements from what Charles Handy has termed “doughnut-hole” structured jobs (with clear demarcations between on-work and off-work life activities) to “inverted doughnut” jobs that have few defined core responsibilities but endless peripheral ones which means that there is no clear dividing line between at work and off-work life activities [41], and to a growing power shift in favor of women as the “soft-skills” at which they tend to excel become more valued in the job marketplace than the “hard skills” of brain and brawn that men tend to excel in [42].

In a poignantly apt word, the high working classes of the industrial age had been “decimated” at the close of the second wave economy, and in the third-wave economy 2.0 well underway, the “middling middle-management” class is getting the same treatment [43]. (Ironically, while there is some movement to bring selected high-ed, niche manufacturing jobs “on-shore” once more, information, and IT jobs are increasingly being off-shored or off-loaded onto ranks of the lesser-paid, smarter, or supposedly harder-working immigrants [44].)

It is the thesis of this writer that this very technology paradigm shift that, in his view (as detailed in his earlier work [45]) undermined the Soviet/East European governance model (because it could not allow for the creative freedom structures that engendered a Silicon Valley creative virtuous circle required by post-industrialization), has also, by its further implications, also damaged the same modernist roots of “classic” liberal market capitalism, via the exponential powers of structural changes in economies and technologies have changed the cost/benefit ratio calculations of production and labor as noted above. Following to the conclusion of Boulding’s schema of appreciating or deteriorating systems [46], changes have to be made to the accounting of ecological invisibles/externalities, to faults in knowledge

223

transmission (and even malevolent) knowledge pollution, and most importantly to the “payoff system” to elites (and even others lower down the hierarchy) if we are to successfully navigate (in the developed world at least) the rough sea of ontological, epistemic and axiomatic changes ahead of both “self” and “sites” towards a humanistic safe harbor (or not), a journey which, at its conclusion, will provide an enacted answer to Boulding’s hope of human betterment (or even survival).

Despite the gloom of Boulding, McLuhan and Galtung, there are glimmers of hope for new technologies to be used intentionally to build sustainable communities, both in sub-cultural communities in the USA (Amish) [47] and in the developing world (Barefoot University, India) [48].

5. Hope for Appreciating Social Change via Technology off the Beaten Track In Galtung’s cited essay on the ill effects of social atomistic anomie, he claims that humanity’s long-

held cultural/religious orientations (spaced along a transcendent vs. immanent continuum) have formed and can deform or reform social (trans) formations, resulting in four constructed categories of extant “ideal-type” societies, as driven by Alpha (dominant) or Beta (cooperative) psycho-social orientations [49]. Space here prohibits a detailed analysis, but it can be said that second-wave modernity has been dominated by a strong transcendent belief in science and progress, but weak on fostering embodied human relations (immanence). In his view, however, the historically recent move in the developed world towards an embrace of post-modernity has been a negative move because, while it has undermined both the religious transcendence of traditional (first wave) society and the scientific rationality transcendence of modernity, it has not increased strength of grounded human communities [50]. And, the increased use of “smart” technologies of communication has come to be a pernicious symptom and/or accelerant of this loss of human immanence. But, it does not have to be that way. The intentional, thoughtful adaptation of modern technologies by sub-cultural communities in the USA such as the Amish has sparked many other organic ‘communities’ to question the inherent values residing in such mediums, as thinkers such as McLuhan and Jacques Ellul have pointed out [51]. Also, in the developing world, initiatives such as the Barefoot University (based in India) have clearly shown that, with the right support, illiterate women can be trained to perform (and train others like them to perform) the installation and maintenance of life-transforming solar-panel electricity micro-generators in remote villages, with the side-benefit that they become, over time, literate leaders in their communities [52]. With innovative (even utopian) thinking, appropriate third-wave technological resources (that can “leapfrog” unsustainable second-wave industrial development schemes) and a focus upon building community structures, still-bound traditionalisms can similarly be changed into open, adaptive living traditions, that can provide humans with a strong and adaptive balance between transcendent belief and immanent belonging.

Acknowledgements Thanks are due the fine colleagues who invited the author to present his ideas expressed herein in

earlier stages of development at TEDx “Education 2.0,” Piaţa Sfatului, Brasov, Romania, 30 June, 2012 ("The Decade the Digital Divide Began [1985-1995]: Implications for Higher Education"), and the 11th International Conference Language, Literature, And Cultural Policies -- "Sites Of Dissension, Sites Of Negotiation: Conflict And Reconciliation In Literature And Linguistics," at the Department of British, American, and German Studies of the University of Craiova, Romania and The Albanian Society for the Study of English (ASSE), Craiova, Romania, 15-16 November, 2012 (“Technological, Social and Political Drivers Affecting the Foundation of Communicative Acts in the Rhetorical Sphere in a Post-Analogue World.” Keynote presentation).

References [1] Boulding, K. E. The Dodo Didn’t Make It: Survival and Betterment (Prospects for Survival

symposium). Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (May, 1971), pp. 19-22. [2] Op cit., p. 20. [3] Op cit., pp. 20-22, passim. [4] Toffler, A. The Third Wave. William Morrow, New York, 1980.

224

[5] An accessible introduction to M. McLuhan’s thought is his 1969 interview with Playboy magazine. It is available in an online edited version by Phillip Rogaway. http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/spring07/mcluhan.pdf (28/07/2013)

[6] See: Clark, G. Survival of the richest: Malthus, Darwin and modern economic Growth. http://www.econ.canterbury.ac.nz/research/pdf/Paper_Clark.pdf (28/07/2013) [7] Toffler, op cit. [8] McLuhan, M. The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man. University of Toronto

Press, Toronto, 1962. [9] Galtung, J. On the social costs of modernization: social disintregation, atomie/anomie and social

development (2000, pp. 123-57). http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/5754/1/ALT_08_06.pdf (28/07/2013)

[10] Op cit., p. 123. [11] See: Soros, G. The Capitalist Threat, The Atlantic Online

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97feb/capital/capital.htm (28/07/2013) [12] See: Frank, T. What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America.

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2004. [13] In making this broad historical gross, the author owes a lot (as do many people) to Barrington

Moore’s classic study, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Beacon, Boston, 1966. See a comprehensive critique of Moore and his progeny by Bernhard, M. The Moore Thesis: What’s Left after 1989? http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/bernhard/content/moorethesis6.pdf (28/07/2013)

[14] Ibid. [15] Perhaps the common core that clearly demonstrated the modernist root of all three ideologies

was the aesthetic built environment each fostered, in their similarities and in their commonalities. See: Schnapp, J. T. Building Fascism, Communism, Liberal Democracy: Gaetano Ciocca--Architect, Inventor, Farmer, Writer, Engineer. Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif. (USA), 2004, and especially chapter one, “The Mission of the Engineer” (pp. 1-11).

[16] Gilder, E. Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the USA. The “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu Press, Sibiu [Romania], 2003 (Chapter 3); Gilder, E. and Kostjukevich, S. A Burkean analysis of society and higher education in the USSR: effects of historical patterns upon achieving the knowledge-based society in modern Russia. The 19th International Conference The Knowledge Based Organization (Economic, Social and Administrative Approaches to the Knowledge Based Organization: Conference Proceedings 2) 13-15 Iunie, 2013. The “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy Publishing House, Sibiu [Romania], 2013, pp. 310-18.

[17] See: Fischer, S. Russia and the Soviet Union Then and Now. The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 1 (January, 1994: 221-58). National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/chapters/c6021.pdf (28/07/2013); and, Mohamed, S. Economic Policy, Globalization and the Labour movement: Changes in The Global Economy from the Golden Age to the Neoliberal Era. Global Labour University Working Papers (Paper No. 1, Feb 2008). http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/GLU_Working_Papers/GLU_WP_No.1.pdf (28/07/2013)

[18] McLuhan, op. cit.; Rogaway, op. cit. [19] See: Letter from V. I. Lenin (264) to N. P. Gorbunov. Lenin Collected Works, Progress

Publishers, [1976], Moscow, Volume 35, page 473. http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1921/jan/26npg.htm (28/07/2013); and, Sounding Towers: Canadian Centre for Architecture, http://www.cca.qc.ca/en/collection/1776-sounding-towers (28/07/2013)

[20] McLuhan, M. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964. On “Third Wave” psychology as a counterpoint to both to Freud and Skinner, see: The beginning of cognitivism, George Kelly and the fundamental postulate. http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/kelly.html (28/07/2013). References to George Orwell point to his novel 1984 and Aldous Huxley to his Brave New World.

http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/spring07/mcluhan.pdf�

http://www.econ.canterbury.ac.nz/research/pdf/Paper_Clark.pdf�

http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/5754/1/ALT_08_06.pdf�

http://www.nber.org/chapters/c6021.pdf�

http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/GLU_Working_Papers/GLU_WP_No.1.pdf�

http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/GLU_Working_Papers/GLU_WP_No.1.pdf�

http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1921/jan/26npg.htm�

http://www.cca.qc.ca/en/collection/1776-sounding-towers�

http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/kelly.html�

225

[21] Gilder, E. and Hagger, M. ‘Me and my Shadow’ Reinterpreted: Collectivism Applied to Individualism as a Stereoscopic Overlay Producing an Illusion of Reality. “(M)Other Nature? Inscriptions, Locations, Revolutions” University of Bucharest Review Vol. II, no. 2 (new series), 2012, pp. 20-28.

[22] See; Berlin, I. Two concepts of liberty. http://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/fileadmin/wiso_vwl/johannes/Ankuendigungen/Berlin_twoconceptsofliberty.pdf (27/07/2013); and, Transcript of President Franklin Roosevelt's annual message (Four Freedoms) to Congress (1941). http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=70&page=transcript (27/07/2013)

[23] Mead, W. R. The Once and Future Liberalism. The American Interest (March/April 2012). http://www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=1183 (27/07/2013)

[24] Ibid. See also, Hayes, C. Twilight of the Elites: America after Meritocracy. Crown Publishers, New York, 2012.

[25] The fates of Webcor (Webster-Chicago) and the Voice of Music Corporation (Benton Harbor, Michigan) are two examples of this technology-driven decline personally known by the author. See The Webster-Chicago story. http://www.webster-chicago.com/wcstory.htm (28/07/2013); and, Brief history. http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/brief_history.html (28/07/2013)

[26] A brief history: the Bell system. http://www.corp.att.com/history/history3.html (28/07/2013) [27] 47 USC Chapter 5, Subchapter II - Common Carriers. [28] A Brief History: The Bell System. [29] See: Keefe, J. and Batt, R. United States. Katz. H.C. (ed.). Telecommunications: Restructuring

Work and Employment Relations Worldwide, ILR Press, Ithaca, New York, 1997 (pp. 31-88). [30] Ibid; A Brief History: The Bell System. [31] Keefe and Batt. [32] The election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in the UK in 1979 and Ronald Reagan as

President in the USA in 1980 marked a seismic shift to the right in the world’s political economies. See: The Reagan-Thatcher Revolution. Deutsche Welle. http://www.dw.de/the-reagan-thatcher-revolution/a-16732731 (28/07/2013)

[33] Lippman, T. W. Twenty Years Later, Americans Still Feel Oil Embargo's Effects. The Seattle Times (27 November, 1993). http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19931127&slug=1734061 (28/07/2013)

[34] Moore's law and Intel innovation. http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-gordon-moore-law.html (28/07/2013)

[35] See the synopsis of the research project, “Antiutopias: Making and Unmaking the Reality – Assessing Possible Worlds,” directed by Corin Braga (Babeş-Bolyai University, Romania). http://phantasma.ro/wp/?p=208&lang=en (28/07/2013)

[36] See: Jarvis, D. S. L. Theorizing risk: Ulrich Beck, globalization and the rise of the risk society. (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore). http://arsiv.setav.org/ups/dosya/17647.pdf (27/07/2013)

[37] See: Hayes, C. Twilight of the Elites; also, Murray, C. A. Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. Crown Forum, New York, 2012.

[38] See: Adler, P. S., Kwon, S-W. and Heckscher, C. The evolving organization of professional work. http://www.chicagobooth.edu/research/workshops/orgs-markets/docs/Adler_EvolvingOrganization.pdf (27/07/2013); Weissmann, J. How the Job Market for Law School Grads Crumbled (and How It Could Come Back to Life). The Atlantic (5 February, 2013). http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-the-job-market-for-law-school-grads-crumbled-and-how-it-could-come-back-to-life/272852/ (27/07/2013); Kendzior, S. Academia's Indentured Servants. (Opinion) Aljazeera English (11 April, 2013). http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/04/20134119156459616.html (27/07/2013); Leonard, A. The Internet’s Destroying Work — And Turning the Old Middle Class into the New Proletariat. Salon (12 July, 2013). http://www.salon.com/2013/07/12/the_new_proletariat_workers_of_the_cloud/ (27/07/2013).

http://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/fileadmin/wiso_vwl/johannes/Ankuendigungen/Berlin_twoconceptsofliberty.pdf�

http://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/fileadmin/wiso_vwl/johannes/Ankuendigungen/Berlin_twoconceptsofliberty.pdf�

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=70&page=transcript�

http://www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=1183�

http://www.webster-chicago.com/wcstory.htm�

http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/brief_history.html�

http://www.corp.att.com/history/history3.html�

http://www.dw.de/the-reagan-thatcher-revolution/a-16732731�

http://www.dw.de/the-reagan-thatcher-revolution/a-16732731�

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19931127&slug=1734061�

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-gordon-moore-law.html�

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-gordon-moore-law.html�

http://phantasma.ro/wp/?p=208&lang=en�

http://arsiv.setav.org/ups/dosya/17647.pdf�

http://www.chicagobooth.edu/research/workshops/orgs-markets/docs/Adler_EvolvingOrganization.pdf�

http://www.chicagobooth.edu/research/workshops/orgs-markets/docs/Adler_EvolvingOrganization.pdf�

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-the-job-market-for-law-school-grads-crumbled-and-how-it-could-come-back-to-life/272852/�

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-the-job-market-for-law-school-grads-crumbled-and-how-it-could-come-back-to-life/272852/�

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/04/20134119156459616.html�

226

[39] Reich, R. B. The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st-Century Capitalism. A. A. Knoph, New York, 1991.

[40] Taleb, N. N. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. Random House, New York, 2007.

[41] Handy, C. B. The Empty Raincoat. Arrow Business, London, 1995. [42] See Murray, Coming Apart; Dent, A. The Plight of Lower-Middle-Class Men: Charles Murray’s

Fishtown and MTV’s Buckwild. Acculturated: Pop Culture Matters (16 February, 2013). http://acculturated.com/2013/02/16/the-plight-of-lower-middle-class-men/ (26/07/2013)

[43] Plumer, B. How the Recession Turned Middle-Class Jobs into Low-Wage Jobs. (Wonkblog 28 February, 2013) Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/28/how-the-recession-turned-middle-class-jobs-into-low-wage-jobs/ (26/07/2013)

[44] TD Economics. Special report: offshoring, onshoring, and the rebirth of American manufacturing (15 October, 2012). http://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/md1012_onshoring.pdf (26/07/2013); Kaste, M. Who's Hiring H-1B Visa Workers? It's Not Who You Might Think. All Tech Considered (3 April, 2013) National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/04/03/176134694/Whos-Hiring-H1-B-Visa-Workers-Its-Not-Who-You-Might-Think (26/07/2013)

[45] See note [16], supra. [46] Boulding, op cit. [47] Rheingold, H. Look Who's Talking. Wired

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.01/amish_pr.html (26/07/2013) [48] “Gayle,” Solar Mamas. BBC Storyville Brings Eight Documentaries About Poverty to the Global

Stage for Far-Reaching Discussion. Art With Impact (22 October, 2012). http://www.artwithimpact.org/node/1055 (26/07/2013)

[49] Galtung, op. cit., pp. 138-44. [50] Ibid. [51] Cited in Rogaway; The betrayal by technology: a portrait of Jacques Ellul. (documentary).

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/betrayal-technology-portrait-jacques-ellul/ (26/07/2013) [52] Solar Mamas. http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/solar-mamas/ (26/07/2013)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/28/how-the-recession-turned-middle-class-jobs-into-low-wage-jobs/�

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/28/how-the-recession-turned-middle-class-jobs-into-low-wage-jobs/�

http://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/md1012_onshoring.pdf�

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/04/03/176134694/Whos-Hiring-H1-B-Visa-Workers-Its-Not-Who-You-Might-Think�

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/04/03/176134694/Whos-Hiring-H1-B-Visa-Workers-Its-Not-Who-You-Might-Think�

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.01/amish_pr.html�

http://www.artwithimpact.org/node/1055�



227

HS7-2013-010

Conflict analysis of the controversial bill on the 22 reserved seats for Papua New Guinea women in parliament

Alex, A. Botu

Victoria University, Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development, Footscray Park Campus,

Melbourne, Victoria, 8001 Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Gender equality in political participation still remains a mammoth challenge for aspiring women in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In an attempt to encourage equal participation of women in parliament, retired politician Lady Dame Carol Kidu proposed and sponsored the ‘Bill on the 22 Reserved Seats’ for women in parliament. The campaign for quota bill was launched in 2009 with the support of international stakeholders such as Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development and tabled at the floor of parliament in May 2010. The show of votes in support of the bill indicates that the male politicians agree with the concept of gender equality and participation of women in politics. The PNG Vision 2050 recognises the need for gender equality in politics, as envisioned and articulated in Chapter 2, Subsection 2.3.18 on gender equality. It states that significant gender inequalities remain a concern in PNG, however, there is a high possibility that the National Parliament will approve seats for women commencing in 2012. In December 2011, the Equality and Participation Act was passed to introduce 22 reserved seats, but the parliament failed to have the two-third absolutely majority required to endorse the Act to be legislated. Today, this issue remained unresolved, but has not been forgotten, especially those vibrant and aspiring women who had fought for it. The aim of the study was to map and analyse the conflict arising from this controversial issue, by identifying the needs, interests/concerns and values of all stakeholders and the enabling environment that impacted the decisions through primary and secondary document analysis.

Keywords: 22 reserved seats, gender equality, Vision 2050, women in politics. INTRODUCTION In an attempt to encourage equal participation of women in parliament, retired politician Lady Dame

Carol Kidu, the only female parliamentarian (from 1997 to 2012) proposed and sponsored the ‘Bill on the 22 reserved seats for PNG women in parliament’. The campaign for quota bill was launched in 2009 with the support of international stakeholders such as Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and tabled at the floor of parliament in May 2010 [1]. Today, the bill still remains a controversy and contentious at the floor of parliament and amongst various stakeholders. The nature of the conflict, if conscientiously analysed, is not about gender equality or equity and participation in politics that is creating confusion, but the proposed process and the terms reserved seats may be muddling, though it is very evident women in PNG are marginalized in several facets including politics. The show of votes in support of the bill indicated that the male politicians agree with the concept of gender equality and participation of women in politics. The constitution is non discriminatory, meaning everyone, including women, are to participate in the development activities of the nation. PNG Vision 2050 also recognises the need for gender equality in politics. At the Vision 2050 Summit in Lae, Morobe Province, on 14-16th

228

August 2009, provincial governors together with the former Prime Minister, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, resolved to endorse the proposal to have women’s seats in parliament. As envisioned in Chapter 2, Subsection 2.3.18 on gender equality: “significant gender inequalities remain a concern in PNG, however, there is a high possibility that the National Parliament will approve seats for women commencing in 2012” [2]. In December 2011, the Equality and Participation Act was passed to introduce 22 reserved seats for women in the National Parliament – one seat per province, plus one for the National Capital District. In order for the act to be implemented, a constitutional amendment was also necessary, but the bill to amend the constitution failed to attract the necessary number of votes. As such, it was not implemented in the 2012 national election as expected.

There are series of questions that surrounds this controversial issue. Is there any latent gender based

discrimination exercised by male politicians? Are male politicians confiding amongst themselves not to pass this Act? Is the bill in the interest of all citizens, especially women folk in PNG? Have all other possible avenues of political representation been exhausted? Are women activists negotiating effectively with all women and citizens in PNG or operating in isolation? The Somare government supported the bill, and envisioned it in Vision 2050 but why did the same government fail to endorse the Act? And the list may continue. Therefore, the aim of this investigation is to map and critically analyse the conflict arising from this controversial issue, by identifying the needs, interests/concerns and values of all stakeholders and the forces that have impacted the decisions made so far, and propose possible pathways for a way forward.

Approach of the study The study was a desktop online review investigating, analysing and mapping the surrounding issues

(enabling environment) and the stakeholders that have impacted the decisions on the controversial bill using conflict analysis tools. The research techniques used were documentary analysis (primary and secondary documents) including media and official blogs and general observation.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION Figure 1 is a graphically mapped representation of the core issue. Surrounding the core issue are the

direct stakeholders followed by indirect stakeholders acted upon by a sphere of external but critical factors (enabling environment) that possibly shaped and impacted the decisions. Four main stakeholders identified are: (1) the government, including opposition because their needs, interests/concerns and values in regard to this issue are similar despite political differences, (2) Lady Dame Carol Kidu, the only female in parliament during that period, who is also the major sponsor and advocate of the controversial bill, (3) National Council of Women and Women in Politics, who are the driving force behind this agenda as women activists and (4) Ordinary citizens of PNG, including women, men, youths and children in PNG.

Direct stakeholders Dame Caro Kidu – the retired politician was the primary sponsor and advocate of the bill. She

claimed that the National Parliament needs fair representation. The bill was necessary to counteract this systematic disempowerment of women. The retired politician claimed that she was never heard by the male dominated parliament and rarely given priority when she calls to improve social policy and human rights, especially violence against women, girls and children, despite PNG’s dire need for inclusive and resilient social policy [3]. Reflecting on historical trends and the current situation, it is arduous to find more inequitable democratically elected female leaders into parliament. Women do contest, but they have barriers such as expensive cost of campaign, political networks and the traditional ideology of the big man (man with wealth) ingrained in the culture is linked to PNG politics. These dissuade some women but for those who contest elections, it is an uphill battle in a system that favours money and men with money.

http://www.pina.com.fj/?p=pacnews&m=read&o=394624932500cbe546b62034992b6c%20�

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/call-for-png-to-decriminalise-homosexuality/986860�



229

Figure 1 Analysis of the stakeholder and the enabling environment

Government (including opposition) – the male dominated parliament seemed to manipulate

endorsement of the bill. It was the same government that supported the bill under the leadership of Sir Michael Somare, but did not endorse the Act to be legislated, contradicting in nature itself under the leadership of Peter O’Neill after the change of government. In a news interview with World News Australia, Sir Michael Somare, the founder of Vision 2050 who initially supported the bill said, and I quote: “so they decided not to pass it because most members are male chauvinists, animals, they would not even entertain women representation in parliament” [4]. This statement in itself is very discriminatory and contradictory to the vision envisioned in Vision 2050. It also confirms or implicate that some members personally dislike women representation in parliament. Others did not support the bill on the understanding that the concept was unconstitutional and undemocratic, though they fully agree with gender equity in parliament.

There were concerns that no women may make it to parliament in the 2012 election, making the

presence of women not felt in parliament when the only female politician Dame Carol Kidu retires at the end of 2012. This was deflected when three female candidates were elected. Ironically, the female politicians have ruled out their support for the bill, stating that this bill only undermines the capability of women. Honourable Delilah Gore said women must work harder to earn respect to win seats. The three ladies win is an indication that PNG women can make it to the parliament by battling with males. She also added that the people’s way of thinking has changed for the better [1].

National Council of Women and Women in Politics – these women organizations are the major push behind Dame Carol Kidu, who had been nagging the government. The major concerns and challenges highlighted and noted are the need for gender equality and equity, women empowerment, violence against women and equal participation in decision making in the

230

political sphere. President of the National Council of Women, Scholla Kakas, emphasized that women should be seen as equal partners is development. Reflecting on political history in the country, she lamented that the current system of election of members does not provide equal and equitable opportunity for women to be successful in politics. Ordinary citizens (men, women, youths & children) – there is mixed emotion among the ordinary citizens. According to media reports, many have expressed concerns that they do not agree. They raised series of questions and issues such as: whose interest are these women going to represent? Are these women pursuing personal or national interest of women? If national, some claimed they have never heard of them. Others acknowledge the fact that there is information gap, meaning women activists in urban centres, especially in Port Moresby are operating in isolation. Others recognise the need for equal participation and gender equity, serious actions to be taken against perpetrators of violence against women (e.g. rape), and the need for respect for women in the society, thus support the bill.

Indirect stakeholders There is overwhelming support and welcome by indirect stakeholders (especially international organizations). Key players identified were UN Women, APWLD, United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), Australian Aid and Pacific Women in Parliament. Generally, the main concern expressed by these institutions was centred around gender equity and participation in parliament, women empowerment, gender based violence (especially violence against women) and equal opportunity to participate in decision making. PNG ranks very low in all global indicators in advancing gender equality and elimination of violence against women, thus, there is need to push avenues that create opportunity for women [5]. Matilda Bogner, regional representative of UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the Pacific said in a country where women are severely underrepresented at the national political decision making level and where they are widely discriminated against in many facets of life, dedicated seats in parliament for women is a step in the right direction for women's political participation. A stronger voice for women in parliament is vital for progressing gender equality in PNG [6]. Representation and participation of women in formal political structures such as the parliament is among the numerous ways by which women, especially the marginalized and poor among them, pursue their issues and interests, uphold their rights and welfare, and voice their opinion in national politics [5]. It is important that women’s voices are heard and are rightfully provided spaces in venues where national development and the policies and programs are being charted. The political, economic, social and cultural aspects of women’s lives are intrinsically linked to that of their nations, thus the need to include and make spaces for meaningful participation of women in the various democratic processes in their communities and the nation.

Enabling environment There were number of factors that impact the decision to endorse and legislate the bill on the 22

reserved seats for women in parliament. Key factors identified include: political system, legislative (constitution), social and cultural, time, economic/financial and prejudice that may have evolved during analysis.

Political – PNG is a parliamentary democracy governed under the constitution of 1975. It has a three-

tiered system of government (national, provincial and local level). The unicameral National Parliament consists of 111 members who are often elected through the electoral process for a five-year term before the new election. Administratively, the country is divided into 22 provinces. The political sphere in PNG had been dominated by men. Over the last 36 years since independence (before 2012 election), only four

231

women, namely Hon. Nahau Rooney, Hon. Waliyato Clowes, Dame Josephine Abaijah and Dame Carol Kidu, have been successfully elected to parliament. Culturally, women are limited in the public sphere and decision making, and this cultural ideology and practice is playing a significant role in politics. There is possibility to assume of latent political discrimination against women participation in politics among male politicians.

Legislative – the main argument drew around the legality of the process, questioning if it was

constitutional. Legally, the political system is non discriminatory as it envisage that everyone (including women) have equal opportunity to participate in all facets of development of the nation, including politics. As articulated in the preamble of the Constitution of the Independent State of PNG on Equality and Participation: “we declare our second goal to be for all citizens to have an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, the development of our country. We accordingly call for: (1) an equal opportunity for every citizen to take part in the political, economic, social, religious and cultural life of the country, and (2) the creation of political structures that will enable effective, meaningful participation by our people in that life, and in view of the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of our people for those structures to provide for substantial decentralization of all forms of government activity”[7].

The conflicting dilemma is that the proposed process is unconstitutional. The parliament is a house of

representative of the elected members through the normal electoral process. The constitution allows for only one member to represent the open electorates and one member to represent the province. Section 101 of the constitution on Composition of the National Parliament Membership stipulates: “(1) Subject to this section, the Parliament is a single-chamber legislature, consisting of—(a) a number of members elected from single-member open electorates; and (b) a number of members elected from single-member provincial electorates” [7]. The proposal on the reserved seat for women is that only women will contest the provincial seats (separate from the provincial governor’s seat), but voted by everyone as usual in a normal election. This will mean each province will have two elected representatives, which violates the constitution. If the bill is enacted to be legislated, it would mean this section will be amended accordingly. This is the core issue that questions the legality of the bill.

Economic and finance – former Minister for Treasury Bart Philemon opposed the Bill on economic

grounds, arguing that though he supported women in parliament, the bill on 22 reserved seats for women in parliament (gender equality in political leadership) does not address the current development priority needs, but adds to the cost of governance without showing it will improve delivery of goods and services. It was estimated that it would cost the government additional 25 million Kina ($A12.1 million) to fund the 22 reserved seats [8].

Time – the push for endorsement of the bill coincided within a period PNG parliament was facing a

historical political impasse. In August 2011, there was a shift in the government regime to oust former Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, subsequently appointing Peter O’Neill as the PM. The Supreme Court nullified the appointment of Peter O’Neill as PM and declared the motion as unconstitutional and reinstated Sir Michael Somare as the PM. PNG was as the brink of political and constitutional crisis. The 2012 National Election was also approaching, so the government has to resolve these issues and refocus on the coming elections. Succumbing to the tension, the bill on reserved seats is sitting-tight, with women activists nagging the government to enact and legislate the bill, so women representatives can contest the 2012 general elections. This may have possibly diverted the attentive concentration of the government from seriously considering the bill.

Cultural and social – traditional and cultural expectations of women’s roles is still persuasive in

PNG. Women are not seen as meant to be in the public sphere. Their reproductive role also limits them. Traditional prejudice, social, economic and political aspirations have considerably excluded women and relegated them to secondary status [9]. This has marginalised women and also had a formidable impact on

232

women's lives, which is still prevalent in many cultures in PNG today. The mind orientation of many women, especially elderly women in remote areas is focussed on traditional roles. This is because women have traditionally been relegated to the private sphere of the home and family. There is significant breakthrough, in the political sphere, but it certainly will take awhile through education and awareness. Historically, there have been four women elected into national parliament, with the current three, having a total of seven in history.

CONCLUSION AND POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS In light of the conflicts surrounding this very controversy, it is aptly that the bill maybe removed from

the floor of parliament. This also bring into question Section 2.3.18 of Vision 2050, which articulates the possibility of endorsing reserved seats for women by 2012, now that date has lapsed. The three female members of parliament have uttered and warned of their withdrawal of support should the bill on the reserved seats resurfaces again in parliament for deliberation [10]. But the grievances expressed by various stakeholders in relation to gender equity and equality in participation and decision making, women empowerment, violence against women and cultural disadvantages that detract womenfolk is inevitably sensitive, and it must not be left unheard. Whether the bill is legislated or not, it should not be seen as the solution to these issues, as this is only one avenue these issues can be addressed vigorously. Unfortunately, the approach is not welcoming as reflected in earlier discussions, thus the following few alternative options have been proposed.

(1) Empowerment of women participation in local level government and provincial assemblies – the

local level and provincial government should be perceived as an important avenue and vehicle where women can be empowered and transformed. These are the basis and very fundamental point of entry into the national government (parliament). Section 187C, Article 3, of the PNG Constitution makes provision that members can be nominated to the provincial assembly and local level government; hence, women leadership can be encouraged through this pathway. Newly elected governor of Eastern Highlands Province, Honourable Julio Soso is a testament of someone who had climbed up the ladders through this process, not jumping in through the window. The government needs to revitalise the provisions under this section to strengthen women capacity. The advantage of women representation in these two levels of government is that they communicate and operate with many local and rural womenfolk, giving them greater exposure and network to excel in national politics.

(2) Education and awareness – should be seen as very vital and necessary to link to patch information

gap. Citizens (men, women, youths and children) are key stakeholders and they must be educated and made aware, not only about the bill on reserved seats, but the importance of gender equality and equity in the society. For example, from various reports and storied realities, many women in urban centres and rural areas throughout PNG are not aware of the bill on reserved seats for women in parliament. The implicit implication is that there is information gap. This also reflects poor corporation or operation in isolation, which maybe likely viewed by women in other centres and rural areas as women in the city pursuing self interest. Such comments have already been revealed in the media.

(3) National survey (research) – there has been no national survey conducted to grasp the true

opinion of all citizens, especially women, on the issue of 22 reserved seats. This is necessary because it will allow people to express their opinion, and this can also form the basis of decision making in the interest of the country, and

(4) Foster bottom up approach – the top-down approach engineered by international organizations

should refocus on a bottom-up approach so people take ownership of the issue affecting their interest. The traditional customs of PNG is continuously been attacked creating friction and confusion. Instead, the focus should be on how the system of transition should be lubricated to allow smooth transition through proper enhancement programs such as education and continuous awareness.

233

Acknowledgement I am grateful to Professor Hamel-Green and Kirk Gibson for their support and critique on this paper. I

also acknowledge Daniel Sosi and Kerrie Godbold for useful thoughts that enriched the discussion. I also thank my family for their continuous support and prayer.

REFERENCE

[1] Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD). Papua New Guinea: Support Bill to Reserve 22 Parliamentary Seats for Women. http://www.apwld.org/act-now/support-for-papua-new-guinea-bill-to-reserve-22-parliamentary-seats-for-women. (10/04/2013)

[2] National Strategic Plan Taskforce. Papua New Guinea Vision 2050, November,

http://www.treasury.gov.pg/html/publications/files/pub_files/2011/2011.png.vision.2050.pdf (13/04/2013)

[3] Romanes, D. Last Chance for PNG Women? Lowy Institute’s Myer Foundation Melanesia Program,

2011. http://www.lowyinterpreter.org /post/2011/11/21/Last-chance-for-women-in-PNG.aspx (14/04/2013)

[4] World News Australia. Fears of no women MP’s in Parliament, 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdsGj8WvrEg (14/04/2013)

[5] United Nations Women Pacific. Papua New Guinea: Leadership and Participation, 2012. http://unwomenpacific.org/pages.cfm/strategic-plan/papua-new-guinea.html (16/04/2013)

[6] United Nations Human Rights Commission, UNHRC. UN welcomes reserved seats for women in

PNG, 2011. http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2011/11/un-welcomes-reserved-seats-for-women-in-png.html (14/04/2013)

[7] Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. PNG National Legislation, 1975.

http://www.igr.gov.pg/constitution.pdf (12/04/2013)

[8] Philemon, B. Bart Philemon today on the 22 reserved seats for women, 23rd November 2011. http://malumnalu.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/bart-philemon-in-parliament-today-on-22.html (14/04/2013)

[9] Bunch C. & Frost, S. Women’s Human Rights: An Introduction. Routledge International

Encyclopaedia of Women: Global Women’s Issues and Knowledge, Routledge, 2000. http://www.wwda.org.au/whrintro1.doc (02/04/2013)

[10] The National Newspaper. http://www.thenational.com.pg‎ (2013)

http://www.apwld.org/act-now/support-for-papua-new-guinea-bill-to-reserve-22-parliamentary-seats-for-women�

http://www.apwld.org/act-now/support-for-papua-new-guinea-bill-to-reserve-22-parliamentary-seats-for-women�

http://www.treasury.gov.pg/html/publications/files/pub_files/2011/2011�

http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/�

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdsGj8WvrEg�

http://unwomenpacific.org/pages.cfm/strategic-plan/papua-new-guinea.html�

http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2011/11/un-welcomes-reserved-seats-for-women-in-png.html�

http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2011/11/un-welcomes-reserved-seats-for-women-in-png.html�

http://malumnalu.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/bart-philemon-in-parliament-today-on-22.html�

http://www.wwda.org.au/whrintro1.doc�



234

HS7-2013-011

Conflict mapping and analysis of sorcery related tortures and killings in Papua New Guinea

Alex, A. Botu

Victoria University, Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development, Footscray Park Campus,

Melbourne, Victoria, 8001 Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Recent media reports about sorcery related tortures and killings in Papua New Guinea (PNG) had received grisly attention from various stakeholders. What remains a mystery but true is that belief about sorcery and witchcraft is widespread all over PNG. The concept of sorcery is intrinsic, intertwined and ingrained into the cultural and traditional beliefs of spiritualism in different cultural and ethnic groupings. This compounded relationship makes conflict resolution in relation to sorcery very complex, consequently leading to inhuman tortures and killings. Though different forms of executions were traditionally practiced, the current forms of execution are very violent. Despite numerous efforts by police personnel and community leaders endeavouring to contain violence related to sorcery, it is escalating. Without understanding the root causes of this violence, any response from Government and other stakeholders will be limited in its effectiveness. Using evidence from this analysis I argue that a collaborative and concerted effort is required from all stakeholders, including community members, youths, community leaders, law enforcers and the government at all levels in addressing this issue.

Keywords: sorcery, cultural beliefs, tortures and murders, conflict resolution, human rights. INTRODUCTION Recent media reports about sorcery related tortures and killings in PNG had received grisly attention

from various stakeholders, both within national and external international communities. What remains a mystery but true is that beliefs about sorcery and witchcraft are very widespread all over PNG and other parts of the Pacific Island nations. The concept of sorcery is intrinsic, intertwined and ingrained into the cultural and traditional beliefs of spiritualism in different cultural and ethnic groupings in PNG. This compounded relationship makes conflict resolution in relation to sorcery very complex, consequently leading to inhuman tortures and killings. Women are the most who have been accused and helplessly tortured to death, as seen and heard recently. Violence related to sorcery is seldom linked to other misfortunes, such as theft or loss of jobs, but commonly linked to unexplained or sudden death of a person in a community. Tortures and killings are not perceived as revenge and violation of human rights by the perpetrators, but as social justice in many societies. Publicly staged tortures and killings is a sign of community condemnation of sorcery and a caveat to other sorcerers to refrain from practicing it. This implies that consensus on tortures and killings are communal, prevalent and involve many people in the society.

PNG had recently witnessed rife in the number of horrendous tortures and murders related to sorcery

this year, 2013. Most reported were women but men had also been subjected to similar treatment. In early February, twenty-year-old Kepari Leniata was stripped, trussed, doused in petrol and burned alive by relatives of a dead boy in the city of Mount Hagen [1]. Many incidents were reported in the month of April. Six women and a man were accused, tortured and burnt as Easter sacrifice to eradicate sorcery in Merep village of Nipa District, Southern Highlands. Fortunately, the man managed to escape. The group

235

were trussed, stripped naked and forced to sit down on hot roofing iron over fire. Hot rods were also pushed into their genitals to confess sorcery [2]. Two elderly women were beheaded in front of the police on suspicion of practicing sorcery in Lopele village, Bana District of South Bougainville [1]. In Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, three women were severely tortured, killed and dumped into the Kamaliki river, while a man (identified as Charles Tiago) was also chopped to death in Okapa District, all over allegations of sorcery [1]. In separate incidences, a mother and her son (a teacher) were murdered and thrown into an earthen toilet pit in Gumine, Chimbu Province, while in Banz town, Jiwaka Province, a man was chopped to death [1]. These are examples of few cases that have been reported, but it is believed others have not been reported.

Figure 1 Images of recent sorcery related tortures and killings [Source: 1 & 3] Traditionally, torture means imposition of physical suffering upon others through violence for various

reasons pertaining to the extraction of information or confession of guilt, but possibly simply been for the pleasure of cruelty [4]. Many researchers and media organizations in PNG have reported that accused victims undergo a varying degree of tortures and eventually death. Common ones imposed and inflicted include: chopped with axe and machetes, burnt alive, gashing, roasting over heated metal (such as roofing sheet), pushing of hot rods into female genitals, maiming, pushed over cliff, banished, trussed into hessian bags and thrown into rivers, thrown alive into toilet pit, gunned or beheaded, and eventually killed. The groundless torture and killing are violation of basic human rights enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 5 of the UDHR stipulates that ‘no one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment’. Article 3 also declares that ‘everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person’ [5]. The constitution of PNG also condemns such act as unlawful, but it is dismaying to see impunity for perpetrators. Section 5 (4)(c) of the constitution on basic rights declares freedom from inhuman treatments and forced labour [6] .

Despite numerous efforts by police personnel and community leaders endeavouring to contain violence related to sorcery, it is escalating. I argue that without understanding the root causes of this violence, any response from Government and other stakeholders will be limited in its effectiveness. I propose the use of conflict mapping and analysis as a tool to understand the causes of sorcery related violence and to contribute to building a framework for response. Using evidence from this analysis I pose the question- what approach to conflict resolution might be most effective in this situation? Given the complex and cultural nature of the violence, I argue that a collaborative and concerted effort is required from all stakeholders, including community members, youths, community leaders, law enforcers and the government at all levels in addressing this issue. What precedes other efforts (such as introduction of tougher penalties) in mitigating sorcery related tortures and murders is to understand the causes of why

236

this is happening the way it is today through conflict mapping and analysis, and this was the basis of this study.

CONFLICT MAPPING AND ANALYSIS The PNG government and other stakeholders have been reactive and have resorted to different

solutions (e.g. death penalty) to address the core issue pertained in this study. A proactive approach is needed to avoid the danger of overseeing proper analysis of the issue which may lead to superficial resolution. Reactive approach to conflict resolution is spontaneous to situations and ineffective because it occurs without adequate preliminary analysis, planning and preparation [7]. Conflict resolutions must embrace a proactive approach because human behaviour is not predictable according to predetermined rules of behaviour. Conflicts, like people are multi-dimensional, multifaceted and complex, and are predictable only at some times and within fairly narrow boundaries [7]. The first step in conflict intervention is conflict mapping and analysis [7 & 8]. It enables understanding the origins, dynamics and possibilities for the resolution of the conflict [8 & 9]. Deeper conflict analysis is the key basic step in conflict resolution. It helps to understand the conflict and to choose proper conflict resolution strategies aimed at moving from the conflict’s destroying dynamic toward solutions that may satisfy all parties involved [10].

Cause and effect analysis A problem tree had been used to analyse the issue (Figure 2). Possible causes identified (but not

limited to) are: cultural beliefs and practices, ineffective law enforcement (especially by police), power dynamics and abuse, gender inequity and inequality, abuse of drug (marijuana) and moonshine (homebrew), Sorcery Act 1971, and corrupt political leadership. Others include decline in Christian values, suspicious death of young person or leader, decline in community justice and respect and ethnic/tribal conflicts. These root causes are broadly interrelated, but I have deliberated on few causes identified.

Cultural beliefs and practices – In PNG and other Melanesian societies, people have strong

connections with land and beliefs in spiritualism. These traditional beliefs and customs are innate, and passed on from older generations to younger generation through doings such as initiations and oral history (ancestral stories and myths). Beliefs about sorcery are very widespread and ingrained into the cultural and traditional beliefs of spiritualism in different cultural and ethnic groupings in PNG, and its practices differ from one place to another. For example; Sanguma1 in Chimbu province and Tukaps1

1 Sanguma and Tukaps are different forms of sorcery named in the common dialect of Tok Pisin.

in Okapa and Lufa, Eastern Highlands. It is believed that sangumas do remove the innards (especially heart) of living person or of cadavers using supernatural spiritual powers without even laying hands on the bewitched [11 & 12]. My society believes and practice tukaps, and not sanguma. Tukaps involve use of supernatural powers too, but men are physically involved in execution and lay hands to cause harm. Practitioners can remove innards, castrate man, remove the oesophagus, knot the anal canal/rectum or perform weird things to the bewitched. The symptoms do not manifest until the person is dead. Traditionally, sanguma was practiced by women, unlike tukaps which is strongly linked to men. For this simple reason, victims of tortures and killings related to sanguma are mostly women and those related to tukaps are men.

237

Figure 2 Possible root cause and effects of sorcery related tortures and killings Since sorcery is associated to spiritualism, the common way to investigate death or misfortune is

through divination by engaging people with special superpowers (witchdoctors), referred to as glasman2 or glasmeri2

Ineffective law enforcement – The fundamental duties of a police officer include serving the community, safeguarding lives and property, protecting the innocent, keeping peace and ensuring the rights of all to liberty, equality and justice. There is public outcry of ineffective law enforcement, especially by the police department in regard to sorcery related tortures and murders. There are myriad of evidence, from research and media reports, to justify this purported claim. For example; the case of two women who were beheaded in Bougainville and the other who was tortured and burnt alive in Western Highland were done when the police personnel where there in full uniform and watching. Central

. The highly paid witchdoctors use superstitious incantations and black magic to establish the cause of death and reveal the identity of the sorcerers. People strongly believe in this practice, so when dubious evidence is established this way, the accusers execute violence. This is one of the major causes of false accusations and assumptions, leading to violent torture and murder of innocent men and women. Long serving Catholic Priest Philip Gibbs had expressed similar concern that divination is a lucrative job, and there is also temptation to accuse others falsely just to get one's hands on the money [13]. The safety of witchdoctors is also a concern because there are instances where witchdoctors had been attacked. People invest resources, especially money to engage witchdoctors, so when they do not deliver, it turns into conflict and violence. On the other end, if a person is accused of sorcery and tortured, injured or murdered through the work of witchdoctors, then the family members of relative of the victim attack the witchdoctor(s) and their families.

2 Glasman or glasmeri is in Tok Pisin – a person (man or woman respectively) presumably with special superpowers who can reveal (divine) the cause and identify the sorcerers. They are more like witch consultants or crime investigators involving spiritualism.

238

Bougainville police chief, Inspector Herman Birengka while confirming the incident said police were present at the scene watching helplessly and could not do anything as they were out-numbered by the angry Lopele villagers who were armed with five high-powered firearms, machetes and axes [1]. The document by Sohkin et al, shows examples of police who have demonstrated negligence [3]. Summary of the UN report in 2011 revealed that the PNG constabulary lacks everything from adequate pay, uniforms and accommodation to leadership. As a consequence, corruption is rife and morale poor. Police have almost no intelligence-gathering capacity [14]. Amnesty International has also urged the government to provide and facilitate the police with all the resources needed in order to protect this family and all others at risk of future attacks.

Power dynamics and gender inequality – PNG is a male dominated society, and generally, women are

perceived as low in social status than men. Power difference and the division between public and private spheres has also compounded to gender issues and the difficulties faced by women. Gender inequality in power is plausibly derived from the use of sex (physical status of being male or female) and the shared cultural expectations associated with being a male or female [15]. This is very applicable to PNG because traditionally, women in PNG have been relegated to the private sphere of the home and family in the more than 800 cultural grouping. This is also a global perception in many societies [16]. Unfortunately, it is sad to see that most of those who had been tortured and killed were women. Women in PNG experience such human rights abuse but have not always been visible. The concept of women’s human rights had paved way for women in PNG to draw attention to the indifferences in the widespread stigma and violence faced by women. It has generally been perceived that women’s human rights are ancillary to human rights [16]. Article 2 of the UDHR stipulate that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration [UDHR], without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status’ [5]. Conspicuously, the human rights delineated in UDHR are to be understood as applying to both women and men, but traditional prejudice, social, economic and political aspirations have considerably excluded women and relegated them to secondary status within the context of human rights considerations [16].

PNG Sorcery Act 1971 – Sorcery is formally recognised by PNG law. The Sorcery Act 1971 was

formerly introduced by Australian Colonial administration in 1971. It provides for people committing acts of witchcraft or sorcery to be charged and put in prison. Article 7 of the Sorcery Act clearly defines how sorcery is criminal in nature (Criminal Acts of Sorcery). Thus, this law explicitly acknowledges the existence of sorcery and criminalizes those who practice it [12]. The PNG Constitutional Law Reform Commission (CLRC) undertook a research in 2012 to examine sorcery related cases and reported that sorcery-related attack has been increasing since 1980’s. In an interview with Australia Network, Dr. Eric Kwa, secretary of the CLRC said Sorcery Act 1971 must be repealed, because sorcery is a spiritual matter, so law cannot deal with spiritual matters. It is very difficult to prove as evidence [17]. The Criminal Code Act that deals with murder and wilful murder requires evidence, so cases without evidence are often difficult to judge. The Act has been criticised by human rights groups for providing the perfect cover for score settling, an excuse, essentially, for people to attack women. But the question is whether the people know if this Act existed? My opinion is that many people (including accusers) have no idea of the existence of this Act, and this is proven in Oxfam International Gumine Research report [12]. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and other government ministers have confirmed their support to repeal the Sorcery Act and impose tougher penalties. The penalties and provisions outlined in the Act mostly focuses on the sorcerer (especially forbidden sorcery) as the perpetrator, but do not adequately accommodate the security of the sorcerer if he is a victim. But, the Act has some merit because it criminalizes the act of torture, killing or labelling of false accusation against sorcerers based on mere suspicion. As in the preamble, there ‘is a danger that any law that deals fully with sorcery may encourage some evil-intentioned people to make baseless or merely spiteful or malicious accusations that their enemies are sorcerers solely to get them into trouble with other people, and this is a thing that the law should prevent’ [18]. There is danger that the Act may have been overseen in pretence to claim innocence over failed law enforcement. People

239

who accuse sorcerers and torture or murder can be charged for assault, manslaughter and wilful murder under the existing law.

Community coalition against sorcery – Why do people publicly torture and kill people? Why are accused subjected to ferocious attacks? Why is it that the own blood families of the accused are involved in torturing their beloved ones? Why is the community, including some respected leaders so silent when these are happening? From my personal experience, observation and analysis, three reasons seemed outstanding. Firstly, people do not want forbidden sorcery in their society. The community condone this practice. It is an indication of what can be appropriately referred to as community coalition against sorcery. Secondly, it is done to scare and impart fear into other people who are believed to be co-partners to stop or they face the same brutality. It is a warning. Thirdly, there is common understanding that the only way to eradicate and lessen sorcery and fear of sorcery in the community is to completely eliminate sorcery within the society by eliminating the sorcerers.

Drug and moonshine – Surveys, reports and relevant documentary had identified drug (marijuana) and moonshine (homebrewed and distilled liquor often referred to as steam) as a major cause of many forms of violence, including that related to sorcery. Most of the lynch-mobs pursuing extreme cruelty are said to be under the influence of steam and marijuana [3, 12 & 13]. I have observed this attitude as well in my local community. To them, it is about fun and sadism. Daniela Sosi, a student at Victoria University said these druggies have eaten all the domestic animals in the village, including pigs, dogs, cats and chickens. They have already eaten babies, and they are soon going to eat the tortured. Sister Gaundentia Meier, a Swiss born nurse and Catholic nun with over 40 years experience in PNG dealing with sorcery issues said angry and despaired youths are also stirred up by a potent brew of booze and drugs [3].

Stakeholders Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had called for tougher and draconian penalty following spate of horrific

tortures and murders related to sorcery and rape incidents [19]. O’Neill announced for renewed push for death penalty in support of the call by Minister for Justice and Attorney General Honourable Kerenga Kua, who is now in the process of finalising a submission to the government to introduce death penalty for tortures and murders related to sorcery. Minister Kua said as a responsible government, ultimate criminal penalties must be imposed to address such horrendous brutality [2]. Honourable Tobias Kulang, member for Kundiawa-Gembogl, made his intentions known that he will not support the enforcement of the death penalty in Parliament because it is against Christian principles. He admitted that there is urgent need to enforce daring laws to deter the rising lawlessness but these laws must be based on proper moral foundations [2].

International human rights and developmental non government organizations such as the Amnesty International, United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) and Oxfam International have all expressed grave concerns over the alarming rate of violent sorcery related atrocities in PNG. Amnesty and UNHRC have urged the PNG Government to stamp out the practice where there is a widespread belief in sorcery and where many people do not accept natural causes as an explanation for misfortune and death. Kate Schuetze, Amnesty International Pacific researcher said police are not doing enough to save the lives of people accused of sorcery. She said police have a responsibility to protect the public from harm and maintain law and order. This latest incident shows they are falling short when it comes to sorcery related attacks. An appeal was also made to the government to provide the police with resources needed in order to protect people from risk of future attacks [2]. Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr had also disclosed his concern on the state of current lawlessness in PNG, but pointed out that Australia does not support the death penalty. Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in her recent official visit to PNG declared that Australia is against universal death penalty [2].

APPROACH TO CONFLICT RESOLUTION The ultimate aim of conflict resolution is not to avoid conflict but deal with it in a way which

minimizes the negative impact and maximizes the positive outcomes [20]. Three approaches to conflict resolution are: interest based or collaborative, (cooperative and integrative), power based and right based

240

[20 & 21]. The usage of these techniques is effective if applied to resolve a conflict that is suitable to each specific approach because the outcomes, be it positive or negative, depends on how it is handled [8 & 9]. The traditional approaches are the power and right based. Rights based approaches typically are costly because it involve legal process, and impose emotional strains. Third parties are involved and the result is distributive (win-lose). Losing parties are likely to be unhappy so there is probability that the conflict may resurface at a later date. Power based methods also incur high cost and create emotional differences. The process tends to be protracted in terms of time. In the worse case, there is loss of properties, life, environmental damage as well as injuring innocent third parties [20].

Collaborative approach creates conditions that prevent the escalation of conflict, reduce the destructive aspects of conflict, and create a working climate that preserves relationships [9 & 22]. A collaborative process provides the opportunity to accommodate the underlying interests and needs of each party because all parties with a stake in an issue are heard. These stakeholders (those who will be affected by the outcome and those in a position to help implement or block implementation of the outcome) come together to talk about their interests, jointly consider a wide range of options for satisfying their interests, and develop mutually acceptable outcomes [21]. Collaboration often strengthens rather than damages relationship, and since it deals with the underlying sources of the conflict, it is likely to result in a long lasting agreement that is satisfactory. In summary, collaboration is less costly and more rewarding than focus on rights, which in turn is less costly and more rewarding than to focus on power [20].

The government had been reactive in its response to addressing this issue. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and other members of the parliament said they will repeal the sorcery act, and impose more tough penalties including death penalty and life imprisonment for rapists (which they have already implemented). As most of the accused who were tortured, murdered and raped were women, PNG Women Arise, a group of self organised women advocates organized a two day national ‘haus krai’ on the 14th and 15th May 2013 in remembrance of the victims and as a move to push the government to impose tougher penalties [1 & 2]. The idea received enormous support. These women should be applauded for their courageous effort because femininity should not be apologetic if result is to be seen. It was a wakeup call for the government and men in general, whom all fingers seemed to point. But the question is: who are the real audience? Is it the government, the youths, men, community members, law enforcers (police) or women? Who listens the most but who needs to change significantly? Who has the real solution? This is a real conflict and challenge. In my opinion, this maybe another spectacle because the government and the women leaders are too reactive and emotional. A lasting solution is needed, not a lasting law. There are myriads of latent issues, and this may be a tip of the iceberg.

The way forward Conflict resolution is quite complex because the issue involves many actors in varying degrees, from

the government down to the grassroots. It is a macro level conflict because it is sensitive, and deals with human needs of basic social security and rights, which are both fundamental. All approaches can be used in this case to resolve the issue, but the appropriate one should be the one that enables a lasting peace based on common understanding [8 & 9]. The traditional power and rights based approaches must take immediate effect to mitigate and contain the issue under the existing laws. The government must use its statutory power and force to some extent to harmonise the situation because sorcery related tortures and killing is burgeoning malignantly. It has a responsibility to protect its citizens. The laws are already in place so the perpetrators of barbaric tortures and murders must be brought to justice. Law enforcement is weak and ineffective. The right based approach is appropriate because the core issue is criminal in nature. The mechanism such as the judicial system is already inplace, thus, the police force needs to step up and bring perpetrators to face the full brunt of law.

For a long lasting solution, collaborative approach still remains the best way forward because it will promote win-win situation for all stakeholders. All stakeholders must corporate together at different levels to find a lasting solution. The government must listen actively to the needs, concerns and interests of the people affected (both men and women) if long lasting proactive and amicable solution is to be formulated. It cannot compromise its standing because it has a vast responsibility to protect the people, but

241

understanding the people is also far more important. Collaboration does not mean they must like, approve of, or agree with each other, but it does require that they recognise minimal common needs and purposes, and accept, if only pragmatic [7]. The communities must be given the opportunity to take ownership of the problem through collaboration. They must be allowed to participate meaningfully in discussing the issue themselves. Programs should be designed and funded by the government, may be through departments such as the Law and Justice Sector to develop Peace Building and Conflict Reduction Programs using effective tools such as Participatory Rural Appraisal. The people will use the opportunity to explore their own situation, develop criteria of risks and determine local solutions. They will be able to better understand the consequences, identify and agree on nature of conflicting violence and common triggers.

CONCLUSION Belief in sorcery and witchcraft has traditionally been a salient feature of PNG. Sorcery related

torture and killing has burgeoned recently in PNG, drawing local and international attention. Though it had been reported over the yester years, 2013 had been a significant one in history because of the numbers of people, both men and women, reportedly been murdered and tortured within such a very short span of time. The government more focused on using power and rights based approach in resolving the conflict. Whilst these two methods are workable, the danger is that the result may be temporary. Therefore, the government should take a more proactive approach. It should collaborate with all stakeholders to establish an amicable solution. Unless the people are empowered and transformed, this is an attitude problem constructed and crafted by cultural and traditional practices and beliefs, thus, there is possibility that this issue will perpetuate. Collaboration is the way forward to addressing this issue. Participation is inclusive and voluntary, thus participants (local people) will take ownership of the process as they will be kept informed. The participants will help educate each other about the issue and how it is affecting them, leading to development of multiple options. Thus, decisions made will be by consensus, and will allow participants to oversee its implementation. Social problems are created by people, and emphasis should be on transformation rather than deterrents because the real solution remains with the perpetrators and those with similar attitude and way of thinking. Lasting solution is imminent only of those deemed responsible are transformed.

Acknowledgement I am grateful to Professor Hamel-Green and Kirk Gibson for their support and critique on this paper. I

also acknowledge Daniel Sosi and Kerrie Godbold for useful thoughts that enriched the discussion. I also thank my family for their continuous support and prayer.

REFERENCES

[1] Post Courier Newspaper. http://www.postcourier.com.pg (2013) [2] The National Newspaper. http://www.thenational.com.pg‎ (2013) [3] Sohkin, V., Elliot, T, & Chandler, J. Tortured for Witchcraft in Papua New Guinea.

http://livewire.amnesty.org/2013/05/01/tortured-for-witchcraft-in-papua-new-guinea (06/05/2013) [4] O’Byrne, D.J. Human Rights: An Introduction. Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate,

Harlow, 2003. [5] United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948.

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ (22/04/2013)

http://www.postcourier.com.pg/�

http://livewire.amnesty.org/2013/05/01/tortured-for-witchcraft-in-papua-new-guinea/�

242

[6] Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. PNG National Legislation, 1975. http://www.igr.gov.pg/constitution.pdf (12/04/2013)

[7] Tillett, G. Resolving Conflict: A Practical Approach. 2nd Ed, Oxford University Press, 1999. [8] Miall, H., Ramsbotham, O & T. Woodhouse, T. Contemporary Conflict Resolution. Polity Press.

Cambridge, 1999. [9] Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T. & Miall, H. Contemporary Conflict Resolution. 3rd Edition, John

Wiley and Sons, 2011. [10] Mbalamya, T.C. Introduction to Conflict Analysis, Prevention and Resolution. Master Thesis,

University for Peace. San Jose Costa Rica, 2012. http://www.upeace.org/system/capacity/pdf/2012/ (14/05/2013)

[11] Franklin, J.K. Comments on sorcery in Papua New Guinea. Graduate Institute of Applied

Linguistics and SIL International, 2010. http://www.gial.edu/images/gialens/vol4-3/Franklin-Comments%PNG.pdf (15/05/2013)

[12] Oxfam International. Sorcery beliefs and practices in Gumine: A source of conflict and insecurity.

Oxfam International Gumine Research, 2010. www.oxfam.org.nz/sites/default/files/reports/Sorcery_report_final.pdf ‎ (10/05/2013)

[13] Gibbs, P. Living among witch burners: One Papua New Guinea.

http://www.onepng.com/2013/02/living-among-witch-burners-philip-gibbs.html (15/04/2013) [14] United Nations. United Nations Papua New Guinea Annual Progress Report, 2011. http://www.

mdtf.undp.org/document/download/8988 (10/05/2013)

[15] Ridgeway, C.L. Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World. Oxford University Press, New York, 2011.

[16] Bunch, C. & Frost S. Women’s Human Rights: An Introduction. Routledge International

Encyclopaedia of Women: Global Women’s Issues and Knowledge, Routledge, 2000. http://www.wwda.org.au/whrintro1.doc (02/04/13)

[17] Australia Network. PNG government is trying to stop violence brought on by a deep belief in

sorcery and witchcraft. http://australianetwork.com/focus/s3450755.htm (13/04/13)

[18] Papua New Guinea Office of the Legislative Council. Sorcery Act 1971. http://www.trupela.com/wp-content/downloads/pnglaw/Sorcery%20Act%201971.pdf (02/05/2013)

[19] Global Post. PNG to revive death penalty, repeal sorcery laws.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130501/png-revive-death-penalty-repeal-sorcery-laws-0 (06/05/2013)

[20] Sanson, A. & Bretherton, D. Conflict Resolution: Theoretical and Practical Issues. In Christie, D.

J., Wagner, R. V., & Winter, D. A. (Eds.). Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century, 2001. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall. http://academic.marion.ohio-state.edu/.pdf (12/05/2013)

http://www.igr.gov.pg/constitution.pdf�

http://www.upeace.org/system/capacity/pdf/2012/Claudine%20Tsongo%20Mbalamya%20-20Introduction%20to%20Conflict%20Analysis,%20Prevention%20and%20Resolution.pdf�

http://www.gial.edu/images/gialens/vol4-3/Franklin-Comments%25PNG.pdf�

http://www.gial.edu/images/gialens/vol4-3/Franklin-Comments%25PNG.pdf�

http://www.onepng.com/2013/02/living-among-witch-burners-philip-gibbs.html�

http://www.wwda.org.au/whrintro1.doc�

http://australianetwork.com/focus/s3450755.htm�

http://www.trupela.com/wp-content/downloads/pnglaw/Sorcery%20Act%201971.pdf�

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130501/png-revive-death-penalty-repeal-sorcery-laws-0�

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130501/png-revive-death-penalty-repeal-sorcery-laws-0�

http://academic.marion.ohio-state.edu/.pdf�

http://academic.marion.ohio-state.edu/.pdf�

243

[21] Oregon Public Policy Dispute Resolution Program. Collaborative Approaches: A Handbook for Public Policy Decision-Making and Conflict Resolution. State of Oregon Publishing and Distribution, 2006. http://library.state.or.us/ repository/2012/201207191610014 /index.pdf

(10/05/2013)

[22] Condliffe, P.F.J. Conflict Management: A Practical Guide. 3rd Ed, LexisNexis Butterworths, Australia, 2008.

http://library.state.or.us/�



244

HS7-2013-017

Factors that trigger lackadaisical learning in universities in PNG

Justin Kehatsin* and Kathleen Solok

Department of CDS, University of Technology, Lae, Morobe, 411, Papua New Guinea Email: *[email protected]

ABSTRACT

It is not cushy and rosy at the universities as far as being a student is concerned. Most of the problems and difficulties are usually encountered by students in their first, second and to some extend third years of study. There are two main types of problems faced at the universities. These include those associated with their learning (academic matters) and those they encounter as members of the different groupings they come to associate themselves with (non-academic matters). The research was done through the review of literature and the administering of questionnaire survey. There were 64 student participants from four departments at Unitech that were surveyed through questionnaires. It was found that a significant number of students were indeed affected in one way or the other by the elements of the three categories namely; assessment items, teaching styles and lecturers’ attributes. For instance, students found writing essays, lecturers talking only and lecturers from Asia quite insecure and daunting tasks for them to handle. There is a need to address these issues in order for students to find learning at the university positively motivational and beneficial.

Key words: commitment concentration independent lackadaisical learning

motivation

INTRODUCTION

Learning in universities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is still problematic because it is caused by many factors that are experienced by students when they enroll in their university programs. The most affected students are usually those in their first year of study. In universities, students in their first and second years and to some degree those in their third year often experience teaching approaches which are different from those they were used to in secondary schools. Generally, students learn in many different ways-by seeing and hearing; reflecting and acting; reasoning logically and intuitively; memorizing and visualizing and drawing analogies… [1]. Teaching methods also vary from institution to institution. Felder said that some instructors and lecturers lecture, others demonstrate or discuss; some focus on principles and others on applications; some emphasize memory and others understanding. How much students learn is very much reflected by the teaching styles that the instructors or lecturers choose to apply.

In PNG, learning styles are not teaching points in themselves but experiences that students must endure in their search for new knowledge. A student must try at all times to acquire knowledge in his or her own way of learning. This has posed and is still posing problems for students nowadays. The complex nature of the history of PNG students is a serious issue but very little time has been dedicated to it in the learning environment.

Most lecturers concentrate and focus solely on how best they can teach their subjects. They often fail to understand their students. Further more, some lecturers unintentionally focus on their students by coaching and instructing them to behave accordingly and to be upright and commit themselves to

mailto:*[email protected]�

245

their studies. They become more like counselors than lecturers. Others though embrace both worlds of teaching approaches.

Whatever teaching style is used, the students learning styles must feature prominently in the minds of lecturers, and technical instructors. Failure to adhere, adapt and understand the learning styles can cause setbacks in students’ ability to learn effectively.

PROBLEM STATEMENTS

First year students in universities spend a lot of their time simply trying to know how the universities are organized, how they function and how they must conduct themselves in order for them to be successful in their studies. Their adjustments to the university environment are determined purely by how they manage and organise themselves. This is not an easy task knowing that they are involved in so many activities that demand their time, effort, commitment and concentration.

The natures of the problems students face vary in magnitude and in where they face them daily. There are two main types of problems faced at the universities. These include those associated with their learning (academic) and those they encounter as members of the different groupings they come to associate themselves with (non-academic).

Students find the university learning environment significantly less intimate than learning in other environments. Hutcheson and Tse [2] said that, when students commence study at the university, they find that a large amount of teaching in their first year subjects tend to take place in lectures attended by large numbers of students. They also discovered that “students spend more time independently studying material and completing assessment tasks than they do attending classes.”

At the university, students all of a sudden find that they are free to do whatever they can because attending classes is not compulsory. Because of this, students need to adopt a more independent style of learning than required during their secondary studies and therefore they need to decide how to best devote their time to studying at the university. As a result, students often experience problems during the transition phase when they first begin their study. Whilst they may have the basic level of skills and knowledge required for gaining entry to a university, their motivation and use of those skills and knowledge can influence how successful they are in their universities.

University students have diverse backgrounds in terms of many factors, such as their educational background, ethnicity and motivation [3]. They said that the diversity in educational background of students studying in Australian Universities has risen significantly when universities increased the number of university places that they provided to overseas students. They said that the “enrolment of overseas students has proven to be a lucrative fundraiser for some universities with overseas students paying a substantially higher fee than the one imposed on local students.” There are also differences between the study approaches and academic skills of students from other cultural backgrounds.

In PNG, meeting so many students from other cultural backgrounds can also stimulate negative responses in their minds. This type of thinking can be further exacerbated by different styles of learning and different types of teaching approaches used at universities. The PNG University of Technology has a good percentage of students who experienced difficulties related to teaching styles (refer to table 3).

An understanding of difficulties experienced by students at universities may provide academics with insights into why students are performing poorly. Methods of teaching can then be adjusted to improve the academic skills of students and their approaches to learning. There are other factors too that contribute to lackadaisical learning in universities that lead to poor performances. These factors are assessment items, teaching and lecturers’ attributes to name a few (refer to table 2, 3, & 4).

LEARNING DIFFICULTIES IN UNIVERSITIES

Several studies have already been carried out in other countries to identify problems that are encountered by students whilst learning in universities. Some surveys have been carried out on

246

academic and non-academic areas of concern. Some studies have shown that a large number of students find the transition phase into university studies difficult and they do not quickly adjust to the university learning environment. Burns [4] surveyed first year students enrolled at the Australian University just as they were commencing their second semester in 1989.This survey was administered to Bachelor of Business degree which had a 30% population of overseas students.

The survey asked questions pertaining to academic and also non-academic areas of concern and which asked about the factors affecting their learning. Most respondents replied that they were not really prepared for the university environment. A large number of respondents felt their learning skills, such as lecture note taking and completing assignments were not strong enough to handle the work required by the university. Whilst insufficient learning skills were a major concern of all students, overseas students showed a greater degree of concern than the local ones. In particular, more than half of the overseas respondents felt their English speaking, hearing, reading and writing skills were weak [4]. In PNG, the same types of weaknesses can be said to be the same as listed above. English speaking, hearing, reading and writing do pose huge problems to our students who enter universities.

Unfortunately, a weakness in English is overwhelming in all universities in PNG. This leads directly to students not studying well and more so, not performing well in their academic subjects. For example, it was proven in Australia that students with poor English skills took longer to read and comprehend material and to complete assignments [4]. He went on to say that poor English skills of non-native English speakers stem from the fact that these students have English as their second language and they adopt study methods that do not encourage independent thinking. Non-native speakers of English adopt a surface learning approach of simply memorizing material rather than attempt to understand the materials. In PNG, students at university level have difficulty with comprehension because they too have limited English vocabulary and attempting to read text after texts of English materials is a burden they have been struggling with. Students can not reason things well and express their ideas clearly in English and this has led to many doing so poorly in assessment items that demanded critical and analytical discussions.

McInnis [3] carried out a survey on first year students at several Australian Universities in the year 1994. In the survey, it was found that some students appreciated the higher level of learning at the university but on the other hand, a significant proportion of students indicated that they did not find subjects they studied interesting. Some students in the findings felt that some of their lecturers did not make subjects very stimulating or were not able to explain effectively the material being covered. The three researchers concluded that there was a need for teaching staff to clearly communicate with students about what they were expected to learn while completing a course and that student feedback was an essential component of effective teaching [3]. Mullins, Quintrel & Hancock [5] said that, in order to retain and attract students into the universities, universities needed to be more responsive to the concerns of students. They emphasized that it was “imperative for universities to identify study related and financial needs of all students and evaluate how serious they were”. It can also be said that students in PNG universities face the same types of problems which have bearings on their work during their study at universities.

In the surveys carried by researchers mentioned earlier, more than half of the student respondents provided negative feedback about their learning in the universities.

4.1 Sample population

Table 1: Sample population No. of students Male Female Provinces Secondary / National

High Schools Departments at Unitech

64 /2816 2.27%

46/64 71.87%

18/64 28.13%

18/21 85.71%

35/114 30.70%

4/13 30.77%

247

FACTORS THAT TRIGGER LACKADAISICAL LEARNING AT UNITECH Students at Unitech like most students in other universities encounter varying degrees of difficulties

when they enter the university environment. Research at Unitech has proven that students do face problems. The three other categories of problems were identified and are listed in graphic form below.

The table above shows the number of students who completed the questionnaires that were

administered to them in class times. The total number of students was 64. This number is 2.27 % of the total number of full time students (2,816). There were obviously more male students then anticipated (71.87%). The students came from 18 provinces throughout PNG and they last attended 35 different secondary and national high schools. The sample population of 64 was selected from 4 different academic departments within Unitech. The departments were:

• Communication and Development Studies

• Electrical Engineering Department

• Mining Engineering Department

• Surveying and Lands Department The classes surveyed consisted of three Year 2 students and one Year 3 students. 4.2 Assessment items From the responses shown in the table below, it can be deduced that the level of security and

insecurity students face when they perform their assessment is a mixture of the three categories. Most students at Unitech feel secure and comfortable with the types of assessment that lecturers currently give to them. A good number of students though said that they felt neither secure nor insecure in the following assessment items:

• Listening [23.44%]

• One sentence answer [20.31%]

• Essay writing [29.69%]

• Speaking [26.56%]

• Reading [21.87%]

• Group work [18.75%]

• Quiz [15.62%]

• Experiments / demonstrations [17.19%] On the other hand, we also have a few significant numbers of students who feel insecure when they

perform their assessments. The assessment items that troubled students the most were: • Listening [23.44]

• Essay writing [17.19]

• Speaking [18.75%]

• Group work [12.50%]

• Quiz [10.94%]

• Experiments / demonstrations [10.94%] Although assessment done at Unitech did not pose much difficulty to the majority of students, a significant number of students did experience some form of insecurity and discomfort. This in turn contributed to students feeling unmotivated about their study and willingness to do assessment.

248

4.3 Teaching styles The next lots of factors that also contributed to students’ lack of enthusiasm in learning were caused

by the factors shown in table 3 below. Table 2: Assessment items that students have or not have any problems with at Unitech Assessment Items Secure % No

reaction % Insecure % Total

number %

Matching 60 93.75 3 4.69 1 1.56 64 100 True / false 55 85.94 9 14.06 0 0 64 100 Fill-in blank 48 75.00 7 10.94 9 14.06 64 100 Multiple choice 57 89.6 5 7.81 2 3.13 64 100 Listening 34 53.12 15 23.44 15 23.44 64 100 One sentence answer 45 70.31 13 20.31 6 9.38 64 100 Essay 34 53.12 19 29.69 11 17.19 64 100 Speaking 35 54.69 17 26.56 12 18.75 64 100 Reading 47 73.44 14 21.87 3 4.69 64 100 Group work 44 68.75 12 18.75 8 12.50 64 100 Quiz 47 73.44 10 15.62 7 10.94 64 100 Experiments/ demonstrations

46 71.87 11 17.19 7 10.94 64 100

Table 3: Teaching styles that students have or not have any problems with at Unitech

Teaching styles Secure % No reaction

% Insecure % Total number

%

Talking only 22 34.38 14 21.87 28 43.75 64 100 Use of teaching aids 55 85.94 5 7.81 4 6.25 64 100 Group discussion 51 79.69 9 14.06 4 6.25 64 100 Use of demonstrations 53 82.81 8 12.50 3 4.69 64 100 Use of experiments 47 73.44 12 18.75 5 7.81 64 100 One-to-one tutoring 35 54.69 19 29.69 10 15.62 64 100 Doing exercises 53 82.81 9 14.06 2 3.13 64 100

The table above highlights the factors which relate to the teaching styles employed by lecturers and

technical instructors. Overall, students seem to like the teaching styles that are employed in classes. However, there are two styles that students feel very insecure about and they are:

• Talking only [43.75%]

• One-to-one tutoring [15.62%]

Most students surveyed indicated that lecturers and instructors who talked only in classes did not do them any favour in their learning. Talking has become monotonous that most of the time in class, students switch off and become passive learners. A one-to-one tutoring approach does not help much also. Students do not feel secure or comfortable when they come face-to-face with their lecturers on a one-to-one basis. This in PNG is not surprising, especially when it comes to the gender factor. The most preferred style is the use of teaching aids followed by use of demonstrations and doing exercises.

249

4.4 Lecturers’ attributes Table 4 below shows some very interesting results. It is obvious that students do not feel secure when

they sit in classrooms where first degree holders teach. It can be assumed that first degree holders are not fully qualified to teach at the university level. It is also worth noting that lecturers and instructors who were teaching in their first five years were feared also by students as they lack the experience to teach at the university level. The most astonishing but not surprising factors that students fear the most are the following.

• Asian Lecturers [34.38%]

• Expatriates with first degree [32.81%]

• Expatriates with less than 5 years teaching experience [31.25%]

• PNG with less than 5 years teaching experience [29.69%]

• Westerners [26.56%]

• PNG Lecturers with first degrees only [20.31%] The most favoured lecturers and instructors are no doubt the following listed below. They

motivated and generated vigour and enthusiasm in the learning process.

• PNG lecturers / instructors with more than 5 years of teaching [ 82.81%] • PNG females and expatriate PhD holders [81.25% each]

• Expatriates with more than 5 years t/experience and PNG male lecturers [79.68% each]

• Expatriate masters and PNG PhD holders [78.13% each]

• PNG masters [76.56%] Table 4: Lecturers’ attributes students have or not have any problems with at Unitech Lecturers’ attributes Secure % No

reaction % Insecure % Total

number %

Expatriates Asians / Africans 22 34.38 16 25.00 26 40.62 64 100 Westerners 30 46.88 17 26.56 17 26.56 64 100 Less than 5 years teaching 30 46.88 14 21.87 20 31.25 64 100 More than 5 years teaching 51 79.68 11 17.19 2 3.13 64 100 PhD holder 52 81.25 10 15.62 2 3.13 64 100 Masters holder 50 78.13 9 14.06 5 7.81 64 100 First degree holder 30 46.88 13 20.31 21 32.81 64 100

Nationals Males 51 79.68 9 14.06 4 6.25 64 100 Females 52 81.25 7 10.94 5 7.81 64 100 Less than 5 years teaching 26 40.62 19 29.69 19 29.69 64 100 More than 5 years teaching 53 82.81 9 14.06 2 3.13 64 100 PhD holder 50 78.13 12 18.75 2 3.13 64 100 Masters holder 49 76.56 12 18.75 3 4.69 64 100 First degree holder 29 45.31 22 34.38 13 20.31 64 100

In another class research carried out by Kathleen Solok [6], some interesting results were observed.

One of her questions below yielded the following information.

250

Is stress the main determining factor that results in a student’s poor academic performances? The following are the students’ responses to the question about stress. Table 5: Students opinion on stress

4.5 Types of Stressors identified by the sample population There are different stress factors that are experienced by different individuals that cause emotional

and psychological effects on the students. Table 6: Stressor identified among the students sampled.

7%

56%

20%

7%10%

Whether stress is the determining factor?

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Don't Know

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Roommate

Money

Grades

Tests/Exams (Assesments)

Friends/Peer Pressure

Sport

Not Sufficient Time

4337

1723

00310

1733

6030

020

3333

3020

100

1010

3323

1713

2013

1720

2737

3010

2323

3317

137

3740

30

173

2043

2717

1013

313

3720

310

710

4047

3740

313

737

77

No Stress Slight Stress Average Stress High Stress Very High Stress

251

4.6 Capabilities of students working under stress In every problem, there is always a solution to it and so with the amount of stress experienced,

different students were asked about their capabilities of working under stress and the following were the responses.

Table 7: Students responds to their capabilities of working under stress The percentage of students (20%) who work under stress is quite significant and it highlights a need

to identify the problem students so that they can be given the necessary help. Stress and other related fears have also contributed to students discontinued from studies.

Refer to table 2, 3 & 4 above for further information and also the text below explaining a similar

research that was done in Australia on the same topic. Felder [1] said that “how much a student learns in a class is governed in part by the compatibility of

his or her learning style and the instructor’s teaching style. Mismatches exist between common learning styles of engineering students and traditional teaching styles of engineering professors.” In most cases, students become bored and inactive in class and they do poorly in tests or assignments because of the mismatches they experience. They even get discouraged about the course, the curriculum and about themselves and in some cases change from course to course. In few cases, students just simply opt out of study. This is very reflective of the scenario which is experienced at the PNG University of Technology. To some extend, this also applies to other universities in PNG.

Learning in a structured educational setting may be thought of as a two-step process involving the reception and processing of information. Felder [1] said that, in the reception step, external information (observable through the senses) and internal information (arising introspectively) become available to students, who select the material they will process and ignore the rest. The processing step he says may involve simple memorizing or inductive or deductive reasoning, reflection or action, and introspection or interaction with others. He said that the outcome is that the material is either ‘learned’ in one sense or another or not learned at all.

PERSONAL BARRIERS TO LEARNING

Personal and social barriers to learning are related and can be addressed together in the classroom. Many of these barriers can be found in all ages of students, including adults. It may not be obvious to the

13%

30%57%

Capabilites of students working under stress

Yes

No

Sometimes

252

lecturers that students have barriers; they may appear irrational or stubborn, when in fact there are underlying causes that trigger this behaviour.

Most students if not all, come to the universities with a lot of barriers that they have experienced along their way in education. Some of these barriers are home based and some are personality related.

Dr Helms [7] cited in McInnis et al. highlighted some barriers that contribute to learning difficulties also faced by students in universities.

i) Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation refers to a student’s personal desire to learn the material, regardless of external stimuli or rewards. Lack of intrinsic motivation is a major personal barrier to learning. Without the desire to learn, students will often do the minimum tasks required, without processing or understanding the information, and they may not even try at all. Establishing intrinsic motivation is often difficult, but research suggests certain strategies.

First make the material relevant to the student in some immediate, personal way. Even students in third and fourth years have trouble being motivated by events in the distant future. Telling students that what they are learning now will be used ten years later will not likely establish intrinsic motivation.

Second, try to make the material as engaging as possible to grab the students’ attention. Remember that intrinsic motivation must come from the student, and while the lecturer can encourage it, students can not be forced to learn things.

ii) Self-esteem

Self-esteem is a person’s perceived ability to meet a certain goal. Low self-esteem often causes students to give up even before trying. However, students with too high self –esteem may become overconfident and not give their tasks their full attention and actually perform worse than the students with low self-esteem. A student’s self-esteem is established in several ways, the strongest is past experience. If a student has met similar goals in the past, their self-esteem to achieve the new goal will be high. Dr Helms says that this can create a type of self-fulfilling prophecy where students with success in a subject area will be confident and motivated to continue to succeed, which reinforces their positive self-esteem. Conversely, students who fail to reach a goal will be less confident and less motivated to achieve similar goals in the future, encouraging their continued failure. Encouraging students and giving positive reinforcement along the way can override the influence of past failures. Another way to encourage positive self-esteem is if the student sees someone else reach the goal, particularly if this someone else is a person they admire and indentify with (like a friend).

SOME HINTS ON OVERCOMING LEARNING DIFFICULTIES

i) Sensory and Intuitive Learners

A student who favours intuitive over sensory perception, for example, would respond well to a lecturer or instructor who emphasizes concepts (abstract content) rather than facts (concrete content) while a student who favours visual perception would be most comfortable with a lecturer or instructor who uses charts, pictures and films. Carl Jung [8], in his ‘theory of psychological types; introduced sensing and intuition as the two ways in which people tend to perceive the world. Sensing involves observing, gathering data through the senses; intuition involves on the other hand, indirect perception by way of the unconscious-speculation, imagination, and hunches. Everyone uses both faculties but most people tend to favour one over the other.

Sensors like facts, data, and experimentation; intuitors prefer principles and theories. Sensors like solving problems by standard methods and dislike “surprises” while intuitors like innovation and dislike

253

repetition. Jung continues to say that sensors are patient with detail but do not like complications while intuitors are bored by detail and welcome complications. “Sensors are good at memorizing facts while intuitors are good at grasping new concepts. Sensors are careful but may be slow while intuitors are quick but may be careless,” [8].

An important distinction is that intuitors are more comfortable with symbols than are sensors. Since words are symbols, translating them into what they represent comes naturally to intuitors and is a struggle to sensors. Sensor’s slowness in translating words puts them at a disadvantage in time tests, since they may have to read questions several times before beginning to answer them. They frequently run out of time. Intuitors may also do poorly on timed tests but for a different reason- their impatience with details may induce them to start answering questions before they read them carefully and therefore liable to make mistakes.

Most engineering courses other than laboratories emphasize concepts rather than facts and use primarily lectures and readings (words, symbols) to transmit information and these techniques favour intuitive learners. Some lecturers may be intuitors themselves while the majority of students could be sensors. If this can be the case then there is likely to be a mismatch in learning and teaching styles. This is probably very true in the PNG University of Technology.

Godleski (1983) also carried out his research and found that in Chemical and Electrical Engineering courses, intuitive students almost invariably got higher grades than sensing students. There was one senior course though in the chemical process design and cost estimation which was recognized as a ‘solid” sensing course. While sensors may not perform as well as intuitors in school, both types says [9]are capable of becoming fine engineers and are also essential to engineering practices. “Many engineering tasks require the awareness of surroundings, attentiveness to details, experimental thoroughness, and practicality that are hallmarks of sensors; many other tasks require the creativity, theoretical ability and talent that characterize intuitors” [9].

ii) Visual and Auditory Learners

The ways people perceive information may be divided into three categories. They are visual (sights, pictures, diagrams, symbols); auditory (sounds & words) and kinesthetic (taste, touch, and smell). Some researches carried out already have shown that some students learn most effectively with one of the three categories and tend to miss or ignore information presented in either of the other two. Felder [1] has this to say about the three categories of learners. Visual learners remember best what they see like pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, demonstrations. If they just listen to things, they will probably forget them. Auditory learners remember much of what they hear and more of what they hear and say. They get a lot out of discussions and prefer verbal explanations more than visual demonstrations. Kinesthetic learning involves both information perception (touching, tasting, smelling) and information processing (moving, relating, doing something active) while learning. It is marginally relevant to engineering education.

iii) Inductive and Deductive Learners

Induction is the reasoning progression that proceeds from particulars (observations, measurements,

data) to generalities (governing rules, laws, theories). Deduction proceeds in the opposite directions. In induction one confers principles; in deduction one deduces consequences.

Induction is the natural human style of learning. We don’t learn sets of general principles but rather observe the world around us and draw inferences. On the other hand, deduction is the natural human style of teaching. This is particularly true of technical subjects in colleges and universities. Stating the governing principle and working down to the applications is an efficient and elegant way to organize and present materials that is already understood.

254

Consequently, most engineering curricula are laid out along deductive lines, beginning with fundamentals and arriving at design and operations by the senior years. A similar progression is normally used to present materials within individual courses: principles first and application later. Felder [9] said that an informal research has shown that most engineering students view themselves as deductive learners.

Research supports the notion that the inductive teaching approach promotes effective learning. The benefits claimed for this approach include increased academic achievement and enhanced abstract reasoning skills, longer retention of information, improved ability to apply principles, confidence in problem-solving abilities and increased capability for inventive thought. Inductive learners need motivation for learning. They do not feel comfortable with the “Trust me-this stuff will be useful to you some day” approach. Like sensors, they need to the see the phenomena before they can understand and appreciate the underlying theory.

iv) Active and Reflective Learners

The complex mental processes by which perceived information is converted into knowledge can be

conveniently grouped into two categories. They are the active experimentation and reflective observation. Active experimentation involves doing something in the external world with the information- discussing it or explaining it or testing it in some way while reflective observation involves examining and manipulating the information introspectively. There are indications that engineers are more likely to be active than reflective learners.

Active learners do not learn much in situations that require them to be passive and reflective learners do not learn much in situations that do not offer students opportunities for them to think about the information being presented. Active learners work well in groups while reflective students work well by themselves or with at most one other person. Active learners tend to be experimentalists while reflective learners tend to be theorists.

It appears to some extend that active learners and sensors have an overlap in that both of them are involved in the external world of phenomena while the reflective learners and intuitive learners both favour the internal world of abstraction. The categories are independent however. The sensor preferentially selects information available in the external world but may process it either actively or reflectively, in the latter case by postulating explanations or interpretations, drawing analogies, or formulating models. Similarly, the intuitor selects information generated internally but may process it reflectively or actively, in the latter case by setting up an experiment to test out the idea or trying it out on a colleague.

As is true of all other learning dimensions, both active and reflective learners are needed as engineers. Reflective observers are the theoreticians, the mathematical modelers, the ones who can define the problems and propose possible solutions. The active experimenters are the ones who evaluate the ideas, design and carry out the experiments, and find the solutions that work. They are the organisers and the decision makers.

CONCLUSION

There is a great need to address the learning difficulties experienced by students studying at the universities. PNG university students like other university students around the world encounter difficulties when they enroll in their first and second year studies. These difficulties need to be identified and the sooner that is done, it helps a great deal towards finding solutions to learning difficulties.

This study indentified the causes and drivers that trigger lackadaisical learning at the universities in

PNG. The research uncovered some factors that give rise to lackadaisical learning amongst the students while they are embarking on their university education. This study also established that learning

255

difficulties of the students are different, diverse and also homogeneous. Lecturers and instructors must bear in mind that not all students will feel secure and comfortable when they do their assessment and when they sit in their classrooms. Lecturer attributes to some degree also poses problems to university students of PNG.

In all, this research study is most relevant and is much needed especially at this time of expansion

which is currently experienced at the tertiary education level, especially at the universities. RECOMMENDATION

Having uncovered and indentified factors that trigger lackadaisical learning at the PNG University of technology and also universities in other countries, it is therefore necessary to take actions now than later to try and give the necessary help and guidance to alleviate the insecure and stressful situations students at universities encounter during their studies. The following are listed as recommendations that require actions.

1. That the universities take necessary steps to make sure that lecturers / instructors take appropriate

measures in making sure that the assessment, teaching styles and lecturers’ / instructors’ attributes fair well with their students.

2. That students who are identified with problems are given remedial exercises

3. That permanent students’ counselors are placed at the universities to help students in times of need.

REFERENCES

[1] Felder, R. M. and Silverman, L.K. (1988) Learning Styles and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education,Presented at the 1987 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York

[2] Hutcheson, T. and Tse, H. (2004) Learning by students at University. University of Technology

Sydney, Australia.

[3] McInnes, Craig, James, R. & McNaught, C. (1995) First year on Campus. Diversity in the Initial Experiences of Australian Undergraduates, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.

[4] Burns, R.D. (1991) Study and Stress among First Year Overseas Students in an Australian

University. Higher Education Research and Development, Vol. 10, 61-76

[5] Mullins, G., Quintrel, N., & Hancock, L. (1995) The experiences of International and Local Students at three Australian Universities. Higher Education Research and Development, Vol. 14, No 2

[6] Solok, K. (2013) Identifying Stressors and the Effects of Stress on the Academic Performances

of Unitech Students. Unpublished report, PNG University of Technology

256

[7] Jung, C.G. (1971) Psychological Types, Princeton University Press, Princeton New York

[8] Godleski, E.S. (1984) Faculty-Student Compatibility of Engineering Students and Faculty,

Proceedings, Annual Frontiers in Education Conference, Philadelphia

[9] Felder, R.M. (1987 On Creating Creative Engineers, Engineering Education, Vol. 77, No. 4



257

HS7-2013-027

Role of intra-communication and inter-communication motivating female children commercial sex in Lae, Morobe province

Wilma Molus

Papua New Guinea University of Technology


Abstract The research was conducted to prove the hypothesis that forms of communications namely intra-

communication which refers to self-talk or an individual person communicating within self and inter-communication which means communication between two or groups of people play a central role in motivating female children to practice commercial sex work in Lae City being plugged by inverse socio-economic conditions. The result of the survey of 76 female children commercial sex workers revealed that these female children clutched by inverse socio-economic conditions appeared to develop negative thoughts about what the life throws at them. The survey that used both the quantitative and qualitative methods showed that intra-communication performs the role of personal advisor, guide and leader to lead the socioeconomically seized. Meanwhile, inter-communication appeared to be a launch pad to bridge theory and practicality. The study concluded that the negative turn of social and economic misadventures are external forces that press down on female children whereas the intra-communication with the help of inter-communication become internal forces driving socio-economically seized children out into deep waters of commercial sex. It also came to light that there is an increasing number of female children entering commercial sex arena and the stakeholder’s failure to take proactive measures to fight it will result in more being trapped in the act.

Key words: inter-communication, inter-communication, commercial sex work, socio-economic, and female children commercial sex.

1. INTRODUCTION The paper discusses factors motivating female children into commercial sex work in Lae city from a

communication point of view. The fundamental factors were believed to be inverse social and economic conditions that cause them to intra-communicate and then eventually inter-communicate to enter the commercial sex market that is apparently rampant in the city of Lae, Morobe Province. The study that was undertaken from a communication perspective was done so as to embark on strategies and policies that would help family members, city authorities, government bodies and non-government organizations curve this engulfing moral decay that is contributing to other social, economic, moral and cultural impediments in Lae City.

The article has four main sections. The next section briefly outlines the Background of the Study, and extend or the current trend of female commercial sex. The Methodology discussed the methods and tools used to gather data. This is followed by the section discussing the Findings. Discussions of the findings were outlined on the fourth section. Conclusion based on the finding and discussion finally encloses the entire paper.


258

2. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Commercial female children prostitution is a global phenomenon. It is rated illegal under the Convention on the Rights of Children (International Labor Organization, 2012). Yet it remains a thriving multi-million dollar industry within the commercial sex arena world-wide of modern days. Based on figures published by Meier (2000), there is an average of one million female children commercial prostitutes (children under the age of 16) across United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia including Africa. Studies further revealed that countries such as India, China, Indonesia and Thailand are among the top listed for an accelerated female children commercial prostitution (Flowers, 1998).

Literatures provide wide-ranging discussion on female children commercial prostitution. They range from factors motivating commercial sex to the underlying and future trends and other related contributing factors such as children trafficking. Most trilling facts on the subject are the statistics on the number of children entering the commercials sex arena cities, states, nations and regions. According to Coz (2006), female children commercial sex-work is a growing issue impinged by negative social and economic conditions in both developed and developing nations. In general, the factors leading female children into commercial sex are attributed to social, economic, cultural, physiological, political and genetic impediments (Levi & Willis, 2002).

In simple terms, female children commercial prostitution is categorized as either being forced upon or are lured by forces acting from within and without. For example; children trafficked are more likely to be forced to work in strictly confined brothels, restaurants, hotels, and homes while providing paid sex to male clients. In Thailand, the leading commercial sex destination in Asia, children are forced by parents to offer sex for money so as to raise money for families’ survival (Pattanaik & Thorbek (1989). Similarly, children lured are massively recorded in the United States, Canada and Europe (Overs, 2009). Basically, Willis and Levi (2002) noted that 60% of such children entering the commercial sex industry due to lack of proper/tougher social controls whereas about 33% children in Asia, Middle-east and Africa engaged are those who are mostly trafficked. Meanwhile, in more general terms, studies from criminology, sociology, and psychology have linked the causes to social, economical, cultural, political, physiological and genetic factors.

In Papua New Guinea, commercial sex work is believed to be frequent (Luluaki, 2004). There have been widespread media reports in recent times about immense cases of female commercial sex from almost all major commercial centers including Port Moresby, Lae, Mt. Hagen, Madang, Goroka and the New Guinea Islands (Pidik, 2004). Numerous formal and informal studies reveal that children commercial sex in PNG have been related to social and economic problems setbacks such as poverty, sexual abuse, lack of parental controls, drugs, influence of liquor, lure of entertainment and lack of fast legislative changes (Manuk, 2004). This is not so opposed to the theoretical propositions of criminology, cultural, physiological, and genetic obstructions or interference on human behaviors and beliefs (Hirschi, 1917).

Inversely, all manner of communications fall under social factor thereby its influences associated to social effects. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (2010) also reported on how the many forms of modern social medias such face-books, mobile phones, landline phones, videos, TVs, the print media, and other social medias such as twitter, blogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarks, and Really Simple Syndication Feeds contributing to female commercial prostitution on the global arena. However, there is no study undertaken elsewhere or here in PNG and for that matter here in Lae to conjure on the factors leading female children into the commercial prostitution arena, much less on the subject of intra and inter-communications as leaders to commercial prostitution. This is despite the fact there are numerous related to female children commercial sex in Lae city but not really on the subject.

Keleba and Sullivan (2010) have rated Lae city as the city where many female commercial prostitutes “walking on the streets at broad daylight”. However, their study investigated on the cause of street children in come major centers around PNG including Port Moresby, Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Kokopo, Madang and indeed Lae. That study was not related to the topic but they somewhere indicated that Lae is the only city in PNG where one finds female children commercial sex workers walking the streets at broad daylight. Such studies coupled with other media and personal observations on the increase of

259

female children commercial prostitution in Lae have called for the study. The survey was undertaken from a communication perspective.

3. METHODOLOGY The select site for the survey was Lae city. The survey was done especially on children under the age

of 18 engaged in commercial sex-work in 12 common hotspots in the city. Total number of children interviewed were 100 however, 24 questionnaires appeared invalid. The prime purpose of the study was to identify how intra and inter-communications lead children into engaging in commercial sex in the city. It was purposely undertaken to formulate strategies to cut down in an obviously increasing children commercialized sex in the city of Lae.

Use of questionnaires was the main method of data collection. However, since most of the respondents were illiterate, the questions were translated in ‘Tok Pisin’ in the form of interview without handing out questionnaires. Save the Children International, Lae office assisted in the data collection by sending one of their workers who located the major hotspots of commercial prostitution in Lae city. Questionnaires mostly used closed and open-ended questions. It consisted of two main categories. Category one required female children sex-workers’ personal background information. Category two fetched for social motivating factors including intra-communication and inter-communication.

Observation was needed at times to identify sex hotspots in the city. Through observation of/on sex-worker and clients movements, the researcher was able to confirm the number of common hotspots in the city. Other people informally interviewed apart from commercial sex workers include; female adult commercial sex-workers, senior officers of Save the Children, an adult female sex worker, guest houses/lodged workers, the Director Lukautim Pikinini, Waigain, and National Director of Early Childhood and Development of the Department of Community Development, Waigaini. Their views were not specifically discussed but became supporting thoughts during discussions.

Therefore main section of the questionnaires analyzed were; respondents’ responses on how intra-communication and inter-communication affect or facilitate them in processes of commercial sex. Other motivational factors assessed such as personal information, and inverse social and economic only assisted to see how they allow intra and inter-communication to motivate them into the commercializing sex. The data were analyzed using respective figures in relation to the major sections.

4. FINDING 4.1 Personal Background Major areas considered here were age category and family background. Findings are represented by

Figure 1 and 2 respectively. 4.1.1 Age Category According to the Convention on the Rights of Children (UN, 1998), Children under the age of 18 are

considered children. Under this survey, children were categorized into four age groups. They include those between age 18 and 16, those between age 16 and 14 and those under age 14.

260

Study revealed that, 65% of the female children were between the age of 18 and 16. Twenty-two

percent (22%) were between the age of 16 and 14 while the rest (13%) were below the age of 14 years as represented by Figure 1.

4.1.2 Family Background The survey looked at the type of family backgrounds that the female children sex workers come

under. They are depicted in Figure 2.

Survey revealed that 44% of the sex workers come from relatively poor family background where as

52% of the children come from average family backgrounds. Only a minority 4% come from wealthy family backgrounds.

4.1.3 Educational Status These lads were asked if they were in currently enrolled in schools. Their responses are featured in

Figure 3.

0102030405060708090

100

Between 18/16 Between 16/14 below 14

Resp

onse

s in

%

Age Category

Figure 1: Age Category

0

20

40

60

80

100

Relatively poor Average Wealthy Very Wealthy

Resp

onse

s in

%

Type of Family Background

Figure 2: Type of Family Backgrounds

261

As represented by Figure 3, only 1% of the respondents were at school while the rest not. 4.1.4 Region of Origin As per the survey, 68% of the interviewees hail from the highlands region. Twenty-three percent

(23%) from Momase, and 5% from Southern Region. There was none from the New Guinea Islands Region. This is illustrated in Figure 4.

4.2 Socio-economic Factors Socio-economic factors refer to the type of social and economic conditions that motivated female

children to sell sex for money. They were discussed under Primary Leading Factors and Introducers of Commercial Sex in the proceeding pages.

4.2.1 Primary Leading Factors To children entering the commercial arena, two primary factors were seen as leading them into

commercial sex industry. They were either social, or financial (economic) or sometimes both combined. Those abused, lured and being forced can fall under social whereas those influenced by lack of money and abused were also seen as economical factors. Figure 5 represents what social or economical factors have influenced their decision.

0

20

40

60

80

In school Not in school

Resp

onse

s in

%

Educational status

Figure 3: Sex Workers' Educational Status

01020304050607080

Highlands Momase Southern NGI

Resp

ond

ents

by

%

Regions of PNG

Figure 4: Region of Origin

262

As per Figure 5 those motivated by the fact they lack money recorded 43%. Those lured by others

stood as 14%. Twenty three per cent (23%) said that different forms of abuse as lead them into commercial sex while 20% have reportedly been forced into it by other people.

4.2.2 Introducers of Commercial Sex It was believed that there are people who have introduced commercial sex to these children for the

first time. They are depicted in Figure 6.

As per Figure 6, 60% of the interviewees said that a man had introduced commercial sex to them. The

second largest number of female children rating 18% pointed out that a relative or a family member had introduced commercial sex to them followed by their girl or boy-friends at 8%. About 12% have taken on themselves while another 2% identified other sex workers were the ones introducing them to this deviant activity.

4.3 Role of Communications in Commercial Sex Humans communicate using many different forms of communication. However, the particular modes

of communication investigate to see how they influence female children in the bid to sell sex for money were intra- communication, inter-communication and other means of communications such as mobile phones, verbal communication, and written communications and people initiating this for others. They are presented on the following graphs.

4.3.1 Intra-Communication There are number of inverse situations that have caused children to communicate within themselves

(intra-communicate). The major one being the children’s intentions to earn cash and kind to sustain their survivals. How the interviewees responded to whether or not intra-communication has led them to commercial sex is depicted in Figure 7.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Abused Lack of Money Lured Forced by people

Resp

onse

s in

%

Primary Leading Factors

Figure 5: Primary Leading Factors

0102030405060708090100

A man Girl/Boy-friend A sex-worker Relative/Fam. Member

MyselfResp

onse

s in

%

Person introducing commercial sex

Figure 6: Persons Introducing Commercial Sex

263

Of the 76 children (respondents), 92% (70) have admitted to engaging in commercial sex in order to raise money for their survival in the city. The rest, 8% (6) have reportedly been driven by other social misadventures.

4.3.2 Inter-communication Inter-communication is seen as another major player in motivating children into commercial

prostitution. People believed to play leading roles to initiate commercial sex for these children were relatives, parents, girl and/or boy-friends, other men, and sex workers. The data is depicted in Figure 8.

Of the 76 interviewed, 45% of them indicated that other sex workers played leading roles to motivate

them to enter the commercial sex arena. Those initiated by their boy and/or girl friends and adult men recorded 27% and 25% respectively. Only 3% have indicated that their relatives or parents initiate sex for them with male clients.

01020304050607080

Yes No

Resp

onse

s in

%

Responses on Self-talk to Selling Sex for Money

Figure 7: Intra-communication for Commercial Sex

0102030405060708090

100

Relatives & Parents Girl & Boy Friends Adult Men Sex Workers

Resp

onse

s by

%

People initiating Sex

Figure 8: People Who Initiate Commercial Sex for Them

264

4.3.3 Other Means of Communication Children were believed to be using some means of communications to communicate with male

clients. They could either use mobile phones, written notes, other people carrying messages or verbally conversation or some combined.

Based on the finding, major means of communication facilitating commercial sex was verbal

communication with 60% (46) followed by mobile phones 37% (28) as illustrated in Figure 9. Those relying on others (human messages carriers) to arrange partners for them stand very low at 3% (2). Written documents including letters, emails, and notes are not used by anyone.

4 Descriptions of Male Clients The type of clients that the female children offer sex to were classified by age and employment status. 4.4.1 By Age The ladies were unable to precisely identify their male sex counterparts by their age. Therefore, traits

such as under-aged men, young men, middle-aged men, and old men were used. The data is illustrated by Figure 9.

As depicted by Figure 10, more than half of the sex clients were the middle-aged men. It recorded

62% while young men and old men recorded 21% and 14% respectively. About 3% of the respondents revealed that under-aged boys also offer them money for sex.

4.4.2 By Employment Status Traits studied under employment status include company workers, public servants, business men, and

highly educated men. The data is represented in Figure 11.

0102030405060708090

100

Under-Age Boys Young Men Middle-aged Men Old Men

Resp

onse

s in

%

Age Category

Figure 10: Male Clients by Age

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

Mobile phone Letters Message carriers Verbal coversation

Resp

onse

s in

%

Means of Communication

Figure 9: Means of Communication Used

265

As can be seen in Figure 11, most of the clients paying for sex were public servants and company

workers. It was revealed by 44% and 42% of the clients respectively. Nine percent (9%) indicated that businessmen pay sex for money. Only 5% said that they often times offer sex to highly educated men who pay them cash and kind.

5. DISCUSSION Findings were jointly discussed under three major areas. They are Socio-Economic Predicaments

Leading to Intra-communication, Inter-Communication Developing Intra-communication leading to Commercial Sex and Special Features of Female Children Commercial Sex Providers and Their Male Clients.

5.1 Socio-Economic Predicaments Leading to Intra-communication Commonly, thousands of thoughts orbit human minds either without realization or by realizations.

Many that affect decisions and determine human behaviors are said to be the ones that individuals conceive them either in a short span of time or over a period of time (Keani, 2003). The conceptions of thoughts occur when people intra-communicate (talk within self) in their minds about plans and decisions in life. As such, it was believed that children selling sex for money were believed to be influenced by intra-communication. Hence, how intra-communication influences them in their lead-up to or during their course of selling sex has been surveyed and analyzed.

Based on the study, 92% of the children have admitted to self-communicating within themselves or intra-communicating to offering sex to male counterparts. This is 70 out of the 76 female children interviewed as discussed under Role of Communications in Commercial Sex on page 6. This does not mean the other 8% do not intra-communicate to engage in commercial sex. All have indicated they do, however, the difference exists with the type of external factors that causes them to intra-communicate. These external factors were classified as socio-economic factors.

Socio-economic factors refer to inverse social and economic factors affecting them. There are more factors that are associated to these but what this study looked at were abuses at their homes by family members, members of community and the media. The type of family backgrounds that the sex workers come was also seen as social factor in some ways too. Meanwhile, economic factors included their education and their family backgrounds.

Study revealed these children are greatly motivated by inverse socio-economic factors. In fact, 44% of them come from relatively poor family background while 52% have reportedly come from an average family background as discussed under Personal Background and Socio-economic Factors (pages 3 and 5). Moreover, only 4%, (that’s 2/76) have indicated that they come from wealthy families. Interestingly, 1 out of the 76 interviewed was a student while the rest were non-students. That means, she was a registered student of one of the schools in the city yet she fends on the streets at times to sell sex for money. From the study, all the children were victims of some form of inverse socio-economic impasses which have caused them to sell sex for money and other remunerations.

Those that have decided to offered sex for commercial purposes because of abuse stands 43%. This includes those being forced by people including parents, family members, or others for reasons known to

020406080

100

Company Workers Public Servants Business men Highly Educated Men

Rees

pon

ses i

n %

Clients by Employment Status

Figure 11: Clients by Employment Status

266

themselves. Another 43% have indicated that they have resolved to offer sex for money due to lack of money to sustain themselves in the city as discussed under Socio-economic Factors. Children have needs and therefore such responses reveals families’ or relatives’ failed responsibilities to cater for and to provide for them causing them to fend on the streets. Further, Fourteen percent (14%) have indicated that they were lured by people known to themselves. This luring may come in the form of promised marriage, money, shelter, accommodations, or other benefits and then forced into it or so on as children are prone to believe adults’ lies.

5. 2 Inter-Communication Developing Intra-communication Leading to Commercial Sex Study showed that the way the interviewees responded to issues affecting them is fascinating. As

discussed under Intra-communication on page 6, many have kept their issues to themselves. That means, they initially intra-communicate their intentions being compressed by socio-economic factors including parental lack of support, control, love, lack of education, abuse, poverty etc. as revealed by their personal backgrounds, and socio-economic factors affecting them including communication. However, what seemed to bridge the gap between their intra-communicated thoughts and they finally fulfilling their intention for partial satisfaction, fulfillment and freedom appear to be inter-communication revealed by personal backgrounds and socio-economic factors.

Inter-communication, the process of dialogue between two people (Kahatsin, 2001) seemed to be a powerful tool launching female children into such illegal activity. This is established by the type of people they said to occasionally communicate their thoughts or intentions with. Based on the study, all of the 76 children have stated that they do communicate with others on their intentions to arrange clients for them. As depicted by Figure 8 (page 7), 45% interviewees indicated that other sex-workers assist them find their male clients and keep them going. Those initiated by their boy and/or girl-friends and adult men recorded 27% and 25% respectively. Further, only 3% have revealed that their relatives or parents initiate sex for them with male clients. In literal sense, these are middle people who initiate sex clients for them. This happens after the initiators discussion with either party.

On a similar token, the way inter-communication plays down on these children was revealed by responses in the way they were introduced to such illegal act at first. As shown by inter-communication and other means of communications used on page 7, 60% of the interviewees said that a man has introduced commercial sex to them. This could come as a result of the men telling the girls to offer sex in return for payments. The second largest number of these female children rating 18% has pointed out that a relative or a family member had introduced them to this immoral act. This follows those who claimed that a girl or boy-friend was the introducer stands at 8%. Furthermore, only 2% had implied that they were led to the act by a sex worker. Meanwhile, there are family members including parents and relatives who are forcing young girls into commercial sex. This rated 18% as revealed by introducers of commercial sex as can be seen in Figure 8. In recent times, family members forcing female children to offer sex to solicit for cask and kind is widespread in parts of Papua New Guinea. Meanwhile, 12% had said that they themselves have gone it themselves.

Further, means of communication used by the children to liaise with their male clients also supports the role of inter-communication motivating commercial children sex. Major means of communication facilitating commercial sex is 100% verbal communication through personal encounters (60%), use of mobile phones 37%, and others relaying messages at 3% as discussed under other means of communication used as depicted in Figure 9 . None of the ladies have indicated that she uses written documents such as emails, face-book, letters or written notes.

5.3 Special Features of Children Commercial Sex Providers and Their Male Clients Based on the survey, 87% of the female children selling sex for monetary benefits are between the

age of 18 and 14 while the rest were below the age of 14 as discussed under personal information. Out of the 76 interviewees, only 4% come from wealthy family backgrounds whereas the rest either come from an average or relatively poor family background. According to studies conducted by Keleba & Sullivan (2010), poverty is the major cause of illegal prostitution in PNG. This holds true for children in many Asian and Indian societies where they are forced by parents or relatives to earn monies to provide for their families (Thorbek & Pattanaik, 1989).

267

Furthermore, out of the 76 female children selling sex was a student at the time of interview. That means the rest may have been discontinued or dropped out due to reasons known to themselves. Parents’ failure to provide for a child’s education or their basic and special necessities is a common leading factor why many young ladies get into early marriage in many traditional societies in PNG as Keleba and Sullivan (2010) has pointed out. Moreover, a report by (Manuk, 2004) pointed out that school girls selling sex for money are mostly lured by men with great wealth and those at the sphere of political influences. Such were the ones girls selling sex to so called “sugar daddies” in Madang.

Study also revealed that more than half (68%) of the children are from the highlands regions followed by Momase and the Southern regions (23% and 5% respectively). The fact, many were from the highlands and Momase could be made possible by the influx of people by road and boat from the Highlands and from Momase provinces through the road links and coastal proximity. The apparent increase in economic, industrial, and development boom in the city being caused by the mining, and energy sector booms within Momase and Highlands provinces, the influx of people from these and from and other parts are also evident in Lae city. This could be reason related to the greater number of these coming from these particular regions.

All in all, 62% of the children stated that most of the male clients whom they sell sex to are mostly middle-aged men followed by young men (21%). Fourteen percent (14%) of these sex workers indicated that they do also offer sex to old men while a very few (3%) have indicated that underage boys paying sex from them as well. Further, most of the clients paying for sex are public servants and company workers at 44% and 42% respectively. Just a 9% have indicated that businessmen pay sex from them while 5% said that they do also service highly educated men who offer them with cash and kind as discussed under description of male clients on page 8. The greater number of company workers and public servants could be due to the greater number of employees at the industries and public sector in the country’s leading industrial hub of the PNG.

5. CONCLUSIONS

Based on the survey, the following conclusions were reached; 1. Number of female children commercial sex aging between 18 and 16 in Lae with up to 10 female

children added week. Many of these could be rated street sex workers under labels given given by experts studying commercial prostitutions. Many on the streets are accompanied by older female commercial sex workers. Further, it was evident that there were many school children who are offering sex for money. These children are not out clearly as the ones interviewed.

2. Majority of the children are from the Highlands followed by Momase, which is apparently made possible by the influx of people from these regions due to easy road and sea links. Due to the cash that they earn, the female children commercial sex workers movement from parts of highlands and Momase provinces are frequent. Since, they have become ‘experts” on the sex trade, they can call their relatives living in other centers and can go and live them with the intention of doing secret commercial sex work during the day or night.

3. Many of the so called transit guest houses, lodges, motels, hotels and beer clubs in Lae have become havens of this illegal activity. Other venues such old buildings in towns and in settlements, fields, bushes, beaches and roadsides have become hotspots as well. One of the major reasons why there is such obvious and frequent female children commercial sex in the city of Lae is due to the fact the city authorities’ failure to rid the city of adult commercial prostitution which has been going in the above designated areas for so long (for more than 2 decades as indicated by Save the Children International workers).

4. The 100 interviewed were the ones who turned up at the sites over the 2weeks of field research. The places where they turn up are not their actual place of residence. Many live with parents,

268

family members and/or relatives or guidance. They turn up occasionally and then return to with the days’ earnings. However, there were one or two venues were ladies are kept for weeks by the landlords to lure customers to pay for rooms and buy beer. These venues are Miok Lodge in China Town and City Guest Haus in Top-town.

5. The 100 interviewed were the ones that turn up at the hotspots where female adult commercial prostitution is conducted. However, number of young girls selling sex for cash and kind in the settles and in more properly organized venues by experts and expatriates and those holding high positions are normal girls whom some are at schools.

6. Company workers and public servants are main clients to these sex workers in Lae city. It could be due to the growing industry and public service force in the city. Many of these are middle-aged men who are likely to have families followed by young men who are also married or maybe not.

7. The major causes of female children commercial sex in Lae are inverse social and economic factors. Peer influences, exposure to violent and hostile environments such as families, settlements and schools, poverty, parents’ lack of initiatives to meets needs including education, monetary needs, and parents and relatives/guidance failure to provide for their children’s’ needs.

8. View from medical workers, organizations dealing with women and children welfares such as Save the Children, Lukautim Pikinini, Community Development and the public have indicated that and city authorities’ failure to rid the city off adult commercial prostitution that is rampant in most of the lodges and transit homes and even on the some of the streets of Lae city are also contributing to the influx of female children commercial prostitution in Lae city.

9. The major communications tools used by female children commercial prostitutes are inter-communication. The way they initiate and arrange their clients is through adult female sex workers arranging clients for them. Many also indicated that the men also reach out them personally expressing their intentions. Boy-friends and girl-friends also are instrumental in arranging clients for many of them. They are some parents, family members and relatives who are also arranging male clients for girls in the city. The use of internets, face-books, and written notes are not so used, however, mobile phone is assisting girls to contact regular male clients.

10. 100% of the children indicated that they intra-communicate to offer sex for money as victims of inverse socio-economic factors. The inverse social and economic dilemmas are the major cause of the intra-communicating thoughts to enter commercial sex industry to secure alternate sources of financial provision, acceptance, love, self-esteem and to fulfill their “little” dreams.

11. Firstly, the survey revealed that before intra-communication, inter-communication also plays fundamental role to introduce opportunities within the commercials sex arena. The children being negatively punctuated by socio-economic predicaments have keenly pondered on the deception that leads to this very act. Secondly, intra-communicated thoughts then lead to set the link between “theory and practice”. That is; wishes and desires that have been “intercommunicated” being repressed by the socio-economic states were executed through the help of inter-communication.

6. RECOMMANDATIONS

Based on the study, certain recommendations were made to Parents, Relatives and/or Guidance, and to the City Authorities including Morobe Provincial Government, Lae Open MP, Government Departments and Lae Local Urban Government.

269

A. Parents/Guidance/Relatives:

1. Parent, Guidance and/or relatives must take sole responsibility over their children welfare and wellbeing. Their failure to provide for basic needs including better clothes, food, security, education, and love seem to be major contributing leading factor. They must ensure the children have access to these needs on a daily basis if they are to protect their female children from being lured in such immoral acts.

2. Their lack of proper communication with their children allows them to develop the self-talk (intra-communication) which eventually inter-communication to engage in deviant behaviors like selling sex. They must ensure they have time with their children on a daily basis to talk with them and to share time in a leisurely manner as well as on education, cultural and on moral reasons. They must ensure children are not left to themselves hence allow others to influence them. Parents negligence in daily communication with children to gather their thoughts and to understand their needs, wants, interests, intentions, desires and feeling has led to children inter-communicating with others and then eventually intra-communicating to engage in this unlawful act.

3. Must introduce children to social organizations like sports, church activities, and schools so they don’t have the time to be free to look for parties or groups such as sex worker groups, party-goers groups, club girls or drinking-mate groups who will influence them.

4. Must not allow female children under the age of 18 to get married. Some of the female children who were found to be in the commercial prostitution arena in Lae were found to be ones that had marriage problems. That means, parents have given away their children to men who have turned them down after sexually exploiting them. Such some of these children are neglected and ignored in families and societies. They therefore turn to commercial sex in search for love, security, acceptance, pleasure and provision.

B. City Authorities 1. Commercial Prostitution at every age in PNG is unconstitutional. Adult female commercial

prostitution in Lae is obvious and rampant in many localities. They include several guests-houses, lodges, beer clubs, fields, beach sides, bushes and old buildings. City authorities must consult with organizations such as Save the Children International, ADRA and police department to rectify these places and rid the adult commercial prostitution which permits female children commercial prostitution to flourish.

2. City Authorities must prosecute adult female commercial sex workers and bring them trial. This will send a strong warning to female children from being part of the group in fear of being prosecuted.

3. All businesses such as lodges, guest houses, hotels, beer clubs, and homes that are temporally used as brothels where sex workers are retained intentionally must be served with a notice of action to undo such practices. Failure to comply with such orders means their forfeiting of their license to operate the businesses.

4. Men found buying sex from female children and adult females as well must be prosecuted and stand trial.

5. Many of the children who turn to commercial prostitution are the sexually abused at homes, societies and in their communities. Children lack of knowledge regarding their rights keeps many away from reporting. This result in children intra-communicating and inter-

270

communicating to participate in such lawless acts. Therefore, in the way HIV/AIDS programs are incorporated into education syllabuses in public schools, Children Rights prescribed on the Conventions on the Rights of Children must be incorporated into it.

6. Authorities national, provincial and city authorities must acknowledge the efforts of organizations dealing with children affairs such Save the Children International, ADRA, Church groups and others to do counter funding in their efforts counseling sex workers, abused children and so on.

7. High rate of unemployment, law and order, influx of people from the highlands and parts of other regions, and squatter settlement booms seemingly contribute to the female commercial prostitution in both adult and children. City Authorities must really stand up to fight and address these escalating social problems in the city that contributes to other issues including commercial prostitution.

8. This study was carried out with limited resources in limited time. City authorities must form a research team comprising university students, academics, and members of the public sectors, and others from NGO groups to research and to strategize possible ways to cut down on issues including commercial prostitution, law and order, ethnic clash including other social problems in the city.

REFERENCES Cox, E. Child Sex Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Papua New Guinea. PNG: Port Moresby, 2006.

Flowers, R.B. The Prostitution of Women and Girls. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Inc, 1998.

Hirschi, T. Causes of Delinquency. Berkey: University of California Press, 1969. Head, T. Prostitution. http://civilliberty.about.com/od/gendersexuality/tp/History-of-Prostitution.htm, (21/11/ 2011). International Labor Organization Department, Study and Analysis on Child Abuse. PNG: Port Moresby, 2010.

Journal of Educational and Social Research, Special Issue, 1(5). http://ectnassoc.cpe.fr/news/letter/2011/10/1210_201111_JESR_2011-12_V1_N5.pdf (4/11/13). Keani, W. Intrapersonal Communication and Self-Concept. Journal of Academic Writing, 1(1). http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/hohonu/writing.php?id=24, (21/11/2011). Kehatsin, J. Communication in the Work Places. Papua New Guinea, PNG: University Of Technology, Department of Communication and Development Studies, 2001. Keleba, K. & Sullivan, N. The Street Children of Papua New Guinea: A Public Policy Challenge. PNG: Port Moresby, Department of Community Development, 2010. Luluaki, J. Prostitution is a Growing Concern. The Post Courier, p.4. (16/06/2004). Meier, E. Legislative Efforts to Combat Sexual Trafficking and Slavery of Women and Children. Pediatric Nursing, 26(3): 329-330, 2000.

http://civilliberty.about.com/od/gendersexuality/tp/History-of-Prostitution.htm�

http://ectnassoc.cpe.fr/news/letter/2011/10/1210_201111_JESR_2011-12_V1_N5.pdf�

http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/hohonu/writing.php?id=24�

271

Manuk, H. (Resource Waste. The Post Courier. p. 4. (19/12/2004). Overs, C. Sex work and the new era of HIV Prevention and Car. For the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers. http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/hohonu/writing.php?id=24 (14/10/13). Pattanaik, B., & Thorbek, Transnational Prostitution, Changing Global Patterns. Zed Books: London. New York, 1989. Pidik, M. Young Girls Falling Prey to Prostitution, The Post Courier, p.3. (23/11/2004 Pleumarom, A. A Sustainable World Through Prostitution.http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/prostitution.htm (14/11/13). Quintanilla. Child Prostitution: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/prostitution.htm (14/10/13). Senanayake S.G.J.N. Indigenous Knowledge as a Key to Sustainable Development. Sri Lanka: University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, 2006. United States Government Report. Flesh Trade: US Slams PNG for Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor. The National, p.1. (19/05/2013). Willis, B.M. and Levy, B.S. Child Prostitution: Global Health Burden, Research needs, and Interventions. The Lancet, 359 (315): 1417-1422, 2002.

http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/hohonu/writing.php?id=24�

http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/prostitution.htm�

http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/prostitution.htm�



272

HS7-2013-031

Smallholder Coffee Growers in PNG: A Review of Coffee Industry Corporation’s Extension Services

Samuel Ati Hinafa and Professor Abdul Halim

Department of Agriculture

Papua New Guinea University of Technology Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC), which was created in 1991 by the Coffee Industry Corporation Act (1991), is mandated to provide - along with its other functions - all the ‘necessary extension services to the smallholder coffee growers’ in terms of disseminating appropriate coffee production and marketing related information. For effectively performing those mandated functions, CIC has organized itself into a number of departments or sections. The section, which is responsible for providing appropriate information, training and other extension services to smallholder coffee growers, is called Research and Grower Services Division. The present paper reviews the activities and the performance of this section focusing particularly on its extension service delivery. Despite many agricultural extension approaches being practiced in the world, Training and Visit (T&V) extension approach was initiated in the late 1980’s which was embraced and practiced in Papua New Guinea (PNG) coffee industry. However, not being compatible and deliver to the farmers’ satisfaction and CIC’s expectation, it was discarded and Participatory Rural Appraisal Planning (PRAP) extension approach was embraced in 2002. The PRAP process is positively impacting the coffee farmers’, evidenced by the industry’s increased coffee production and historic record export earnings of K927 million in 2011. Thus, this paper suggested that other tree crop sectors can adopt this with modification to increase production of the respective commodity raising national income.

Key words: extension, CIC, participatory rural appraisal, smallholder coffee growers

1.0 INTRODUCTION CIC recognizes that it has a key role to play in creating, collecting, evaluating and communicating coffee knowledge to the coffee industry. Coffee research supports the three strategic pillars through its multi-disciplinary programs consisting of crop production and improvement, plant protection and postharvest. Extension and growers’ support services of CIC mainly take care to conduct systematic collection and transfer of coffee information and provide support services to the coffee industry. The roles and responsibilities includes grower support services through PRAP, education and training, community information, blocks and plantations rehabilitation and incentive schemes [11]. Under the Coffee Industry Corporation’s (CIC) strategic plan 2008 – 2018; the thematic area for extension services was categorized under “Optimized Scale of Production.” Under this thematic area; it embraces effective demand driven extension approach known as Participatory Rural Appraisal Planning (PRAP); revitalization of production base, especially rehabilitation of run


273

down coffee gardens, new plantings and expansion into new growth areas; review and rehabilitation of smallholder, plantation and block holder sectors. This paper discusses CIC’s mandates, objectives, past and present trend, embracing public private partnerships as way forward for strategic interventions, challenges and threats experienced by the industry in the execution of extension services to the coffee farmers in PNG. It also discusses and makes recommendations for CIC and other tree crop sectors to embrace with some modifications to their current extension practices. 2.0 CIC’S VISION, MISSION, GOAL, PURPOSE, GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND OPERATIONAL POLICIES The Motto: “Yumi Lukautim Kofi na Kofi Bai Lukautim Yumi” is what the industry, producers, processors, exporters and other stakeholders along the value chain are living up to. It induces and fosters consolidation and strengthening public private partnership, hence progressing the industry forward to make its vision, mission, goal and purpose statements more meaningful. The vision, mission, goal and purpose statements of CIC are the pillars that underpin success and prosperity of the industry. It maps out and charting the course CIC would take to eventually arrive at its anticipated destination. The coffee industry is structured into two entities; Industry Operation Division (IOD) and Research and Grower Services Division (RGSD). IOD is responsible for industry operations, coffee quality certification, licensing and marketing of coffee whilst RGSD is responsive for research and development and extension services. 2.1 Vision: Prosperous coffee farming communities, a vibrant, competitive and sustainable coffee industry [11]. 2.2 Mission: Increase productivity, production and market access for coffee farmers and others along the food chain. This will be achieved through a competitive and sustainable coffee industry with motivated, competent and continuously learning actors [11]. 2.3 Goal: Improved livelihoods of coffee farming communities [11]. 2.4 Purpose: Increase productivity, production and market access for female and male coffee farmers and other actors along the value chain [11]. 2.5 The CIC’s Mandates (Role and responsibilities)

[11] By virtue of CIC Act (1991), the CIC Ltd is mandated to: 1. Conduct scientific research into production, processing and waste management, and communicate coffee information through training and extension services to coffee farmers; 2. Conduct industry regulation, licensing, inspections, export control, quality control, marketing and promotion, international relations, economics, finance and administration. 2.6 CIC’s Extension Guiding Principles and Values The guiding and operational principles and policies under demand driven extension approach were set as a broad road map to guide and chart the coffee industry in diffusion and adoption of coffee farming technologies and innovations. The key guiding principles and values are that; Funds committed by donors or CIC annual recurrent budget is to be established under Research and Grower Services Division (R&GSD) for contracting smallholder support services program.

274

The service providers are out-sourced and contracts are awarded in an open and transparent manner in an open market according to technical knowledge, competencies and attitudes value for money. Through monitoring and evaluation process, service providers’ outputs are assessed and payments are made accordingly. Stakeholders are encouraged to participate at all strategic levels of extension and support services delivery chain. Under the demand driven extension approach philosophy CIC embraces is "self reliance" concept. The coffee growers and services providers in collaboration with CIC in implementation, monitoring and evaluation, assess the impact of interventions and technologies diffused. Further, CIC embraces networking and partnership with rural development fund and delivery agencies on the basis of cost and mutual leverage of resource (funds, personnel and equipment etc) sharing [5]. 2.7 CIC’s Extension Operational Policies The R&GSD is to establish three levels of committees, Contract Management Unit (CMU), Project Steering Committee (PSC) and Project Priority Committee (PPC). This committee will work hand in hand with Smallholder Support Service Pilot Project (SSSPP) or Provincial Department of Agriculture and Livestock (PDAL) Regional Office at Goroka where database will be kept. The day to day management and administration is the responsibility of the Manager which includes Farmer Training & Extension and supervising staff. For transparency and accountability purposes, the funds allocated remain with the PPC, thus separating service providers from the funding source. Farmer Training and Extension staff only facilitates and manages the support services delivery system via PMU. Productive partnering with rural development agencies are crucial in cost and resource sharing and needed to be promoted strengthened and secured. Smallholder coffee farmers’ commitment in embracing extension programs must demonstrate either through active PRAP process, a tool for farmer need analysis and cost and resource sharing. Prior to contracting service providers, feasibility study is to be conducted to establish socio-economic impacts the intended extension project will have on the farmers. Any service providers are to be engaged must be technically knowledgeable, competent, right attitudes and high performance rate and job completion satisfactory record. At least 90% of the value of annual contracts must be delivered at the village level whilst up to 10% of the value of annual contracts may be used for capacity building for service providers. The program implementation must be monitored and evaluated against contracts both in terms of effect and elapsed time [5]. 3.0 THE EXTENSION ACTIVITIES OF THE RESEARCH AND GROWER SERVICES DIVISION (RGSD) 3.1 Past and Current Trend of Extension Delivery in PNG Coffee Industry Extension is basically an informal way of diffusing packaged farming knowledge, skills and attitudes by the research arm of the agriculture industry to its end users; the farmers to improve their farm productivity and livelihood. Not all extension approaches practiced in the world are perfect; it has its pros and cons to best fits the agriculture industry. Anyway, the farmers and its stakeholders along with the value chain are often considered. The socio-cultural, socio-political and socio-economic factors are also considered crucial in which the extension approaches will be practiced. These factors impact the type of extension approach (es) to be embraced. For instance; public private partnerships (PPP) are embraced worldwide in cost and resource sharing in rural development. Furthermore, the peoples’ attitude, technologies and innovations availability, the types of farming systems practiced and environmental factors also plays an essential role in determining the type (s) of extension approach (es) that are appropriate and feasible to enhance production output. Some of the extension approaches in the world are: General Agricultural

275

Extension Approach, Commodity Specialized Approach, Agriculture Extension Participatory Approach, Education Institution Approach, Training and Visit Approach, Farming Systems Development Approach, Project Extension Approach and the Cost Sharing Approach [7]. Most of the extension approaches as mentioned were not being embraced by Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) except Training and Visit (T & V) approach. The CIC borrowed the concept from the T & V extension system promoted by the World Bank in the early 1980s, failed to live up to industry’s satisfaction and farmers expectations [6]. The T & V extension approach was then phased out and has embarked on Participatory Rural Appraisal and Program (PRAP) extension approach, which is demand driven in nature and is currently being practiced. In 2002, CIC has changed from a traditional “top down”, to “Visit and Train” farmer extension service and then to a “bottom-up” Farmer Demand Driven Extension (FDDE) service. CIC adopted this FDDE extension model in an effort to improve the efficiency of its extension program and also due to the growing international trend toward farmer-driven extension [13]. The PRAP process is an important community or village development planning tool which other extension approaches have lacked. The PRAP process identifies and emphasizes very genuine and serious coffee growers who can in collaborative partnerships with the industry can identify technical problems and issues thus mapped out the way forward and prioritized into action plans for mitigating purposes. Under this demand driven extension approach, cost sharing in terms of accommodation, meals, shelter, security and other logistics are considered essential component and this also deduces seriousness of the growers to embrace rural development and change. What growers cannot afford the industry provides in the out scaling of coffee technologies and innovations. These out scaling of coffee technologies are growers needs based, not assumption based. PRAP has several advantages; it is a visual methodology and does not rely on a high level of farmer literacy. It can document gender-disintegrated data, and it can promote consensus and ownership amongst participants while accurately reflecting the group's expectations of technology diffusion [4]. The ACIAR report recommended training within the PRAP model should include a module to enhance personal skills in such domains as communication, conflict resolution and basic financial literacy [8].

3.2 CIC and Government’s Interventions in Enhancing Technology Diffusion The CIC interventions that underpins demand driven extension approach of diffusing packaged technologies to the growers are school coffee curriculum, coffee rehabilitation program and coffee expansion program (nurseries and in filling). The CIC’s collaborative partnership with the National Department of Education (NDoE), all its technologies and innovations developed over the years as old as the industry itself was comprehensively packaged in a school coffee curriculum. The coffee industry see that an appropriate education through coffee production, processing and marketing offers a strong knowledge and skills based curriculum that will help prepare our youth for a better future in the communities after they leave school at grades: 8, 10 & 12 as school leavers. While NDoE is addressing the need of an appropriate education, it is hoped that CIC will in the future support coffee industry that can see a positive growth with respect to increased production of high quality coffee in the country [10].

276

The coffee rehabilitation concept was funded by Public Improvement Program (PIP) to rehabilitate and rejuvenate run down smallholder and block holder coffee gardens through pruning, nursery programs, infilling and new area extension and planting. The program had started in 2009 on a piloted bases in three provinces; Eastern Highlands (EHP), Simbu (SP) and Western Highlands (WHP) including new Jiwaka. However, a district from each province was randomly picked; EHP – Obura Wonenara, SP – Kundiawa Kembogl, WHP – Aglimp South Waghi. The program was appraised in 2010 and in 2011 it was further expanded to other provinces. The program is currently ongoing and the farmers are greatly impacted. In the next couple of years since 2009, the industry will experience an enormous growth and production output. This will be measured through socio-economic and impact studies to justify the ends. The incentive schemes were purposely set up to help growers increase coffee production through facilitating services: coffee credit scheme, growers’ cooperative groups and freight surety program. Freight Subsidy Scheme in the form of subsidizing 40% of airfreight cost of transporting parchment coffee from the remote places inaccessible by road to enhance coffee production in Papua New Guinea [12]. 3.3 Public – Private Partnership in Demand Driven Extension Approach The PRAP process believes in public-private partnerships and networking with government departments, non-governmental organizations, coffee growers, processors and exporters along the value chains consolidating and pooling resources together in out scaling of extension services in PNG. The CIC strategic plan 2008 – 2018 shares similar sentiment to continue supporting the demand-driven extension, out-sourcing contracted service providers, aims to facilitate better partnerships with stakeholders in delivering CIC extension programs that are more appearing to the coffee growers [11]. Currently CIC’s extension services are managed by the Research and Growers Services Division (R&GSD), with one Provincial Farmer Training and Extension Coordinator (PFTEC) in each province. For the main coffee producing provinces the PFTECs are supported by one or more Mobile Extension Officers (MEO) who works at district level. Both the PFTEC and the MEO work in close cooperation with District Extension Officers (DEO). Extension activities are prioritized by the farmers themselves through a process termed FDDE. Awareness of the extension services available is made via extension officers visits to areas identified as having problems and/or potential, press releases and through broadcasts on local radio stations. Farmers or groups of farmers submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) after which a PRAP exercise is conducted to identify constraints, prepare a plan of action and mobilize the required resources to implement the programmes and projects. 3.4 The Coffee Industry’s Challenges and Threats to Extension Service Delivery The threat and challenges to coffee industry extension services is manifold that circumvent the effective and efficient diffusion of technologies to the producers. At the CIC institutional level; extension support is poor and under resourced, for instance, poor communication and infrastructure. PFTEC and MEO are poorly equipped; all research & extension programs are funded by donors; research and extension capacity is under resourced and capacity to manage extension services is weak. Furthermore, lack of competent scientists and technologists, extension officers, logistics and extension delivery support mechanisms that added further impediments to sustainable growth of the industry. At the growers level; the major socio-economic factors that affects producers are illiteracy, low income, land shortage, aging farmers and much needed infrastructure development such as roads

277

and bridges, seaports and airstrips are lacking. Additionally, poor attitudes and foresight of growers towards coffee farming have a detrimental effect to the extension service delivery. Because of the high illiteracy level and those farmers who are being educated were mostly at primary education level, therefore most often being cautious and skeptical of adopting newly created technologies and further diffusing them to other farmers. Under the demand driven extension approach, CIC – growers’ collaborative and participatory concept is embraced, especially in cost and resource sharing in extension service delivery. However, considering the high cost of living, aging coffee farmers coupled with aging coffee trees, the income earned annually is insufficient in cost and resource sharing in fostering effective extension [9]. Consequently, coffee rehabilitation and establishment of new growth areas will remain the farmers’ and industry’s dream. Hence, coffee production outputs will remains stagnant or will experience a downward trend. At the national level, the government has failed to help the industry in terms of inappropriate recurrent budgetary support over the last 10 – 15 years; for instance, K2, 000, 000 appropriation annually. The CIC remains the same despite inflation and high costs of goods and services. This has greatly disadvantaged CIC extension services and interventions. 3.5 Compatible Mode of Coffee Extension Delivery The PNG CIC needs to be supported by required research, development and extension services. It is important to build on current and past success and to learn from it [3]. Training in personal skills such as communication and financial literacy has apparently made a marked difference in helping producers to better associate with a co-operative. Extension need to go beyond training and demonstration such as to provide useful business skills or associative practices that improve incomes and strengthen producer participation in their groups and in value chains. To provide specific support services and taken into account the level of literacy, training needs to be practical and village centered. It must comprise sequential modules to reflect seasonal farming activities, have user friendly resource material, and be conducted by those who are familiar with the local farming system and socio-cultural norms. The current extension model of Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) which is a demand driven extension approach known as PRAP was endorsed by the National Agricultural Council in 2009, complies with much of the above criteria [2]. The PRAP process is positively impacting the smallholder coffee farmers’, reflected by increased coffee production and historic record export earnings of K927 million in 2011 [1]. The extension service delivery needs to be further strengthened through collaborative partnerships with stakeholders along the coffee value chain in resource consolidating and sharing to increase output and enhance income. Other tree crop sectors can learn from CIC’s PRAP extension approach as well as public private partnership and adopt with modification as needed. 4.0 SUMMARY

In summary, this paper is basically intended to present the general overview of Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) extension approaches embraced previously and currently in the diffusing of packaged technologies and innovations to the coffee farmers. This paper further discusses public private partnerships and government incentive schemes as way forward which other tree crop industries can embrace in advancing their sectors thus adding value to the crops. The CIC’s beliefs in its guiding and operational principles and values to chart the course of extension delivery to prosperous and vibrant farming communities with competitive and sustainable coffee industry through increase productivity, production and market accessibility of

278

male and female coffee farmers, hence enhance their livelihoods. To make fruitful these dreams, CIC need to embrace private public partnership and strengthen its extension arm of the industry to delivery. Other tree crop sectors can learn from CIC’s PRAP extension approach as well as public private partnership and adopt with modification as needed. The Training and Visit (T&V) extension approach, top-down in nature and opportunities for farmers to communicate their technical concerns to the extension officers was disadvantaged. Further T&V approach does not live up to industry’s expectation and farmers’ satisfaction, hence was being discarded and had adopted demand driven extension approach (PRAP); encourage farmers-extension officers equal participation in communicating technical issues. Cost and resource sharing was the core of the PRAP process in enhancing extension service delivery and adoption of the technologies. The industry’s consolidated view is that, this demand driven approach is farmer need based, user-friendly and hence require further strengthening through public private partnerships. The threats and challenges of CIC’s coffee extension delivery are manifold such as; poor CIC’s institutional capacity in terms of extension delivery mechanisms, lack of competent human resources, poor management and logistics support and weak extension; no farmer-industry mutual participation. At the growers’ level; illiteracy, lack of infrastructure developments; roads and bridges, poor attitudes and foresights of farmers, doubting of adopting new technologies swiftly and cost and resource sharing under demand driven extension approach constraints effective extension delivery. Given the current scenario of inflation and high cost of goods and services, government remains adamant in not increasing its recurrent budgetary support to the industry. This had disadvantaged the industry in financing adequately its extension services section to progress its mandated task. It is the industry considered view and belief that the government must increase its annual budgetary allocation. This paper wishes to acknowledges and comment the fruitful public and private partnerships in coffee curriculum innovation through Australian Institutional Grant Scheme (AIGS) as financier and Department of Education (DoE) for curriculum development assistance. Appropriate that the government is commented for the financial assistance given to the industry through incentives schemes such as; freight surety program, coffee credit scheme, growers’ cooperative groups, coffee rehabilitation and expansion program. CIC, government and stakeholders require such partnerships to be further strengthened for rural development and livelihood improvement of the rural populace. CIC wish to share its experiences with PPP and government interventions of incentive schemes as way forward for other tree crop industries to embrace in its extension service endeavors to better serve their farmers. User-friendly and sequential extension methods and materials are to be development and delivered to the farmers’ given the current scenario of diversity in farming systems, socio-cultural norms. The extension offices are not only to be competent but knowledgeable in these associated factors imperative for effective extension delivery. REFERENCES [1] Anis N. (2012) CEO Coffee Industry Corporation Ltd, PNG-AGRINEWSPNG AGRINEWS.mht (accessed March 27, 2012) [2] Allen et al. 1995; Sem 1996; Bourke 2005 in Giovannucci Daniel and John Hunt John, (July 2009) Papua New Guinea Strategic Assessment of the Coffee Sector, Innovating Sustainable Competitiveness Since 1992

279

[3] Bourke, R.M 17 FEB 2003 Article first published online: Asia Pacific Viewpoint August/December 2001 Volume 42, Issue 2-3, pages 219–235, Downloads\Intensification [4] CIC (2004), Farmer Demand Driven Approach Policy Guidelines & Implementation Procedures Coffee Growers Support Services Program (CGSSP)]. [5] Coffee Industry Corporation (2004), Coffee Growers Support Services Program Policy Guidelines & Implementation Procedures [6] F. Api, R. Murray-Prior, L. Aroga, P.J. Batt (2006), Establishing Partnerships between Private Sector and Government to deliver Extension and Training to Smallholder Farmers in the PNG Coffee Industry [7] George H. Axinn, A guide on alternative extension approaches, Agriculture education and extension services human resources institutions and agriculture reform division] [8] Giovannucci Daniel and John Hunt John, (July 2009), Papua New Guinea Strategic Assessment of the Coffee Sector, Innovating Sustainable Competitiveness Since 1992 [9] Hinafa S (2013) – Master of Science Thesis Draft, Smallholder Coffee Production and Marketing in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea: An Assessment of Training Needs [10] Parapi A. (2009) The School as a Vehicle for Agriculture Extension and The Teacher as the Agent of Change, Huon Seminar Lae [11] Papua New Guinea Coffee Industry Corporation (2008) Strategic Plan 2008 – 2018 [12] Wikipedia (2013), the encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_production_in_Papua_New_Guinea [13] World Bank (2011) Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP) Coffee Component Coffee Industry Corporation, Evaluation of the Structure and Performance of the CIC Extension Service.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apv.2001.42.issue-2-3/issuetoc�

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_production_in_Papua_New_Guinea�



280

HS7-2013-035

Developing KPIs for the Papua New Guinea University of Technology

Muhammed A Satter, Albert Schram, John Pumwa and Veronica Thomas


LAE, Papua New Guinea Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT The Papua New Guinea University of Technology (also known as UNITECH) is one of the four State universities in Papua New Guinea. Its main focus is to education and research in engineering, natural and applied sciences, business and social sciences. An internal quality assurance system for academic programs is already in place. With the initiative of Office of Higher Education (OHE), the University has agreed to undergo institutional accreditation by an external agency. A comprehensive set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is thus being developed to monitor performances across all sections of the University. KPIs serve many useful purposes: allow management to take informed decisions by comparing current performance with past ones, serve as important communication tools that unify efforts across the organization, lead to optimized performance in terms of operational cost, maintenance and continuous improvement activities. The process of developing KPIs takes into account various strategies formulated to tackle problems of the University. The paper presents the steps in the generic process for developing KPIs, which is based on the third generation Balanced Scorecard methodology that incorporates strategy mapping and ‘destination statements’. A comprehensive list of KPIs is presented in the paper. Key Words: KPIs, Balanced Scorecard, quality assurance, higher education

1. INTRODUCTION State grants to institutions of higher education are almost universally tied to performance.

Institutions of higher education in PNG are not immune from this trend. The government is demanding accountability in areas such as finance expenses, quality of education and the value for money spent. Educational and research activities (Mission/Vision) are also to be aligned to government plans and programs for development associated with PNG Vision 2050 [1]. This is not surprising because any organization, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, needs to manage its performance well and within means for its continued existence. Thus, higher education institutions are increasingly adopting strategic performance management practices. There are a number of reasons for the trend to adopt performance management. Some of the reasons include accountability, both financial and non financial, the need to demonstrate value for the money spent, competition from both national and international universities, and public reputation. Good performance management requires well defined goals (objectives) and a set of appropriate strategies that are measurable, a good implementation plan with definitive milestones. Objectives, strategies and implementation plan must be communicated to all employees of the


281

organization at regular intervals, and monitor performance against set targets. Performance monitoring is done through a set of indicators, generally known as Key Performance Indicators (KPI) linked to various strategies [2].

In this paper KPIs are developed for the unique situation of the PNG University of Technology (Unitech). The current scenario of Unitech is analyzed from such tools as SWOT analysis, and input from staff and students on problems obtained from Suggestion Boxes. Strategies have been formulated and KPIs selected on the platform of Third Generation Balanced Scorecard.

2. THE CASE OF PNG UNITECH The Papua New Guinea University of Technology (also known as ‘Unitech’) is one of the

four State universities and the only technological university in Papua New Guinea. It is located in the industrial city of Lae and is the second largest in terms of student population. Unitech is internally accredited by the Commission for Higher Education. It is empowered to grant diploma and degrees at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Its Vision is to be a ‘leading technological university in the Pacific’. Unitech Vision is aligned to PNG Vision 2050[1].

The general Mission of the University is focused towards science and technology education and research of high standard with applications to Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. Its specific mission is to “engender the critical evaluation and application of science and technology for PNG and the South Pacific”. Currently, Unitech has 13 academic departments, 7 research centres, and 3 affiliated colleges. The 13 departments collectively offer more than 30 regular programs at degree and postgraduate level.

There is also a department of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) which primarily offers 12th Grade remedial programs through about 20 Study Centers located in various provinces of Papua New Guinea. Some diploma and degree programs offered on distance mode are also coordinated by the ODL department.

The major source of revenue of the University comes from an annual grant from the PNG Government. Additional revenue comes from fees charged to students. The University is continually under financial constraints since mid-nineties. As a result, academic and research activities have suffered due mainly to qualified staff shortage. Unitech wishes to adopt strategic management practice in order to improve its performance and enhance accountability.

As mentioned earlier, Unitech will undergo institutional accreditation by an external agency against a set of Standards [3]

3. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Strategic Management deals with strategies derived from the organization’s mission, goals

and objectives. Goals are general statements of intentions while objectives are also intentions (aims) but more definitive in nature so that they can be measured. Strategies are a set of actions stretching over a specified period, and indicating required resources, timeline, and action responsibility. Indicators or Key Performance Indicators are needed to monitor progress of performance. Strategic management is a continuous process that evaluates various goals and objectives and sets new goals and a new set of strategies. It takes into account both internal and external business environments.

It should be noted that strategic management has its limitation since it can get too complicated and resources needed for implementation of strategies may not be available.

The platform of Balanced Scorecard is often used to get a concise picture of progress towards achieving various objectives.

4. BALANCED SCORECARD A Balanced Scorecard can be a convenient platform for performance management. The

original Balanced Scorecard was designed by Kaplan & Norton [4] in early nineties. The

282

scorecard has four simple perspectives namely learning & development, internal business processes, customer and finance. The aim was to achieve strategic goals (objectives) by monitoring and measuring strategies (activities) across the four perspectives which will provide a concise picture of leading and lagging indicators of performance against set target values. People, policies and processes could be aligned with the strategic objectives and mission of the organization.

The original balanced scorecard, known as the 1st generation scorecard, has undergone several changes. The 2nd generation scorecard incorporates strategy mapping [5-7], and the 3rd generation scorecard includes a destination statement. In this paper we shall use 3rd generation scorecard technique [8] to evaluate performance of the PNG University of Technology. Strategy mapping is important because it gives the causal relationship among the various strategies. Similarly, destination statements indicate the direction the University is heading to. Strategy mapping and destination statements are presented below.

4.1 Strategy Mapping Strategy Mapping is a simple diagram that shows a series of primary strategic objectives of

an organization. Strategic mapping is used along with Balanced Scorecard perspectives. A diagram developed for the PNG University of Technology is shown in Figure 1. The strategy mapping shows directly the causal relationship between strategies themselves and the perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard.

Financial

Customer

Internal Business Processes Learning and Growth

Figure 1: Strategy Mapping

RECRUIT QUALITY STAFF

DEVELOP QUALITY CURRICULUM

IMPROVE SATISFACTION (STAFF)

ACCREDITE UG &PG PROGRAMS

ADMIT SCHOLARLY STUDENTS

ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITY

PROMOTE RESEARCH

IMPROVE SATISFACTION (EMPLOYERS)

COMPLETE ACCOUNT AUDIT ING

CREATE CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT

ENGAGE WITH INDUSTRY

IMPROVE REVENU

CREATE BALANCED BUDGET

IMPROVE POSITIVE CASH FLOW

ENHANCE REPUTATION & PUBLIC IMAGE

IMPROVE SATISFACTION (STUDENTS)

STUDENT

TRAIN EMPLOYEES & INTRODUCE TQM

PROMOTE ODL PROGRAMS

283

4.2 Destination Statement for Unitech Destination statement s for the University should be aligned with its vision and mission

statements. Additionally, the statements should also address current problems of the University. The destination statements may include the following:

• Reduce financial debt of the university by 10% each year for the next three years and be debt-free by 2020

• Increase revenue by 10% every year for the next three years • Reduce student overall failure rate from current 8% to 5% by 2015 academic year • Increase postgraduate intake by 10% a year for the next three years • Increase research output by 20% for the next three years • Become the University of Choice for science and technology education in the South

Pacific outside Australia and New Zealand. • Unitech graduates will be the well sought after by employers, 100% by appropriate

functions • Achieve at least three programs to be offered by distance learning during the next three

years • Encourage textbook/module writing for on-line delivery • Improve workplace culture and develop core attributes for employees • Improve internet connections by at least 40 kb/s by 2014. • Use less paper

The current scenario of Unitech has been analyzed from such tools as SWOT analysis

conducted by senior management of the University, which is presented below. 4.3 SWOT Analysis*

STRENGTH Sufficient land on campus Long standing reputation in science and engineering High demand for engineering and science courses Policies, processes and committees well established Quality assurance in teaching and learning Willingness to embrace change and learn Multicultural community Convenient location of the university Study centres in whole country

WEAKNESS Lack of capacity attracting and retaining quality staff Academic leadership and management department Weak management in support function Lack of motivation and commitment Insufficient learning resources and physical infrastructures No professional staff appraisal Insufficient student and staff amenities, including counseling No management information system Low education level of staff Weak governance and confusion over Council’s role

OPPORTUNITY Access to more resources from cooperation with other universities Access to more resources from cooperation with industries Stable funding through alignment with Vision 2050, MTDS, DSP Broadband internet on all campuses Increasing resources through contract teaching More resources from consulting

THREAT Inconsistent and untimely government funding Inadequate preparatory knowledge of incoming students Difficulty addressing negative attitude of staff and students Lack of capacity to accommodate more students High cost of utilities Security problems on campus

284

Introduce more Postgraduate programs Lack of health care for staff and students *SWOT analysis was developed by Senior Management under the leadership of Dr Albert

Schram at a workshop held on 11 July 2012. 4.4 Suggestion Box Perception of staff and students on problems of the University were obtained from Suggestion

Boxes placed at various locations such as academic departments, library, students mess, etc. The main perceived problems relate to security situation on campus, medical service at the university clinic, information technology services (principally Internet service), housing and accommodation, transport service, maintenance service, services provided by resource departments. There were also a few issues on academic curriculum.

5. DEVELOPMENT OF KPIS Performance must be measured and monitored as a good management practice. Management

must make informed decision based on factual information in running the University. Thus, a set of Key performance indicators (KPIs) is needed about the input, processes and

output. KPIs can have a variety of uses. They allow the management to monitor and track progress against various employees on goals and objectives thus aligning the efforts of everyone in the organization in the right direction of development and progress. KPIs can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses, and establish good practice in management. KPIs also serve as a means of comparison between products and processes, and other similar institutions through benchmarking.

KPIs need to be understandable, meaningful and measurable. Vaguely defined KPIs do not serve useful purpose. In developing KPIs one can follow SMART criteria. SMART stands for Specific purpose, Measurable to some quantity, Achievable, Relevant for the purpose and Time bound. KPIs are linked to target values.

Financial Perspective Table 1a Goal, Objectives, Strategies for Financial Perspective Goal Objectives Strategies

Financial solvency Improve Revenue Request enhanced Govt grants Increase general tuition fees Increase ODL fees Improve UDC income

Control Expenses Reduce Admin overhead Reduce catering expenses Control Estate and Services Expenses Control Library operation cost

Financial Auditing Complete financial audit

Engage internal auditor Engage reputable firm for auditing Unitech accounts by 31st March

Table 1b KPIs, Measurements and Targets for Financial Perspective KPIs Measurements /Tools Targets Level of Govt. grant Tuition fee ODL course fee UDC income

% increase in Govt. grant % increase tuition fee % increase course fee % increase UDC income

10% increase/yr for 3 years 10% increase/yr for next 2 years 10% increase/yr for next 3 years

285

5% increase/yr for next 2 years

Admin overhead expenses Catering expenses Estate & Services expenses Library operations including review of Establishment

Accurately compute admin expenses

Customer Perspective Table 2a Goal, Objectives, Strategies for Customer Perspective Goal Objectives Strategies

Customer Care (student) Develop necessary attributes

Students and teachers awareness of necessary program outcomes Design curriculum and implementation methodology to attain the attributes

Improve students’ performance (Minimize failure rate)

Continuous monitoring of teaching and learning Institute continuous assessment Give 3 to alerts weak performing students per semester

External Customer Employer Engage with industry Table 2b KPIs, Measurements and Targets for Customer Perspective KPIs Measurements /Tools Targets Number of students who are aware of attributes

% of students that have acquired of the necessary attributes

90% increase/yr for 3 years

Pass rate

% of students that pass 95% pass rate

Employers’ satisfaction Survey questionnaires 80% satisfied

Internal Processes Perspective Table 3a Goal, Objectives, Strategies for Internal Processes Perspective Goal Objectives Strategies Academic excellence Accreditation of

academic programs High scores ODL delivery of programs

Regular review of curriculum and teaching methodology Evaluation of teaching performance and Improve teaching resources Institute self-assessment program Introduce kaizen continuous improvement program in teaching and learning

Postgraduate Programs Promote PG programs in all departments

Increase intake of students in PG programs

286

Offer PG programs on ODL mode of delivery

Excellence in research Promote research activities by staff and students

Improve funding Networking with other universities and research institutes home and abroad Encourage research seminar and publications

Community engagement Lend help to surrounding settlements

Engage ATCDI to train personnel in food tech program, water supply/sanitation, brick making, etc.

Table 3b KPIs, Measurements and Targets for Internal Processes Perspective KPIs Measurements /Tools Targets Annual curriculum review Teaching evaluation & feedback to lecturers Accreditation of programs Annual report by academic department 3-yearly university self-study report

Industry Advisory Committee meeting Teaching Evaluation Form Self-assessment report Annual report by academic department Self-assessment Report

Once a year Once a semester Accreditation visit by 2016 One annual report One self-assessment report in 3 years

% increase of PG students No. of PG programs by ODL delivery

PG admission statistics ODL programs

Increase by 10% 1PG-ODL program/year

No. of research seminar TLMU course on research methodology and research proposal writing

Seminar presentation TLMU training program

One seminar/week 2 programs/year

Training programs by ATCDI and ADOC

Training programs 5 programs each in 2014

Learning & Growth Perspective Table 4a Goal, Objectives, Strategies for Learning & Growth Perspective Goal Objectives Strategies Highly knowledgeable and skilled organization

Highly qualified academics

Recruit highly qualified academic staff

Highly skilled technical & professional staff

Recruit highly skilled staff

287

Benchmark curriculum Conduct curriculum review

Scholarly students

Admit scholarly students through entrance examination

Training programs Provide training to academic, technical, and professional staff

Improved Campus Environment

Campus Environment for learning and holistic development

Promote campus beautification Promote digital communication Improve counseling services

Table 4b KPIs, Measurements and Targets for Learning & Growth Perspective KPIs Measurements /Tools Targets #Ph Ds per academic department #of academics trained in teaching and learning

% of Establishment % of academics trained

80% of Establishment 50-70% of academics

# of qualified technical & professional staff

% of Establishment 90% of Establishment & heads of section

Curriculum advisory committee

# of meetings At least 1 meeting per year

# of students admitted with A&B grades

Admission records 100% of students with A&B grades

# training programs # of staff trained annually 80% of staff to be trained annually

Meeting of medical & campus beautification committee Broadband internet Students receiving counseling

# of meetings of medical services and campus beautification committee Install broadband internet service Academics & Counselors

2 meetings per year 40kbp/s All students needing counseling

6. DISCUSSIONS ON GENERIC STRATEGY MAPPING AND KPIS Figure 1 shows the generic strategy mapping over the four perspectives of the Balanced

Scorecard. The strategies are generic in the sense that corresponding to each strategy there will be a portfolio of actions both at corporate and academic unit/section levels. Goals have been developed from the Mission statement of the University. Objectives are the sub-set of goals meaning that each goal statement may have one or multiple objectives. Strategies are derived from the objectives. Again, each objective may have multiple strategies. Each strategy will have at least one KPI that should be monitored. Each KPI will have a set target as a reference that may be compared with the actual result (achievement) to identify gap, if any. The gap will form the basis for continuous improvement through modifying the current strategy or formulating new ones. The KPI's will be validated through a series of workshops with Unitech stakeholders, so that they are widely known, well understood and supported.

7. CONCLUSIONS For the first time the PNG University of Technology proposes to adopt strategic performance

management practice to manage its affairs. The strategies are aimed at addressing the current known problems perceived by employers, the wider university community (which were obtained through ‘suggestion box’ located at various points across the University) and through SWOT

288

analysis conducted by senior management. The strategies are developed in relation to goals and objectives derived from the Vision and Mission statements of the University. The strategies have been mapped over the Balanced Scorecard platform with four perspectives, and tagged with a set of ‘destination statements’. KPIs for monitoring performance have been proposed.

8. REFERENCES 1. Govt of Papua New guinea, “Papua New Guinea Vision 2050”

www.publicsectorreform.gov.pg/about_pngv50.html

2. Rizk Shaker, “Utilizing KPIs in Evaluating Academic Programs” Higher Education International Conference, 2011 heic.info/assets/templates/heic2011/papers/28-Shaker_Rizk.pdf‎

3. Commission for Higher Education “Guidelines for Institutional Accreditation”

www.ohe.gov.pg

4. Kaplan R.S & Norton D.P “Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy” California Management Review 39, Fall, 1996

5. Butler A, Letza S.R., Neale B. “Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy”

International Journal of Strategic Management 30 (2), 1997

6. Kaplan R.S & Norton D.P “Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes” Harvard Business School Press (p7), Boston, Massachusetts, ISBN 1-59139-134-2, 2004

7. ---------“Generic Strategy Mapping” http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_map

8. Third-generation balanced scorecard en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-

generation_balanced_scorecard

http://www.publicsectorreform.gov.pg/about_pngv50.html�

http://www.ohe.gov.pg/�

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_map�



289

HS7-2013-046

Efforts in reorienting technical vocational education & training (TVET) system in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to the global economy: A

case study

Patrol Maino

Madang Technical College Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT: The main purpose of this study was to ascertain the efforts undertaken by the Technical

Vocational Education &Training System in PNG in support of the global economy. The research conducted was limited to technical and business colleges, TVET head office and randomly selected vocational centre’s and addressed the following questions: What are the major programs and activities undertaken by TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy? What are the common challenges experienced by the TVET system in PNG and other TVET providers? What are the major achievements and best practices adopted by TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy? What are the lessons learnt and future challenges for TVET system in PNG? The main instrument for data collection was questionnaire administered to about 20% of the target population of students (N-60), teachers (N-60) and head office staff (N-20) in the TVET sector. Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics. The findings reveal a dearth of professional and qualified staff, inadequate infrastructure and equipment, insufficient instructional materials, and generally poorly financed. The efforts undertaken by TVET system have been greatly affected by the issues enlisted. The three key recommendations are that adequate infrastructure should be provided in all TVET institutions, training of TVET teacher/instructors is given utmost priority and high investment in TVET is vital for TVETs competitiveness.

Key words: reorientation, global economy, common challenges, best practices, and future

challenges. INTRODUCTION TVET is widely recognized as an important part of the total education and training

system. The challenge is how to bring reorientation in the TVET system in PNG and to reposition it in response to the global forces driving change in a knowledge-based economy. This paper reflects on efforts undertaken, discusses challenges and other needed measures to enable TVET system in PNG to achieve its set goals.

Purpose of the Research The main purposes of the research were to:

1. Ascertain the efforts being made by the TVET sector in PNG towards reorienting their programs and activities in support of the global economy,

2. Identify the common challenges experienced by the TVET system in PNG and the other providers,

3. Identify the major achievements and best practices adopted by TVET sector in PNG in support of the global economy, and

4. Ascertain the lessons learnt and future challenges for TVET system in PNG.

[Type text]

290

Statement of the Problem The emerging trend on globalization has brought about new challenges in the global

economy. This emerging concern poses immediate attention to the education sector in PNG, particularly in the Technical Vocational Education and Training. Many social, economic and technical issues are creating impact on TVET system and apparently, affecting the TVET trends in the workplace and the competitiveness of the workforce in the country. In contrast, this creates a major hurdle towards the technical workforce development in the global economy. This implies that educational managers, planners and other key players in PNG are faced with challenges of how to reorient TVET for the global economy.

Significance of Study How we tackle the challenges raised by the emergence of the global economy will be a

major determinant of our country’s prosperity. For this reason, it was felt that carrying out of this research was timely and necessary because this would serve as a timely intervention to reflect on where the current state of TVET system in PNG is, evaluate the priority areas in the context of development trends and chart new approaches in the context of the globalized economy.

Background Prior to getting into the core theme of the paper, it is felt vital to outline the historical

development of TVET in PNG. Historical analysis reveals that until the 1900s there was no form of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provided in PNG. Technical Vocational Education and Training in Papua New Guinea was initiated in 1927 as a result of the establishment of Malaguna Technical High School in East New Britain Province (NDOE, 1999)[4]. The formal education system embarked as an initiative of European missionaries in Papua New Guinea during the early 1900s in the colonial era. It is difficult to find credible historical evidence that formal Technical Vocational Education and Training had been operated in the country under the tribal administration in Papua New Guinea (McLaughlin, 1994)[2].

The Department of Education in PNG established TVET Division in Mid 1960s and

commenced opening Vocational Training Centers, which were aimed at providing post primary training for school leavers at Grade 6 or above (NDOE, 2000)[4]. During the early stages of its development, many parties considered the VTC to be for academically less advantaged students. Indeed many believed that VTC courses were destinations for failures from the school system. This was the view until quite recently, and has been one of the reasons why the VET system failed to attain its rightful place within the school system of PNG.

The remarkable breakthrough in Technical Vocational Education was instigated when the technical vocational division of the department of education established several technical colleges in Lae, Mt Hagen, Madang and Port Moresby and two secretarial colleges in Port Moresby and Goroka (NDOE, 2000). There are currently 9 technical and business colleges and 141 vocational centres in PNG. Lae Technical College got converted to National Polytechnic Institute in December of 2009. West New Britain Technical College was opened in 2011 and Bougainville Technical College was opened this year, 2013.

Research Questions For the purpose of this research, the following questions are posed: 1. Main Question What are the efforts in Reorienting Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

system in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for the global economy? 2. Sub Questions

[Type text]

291

• What are the major programs and activities undertaken by TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy?

• What are the common challenges experienced by the TVET system in PNG and other TVET providers?

• What are the major achievements and best practices adopted by TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy?

• What are the lessons learnt and future challenges for TVET system in PNG? LITERATURE REVIEW Overview of the Concept of Reorienting TVET system for global economy

We are living through a period of profound change and

transformation of the shape of society and its economic underlying economic base …The nature of production, trade, employment and work in the coming decades will be very different from what it is today (Forfas, 199)[1].

Simply put reorienting TVET system for global economy calls for improvement from the old ways of doing things to the new to stay in tune with globalization. As per Sheikh (2011), reorienting TVET system for global economy requires a global change of mindset and attitude [3]. The impact of globalization has changed the regional situation to where human resources now serve as the important role of boosting the development and infrastructure of a country (CPSC, 2011)[3]. Currently, PNG and the Asia Pacific Region are facing a new economic trend based on globalization. TVET according to Khambayat (2011) has a crucial role to play as an effective tool to realize the objectives of sustainable development, social cohesion and economic growth [4]. Similarly in support of this view, Yaakub (2011) states that, TVET plays a vital role within the overall education system and process in terms of preparing the next generation workers [3].

The ten strategic action areas suggested for TVET system to complement the global economy are listed. These are:

• Technical Manpower Planning: This is seen as a vital component to bring relevance of TVET to the global economy, this ascertains that all policies as well as practices are based on certain information i.e. technical manpower planning.

• Demand Driven TVET Programs: The regions TVET system is dominantly supply driven and this often leads to programs with limited impact on the labor market. The consequences of this are skills mismatch, and so the programs offered must be based on labor market information. The focus then is to bring TVET program offers from supply driven to need-based approach.

• Building Relevance and Quality of Curricula: Building TVET system for global economy largely depends on the relevance and worth of the programs/courses of study offered by the institutions under the TVET system. There is need to ensure that the curricula of these programs/courses stay relevant and are of high quality.

• Accreditation and Quality Assurance: With the growing number of TVET providers and mobility of workforce across the region, disparities in skills standards and in the recognition of qualifications pose a major challenge in workforce mobility. There is ever-increasing concern with different levels of quality systems and qualifications frameworks of TVET. Accreditation has emerged as one of the important strategies to achieve globally accepted skills standards.

• Strengthening Public-Private Partnership in TVET system: The linkage between industry and TVET institutions is of great significance for improving degree of relevance of contents and delivery of programs. Developing public-private and

[Type text]

292

community partnerships and maintaining close interactions with industry are necessary to overcome the skill mismatches and make TVET more market oriented.

• Prepare the workforce for Green Economy Jobs: Green workforce development will likely be a hot topic in the coming years, from the construction of solar panels and wind – powered turbines to community weatherization programs. Economists say that large-scale green projects have the potential to create millions of jobs around the Asia-Pacific region. Green jobs generally fall under two categories: the energy efficiency sector (EE) and the renewable energy (RE) sector. TVET has significant role to play in developing workforce including eco-entrepreneurship for future Green Economy.

• Promoting Entrepreneurship and Generic Skills in TVET Curricula: In view of emerging growth in service sector economy, there is huge potential for promoting entrepreneurship as a viable career option for TVET graduates. The significance of developing entrepreneurial skills has also become increasingly apparent as current trends indicate that majority of the TVET workforce are likely to be absorbed into the unorganized and informal sector in the near future. Therefore, there is a need to encourage fresh graduates to establish micro or small enterprises, or to become self-employed as these are likely to provide a better option for them to earn a livelihood than to simply be absorbed into the organized sector.

• Nurturing Instructional Effectiveness: The next significant aspect for reorientation of TVET is related to instructional effectiveness. It is influenced by a large number of factors - primary being the quality of TVET educator, quality of instruction, instructional time, and quality of instructional material, characteristics of the learner and characteristics and adequacy of physical resources.

• Establish Robust Professional Development and Staff Capacity Building System: These strategies will require workforce development, adult education and postsecondary education practitioners to do business differently. To ensure that the field is prepared to meet the challenges of a new education and workforce system, the national and provincial governments will need to invest in professional development systems.

• Invest in Education, Training, and Workforce Development at a Level Proportionate to the Need: Current programs are severely under-funded and therefore unable to meet the critical and growing need for middle- and highly-skilled workers. It is critical to increase our investments in workforce education programs and find ways to ensure that those who most need education and training can afford access. In addition, dedicated funding is needed to align programs, foster community partnerships, and enhance the capacity of education providers to carry out changes, which accelerate student learning, and strengthen connections to employers and local labor market requirements (Khambayat, 2011, pp. 57-61) [4].

The list above demonstrates that reorienting TVET system for the global economy is seen as a way forward to stay competitive in this globalized economy. It is now imperative for TVET to re-diversify its approach in providing skills development and training to be in line with technological changes. The Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, (2004) had this to say in an international Experts Meeting that, For TVET programs to be part of the solution and not part of the problem; they must be reoriented so that they contribute to sustainable development worldwide [3]. On a similar note; Hafni and Ismail (2011) expressed that, … TVET plays an important role in, equipping the individuals with relevant skills and knowledge, hence enabling people to effectively participate in social, economic and technological innovative process [3].

[Type text]

293

Why Reorient TVET system for global economy? Why is Reorienting TVET system to the global economy a useful way of talking about change approach? It is believed that this concept is most timely because it has been acknowledged that a strong TVET sector with its associated high standard of training and accreditation driven by industry standards is the backbone for a strong economy and workforce (Chand, 2011) [3]. Similarly, Khanal and Lamichhane (2011) in support emphasized that, quality and competitive TVET programs are essential to address global need [3]. The importance of TVET has been globally recognized. Majundar (2010) claimed that it is important at this stage for TVET to introduce higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and strengthen curriculum that stimulate problem solving, critical thinking and analysis and strengthen the students’ learning to learn skills to cope with technology change [2]. On the other hand, Rupert Maclean and Ada Lai (2011) expressed that education and training of knowledge workers requires different educational policies, facilities, curricula and, above all teachers [5]. All nations in the world are faced with the challenge of improving the capacity of their workforce to respond to their national development needs. PNG in this present time as a partner in this globalized economy has been challenged to focus on developing TVET system and programs which can address global needs and cope with the global technology.

The Context of PNG The current TVET system in PNG is largely supply driven and as a result often leads to programs with limited impact on the labour market. To address the growing concern regarding skills mismatch, there is a need to offer programs based on labour market information. Consequently, this will bring focus on the TVET program offering from supply driven to need based approach. As per Khambayat (2011), “building TVET system for global economy largely depends on the relevance and worth of the programs and courses of study offered by the institutions beneath the TVET system” (p.58) [4]. This implies that Technical and vocational training programs in PNG are poorly linked with the market demands and are not satisfactorily fulfilling the employment and earning needs of the individual and economic development needs of the country.

A recent study by AusAID claimed that,the problems with TVET service delivery in PNG are profound and deep seated. There must be high level of political will and support from the other development partners to enhance growth and development within the sector (AusAID, 2011) [1].From this it can now be gathered that TVET PNG need to redirect its focus towards organizational arrangements, commitment to quality and accountability, at all levels of the TVET system. Coming from a number of management roles within a number of large and recognized companies, Brown (2011) had this to say, “I have been aware for a long time of the poor regard that employers in general have of the products of the TVET system”[1]. From another perspective, globalization is said to be mobilization of skilled employees (Whitehouse, 2011). TVET system in PNG in this context is at the ‘crossroads’ (AusAid report, 2011).Thus, reorienting TVET system in PNG for global economy implies new strategies for development. This demand a new approach to update every aspect of the TVET system that must be aligned to prepare people with the new global economy skills they need to acquire to be competitive. The current environments in which TVET systems in PNG operate are discussed.

Major Programs and Activities through TVET System in support of the Global Economy

[Type text]

294

TVET system in PNG in its effort to reorient TVET to the global economy has undertaken some changes over the 15 years in line with education reform since its inception in 1991.

The major changes undertaken are listed: • The unification of Technical and Vocational Education sectors under the Technical

Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Division, • The rationalization of technical and business colleges and their courses. This involved

the relocation of similar courses, equipment and teachers to “home colleges”, • The development of the two-year broad-based (multi-skilling) Technical Training

Certificate (TTC) courses, which will gradually replace the existing one-year (single-stream) Pre-Employment Technical Training (PETT) courses,

• The upgrading of higher certificate technician courses to diploma level courses, • The adoption of a policy shift in curriculum that requires future curriculum

development and delivery of training courses using the Competency Based Training and Assessment Principles,

• The development of CBT&A curricula to support the trade testing system and to ensure the high quality of training courses as required by industry,

• The introduction of National Certificate courses, and • The restructuring of the TVET sector to accommodate these changes.

Table: 1. Common programs offered within TVET

The national certificate courses have been currently introduced. They range from NCI - 4 and eventually to a national diploma. It is anticipated that this program will replace the TTC programs.

Key Challenges in Building TVET for Global Economy TVET system, by nature according to Kambayat (2011) is dynamic. There are many challenges faced in building TVET system for global economy. They range from responding to societal needs, technological and economic changes within the local and global environment. The challenge is how to bring reorientation in TVET system and to reposition it in response to the global forces driving change in a knowledge-based economy. PNG like other global partners in the region face the similar challenges and are listed below:

Qualification Description Pre Employment Technical Training (PETT)

One year full-time programs designed for Year 10 entry providing pre-employment skills for specific trades and occupations. Provided by Technical Colleges and some Vocational Training Centres.

Technical Training Certificate (TTC)

Generally two year full-time programs designed for Year 12 entry providing pre-employment skills over several related trade or occupational areas. Offered by Technical Colleges.

Vocational Training Certificate (Conventional) (VTC)

Generally two year full-time programs designed for Year 8 or 6 entry providing pre employment skills for specific trades or occupations. Offered by Vocational Training Centres.

Extension / Apprenticeship, Levels 1, 2 and 3.

Block release programs providing off-job training for apprentices in certain trades recognised by the NATTB. Certification issued by NATTB. Offered by Technical Colleges.

Diploma

Technician or paraprofessional programs designed for Year 12 entry and generally offered over two years full-time, or part-time equivalent. Offered by Technical Colleges.

[Type text]

295

• Political & Industry Support: We need to engage industry and government leaders in a

deeper dialogue with the global TVET community and strengthen their involvement and investment in shaping the future of industry and society through TVET system.

• Strengthen Dialogue: We need to discuss with TVET professional and industry leaders who seek to understand the issues and challenges facing TVET institutions, because building competent workers through TVET educators have become critical factors in determining a nation’s competiveness.

• Other Countries example: The countries which, made rapid economic progress in the region like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore etc, have paid great attention to the continuous development of their people and building a clear strategy and matching culture to address challenges of global economy.

• Accreditation: Accreditation is of direct relevance to the policy makers and expert bodies responsible for education, training, and learning policies and systems at both the national and international level to ensure quality assurance in TVET.

• Enacting of Policies: TVET policy makers that fail to gain an accurate understanding of today’s global business, economic and social context, along with the challenges and opportunities that it poses are likely to face growing demands of global economy.

• Relevancy of the programs: According to Majundar (2010) it is imperative for TVET to introduce higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and strengthen curriculum that stimulate problem solving, critical thinking and analysis and strengthen the students’ learning to learn skills to cope with technology change.

• Public Private Partnership: Developing public-private and community partnerships and maintaining close interactions with industry are necessary to overcome the skill mismatches and make TVET more market oriented.

• Poor public perception of TVET: For many years TVET education in PNG has been considered as a career path for the less academically endowed. Worse still, the branding of vocational track is to keep ‘drop outs’ and ‘lockouts’ from the basic and secondary school system off the streets, rather than project this type of training as an effective strategy to train skilled workers for the employment market. Similar comments from Fiji by Chand (2011) and from Rwanda by Usman and Pascal (2000) [3].

• TVET Facilities and Equipment: Most of the infrastructures are in dire need of urgent rehabilitation and replacement. There is a major problem associated with high cost of construction, equipment, maintenance and the provision of consumable training materials. Routine and preventive maintenance have also constituted persistent problems (Maino, 2009) [1].

• Condition of teachers: TVET Teachers ‘Conditions is not the same as the other sectors of the education system and with those in academics, as such; it serves as a demotivating factor.

• Teacher Upgrading: As TVET becomes increasingly more knowledge oriented; the training of teachers becomes vital in order for knowledge and skills transfer to fall in line with the global trends.

• Gender Equity: The Promoting of TVET for accessibility for girls and women need to be strongly emphasized and encouraged.

A recent study that involved interviewing various industries in PNG and the institutions indicated that several industries are dissatisfied with the level of knowledge and skills possessed by contemporary TVET graduates (AusAID Report, 2011) and this would indicate that there is reluctance on their part to employ graduates. Similarly, the Secretary for Labour

[Type text]

296

and Industrial Relations reported that PNG seriously lacks skilled manpower to fully meet the construction of the multi-billion kina Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project (Post Courier, 2011) [1].

Major Achievements and Best Practices Adopted by TVET System in PNG in Support of the Global Economy

Addressing workforce development though TVET programs and services is one of the prevalent challenges in the developing process the country has faced. PNG like the other developing nations has been confronted with a set of underlying issues. In spite of this, there are innovative initiatives and virtuous practices embraced by various TVET institutions in the country. This part of the paper will discuss major achievements and best practices undertaken by TVET PNG in building TVET for global economy.

The ma jor Achievements of TVET are as follows. • This policy shift on National Trade Testing and Certification System (NTTCS) was

initiated for PNG in 1997 and fully implemented in 2002, • On the 24th March 1999, the Secretary for Education issued a Circular on Policy

Change towards Competency Based Training in TVET: All the future syllabus design, developments and implementation were to be based on the CBT&A principles,

• The concept of National Qualification Framework was initiated and introduced in 2005: A means to improve the quality of TVET training and enhance employer and community confidence in qualifications gained by people,

• A TVET policy inclusive highlights the introduction of Polytechnic Institutions for all the four regions and one vocational centre in the 91 districts,

• Increased students enrolments in TVET institutions: From 3800 to 4800 (AusAid, 2011),

• Expansion of course offerings introduced in various TVET institutions: From certificate to Diploma programs,

• Restructure of TVET sector: To be managed under a separate wing within the department of education, and

• Management Plan: TVET Strategic Management Plan completed in 2011 to be in line with Vision 2050.

Best Practices According to (Chand, 2011) a best practice is a technique, method, process, activity,

incentive or reward that is believed to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method or process. The idea is that with proper processes, checks and testing, a desired outcome can be delivered with fewer problems and unforeseen complications.

• The TVET sector and their teachers always try to incorporate local resources to teach their students to make them realise the value of the local materials and their environment,

• Values and culture are also integrated in their subject which helps in building discipline in them and realise their potentials,

• Promoting work based learning including apprenticeships, • New programs for TVET Teachers and Principals, • Model for competency standards development and new demand driven courses, and • PNG TVET Quality Assurance Framework.

Lessons Learnt and Future Challenges for TVET System in PNG Lessons learnt

[Type text]

297

• Globalization has intensified competition which has had effects on skills,

competencies and employment. • Skills inequalities and the labour market also have grown rapidly and workers skills

demand are dramatically changing and have not been fulfilled by the existing public or private training providers.

• Skills and knowledge become rapidly obsolete and therefore must be renewed continuously. As the life span of existing qualifications shortens, there is a greater and urgent need for skills up-grading, re-training, continuous education and training, as well as lifelong learning

• There is growing demand for skilled and competent workers in high performance work organizations and new, higher technical skills & competencies for exploiting potential of advanced technologies.

Future challenges Firstly, to be in line with the phase of technology existing teachers need to have access to

regular up-skilling training and industry attachments. This has a direct affect on student outcomes particularly the industry relevance of training provided as teachers practical skills imparted to their students.

Secondly, TVET training is expensive and so it needs good and continuous funding

support to adequately service the sector. Currently, the task of delivering effective teaching and learning for TVET is challenging.

Thirdly, there is a lack of networking with other ministries, tertiary institutions, industries

and other stakeholders. TVET delivery could be improved through a coordinated strategy. A national TVET database has been recognized as a key tool to assist in planning TVET delivery.

Fourthly, the TVET curriculum needs to be competency-based, industry-driven and child-

centred. In most areas it needs updating to match industry and community needs. There is also a need for the diversification of the curriculum to cater for other sectors such as mining, forestry and fisheries. This will maximize the use of local resources for gainful employment. And also, the promotion of TVET for girls and women is a challenging issue. Attracting more female instructors and administrators into TVET will be a major challenge in the future.

Finally, the inconsistency in the TVET budget provisions by MOE over the last five years

does not reflect a picture that TVET is a priority area. As the number of centres and students enrolled increase, funding per student decreases, impacting negatively on support to TVET education in PNG.

Table 2. TVET Budget estimates & Appropriations – 2008 – 2012

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 (B/Est.)13,565.54 13,312.4 13,899.4 18,205.0 21,960.6 (App/K) 12,200.4 12,663.1 13,382.9 16110.6 17,705.9 (Diff) 1,365.1

(90%) 649.3 (95%)

516.5 (96%)

2,094.4 (88%)

4,254.7 (81%)

[Type text]

298

Source: TVET Budget Estimates & Appropriations (Recurrent Activities – 2008 – 2012) Note: Although overall funding of all activities increased over the 5 years, funding over

the years was always less than the TVET budget estimate submissions as reflected in the table 2 above.

Design of the Study Participants and sampling The Sample • The samples for interviews, consisted of 20 persons randomly selected from the

experts in the field of Technical Vocational Education of PNG, and • The samples for the focus group consisted of 60 students randomly selected;

especially year two students and 60 teachers selected from randomly selected TVET institutions around the country out of the six Technical & Business Colleges, 1 Polytechnic Institute and 141 Vocational Centres.

Procedures for collecting data There were two processes used to approach the data collection procedures: Procedures used for entry. Firstly, a letter seeking approval to conduct the research was sent to the a/Assistant Secretary – TVET. The heads of institutions, selected vocational centre managers, selected head office staff, selected staff of the institutions and the students were provided with the copies of the approval letters and also their approval was sought to take part in this study. Collecting of data. Data collection methods included interviews with institutional heads, lectures, instructors, head office staff and students. Interviewees who took part were experienced in the field of TVET and had sound understanding of the issue under investigation. Furthermore, the students who took part were either final year or year 2 students. Timetables were made available to conduct the study with the participants. Moreover, an open-ended question sheet was handed to the selected staff and students to complete. Teachers’ response to the questionnaire was in detail and direct. In doing so, the responses received provided valuable information putting into account the researcher had no contact to collect the data. Probing and direct questions were later asked for clarification purposes. All written and interview responses were analyzed to figure out the relevant information that was in line with the research questions. Procedures for analyzing data

Data Analysis • Documents were analyzed by sorting and grouping them on the basis of the subject-

matter studied, • The opinions from the experts were analyzed given through interviews and were

grouped according to the research problems, and • The opinions from the staff and students who participated in the focus group were

also analyzed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Research Findings

Question 1. Reorienting TVET system in PNG means aligning with others in the global economy

[Type text]

299

Results presented in graph 1indicate the following: that staff do agree that for the TVET System in PNG to progress, reorienting the sector is vital with a percentage of (79%); and the students also expressed the same concern as indicated in graph 2 with a percentage of (67%). The high level indications by the two graphs (SA - Strongly Agree) & (A - Agree) reflects that TVET is a global activity and in alignment with others becomes unavoidable. The staff knowledge about TVET is clearly reflected in graph 1 whilst on the other; the implication is that students should be made full aware of the importance of vocational education at the respective institutions as their level of agreements are at lower range; (31%) & (2%) respectively.

Questions 2. What are the major programs and activities undertaken by TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy?

TVET system in PNG has also had it share in providing programs and engaging in

activities which are in support of the global economy; table 1 highlights programs and activities that are conducted in various TVET institutions in the country. It now implies that TVET system in PNG still has a long way to go in more program offerings and interest manifestations.

79%

21%

0% 0%0%

Graph 1. Level of agreements amongst the staff of three Institutions -BVC, TVC & MTC

SA A U D SD

67%

31%

0% 2% 0%

Graph 2. Level of agreements amongst the students of the three Institutions - BVC, TVC & MTC

SA

A

U

D

SD

[Type text]

300

Question 3. What are the common challenges experienced by the TVET system in PNG and other TVET providers?

Inadequate Curriculum Resource Information gathered from some of the teachers consulted showed that inadequate

curriculum resources were one of the main challenges experienced in most Institutions. One of the senior instructors had this to say; “materials are a constant problem for the

colleges as they attempt to keep up to date with the latest technology. The colleges are characterized by having large quantities of old equipment that require maintenance and repair; this is an unfortunate reality”.

It was further explained that; “curriculum section at head office needs to outsource and acquire current and up dated teaching textbooks and resource materials for most of the subjects taught at the colleges”. It can be concluded that no effective training can take place without the adequate provision of learning facilities. These include textbooks, classrooms, workshops, library, tools, and equipment.

Funding and Financing The research found that PNG like Nigeria is rich in mineral resources but a similar

problem the countries have is a development plan for financing education. One of the officers consulted in head office had this to say; “TVET in PNG is a neglected

sector because as far as funding is concerned there is no comparison with other higher learning Institutions in the country”.

Whilst from the vocational education’s perspective a comment from a student is reflected; “there is hardly any funding and the way it is we are really way back, we are just surviving”.

The indications are that there is very little support given to TVET sector in PNG and this hinders the sectors progress.

Human capital development Respondents emphasized that the NDOE through the TVET Division should upgrade

the instructor qualifications in various skill areas. One instructor responded, “Upgrade instructor’s qualification from certificate to diploma,

diploma to degree and skills upgrading to meet the technological changes.” Another added, “There is very little professional development happening in the

institutions at present” And the other summed it well, “teachers, who are the major operators of the educational

systems or programs, are expected to effect and impart the needed knowledge to the trainees. This can only be effective if the teachers are given the appropriate education, training and skill development”.

Questions 4. What are the major achievements and best practices adopted by TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy?

[Type text]

301

Results in graph 3 indicate the following; the students do agree that there were some achievements and some best practices adopted by the TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy with percentages of 39% and 43% respectively; Whilst the graph 4 - 6 reflect the staff responses and they are also in agreement with the students and this is also indicated by the percentages shown in the graphs. However though, the indications show that some still think that there is still more to be done concerning best practices.

0

10

20

30

SA A U D SD

20 22

3 5139% 43% 6% 10% 2%

Num

ber o

f stu

dent

s

Level of responses

Graph 3. Level of responses from the students from the three Institutions - BVC, TVC & MTC

41%

34%

14%

7% 3%

Graph 4. Level of agreements from theTalidig Vocational Centre staff

Strongly Agree

Agree

Undecided

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

48%

24%11%17%

0

Graph 5. Level of agreements amongst the Madang Technical College staff

SA A U D SD

[Type text]

302

Question 5 .What are the lessons learnt and future challenges for TVET system in PNG?

55%29%

7% 7% 2%

Graph 6. Level of agreements amongst the staffat Bau vocational Centre

SA

A

U

D

SD

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

SA

A

U

D

SD

Graph 7. Level of agreement amongst the students of the three Institutions - BVC, TVC & MTC

SA

A

U

D

SD

22

7

0

0

0

76%

24%

Graph 8. Level of agreements amongst the staff of the three Institutions - BVC, TVC & MTC

[Type text]

303

From graph 7 it can be learnt that; from the students point of view there is a need to improve quality and offer quality skills programs as reflected with a percentage of 66%; as for the staff it is reflected with the percentage of 76% in graph 8 and making provisions for adequate resources to support the operations of all TVET Institutions as reflected by 24% respectively. From the indications, it can be gathered that quality and standards are two key areas yet to be fully embraced by TVET system in PNG. It was clear that in as far as promoting equity, justice and equal opportunity is concerned within TVET it had a indication of 4% (D – Disagree), and this poses as the future challenge for TVET in PNG. Principal Findings

From the results obtained in the tables of analysis of the data, the following principal findings are presented:

1. Student and staff are in agreement that reorienting TVET System in PNG is the way to go if we are to be competitive with other partners in the global economy;

2. A lack of inadequate curriculum resources and training facilities is one factor affecting the implementation of Technical Vocational Education and Training programs in PNG;

3. Inadequate human resource development affects the implementation of Technical Vocational Education and Training programs in PNG;

4. Inadequate provision of finance and funding contributes to problems in the implementation of Technical Vocational Education and Training programs in PNG;

5. Although Technical Vocational Education and Training programs are being implemented in PNG, more work is still required to be in line with others in the global economy; and

6. Promoting of equity, justice and equal opportunity within the TVET system in PNG. CONCLUSION In this study, an effort was made to examine some of the activities undertaken by the TVET sector of National Department of Education in reorienting TVET system in PNG to the global economy. From the findings of the study the researcher concludes that for any planned change or for change efforts for that matter should not be undertaken for the sake of formality, but should be implemented effectively and successfully. Those efforts which have been undertaken by the TVET sector to reorient the TVET system in PNG in support of the global economy should be accorded with appropriate recognition, which it deserves to be competitive in the globalized economy. It has been proven that for any country to experience advancement in technology lies in the implementation of their educational policies. Therefore, the government should invest more in TVET and vigorously emphasize technology transfer through its educational policies. Global competition also means that we need to learn more each day, as technology places more demands on us. It is imperative therefore that, TVET system must keep up with the rapid pace of change in technology. This research has highlighted some of the issues encountered by the TVET sector in their efforts in reorienting the TVET system in PNG to the global economy. The researcher provides the following recommendations stated below with the intention of facilitating vigorously the efforts undertaken by the TVET sector in reorienting TVET system in PNG to the global economy, and potentially in the PNG setting more broadly.

[Type text]

304

RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations are made based on the findings of the present study;

• Improve quality and offer quality skills training programs to meet the market

requirements and ongoing development needs of the country, • Provide adequate resources to support the operation of all TVET institutions, • Design, develop and implement human resource development programs for TVET

personnel consistent to mission requirement, • Promote equity, justice and equal opportunity in expanding and providing TVET and

other services, and • Maintain and implement participative budgetary system and profit centre concept and

controls to provide financial resources for TVET services.

REFERENCES [1] AusAid.Final Report on PNG TVET needs analysis mission, PNG, Port Moresby, 2011.

[1] Brown, D.Is TVET Retrievable? What Interim Plan for Madang Tech. College, Document

prepared for Madang Technical College Governing Council, Madang, 2011. [3] Chand, R.R. Building TVET in Global Economy: Fiji’s Perspective Paper, Proceedings of

TVET Regional Program, SIVAT, Incheon, Korea, 2011. [3] CPSC.Reorienting TVET System for the Global Economy, Proceedings of TVET Regional

Program, SIVAT, Incheon, Korea, 2011. [1] Forfas.Shaping our Future: the policy advisory and coordination board for industrial

development, science and technology in Ireland, 1996, p.3. [3] Hafni, H. and Ismail, E. Building TVET for the Global Economy: Malaysia’s Polytechnic

Transformation Plan, Proceedings of TVET Regional Program, SIVAT, Incheon, Korea, 2011.

[3] Khanal, G. and Lamichhane, H. R. Nepal’s Perspective on Building TVET for the Global

Economy, Proceedings of TVET Regional Program, SIVAT, Incheon, Korea, 2011.

[4] Khambayat, R. P.Reorienting TVET System for the Global Economy, Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education (CPSC), Manila, Philippines, 2011.

[5] Maclean, R. and Lai, A.The future of technical and vocational – education and training:

Global Challenges and Possibilities, http://jtr.e-contentmanagement.com, 2011. [1] Maino, P. Technical Vocational Education in PNG, Vision 2020 Draft, Goroka, 2009.

[2] Majunda, S. Emerging Challenges in TVET in Colombo Plan Region: CPSC'S response, Journal of Engineering, Science and Management Education, Vol. 1 (2010), pp.10-16.

[2] McLaughlin, D. Through whose eyes do our children see the world now? Traditional

Education in Papua New Guinea, PNG Journal of Education, Vol. 3/2 (1994), pp 64-79. [4] National Department of Education. The State of Education in Papua New Guinea, Port

Moresby, Government Printers, 2000.

http://jtr.e-contentmanagement.com/�

[Type text]

305

[3] Sheikh, A. Reorienting TVET System for the Global Economy: Bangladesh Country Paper, Proceedings of TVET Regional Program, SIVAT, Incheon, Korea, 2011.

[3] Usman, A. & Pascal, G. The role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Human Resources Development: The case of Tumba College of Technology (TCT)-Rwanda, Northern Province, Rwanda, 2000.

[2] Whitehouse, G. Future of Work and the Changing Workplace – Challenges for Human

Resource Profession, IBS Journal of Business and Research, Vol. 2, ( 2011), pp. 60 – 75. [3] Yacuub, N. M. TVET Educators for the New Global Economy: Special Lecture, Proceedings

of TVET Regional Program, SIVAT, Incheon, Korea, 2011. [1] Vaso, G.PNG seriously lacks skilled manpower to fully meet the construction of the multi-

billion kina Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, Post Courier, Friday, Dec. 2, p. 1, 2011.



306

HS72013-HS-059

Gender-based division of labour in PNG agriculture: Some farm-level information about male-female participation in smallholder coffee farming

Tiko. B1 and Halim. A

Department of Agriculture, PNG University of Technology, Lae 411, PNG

Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT

The objectives of the study were to identify the personal and socio-economic characteristics of the smallholder coffee growers and to identify the extent of participation by men and women in different coffee farming activities. Growers were mostly belong to the ages between 26 to 45 years and were married. They attained primary education (grade 4– 8) and had a family size of less than 5 members. Most of the growers have been engaged in coffee farming for more than ten years and farmed coffee on their customary land. The contact growers of Korefegu village has less than one hectare for crops and livestock while the non-contact growers in Banz have about 1 – 2 hectares. In addition, the contact growers had a total of about 95 hectares of coffee farms while the non-contact growers had about 150 hectares. Women tend to involve most in watering of coffee seedlings in the nursery, intercropping of crops with coffee, weeding, picking of coffee cherry during harvesting period, and selling of coffee. Men were mostly involved in coffee farming activities such as preparing of nursery sheds, controlling of shades, drainage, pruning, pulping and transporting. PNG CIC needs to expand its project areas in other coffee growing areas to make services available to remote places also. Coffee processing factories need to be established in central locations of coffee growing areas. Training of women in coffee farming needs to be strengthened.

Key Words: coffee farming, participation, work distribution between men and women

INTRODUCTION After oil palm, coffee is the second important commodity crop in Papua New Guinea and coffee is

grown well both in the lowlands and highlands of Papua New Guinea. Out of the twenty provinces in Papua New Guinea, coffee is grown in 17 provinces which indicates that approximately a quarter of land in PNG is farmed with coffee and employs about 2.5 million people. It also involves more than 300,000 smallholders and generates about 85% of their household income. So it indicated that coffee is a very important cash crop and plays a vital role by contributing to improve the living standards of rural population.

The majority of coffee production is done in Eastern Highlands, Jiwaka and Simbu Provinces. These were the places where coffee was first introduced 1927 when introduced by German administration in the then colony of New Guinea then followed by other provinces in PNG (PNG CIC Publication, 2008). Eastern Highlands and Jiwaka provinces are the two leading provinces in coffee production. Almost 98 percent of rural population in Eastern Highlands and Jiwaka provinces engaged in coffee farming on small scale basis. These two provinces also have large commercial coffee plantations, coffee factories, coffee export companies and agencies. In addition, PNG Coffee Industry Corporation (PNG CIC) head quarter and research station is located in PNG. PNG CIC is a government organization mandated to regulate and control the coffee industry in the country. Because of these facts, the study was conducted in those two provinces.


307

The coffee farming was practiced since 1927 and the activities involved in coffee farming have become a norm by farmers. The activities begin with site selection purposely for coffee farming to selling of coffee. There were certain activities within the process of coffee farming that involves women and some activities that involve men. For example, drying of coffee beans was normally done by women and so people tend to think of this activity as women’s task. The male farmers are mostly involved in activities that required more strength. These activities may include draining, using of chemicals to control weed and pest. However, some activities like harvesting and pulping can be done by both men and women.

One of PNG CIC’s role is to help small holder coffee farmers to grow healthy coffee beans to improve the quality of coffee. However, PNG CIC has not looked closely into the activities of coffee production according to gender-base involvement on labor and farming of coffee. PNG CIC recently launched PNG Women in Coffee at Goroka in Eastern Highlands province. This organization can now be able to address the need of women in coffee farming. In order to help women farmers in coffee production, PNG CIC need to know and understand certain socio economic characteristics of men and women farmers and the extent of participation in coffee farming activities by men and women.

It is very important to have baseline information on socio economic and the type of activities in coffee farming that are done by men and women so that decisions can be made accordingly to boost the effectiveness of coffee production by small holder farmers.

In order to carry out the study, the following objectives were formulated: 1) To find out the personal and socio economic characteristics of the smallholder coffee farmers, and 2) Identify the extent of participation by men and women in different coffee farming activities.

METHODOLOGY AND DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREAS It was a qualitative research where smallholder coffee growers were interviewed. The study was

conducted between two groups of farmers, the contact and the non-contact farmers. The contact group of farmers refers to one of the coffee growers of PNG CIC while the non-contact farmers were farmers that do not have contact with PNG CIC. The non-contact growers were purposively selected for interviewing while the contact growers were randomly selected for interviewing. A total of 100 coffee growers from each location were interviewed. The data were then coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics and participation index (PI).

There were seven common coffee activities used as parameters to assess the participation of men and women. These were the standard activities recommended by PNG CIC. The activities were soil conservation, application of pesticides & weedicides, application of organic & in-organic fertilizers, shading, agronomical practices, harvesting & processing, and marketing.

The non-contact coffee growers were from Banz area in Jiwaka Province. The farmers were purposively selected out from the Munumb and Zilinga tribes of Banz Local Level Government (LLG). These villages were selected because they have large coffee plantations and factories and they have been farming coffee more than 50 years but they do not have any form of contact with PNG CIC.

The contact growers were from Korefegu Coffee Cooperative of Ungai Bena District in Eastern Highlands Province. The Cooperative was formed in early 2011 and was used by PNG CIC as their model group so that PNG CIC can be able to disseminate new technologies and information to help the farmers. The benefits from PNG CIC were only given to registered members of the Cooperative. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Farmers in Banz have an average of 2388 coffee trees in a plot while farmers in Korefegu have 1643 coffee trees in a plot. This means that the non-contact farmers of Banz have more coffee plots than the contact farmers in Korefegu because the non-contact growers were business-minded people and they earned more money from coffee farming.

308

Personal and socio-economic characteristics Table 1: Personal and socio-economic characteristics of coffee growers of both locations.

Non-contact (N=100)

Contact (N=100)

Variables High number of farmers

Most frequent occurring group

High number of farmers

Most frequent occurring group

Age group 30 26-35 years old 32 36-45 years old

Gender 86 Male 84 Male

Marital status 85 Married 89 Married

Education level 43 Primary education 40 Primary education

Cosmopoliteness 35 Once in every year 31 Once in a year/no

Family size 47

Small (0-5 members)

54 Small (0-5 ) members

Farm size of crops and livestock

39 1.1-2.0 hectares 57 Less than 1 hectare

Years of experience in coffee farming

83 Above 10 years 74 Above 10 years

Land ownership 87 Customary land 100 Customary land Coffee farm size Table 2: Farm size of coffee growers according to location.

Location Total coffee farms No. of coffee trees per farm

Tot. coffee area (ha) per farm Mean SD

Banz 167 398, 716 149.5 2388 16.5

Korefegu 153 251, 391 94.26 1643 1.2 Annual income Table 3: Average income earned by farmers of Banz and Korefegu through crops, livestock, other

sources and coffee. Sources of income Banz Korefegu Crops K114, 313.80 K48, 864.33 Livestock K91, 853.87 K40, 370.33 Others K110, 543.70 K29, 890.00

Coffee Cherry K91, 308.50 K1, 633.00

Parchment K127, 970.75 K78, 129.00 Green bean K0.00 K139, 735.17

Non-contact coffee growers of Banz were generating more income than the contact farmers in

Korefegu. The coffee growers in Banz do not sell green bean because there are no green bean processing factories in Banz but coffee farmers of Korefegu Cooperative sell green bean because have the green bean processing factories in their province.

Total average income: K178, 663.56 K112, 873.94

309

Very few farmers in Korefegu have sold coffee cherry because PNG CIC has discouraged the sell of cherry however, this information had not reached the farmers in Banz so they are still selling and buying coffee cherries.

Extent of Participation Table 4: Participation of men and women in different coffee farming growing activities according to

location. Coffee activities Non-contact (Banz) Contact (Korefegu)

Men Women Men Women Nursery Management Men involved in

preparation of nursery Women participated actively on watering

Men used to control the shade

Women mostly do watering

Land clearance and Preparation for planting

Men mostly participated in site selection

Women mostly involved in intercropping

- Men mostly involved in drainage

Women used to do intercropping

Management of young and matured coffee trees

Pruning is mostly done by men

Women used to do weeding

Men normally do pruning

Women mostly involved in weeding

Harvesting and Processing

Picking of ripened cherry coffee

Picking of ripened cherry coffee

Do pulping Picking of ripened cherry coffee

Marketing Transporting of coffee to market

Sell coffee parchment Transporting and selling

Transporting and selling

The above table indicates that the division of labor between men and women in both locations were almost the same. Women do the easy work and men do the hard work both in the gardens and outside.

CONCLUSIONS

i. Maximum coffee growers in both locations were young to middle aged and were married having primary education level. Majority of farmers in both locations had the family sizes of 0 – 5. Almost all the farmers had more than 10 years of experiences on coffee farming. Most of them in both areas had their farm sizes from 0.1 to 2 hectares.

ii. Cherry and parchment were the two types of coffee sold in Banz. Coffee growers in Banz earned more from parchment in 2011 production year while farmers in Korefegu generated more income from the sale of green bean coffee.

iii. The male coffee growers in both locations mostly participated in the preparation of nursery sites, site selection, pruning, picking of cherry, transporting and selling of coffee. While women were mostly involved in intercropping, weed control, picking of cherry, transporting and selling.

RECOMMENDATIONS PNG CIC needs to expand its project areas in other coffee growing areas to make services available to

remote places also. Coffee processing factories need to be established in central locations of coffee growing areas. Training of women in coffee farming needs to be strengthened.

REFERENCES Bourke, M and Harwood, T. (Eds.). 2009. Food and Agriculture in Papua New Guinea. The National

Australian University, Canberra.

310

Bue. V and Halim. A 2009. Women in Work: A village study in Papua New Guinea. Department of

Agriculture, Papua New Guinea University of Papua New Guinea, PNG Unitech Printing Press. CIC (2008) Coffee Report No. 74, Coffee Industry Corporation, Goroka. Coelli, T and Fleming, E 2004. Diversification economies and specialisation efficiencies in a mixed

food and coffee smallholder farming system in Papua New Guinea. Elsevier, Netherlands. Coffee Industry Corporation. Newsletter 2009. Retrieved on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, from:

http://www.coffeecorp.org.pg/coffhist.html.

Hinafa Ati Samuel. Extension Services Provided by Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) to the Smallholder Coffee Growers in PNG. Masters Thesis 2013.

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/list/author_id/2295/�

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/list/author_id/58100/�

http://www.coffeecorp.org.pg/coffhist.html�



311

HS72013-HS-067

Effective Food Trade through National Food Control System in Papua

New Guinea

S. Denano1, R. Nigo2 and D. Jukes3

1,2Department of Applied Sciences, PNG University of Technology

3School of Nutrition and Biosciences, University of Reading Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Well-developed national food control systems are essential for effective food trade because they ensure foods handled and produced are safe and of desired quality.This is important to protect public health andto improve condition of food security while generating economic growth. The international guidelines are available and provide framework for development of national food control systems. This paper provides an evaluation of the national food control system for the state of Papua New Guinea (PNG) against the international guidelines. Five key components of PNG’sfood control system are evaluated: the management of food control, the legal framework, the enforcement services, the state of analytical laboratories and the provision and dissemination of informationon food control, education and training. It is noted that the system exists in fragmented nature with multipleimpediments from its five components, which affect effective food trade. It is further noted that the current integrated-approach to managing food control by multiple competent agencies isnot working well. The paper recommends thatthe inherent impediments be thoroughly addressed. To do this, firstly, the multiple food control agencies need to be restructured and amalgamated to form an independent Food Control Agency. The proposed agency should then take the ownership and leading role in addressing the stated impediments to upgrade the national food control system to fully a functional state.This is the way forward if Papua New Guinea is to see any tangible economic impact from food manufacturing industries in the global food trade, and for its population to benefit from the food industries spinoffs in accordance with PNG’s government’s Vision 2050.

Key Words: food control system, food trade, state of Papua New Guinea, impediments, PNG food

control agency

INTRODUCTION Papua New Guinea (PNG) (Fig.1.) is the largest pacific island nation which lies in the Western

Pacific Ocean and occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. It comprises of about 463, 000 square kilometres of land mass and 3.1 million square kilometres exclusive economic zone (EEZ) [29]. PNG is rich in its natural resources ranging from renewable agricultural, fisheries, and forest commodities to non-renewable minerals, petroleum and liquefied natural gases (LNG). Located in the tropics with majestic rainforests and plains, PNG providesa fertile soil for its 6.8 million people to cultivate, of which almost 87% of the total population still practice subsistence agriculture and artisanal fishing in the rural communities [28].




312

Fig.1 Map of Papua New Guinea PNG’s main economy is based on trading of natural resources mainlyminerals,petroleum and natural

gas, which makes up 60% of its gross domestic product(GDP) followed by Agricultural produce such as coffee, cocoa, coconut, palm oil and tea with 32% GDP. Forestry and Marine products contribute about 8% of the GDP while food manufacturing industry contributes, very little to visibly impact the economy of the country [27].

With the advent of the LNG project, PNG economy is projected to increase with the estimated real GDP at K18.2 billion after the year 2014.The PNG government, therefore plans to use this revenue including those frommining sector to develop its emerging strength inmainly manufacturing, downstream agro-industries, eco-tourism, artisanal and small-scale fishing activities,and service industry in order to empower and improve its citizens’ standard of living [19].

The aforementioned is aconduciveenvironment for the growth offood manufacturing industry and global food trade.However, to do this,PNG must first address the prevailing impediments within its national food control system to ensure the foods it handles and manufactures are safe and of desired quality. This is important because it instils confidence and trust in consumers about the safety and quality of foods they purchase, minimises fraudulent practices and enables better trade. In addition to this,a country with a fully developed national food control systemis able to meet the requirements of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), thus placing itself on a better platform for global food trade to generate economic growth.

Papua New Guinea, regrettably, like many developing countries, does not have a well developed food control system.There are many complex contributing factors to such condition, however, this paper will discuss the inherent loops and impedimentswithin the existingfood control system,their effects on food trade, andsuggestions for improvements.

According to Food And Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO), there are five essential components of food control system(Fig.2),which the government of any sovereign state can control effectively to ensure foods produced locally, those imported and those exported are fit for human consumption [11].

In PNG all of these components exist, but not fully operational due to multiple and interrelated impediments, which are discussed under the heading of each component.

313

Fig. 2. Components of National Food Control System

2 IMPEDIMENTS IN FOOD LEGISLATIONS1

(3) The legislations do not provide clear mandate and authorities to the agencies responsible to enforce the food laws. Most of the legal acts refer matters to the ministers

There are severallegislative impediments associated with national food control system, but four have

been recognised to have direct impact on the food trade as discussed below: (1) Legal framework do not sufficiently cover internationally recognised “farm to fork” preventative

approach to food safety based on sound science and risk analysis, which is also recommended by SPS agreement. Only Food Sanitation Regulation 2007 provides some aspects of Hygiene and Sanitation through the application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety system [2]. These undermine the safety of food products although they maybe traded fairly well in the local markets, are unable to attract international buyers.

(2) Too many fragmented pieces of legislation, some of which are repetitive, some have not been fully developed, still others have not been repealed after being replaced with newer versions.

These conditionscreate confusion and added burden on effective enforcement by the responsible agencies and compliance byfood handlers.The outcome hascompromised food safety and quality status which impingeon trade.

2

(4) Food handlers

concerned to handle, which in practice, is not feasible. Furthermore, the legislations do not provide clear distinction on the scopes of responsibility for respective enforcing authorities.Suchweaknesses in legislations affect effective enforcement hence compromise foods’ safety and trade.

3

1 PNG’S food legislation is generally divided into acts of parliament and their subsequent subsidiary regulations, all of which have the structure of a criminal law where penalties are laid out for those in breach of the legislation. There are approximately 18 legal acts and 12 regulations related to food control in PNG and are classified into: (i) The main food laws; (ii) The commodity-specific primary laws and their respective secondary laws; (iii) Other relevant food laws. 2Members of parliament with portfolios’. 3This include food industry such as food manufacturing companies, restaurants, hotels/motels, food outlets, mess, formal and informal food markets

are not aware of the existence of relevant food laws so most often they do not comply with those provisions on safe handling and processing of food products, compromising foods’ safety.

The summary of PNG Food Legislation is given in Table1.

314

Table1. PNG Food legislation Classification Name of the legislation Main food

legislation Food Sanitation Act 1991 and Food Sanitation Regulation 2007

Commodity-specific legislation

Cocoa Act 1981 and Cocoa Regulation 1982; Copra Act 1953 and Copra Inspection Regulation 1985; Copra Marketing Board Regulation 1985;

CIC (Statutory functions and powers) Act 1991; Baby Feed Supplies (Control) Act 1977 and Baby Feeds Supplies (Control) Regulation 1977; Bread Act 1974 and Bread Regulation 1974; Export (Desiccated Coconut) Regulation 1956, updated November 2006

Other relevant food legislations

Environment Act 2000 and Environment (Water Quality Criteria) Regulation 2002; Environmental Contaminants Act 1978 and Environmental Contaminants (Pesticide) Regulation 1988;

Fisheries Management Act 1998 and Fisheries Management Regulation 2000 update November 2006;

NAQIA Act 1997; NISIT Act 1993; Public Health Act 1973; Slaughtering Act 1964; Plant Disease and Control Act 1953; Animal Disease Control Act 1952; Animal Act 1952 and Animal Disease and Control Regulation 1955;

Poisons and Dangerous Substances Act 1952; Customs Act 1951 update November 2006; and Public Health Regulation 1973.

Source: Pacific Island Legal Institute 3 IMPEDIMENTS INFOOD CONTROL MANAGEMENT4

4Food control management is an on-going management process of planning, organising, monitoring, co-ordinating and communicating, in an integrated way, broad range of risk-based decisions and actions by any country to ensure foods they produce are safe and of good quality for both domestic and international consumers WHO/FAO (2006).

There are several government agencies, which manage various aspects of food control system along

the entire food supply chain, starting from the farm to the meal table. The main hurdles that impinge on their functions arelack of co-ordination, lack of resources and dysfunctional issues with the administration, the details of which are classified into four clauses and are discussed as follows:

(1) Multiple government agencies whose responsibilities sometimes overlap, resulting in duplication

and wastage of resources and/or negligence of performance because some areas are overlooked. These problems are further made complex by poor communication hindering collaboration and free flow of informationbetween agencies.

(2) Dysfunctional governing bodies and or expiry of membership of various committee members within the responsible agencies leading to impairment in executing their functions.

(3) Leadership tussle within existing structures and frequent reshuffling and turnover of manpower greatly impinges on the officers’ ability to perform their duties to their full potentials.

(4) Lack of or scarcities of resources to effectively perform functions of named agencies. The serious impacts are weaknesses in surveillance and monitoring of foods’ traded both locally and on

international market, increasingthe chances of entry of emerging and chronic food safety hazards. The most commonfood control agencies in Papua New Guinea and their main areas of responsibility

are summarized in Table 2.

315

Table 2. Main responsibilities of Food Control Agencies Agency Main Responsibilities National Institute of

Standard and Industrial Technology (NISIT)

Development of standards, calibration, accreditation of analytical laboratories, audit and certification of food industries

Department of Health (DoH)

Inspection and analysis of locally produced and handled foods, imported processed foods, food facilities, main food legislation

National Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA)

Quarantine and inspection of exotic materials (animal and plant and their products), plant stock and breeding, veterinary services, standards on veterinary drugs and pesticide residues. NAQIA collaborates with PNG Customs services and DoH to render this service.Responsible for Trade Barriers to Trade (TBT) and SPS agreements in PNG.

National Fisheries Authority (NFA)

Fish and fish products, audit and certification of processing facilities, and fishing vessels. For importation of fishery products, NAQIA and DoH quarantine officers carry out port of entry checks and analysis.

Other Government Agencies

Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC), Cocoa Board and Copra Marketing Board are bodies which handle the inspections and analysis of coffee and cocoa beans and copra respectively in collaboration with NAQIA before export. All named boards operate under DAL.

Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC)

Surveillance and monitoring of chemical and biological contaminants in environment and water bodies, Genetically modified (GM) products and GM organisms (Zoonoses).

Independent Customer and Consumer Competition Commission (ICCC )

Labelling information, weights and measurements in collaboration with NISIT, food inspections on shelves in collaboration with DoH, weights and measurement.

4 IMPEDIMENTS INFOOD LABORATORIES Although, food laboratories5

(2) Laboratories are not accredited so as to give credibility and validity to research outcomes and analytical tests results.For example, the“National Analytical and Testing Services Laboratory

appear to be functioning well, there are drawbacks which impede on their functions and hence effective food control and trade in the country.The impediments are discussed in three-fold as follows:

(1) Both the commercial and the research laboratories are not well-equipped in terms of adequate

infrastructure, equipment, facilities, and reference materials toanalyse potential food safety hazards, both chronic and emerging. Furthermore, the commercial laboratories are unable to meet the ever stringent analytical demands of export foods, especially to developed countries.

The classic case is tuna export to European Union (EU) member countries where the EU standard requires histamine, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxin and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) tests [14]. The negative effects are that PNG cannot export tuna to EU member countries.And if it does, the individual fishing companies areforced to pay hefty sums of money to have their products analysed and certified in neighbouring developed countries before export.

5Food laboratories can be classified into three general groups: (1) The commercial analytical laboratories - those

officially accredited to serve the purpose of inspection, analysis and certification; (2) Reference/Research laboratories - those accredited for research purposes; and (3) Research laboratories located within higher institutions –mainly used for research by academics and students.

316

(NATSL)”, whichlost its accreditation status in 2009 had onlybeen renewed its statusin 2012 by PNG Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (PNGLAS).

(3) Laboratories work in isolation making the possibility of collaboration and sharing of available resources difficult.

(4) Lack of food laboratory facilities.The Department of Health, which is the main food control agency, mandated by Food Sanitation Act 1991 to have a food laboratory for the purpose of food analysis, does not have any to date.

5 IMPEDIMENTS INFOOD INSPECTION SERVICES Food inspections are carried out by respective health inspectors and quarantine officers for each

government agency in compliance with the relevant food legislations. The summary of inspection services is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig.3. Summary of Food Inspection activities

Food Inspection servicesare either centrally co-ordinated or decentralised to provincial authorities,

and shared among multiple government agencies. The negative impacts on effective food control are: (1) Poor co-ordination and communication, duplications and/or overlapping in carrying out

inspection duties, mainly due to complex structure and number of agencies. (2) The provinces are geographically scattered, this hindersresource and manpower sharing and

distributionto effectively carry out inspection services. (3) Scarcity of resources including manpower makes inspection work throughout the country

difficult. (4) Lack of good bio-security system to properly monitor entry and exit of foodsalthough NAQIA

has a disease surveillance monitoring program. 6 FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY INFORMATION, EDUCATION, TRAINING AND

COMMUNICATION (IEC) This component of food control system remains a challenge for all agencies to be able to provide up-

to-date information, education and training based on sound science and risk assessment to all stakeholders from “farm to fork”. In addition to this, to keep them well informed about the current and future trends of existing and emerging food threats and scares. The reasons are manifold and interrelated and are discussed in the following clauses:

317

(1) Lack of communication and co-ordination between various food control agencies in order to put

together existing information and to disseminate to stakeholders. (2) Very little collaboration exists between educational institutions and food control agencies to

combine knowledge and information, to allow for discussion towards offering specific skill trainings and education, to develop the competencies of stakeholders, key food control personnel, and enforcement officers, future potential employees of food control systems and to educate public at large.

(3) Lack of funding, facilities, and laboratories to carry out proper research, compile data, and make them available.

(4) No“rapid alert” system to detect and promptly inform stakeholders about emerging threats, scares and food-borne disease outbreaks, and to keep them abreast of on-going issues. NAQIA’s website has a “disease alert” site but needs to be developed and publicised.

(5) Underdeveloped resource centres and websites of various food control agencies. 7 PROBING A WAY FORWARD The assessment of PNG national food control system exposes multiple impediments across all of its

five components, which contribute to its current “undeveloped” status. These obstacles are interrelated and complex and thus cannot be addressed single-handedly. They require an integrated holistic approach with proper co-ordination, beginning with priority areas. With these in mind, suggestions for improvements are generated under two probing questions: (i) Whatcan be done within PNG to improve the status of its national food control system? (ii) Where can PNG out-source assistance to improve the status of its national food control system?

7.1 What can be done within PNG to improve status of its national food control system? 7.1.1 Establishment of PNG Food Control Agency The assessment shows that PNG food control system does exist, but in fragmented pieces under the

management of multiple food control agencies. Theurgent sticking pointtherefore is to re-arrange the management and administration so that at least one body handles it.Thus, there is a need for establishment of an independent and statutory food control agency. This agencywill not operate as a single agency who is solely responsible for public health and safety, but as part of an “integrated system”6where responsibility for policy, risk assessment management, developments of standards and regulationswill be handled by this authority at a national level. However, it will utilise the services of mainstream departments7

6 Integrated system is where responsibility for policy, risk assessment management, development of standards and regulations and consolidating functions are consolidated at a national level, while responsibilities for food inspection and enforcement, education and training remains with existing agencies at national, regional and local levels (FAO/WHO 2003). 7 Main stream departments refer to the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and the Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry (NISIT), Department of Environment and Conservation.

including other existing food control agencies and various stakeholders tocarry out other essential activities such as monitoring and enforcement; audit and certification; and education and training, both at national, provincial and at local levels.To this end, it is suggested to possibly merge the current active agencies namely, NAQIA, DoH (Food safety and quarantine section), NISIT (Technical standards’ division) and DAL (Food Safety division) to form the proposed PNG Food Control Agency. This relationship is depicted by the structure below.

The amalgamation is probably the best option as it wouldattractseparate and full funding from the government; encourage full commitment; enable effective and transparent sharing of available resources; reduce multiple agency and dysfunctional problems including leadership tussles, and stabilise human resource turnover; improve communication; eliminate gaps and duplication of work, and ultimately, it should provide a better control of all essential activities of PNG national food control system.

318

Fig.4. Structural Relationship of Food Safety Authority

Once set-up, the new food control agency should then serve as a centre to address impediments

contributed by other components of the national food control system, which have been identified including suggestions for improvements made in the texts to follow.

According to the report of the twelfth (12th) session of FAO/WHO Co-ordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific (CCNSWP) [8], PNG food control system wasoperating under the proposed “integrated system”. However, in reality, there is yet to be an establishment of an independent agency.

The proposal of establishing an independent food control agency is similar to that which exists in Australia namely; Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), although Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), the organisation which is similar to NAQIA,operates independently, but in close collaboration with FSANZ. The FSANZ is an independent bi-national government agency, which assumes the overall function of food control in Australia, only monitoring and inspections are left to the individual territorial and state health inspectors including AQIS. The FSANZ also monitors food safety incidents and advises AQIS on monitoring and testing of imported foods. Furthermore, it carries out risk assessment and advises territorial/state regulators and enforcement officers. This agency is formed by merging of Health, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forest Ministries of the federal government of Australia and the Food Safety Ministry of the government of New Zealand [13]. In NZ however, the full responsibility of food control rests on New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) which is formed by amalgamation of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF).

7.1.2 Need to Upgradelegal framework and EstablishFood Safety Policy Food legislationis most important component of any national food control system because it lays out

the framework upon which the food control system is built. The multiple weaknessexposedrequirea thorough review of all pieces of legislations and combining them into fewer legislations that are manageable, and having in their frameworks principles of “farm to fork” approach to food safety and risk analysis. In addition to this, these legislations should: (1) Provide for the adoption and implementation of TBT and SPS agreements for the purpose of

international trade.

Department of Trade and Industry

Technical standards division

Department of Agriculture and

Livestock

Provincial Quarantine Office

Food Safety Authority

Quarantine and

Inspection

National Quarantine

Officers

Provincial Quarantine Officers

Health and Safety

National Health and Safety Officers

Provincial Health and Safety Officers

Department of Health

Provincial Health Authorities

319

(2) Give clear mandate and authority to the enforcement teams to enforce the laws. (3) Layout proper litigation process including provisions for defence of “due diligence” for those

who violate these laws. (4) Provide for the creation of the proposed new agency. For the purpose of systematic implementation of all essential activities pertaining to food control

system there is a need to establish good food safety policy and its implementation strategies. These documents should incorporate all elements of risk analysis and principles of Hazards Analysis Critical control Points (HACCP), Good Manufacturing and Hygiene Practices (GMP/ GHP) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) from farm to fork. They should also provide for effective communication and co-operation between stakeholders and contributionby all stakeholders along the entire food supply chain.

7.1.3 Need to Improve Conditions of Food laboratories Papua New Guinea food laboratories urgently need upgrading to meet pressing export requirements

and on-going analytical and research demands.It is thereforethe third important area to address. Several possible resolutions are generated as follows:

(1) Identify (by SWOT8

(4) Identify and keep a separate list of reputable research/reference laboratories and commercial laboratories so that recommendations can be easily made to stakeholders

analysis) needs of both commercial and research laboratories, and assist them acquire necessary resources, technical expertise and reference materials.

(2) Assist the laboratories to maintain their accreditation status. (3) Carry out inventories, create pool of resources and establish network between laboratories to

access these resources.

9

(5) The laboratories allocated for analysis and research work on “processed foods whenever they enquire.

10” should be kept separate from those used for “exotic materials11

(2) Upgrade bio-security system based on TBTand SPSagreements, andOIE

” to minimise cross-contamination of results. (6) Food laboratories should be located in easily accessible areas.

7.1.4 Improve Co-ordination of Monitoring and Enforcement Services, Upgrade Bio-security

System, and EstablishDatabase for Records The option of establishing a new agency should greatly improve resource management, mobilisation

and communication so that co-ordination of inspection and quarantine services could improve to sufficiently cover all border posts, entry and exit points including all domesticallytraded foods.In addition to this, the following points should be considered toenhance adequatefood control system: (1) Establish a database and categorise foods and food premises according to their levels of risk

(high, medium, low) in order to prioritise and maintain on-going surveillance on high risk foods and food premises;

12

8 SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunity and Threats. 9Growers, producers, distributors, retailers, consumers, educational institutions, competent agencies. 10Processed foods refer to plant and animal products that have been subjected to some form of processing such as canned products, pasteurized, cooked/smoked, fermented and frozen/chilled products. 11 Exotic materials refer to plants, animals and their products such as raw meat, raw fruits and vegetables, milk and eggs including zoonoses. 12 Office International des Epizooties

requirements to protect both national and international consumers fromexisting and immerging food hazards, threats and scares, bioterrorism and fraudulenttrading practices while encouraging fairtrade.

(3) Establish electronic database to hold inspection and quarantine records including record of food-borne outbreaks inorder to monitor magnitude and trends of food safety threats and impacts.

320

(4) Establish plans and procedures to manage food emergencies and outbreaks of food-borne diseases including procedures for handling of consumer complaints.

(5) Develop standards and specifications including profiles/monographs for existing and emerging potential food safety hazards including genetically modified foods and organismsand zoonoses13

The report of the eleventh (11th) session of FAO/WHO Co-ordinating Committee for North America and South West Pacific (CCNASWP) [7]outlined several measures to assist the Pacific Island countries (PICs) including PNG improve their Food Control Systems. All measures are relevant and if fully implemented would greatly improve PNG’s Food Control System. The summary of the measures are in Table 3.

In the 12th session of CCNASWP held inPapua New Guinea in September, 2012[8], progressive reports were given on some measures mentioned in Table 3, the summary of which is in Table 4.

. (7) Developstandards and proceduresin accordance with food safety policy for quarantine and

inspectionsincluding sampling and analyses of all foods and their premises.

7.1.5 Establish Networks and Create Information Pools The establishment of proposed a new agency should improve collation, compilation and

dissemination of information, including education and training as these activities would be centrally co-ordinated. The following are additional options to improve Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities: (1) Set-up a resource centre, establish a website and create a pool of information for all stakeholders

to access. This arrangement is similar to that withFSANZ and NZFSA. (2) Strengthen collaboration with related agencies and mainstream departments including non-

government organisations to educate stakeholders on Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and other relevant training pertaining to safe handling of foods.

(3) Maintain on-going relationships with educational institutions to offer specific skill trainings and education to build the competencies of stakeholders, key food control personnel, enforcement officers, future potential employees of food industries and to educate public at large.

(4) Create awareness on existing and new standards and technical regulations using media and invite stakeholders to access them. In addition to this, collaborate with relevant institutions and provide advice and publish guidelines to assist food industries, interpret and comply with legislations and mandatory standards. Similar arrangement exists in FSANZ and NZFSA.

(5) Set-up rapid alert system to alertand to keep the stakeholders abreast of emerging threats and food scares including food-borne disease out-breaks.

(6) Establish networks with academic institutions to draw on expertise and advice, assistance in research and to liaise with them in emergencies situations such as disease outbreaks or emerging threats. Similar arrangement exists with NZFSA which is called “NZFSA Academy” [16].

7.2 Where can PNG out-source assistance? There are several internationally recognised organisations which can be sought for assistance, some

or all of which have already been engagedin a number of activities assisting PNG improve its national food control system. They include Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Health Organisation (FAO/WHO),the European Union Commission (EUC), the Asia Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC) andFood Standard Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).

7.2.1 FAO/WHO

13The introduction and release of genetically modified organisms including their products, and those invasive alien species and their genotypes.

321

Table 3. Summary of CCNASWP Measures Number of

Measures

Measures

1 The Pacific Food Safety and Quality Legislation Expert (PFSQLE) group have begun: (a)working towards linking the competent authorities of countries which export to Pacific Island countries (PICs) with their counterparts in PICs to enable better co-ordination and communication of issues relating to food safety; and (b) organising with laboratories in and around the region to support PICs with food analyses.

2 The FAO/WHO, through PFSQLE group, would assist and establish a list of scientists and technologists in and around the region to provide assistance.

3 The regional issues which require scientific research would use the University of South Pacific (USP) with which,FAO has an existing contract.

4 New Zealand had volunteered to handle the problem on harmonisation of “date marking” on food labels in the region.

5 The Quad countries would assist PICs in enhancing their food control systems as well as in strengthening the Codex contact points and National Codex Committees.

Source: Report of the Eleventh Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific

Table 4.Summary on the progress of CCNASWP measures Number

of Measures Measures

1 New Zealand, which worked on the issue of harmonising “date marking” on food labels in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) had presented a discussion paper highlighting main problemsto the 41th session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL), held in Canada in May 2013 [8]. The outcome was that the Committeehad accepted the paper and will review the date marking provisions in the Codex General Standard for labelling of pre-packaged foods (Codex Stan 1-1985), in particular the “definitions in section 2 and textin section 4.7 of the standard.

2 Quad countries have progressed in developing and implementing risk-based management strategies for the reduction of food risks in some Pacific Island countries and they continue to collect data from research studies and surveillance and monitoring of hazards in food to rank food safety priorities, determine appropriate control measures and to strengthen PICs laboratory network.

Source: Report of the Twelfth Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North Americaand the South West Pacific

7.2.2 EUC, APEC, FSANZ and NZSFA Assistance There areon-going trade-related assistance provided by the EU Commission to the Department of

Trade and Industry including its current task to review and upgrade PNG food legislations to incorporate “farm to fork” preventative approach to food safety based on science and risk analysis [2]. On the other hand, FSANZ has been at the forefront for a development of effective food control system in Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) countries through APEC forum.

322

8 CONCLUSION PNG food control system needs upgrading to meet standards required to facilitate effective food trade.The outcome of the review of five components of the PNG food control system indicates the most urgent need to be upgrading and equipping of commercial laboratories to accreditation status for analyses of export commodities. Equally urgent is the laying out of a proper legal framework to cater for a comprehensive and preventative food control system that controls all potential hazards from “farm to fork”. However, most probably the overarching urgent need is a central co-ordinating body, an independent food control agency to oversee the entire functions of PNG’s food control system.

In the round table discussion report of the“National Working Group(NWG) of the Sub-Committee on Import and Export Monitoring (SCIEM)”, which met in Port Moresby in 2010, the problems highlighted in this paper were discussed. From this, one suggestion made was to establish a food control agency. This paper, thus, is in support of this suggestion. The meeting also recommended the establishment of a National Food Advisory Committee (NFAC) to oversee the progress of the recommendations generated from the round table discussion. This paper therefore suggests if thisNFAC Committeecould address the establishment of a new food control agency as a matter of urgency.

REFERENCE

1. Alomirah H. F, Al-Zenki S.F., Sawaja W. N., Jabsheh F., Husain A. D., Al-Mazeedi H. M., Al-

Kandari D., Jukes D (2010). Assessment of the food control system in the state of Kuwait. Food Control, (21), p.496-504.

2. Anandavally (2011). Trade-related Technical Assistance Project in Papua New Guinea – Food Law Specialist. First Mission Report.FRAMEWORK CONTRACT EUROPEANAID/127054/C/SER/multi Lot 10, European Commission, Brussels

3. AUSAID (2007). PNG-Australia Development Co-orperation Strategy 2006-2010. 2002. [On-line] Available from: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/png_strategy.pdf [Accessed 19th July, 2011]

4. AUSAID (2009). About Papua New Guinea. October, 2009. [On-line] Available from: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/country/png/png_intro.cfm [Accessed: 07th July, 2011]

5. CIA (2011). Australia-Oceania: The World Fact Book. Central Intelligence Agency. January, 2011. [On-line] Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gq.html [Accessed: 08th September, 2011].

6. CIC (2011). Quality Control and Export.Industry Regulation and Compliance. [On-line] Available from: http://www.coffeecorp.org.pg/indreg.html [Accessed 17th July, 2011]

7. Codex Committee for North America and South West Pacific. Report of the Eleventh Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and South West Pacific. [On-line] Available from: ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/meetings/CCNASWP/CCNASWP11 [Accessed 20th July, 2011]

8. Codex Committee for North America and South West Pacific. Report of the Twelfth Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and South West Pacific. [On-line] Available from http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/?sortingDate=012013 [Accessed 11th September, 2013]

9. FAO (2007). Food safety risk analysis :A guide for national food safety authorities manual. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 87.Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Rome. [On-line] Available from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/a0822e/a0822e00.htm [Accessed 10th July, 2011]

10. FAO (2009). Food Import and export inspection and certification systems 4th ed. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome.[On-line] Available from: pftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/Publications/Booklets/Inspection/CCFICS_2009_EN.pdf [Accessed 7th July, 2011].

11. FAO/WHO (2006). Strengthening national food control systems: Guidelines to assess capacity need. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 76.Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Rome.

323

12. FAO/WHO (2008). Risk-based food inspection manual.FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 89.Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Rome. [On-line] Available from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/i0096e/i0096e00.htm [Accessed 10th July, 2011]

13. FSANZ (2011). About FSANZ. [On-line] Available from: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/scienceandeducation/aboutfsanz/ [Accessed 14th July, 2011]

14. FVO, EC (2008). Evaluate the Control System in Place Governing the Production of Fishery Products Intended for Export to the European Union (Follow-up), DG (SANCO)/2008 -7646 – MR FINAL.Brussels:Belgium

15. Kavanamur R. (2007). Food Control System in Papua New Guinea. STDF 173 – Strengthening capacity to assess the capacity building needs of food control systems and develop capacity building plans in developing APEC member Economies. Beijing, 19-23 November 2007. China, APEC Food Safety Corporation Forum.

16. NZFSA, (2007). Meeting Stakeholders needs. July, 2007. [On-line] Available from: http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/profile-july2007.pdf [Accessed 27thJuly, 2011].

17. Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (2012). Member Country – Papua New Guinea.[ On-line] Available from: http://www.forumsec.org/pages.cfm/about-us/member-countries/ [Accessed: 27th November, 2012]

18. Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute (2011). Papua New Guinea Consolidated Legislation. [On-line] Available from: http://www.paclii.org/pg/legis/consol_act/ [Accessed 12th July, 2011]

19. Papua New Guinea Vision 2050 (2012). Papua New Guinea Vision 2050. [On-line] Available from: http://www.pngvision2050.gov.pg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=53 [Accessed 30th November, 2012]

20. Pauna I. (2005). Papua New Guinea. Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures.Tokyo, 4-11 December, 2002. Japan, Asian Productivity Organisation.

21. PNG Investment Promotion Authority (2011). Economic Profile. 2011. [On-line] Available from: (http://www.ipa.gov.pg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60&Itemid=57 [Accessed 18th July, 2011]

22. Saweri W. (2001). The rocky road from roots to rice: a review of food and nutrition situation in Papua New Guinea. PNG Medical Journal Sept-Dec,44 (3-4), p.151-163.

23. Schultz T.J (2004). Globalisation, urbanisation, and nutrition transition in a developing island country: a case study in Fiji, In: Globalisation of food systems in developing countries: impact on food security and nutrition. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 83.Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Rome.

24. Schulz D. (2005). Food Trade and Nutrition Security in the Pacific: Navigating the Winds of Change, In: FAO Corporate Documentary Repository: Report of the Sixth Meeting of FAO South West Pacific Ministers for Agriculture. FAO, Rome. [On-line] Available from:http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/af188e/af188e04.htm [ Accessed 23rd July, 2011]

25. Sea Around Us Project (2012). EEZ Waters of Papua New Guinea. [On-line] Available from:http://www.seaaroundus.org/eez/598.aspx[Accessed: 27th November, 2012]

26. Sugden F.J (1998). Papua New Guinea: Coping with shocks and achieving broad-based economic development. [On-line] Australia Agency for International Development, Canberra. ] Available from: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/country/png/png_intro.cfm [Accessed: 07th July, 2011]

27. US Department of State (2012). Papua New Guinea. Bureau of East Asia and Pacific. 2012. [On-line] Available from: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2797.htm [Accessed: 04th December, 2012]

28. WHO (2010). Demographics. Papua New Guinea. 2010. [On-line] Available from: http://www.wpro.who.int/countries/png/2010/PNG.htm [Accessed: 15th July, 2011]

29. World Bank (2007). Rural development and Agriculture in Papua New Guinea.World Development Indicators 2006 and 2007. 2007. [On-line] Available from: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/country/png/png_intro.cfm [Accessed: 07th July, 2011]



324

HS72013-HS-074

Human resource development, gender, youth and people empowerment: Recommended communication strategies for achieving positive outcome in

politics for women in Papua New Guinea

Mary Aisi

Department of Communication & Development Studies Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae.

Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT The aim of the study in 2011 was to identify communication strategies relevant to effecting social,

economic and political change, and to develop a framework to help women politicians in PNG plan more effective political campaigns. The focus of this study was PNG women because of the compelling need to increase their representation and participation in the national parliament and the parliamentary decision-making processes. Data for the study was collected through a survey questionnaire and case studies, and the data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study provided the basis for a conceptual framework which emphasizes the significance of strategic communications planning in political campaign to achieve set political outcomes. This study also contributes significantly to politics in PNG; in providing a platform for women politicians to have a level playing field with their male counterparts.

Keywords: communication strategies, political campaign communication, strategic communications planning, set political outcomes.

1. INTRODUCTION With only three female Members of Parliament (MP) out 109 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the

current parliament, women remain an insignificant voice in the Parliamentary decision-making processes. Of the three women MPs only one is a member of the cabinet; the executive arm that is responsible of making decisions on important policy matters which facilitate development activities in PNG. Sadly, women which represent half of PNG’s human resources are excluded from the important policy and decision-making processes because women are under represented in parliament. It also puts the legitimacy of any government in doubt if the two halves of the society are not equally represented in the national parliament. Right of women in PNG to full development of their potentials and self-expression and self-determination is denied when women are not represented equally or fairly in PNG’s national parliament. According to Dame Carol if more women are elected into parliament, it will definitely change the parliamentary agenda to give more prominence to people issues such as the social issues affecting our society today [1].

Under representation of women in the national parliament would have certain consequences if decisions concerning social, political and economic development of PNG do not have the women’s voice. These may include laws passed in parliament concerning development initiatives not clearly defining the roles of men and women in implementing the laws. Oliver [2] reported that Nahau Rooney, the first woman minister in 1977 and 1978 cabinet insisted then that women must be involved in decision making at the political level if PNG is to see any significant social and economic development. This observation was made in relation to the decline in expenditure on women’s projects when the parliament handed down its National Public Expenditure Plan (Budget) for 1979 and 1982. According to the report [2], Rooney and other women political activists believed that the decline in the total budget allocation to the women’s project was because women were not represented in the cabinet where budgets are designed and handed down. Women activists such as Rooney, Abaijah, and others saw the under representation of women in


325

parliament as a real impediment to the rights of women as equal partners with men in the socio-economic development activities in PNG [2].

Tamo Diro contested the 1987 election on the platform that women have a special political agenda; and that is, decisions made at the national level affecting the lives of women should have input from the women [2]. However, fair representation of women in the national parliament remains the same issue in the current parliamentary composition with only one woman MP, and with no voice in the cabinet after the recent change of the government of which Dame Carol Kidu was a minister and women’s voice in the cabinet. Having no women in the cabinet and only one woman MP for two parliamentary terms is definitely a setback not only for the women in PNG, but also it will mean that PNG being a signatory to ‘Convention of Elimination of Discrimination” (CEDAW) would have failed to give its citizens equal right and equal say to its socio-economic benefits.

2. THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES Communication Strategies as defined by Dicks [3]; Corcoran [4]; Wyatt [5]; Spencer & Mountford

[6], is a conceptual framework which includes: Communication Strategies; Communication Strategy Models and Theories; Communication Plan; and Communication Outcomes. Each concept has a significant role to play in achieving communication goals of organizations, groups, and individuals as illustrated in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: The Communication Strategies Framework

Communication Strategies are plans or methods that can be used or taught to facilitate

communication proficiency in achieving positive communication outcomes. Literature on strategic communications planning [7] revealed that the purpose of any strategic communications plan is to integrate all the organization’s programs, public education and advocacy efforts to be more proactive and strategic, rather than consistently reacting to the existing environment. Accordingly, the significance of a strategic plan is to help an organization deploy resources more effectively and strategically by giving emphasis to the organization’s combined efforts and shared opportunities in the various programs and work areas [7].

The significance of a good communication strategy in any organization is that it gets all stakeholders to work together towards common goal, and to effectively implement its communication strategy requires the support of not only all stakeholders but other organizations whose support is also required to achieve this. A communication strategy also identifies and manages issues and stakeholders to ensure that organizational and communication goals are aligned to societal and stakeholder values and norms; and that it builds relationships through communication with those the organization, or the group, or the individual depends on to meet its economic and socio-political goals.

Communication Outcome

Communication Plan

Communication Models and Theories

Communication Strategies

326

In this fast paced world, communication strategies are important to help organizations and individuals disseminate information in a structured and controlled manner. Hence, an ideal strategy details the structure of information flow, the message to convey, the correct audience to convey the message to, potential vehicles to carry the message (e.g., radio, television, posters, public speeches, etc.), resources such as funding required to fulfill and feedback mechanisms to learn from the whole exercise. These strategies form the blueprint to build a campaign to inform, as well as to be informed by others.

According to Alinsky [8], communication is essential for effective leadership. However, he says that it is often something that is taken for granted and not given the attention it deserves by those in leadership positions. An organization’s success usually is determined by the effectiveness of its communication strategies. Accordingly, the significance of good communication strategies in an organization is such that one can lack any of the qualities of an organizer – with one exception – and still be effective and successful. That exception is the art of communication. It does not matter what you know about anything if you cannot communicate to your people. Communication with others takes place when they understand what you’re trying to get across to them. If they don’t understand, then you are not communicating regardless of your words, pictures or anything else. People only understand things in terms of their experience, which means that you must get within their experience. In fact, communication underpins effective leadership. A strong leader is a person who is a strong communicator, “The man who can think but does not know how to express what he thinks is at the same level as he who cannot think” [9]. Leaders need to be conscious of how and what they communicate to others in word and conduct. There has been considerable research in effective communication in relation to it being a key factor in managerial and organizational success [10]; [11]. Specific attention is given to where employees collaborate, interact, and engage with others in ways which help them understand the importance and meaning of the engagement and achieve certain goals [12]; [13] . Accordingly, the notion of effectiveness communication is not merely confined with an interactive collaboration between employees, but that it has an impact on organizational issues. For instance, Clampitt and Downs [14] demonstrate a close link between effective communication and productivity. Whereas Pettit et al. [15] examine how effective organizational communication relates to job performance and job satisfaction. Moreover, an empirical study shows that employees’ commitment to the organization correlates positively with organizational clarity and is maintained even when changes are occurring in the organization [16]. As such, the communication strategy can be perceived as a mechanism to clarify the facts to various stakeholders of what is going to change, why, and what benefits they can expect to derive from the change (see Table 1).

Table 1: Questions for Formulating and Implementing Communication Strategies for Change

Who Who is to receive the information – which constituencies (groups) are to be targeted and which ones are the most essential to enlist for this communication effort for change. Who should communicate with whom – the specific individuals at both ends who will deliver and receive the messages, so the message has the biggest and most effective impact, so real people are talking to real people about real issues for change.

What What they are to be told – specifically, what information do the targeted audience (stakeholders) need to be able to help with the communication effort for change. What are the key messages they need to understand. What the stakeholders can expect to derive from the communication for change program – what benefits will be distributed among the so-called “public”.

When When the messages should go to the various constituencies – timing the release of the information to get the most effect (for example, conditioning a market of employees in advance for a change about to take place).

Why The desired outcomes. Why the communication effort is important to the stakeholders – what is in it for them or how they will be affected by it why the stakeholders prefer to be communicated through a particular media than another.

327

Source: Adapted from Davidow [18]. Significantly, good communications focus on effects, are clear, specific, measurable, and time bound.

Simmons [17] pointed out that communication objectives give details about what the communication task is aiming for. They describe the intended impact on the audience, giving an indication of the end result. Simmons [17] specifically highlighted the significance of effect objectives because of their emphasis on what can be accomplished rather than what is needed to be accomplished.

Models, derived from a simplified version of theory are important to guide the development communication strategies. Both theories and models are ‘useful in planning, implementing and evaluating interventions’ [19]. Theories play a significant role in the field of health promotion because of their use in explaining influences on health alongside the ability to suggest ways where individual change could be achieved [20]. Therefore, effective communication strategies should be grounded in a sound theory; a theory that defines approaches to achieve communication goals [21]. Theories can be used to design and plan effective communication strategies and to generate decisions and solutions, ensuring that all variables are taken into consideration [22].

The role of ‘communication models and theories’ in any communication task is to define the communication strategies which are significant in achieving the communication need and the communication purpose. Communication need is the requirement for communicating, and the communication purpose is the intention to communicate. Communication models and theories then define the communication strategies to be employed to achieve these communication goals; the communication need and the communication purpose. For instance, if the communication need is asking for a response from the audience; then achieving this becomes the purpose of the communication and the approach used in achieving this defines the communication strategies employed to accomplish that outcome.

Thus, theories do not specifically identify an intervention to follow; instead they present a series of ideas for a theory-led intervention to adopt. Basically, the purpose of theory is to enable the successful exchange of information between the communicator and the target audience. The success of this process usually depends on a number of variables. They include, for example, the relationship between the communicator and audience, the message itself, how the message is sent and the audiences’ beliefs, values, and attitudes. Theory in communication can therefore, help predict and explain behaviours, assist in the targeting of information and predict the effect that information will have [4]. Communication planning [23] is the art and science of reaching target audiences using marketing communication channels such as advertising, public relations, experiences or direct mail model. It is concerned with deciding who the message is to target, when to deliver the message, with what message and how to deliver it. Accordingly, a communication plan serves as a guide to the communication and sponsorship efforts throughout the duration of the project as illustrated in Appendix 1. It is a living and working document and is updated periodically as audience needs change [24]. O’Malley [24] pointed out that a communication plan explains how to convey the right message, from the right communicator, to the right audience, through the right channel, at the right time. It addresses the six basic elements of communications: communicator, message, communication channel, feedback mechanism, receiver/audience, and time frame [3].

Moreover, a communication plan is seen as the vehicle that converts strategic intent into execution [24]. It is a detailed, written document spelling out the communication objectives that are derived from (what you want to accomplish with your association communications), and aligned with, communication goals that have been identified in the communication strategy phase. The communication plan tells the story of how specific communication goals will be put into action (ways in which the communication objectives can be accomplished). It translates broad communication goals into specific, measurable objectives; stakeholders into target audiences; and communication themes into messages tailored for these target audiences [25]. At the core of the communication plan is also the implementation strategy; a clear articulation of the kind and combination of media, tactics and tools to be used in getting the right messages to the right audiences with the right effects [26].

Wyatt’s [5] investigation into communication function as strategic management tool to achieving organizational communication goals found that an organization’s communications planning and

328

programming are critical to its success, and that there is a definite correlation between high-performing organizations and strong communications practices. The study also highlighted that a well-defined strategy can be the difference between success and failure, and employee communications is no different. Hence, the assumption that a communications strategy is critical in today’s fast-paced business environment, with constant new product introductions, shortened production cycles and continuous organizational change. Significantly, the study highlighted that a successful communications strategy in any organization is a two-way process, facilitating communication both up and down the corporate, group, or team hierarchy [5].

Communication outcome is the end result of a communication strategy. In relation to communication strategies, communication outcome would be; that what needs communicating (communication need) has been communicated, and that the purpose of the communication has also been achieved. For instance, the outcome in political campaigns would include; (1) that the candidate accomplished his or her communication need by successfully communicating to the target audience (voters) his or her political goals, and (2) the candidate has also accomplished the communication purpose of persuading a lot of people to vote for you. Achieving this outcome, for instance in politics would require the candidate to put in place a communication plan that clearly defines the ‘who, what, when and the why’ of the communication strategy to impact the change in the voters.

According to Spencer and Mountford [6], the gain from a well-managed communication for change effort brings out growth and prosperity to organizations and stakeholders. Therefore, among the outcomes that can be expected are:

1. Employees deliver or exceed target levels of performance on time and on budget. 2. Stakeholders remain loyal and new stakeholders are attracted 3. Risks associated with change are eliminated or minimized 4. The organization is left better able to change rapidly and effectively in the future

Cooper et al [26] claim that communication outcomes and quality indicators are fundamental to assessing the impact of quality improvement initiatives and the effectiveness of a communication strategy. Therefore, communication outcomes indicators in any communication initiative should be clearly defined and measurable. Desired outcomes for using communications may include; raising awareness about an issue, motivate people to change behavior, providing information for people, or building consensus [27].

3. Political Campaign Communication Strategies Research in political campaigns and electoral practices [28] has revealed that participation in electoral

processes involves much more than just voting. The authors [28] highlighted that political participation, in fact involves the freedom to speak out, assemble and associate; the ability to take part in the conduct of public affairs; and the opportunity to register as a candidate, to campaign, to be elected and to hold office at all levels of government. Under international standards, men and women have an equal right to participate fully in all aspects of the political process. In practice, however, it is often harder for women to fully exercise this right. In post-conflict countries there are frequently extra barriers to women’s participation, and special care is required to ensure their rights are respected in this regard [28].

Political parties are among the most important institutions affecting women’s political participation. In most countries, parties determine which candidates are nominated and elected and which issues achieve national prominence. The role of women in political parties is therefore, a key determinant of their prospects for political empowerment, particularly at the national level. Because political parties are so influential in shaping women’s political prospects, Governments and international organizations seeking to advance the participation of women in elections justifiably tend to focus on the role of political parties [29].

Literature on political campaign communication (PCC) [28] highlights the significance of communication strategies in achieving PCC goals and its relevance in political campaigns strategies and therefore, pointing out the significance of strategic communications planning as illustrated in Figure 2, a crucial factor in achieving the desired outcomes in politics.

329

Agenda setting as defined by Wilson and Roy [30] is the process whereby the mass media determines what the public think and worry about. Walter Lippmann, a journalist first observed this function, in the 1920’s [31]. According to McCombs and Shaw [32], Lippmann pointed out the influence media had over the creation of pictures in the minds of individuals, claiming that the public reacts not to actual events but to the pictures in their minds. The agenda setting process, according to Lippmann [32], remodels all the events occurring in the environment, into a simpler manageable model for the public to deal with, therefore, media aids the remodeling process by providing information selectively about some of the events. The repetitive coverage of the same events by the media gives the events more prominence over other events occurring in the same environment, therefore, making them more important in the minds of the public [31].

Agenda setting describes a very powerful influence of the media; the ability to tell us what issues are important. As far back as 1922, the newspaper columnist Walter Lippman was concerned that the media had the power to present images to the public. Shaw and McCombs [33] investigated presidential campaigns in 1968, 1972 and 1976. In the research done in 1968 they focused on two elements: awareness and information. Investigating the agenda-setting function of the mass media, they attempted to assess the relationship between what voters in one community said were important issues and the actual content of the media messages used during the campaign. Shaw and McCombs [33] concluded that the mass media exerted a significant influence on what voters considered to be the major issues of the campaign [31].

The core assumption of agenda-setting theory as highlighted therefore, is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media [34]. McCombs and Reynolds’ [34] study highlighted two basic assumptions that underlie most research on agenda-setting are: (1) the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it; and (2) media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues. One of the most critical aspects in the concept of an agenda-setting role of mass communication is the time frame for this phenomenon. The study also highlighted that different media have different agenda-setting potential. Agenda-setting theory, therefore, seems quite appropriate to help us understand the pervasive role of the media on political communication systems [34]. Cohen [35] made an accurate observation of agenda-setting theory when he stated; “The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.” The main concept associated with the agenda setting theory is the gate keeping aspect of the agenda setting theory as illustrated by Figure 3 – ‘Gate keeping’, according to McQuail and Windahl [36], controls the selection of news content discussed in the media, and the public is only interested in the product of a media gate keeping. For instance, news comes from various sources, and news media decides ‘what’ events to admit through media ‘gates’ on ground of ‘newsworthiness’. Therefore, because editors choose what should appear and what should not and that’s why they are referred to as gatekeepers [36].

The agenda-setting function of McCombs and Shaw [32] discuss the affect the media has on a public audience. Agenda-setting, also called gate-keeping, is the process that allows some information to reach the audience while other information is kept out. In illustrating gatekeeping aspect of agenda setting theory, Shaw and McCombs [33] use politics as a major example of agenda-setting. This was clearly the case in the presidential race between Barrack Obama and John McGain in 2009 presidential elections in the United States. Newspapers and major broadcasters across America set the major agenda to give a wider and repeated coverage of issues relating to the topic of this political battle. American public were given everything the media felt was important for them to know about the two presidential candidates, including their legitimacy to be running for the presidential seat [37].

Similarly, in communication, a communication strategy sets the agenda to achieve the communication goals when it details the structure of information flow, and frames the message to satisfy the communication needs of the target audience. It sets the agenda when it defines what is to be communicated, and identifies the key message ideas and developing effective vehicles to deliver these key messages, and the resources required to achieve the communication goal. A communication strategy

330

also sets the agenda to what feedback mechanism is relevant for the communication. Hence, a communication strategy sets the agenda for a particular communication need, and frames the structure of information flow and messages to achieving it.

Figure 2: Strategic Communications Plan to Enhance a Political Campaign

Source: Adapted from SPIN Project [7]

Media Tactics

Discipline the Message

Frame the Issue

Target your Audience

Establish your Political Goals

Communication Infrastructure

What is your Communications Capacity?

What are your Political Campaign Goals?

People you are targeting with your message (s); voters

Describe the issue in a way that resonates with the values and needs of your audience

State; Problem, Solution and Action

Select and train spokespeople

331

Figure 3: Gatekeeping plus influential media

Source: Adapted from: McQuail & Windahl [36]

The framing theory in regards to communication is seen by many scholars as an extension of the agenda setting theory, which states that the media does not tell us what to think, but rather what to think about [38]. Baran and Davis [39] explains that the framing theory “examines the idea about how people use expectations to make sense of everyday life,” (p.35). “The basis of framing theory is that the media focuses attention on certain events and then places them within a field of meaning” [40]. This field of meaning can have an effect on the audience’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors by connecting a particular meaning or interpretation on an issue.

Framing a political issue, a political party or a political opponent is a strategic goal in politics. Therefore, framing in political campaigns involve choosing the language to define a political debate, or a political rally and, importantly, fitting individual issues into the context of broader story lines. According to Lakoff [41] framing has the ability to alter the public’s perception, therefore, politicians in many countries including America, Great Britain and Australia engage in battles to determine how issues are framed.

Additionally, issue framing in a political context, means presenting an issue in a way that will likely get the most agreement from others. In issue framing in politics, language is often used as a way to gain compliance on controversial issues. Political agendas are given significance with the use of language geared toward the knowledge of the audience; that is, language used in political campaign strategies gives emphasis on knowing what is right and proper to say for a particular concept, and at a particular time. Grounded in cognitive psychology [42], the theory of media priming is derived from the associative network model of human memory, in which an idea or concept is stored as a node in the network and is related to other ideas or concepts by semantic paths. According to Jacoby [42], priming refers to the activation of a node in this network, which may serve as a filter, an interpretive frame, or a premise for further information processing or judgment formation.

Political media priming is “the process in which the media attend to some issues and not others and thereby alter the standards by which people evaluate election candidates” [37]. A number of studies including the one by Brosius and Kepplinger [43], have demonstrated that there is a dimension of powerful media effects that goes beyond agenda setting. Iyengar, et al [44] first identified this added dimension as the priming effect. The theory is founded on the assumption that people do not have elaborate knowledge about political matters and do not take into account all of what they do know when

Gat

ekee

ping

pl

us

Influ

entia

l med

ia

Personal Experience and Interpersonal Communication

Media Agenda

Public Agenda

Real-world indicators of the importance of an agenda issue or event

Policy Agenda

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy�

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics�

332

making political decisions; they must consider what more readily comes to mind. The study [44] highlighted that drawing attention to some aspects of politics at the expense of others; the media might help to set the terms by which political judgments are reached, including evaluations of political figures. Jacobs and Shapiro [45] quantitative and historical analysis of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign revealed that priming is not always unintentional. Their research extends the application of priming theory from its original focus of how individuals form attitudes and make decisions to the study of candidate behavior. The findings clearly showed intentional priming was used by presidential candidates in United States as deliberate strategies to influence voters, and that priming can be an effective campaign strategy for political candidates, through a process of carefully calculated uses of public opinion on policy issues to influence voters’ standards for assessing the candidates’ attributes. Jacobs and Shapiro’s [45] research demonstrated that the priming process is powerful enough to be used intentionally by political candidates as a tool to influence public opinion during election campaigns.

Persuasive Communication is the art of moving people through to action. Scott [46] defines Persuasive Communication as the mode of communication concerned with inducing or urging the adoption of certain beliefs, theories, or lines of action by others. Therefore, persuasion is the art of guiding one’s mind through a field of ignorance, misinformation, or misunderstanding to a destination where there is enough information and understanding to make a logical choice to do what is in the best interest of the person being persuaded [46].

The three principles of persuasion include; honor and respect for the person involved in the communication, understanding the other person’s frame of reference, and being an effective communicator first. According to Blanchard and Ridge [47] beliefs, feelings and intentions impact and build attitudes determining one’s behavior; therefore, to change someone’s behavior means changing these three aspects with persuasive communication. Importantly, people targeted to change their behavior must be provided with the information about the intentions of the behavioural change [46].

REFERENCES [1] Johns, E. (2005). Lady Carol Kidu. Malaysia: Pearson Education Australia. [2] Oliver, M. (1989). Eleksin: the 1987 National Election in Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, University of Papua New Guinea. [3] Dicks, S. (n.d.). Communication Strategies. Retrieved April 14, 2011 from: http://sheilasfashionsense.com [4] Corcoran, N. (2007). Theories and Models in Communicating Health Messages. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. [5] Wyatt, W. (1999). Communication Study: Linking Communications with Strategy to Achieve Business Goals. Cornel University: USA, Watson Wyatt. [6] Spencer, R. & Mountford, B. (1997, Dec). How to Implement a Change Management Program. Electricity Journal, 10, Dec. [7] The SPIN Project. (2005). You gotta have a plan: Strategic Communications Planning. Retrieved October 2, 2011 from: http://[email protected] [8] Alinsky, S.D. (1971). Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals. Random House Inc.: USA [9] Clemmer, J. (n.d). Practical leadership and personal growth. Retrieved April 14, 2011 from http://www. JimClemmer.com [10] Dawson, S. (1996). Analyzing Organizations (3rd ed.). USA: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. [11] Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (1995). Organizational Behaviour (3rd ed.). Toronto, Canada: Irwin Publishing. [12] Barker, R. T. & Camarata, M. R. (1998, October). The Role of Communication in Creating and Maintaining a Learning Organization: Preconditions, Indicators, and Disciplines. The Journal of Business Communication, 35 (4). [13] Pace, R. W. & Faules, D. F. (1989). Organizational Communication (2nd ed.). New Jersey, USA: Prentice-Hall.

http://sheilasfashionsense.com/�

http://[email protected]/�

http://www/�

333

[14] Clampitt, P. G. & Downs, C. W. (1993, January). Employee Perceptions of the Relationship between Communication and Productivity: A Field Study. The Journal of Business Communication, 30 (1). [15] Pettit, J. D. et al. (1997, January). An Examination of Organizational Communication as a Moderator of the Relationship between Job Performance and Job Satisfaction. The Journal of Business Communication, 34 (1). [16] Guzley, R. M. (1992, May). Organizational Climate and Communication Climate. Management Communication Quarterly, 5 (4). [17] Simmons, M. D. (2004). Communication Strategies at a Fortune 500 Company: The Impact on Performance. Retrieved December 4, 2011 from: http://www.edweb.sdsu.edu/people/arossett/pie/.../communication_1.htm [18] Davidow, R. (1994). Structuring the Change Initiative. The Change Management Handbook: A Road Map to Corporate Transformation. Berger, Sikora, and Berger (eds). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. [19] Trifiletti, L. B. et al. (2005). Behavioural and Social Sciences theories and Models: Are they being used in unintentional injury prevention research. Health Education Research, 20, 298- 307. [20] Parker, C. H. et.al, (2004). Psychic Dreaming. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from: <waterstones.com> [21] Airhihenbuwa, C. O. & Obregon, R. (2000). A critical assessment of Theories/Models used in Health communication for HIV/AIDS. Journal of Health Communication, 5, 5-15. [22] Tones, K. & Green, J. (2004). Health Promotion: Planning and Strategies. Sage: London. [23] Purswell, J.L. et al. (1993). Warning Effectiveness: What Do We Need to Know. Human Perspectives on Warnings. California: The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 174-178. [24] O'Malley, P. (1996). Strategic Communications Planning. Ottawa, Canada: O'Malley Communications Inc. [25] Hershey, C. (2005). Communications Toolkit: A guide to navigating communications for the nonprofit world. Retrieved April 14, 2011 from: www.causecommunications.org/clients- cause.php [26] Cooper, P. et al. (2009, Oct/Dec). Action Planning Strategies to Achieve Quality Outcomes. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 32 (4). [27] Waterwiki.net (2009). Workspace/Communication for Results - a Planning Guide and Resource Kit for Water Governance Projects. Retrieved October 17, 2011 from: http://www.Linkedin.com/groups?home=167110 [28] Lipsitz, K. et al. (2005). What Voters Want From Political Campaign Communication. New York: Taylor & Francis Inc. [29] Huntington, S. P. and Nelson, J. M. (1976). No Easy Choice: Political Participation in Developing Countries. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. [30] Wilson, J. R. & Roy, S.W. (2001). Mass Media, Mass Culture, (5th ed.).Boston: Mc Graw Hill [31] McCombs, M. E. (2004). Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press [32] McCombs, M.E., & Shaw, D.L. (1972). The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36, 176-187. [33] Shaw, D. L. & McCombs, M. (1977). The Emergence of American Political Issues: The Agenda-Setting Function of the Press. St. Paul: West. [34] McCombs, M. & Reynolds, (2002). News influence on our pictures of the world. Media Effects, (2nd

[35] Cohen, B. C. (1963). ed.). In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

The Press and Foreign Policy. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 36 (2). [36] McQuail, D. & Windahl, S. (1993). Communication Models for the Study of Mass Communication. London: Longman. [37] Dylko, I. et.al. (2009, July). Gatekeeping and YouTube: News filters and the intermedia dynamic in the age of user-generated content. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Boston, Massachusetts. [38] Lane, D. (2001). Agenda Setting Theory. Retrieved September 4, 2011 from: http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/mass/agenda.htm

http://www.edweb.sdsu.edu/people/arossett/pie/.../communication_1.htm�

http://www.causecommunications.org/clients-%09cause.php�

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=167110�

http://www.amazon.com/Press-Foreign-Policy-Bernard-Cohen/dp/087772346X�

http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/mass/agenda.htm�

334

[39] Baran, S. J. & Davis, D. K. (2009). Mass communication theory: foundations, ferment, and future. (5th ed.). Boston, M.A.:Wadsworth cengage learning. [40] Fairhurst, G. & Star, R. (1996). The art of Framing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved September 2, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_communication [41] Lakoff, G. (2004). Don't think of an elephant!: Know your values and frame the debate. White River Junction (Vermont): Chelsea Green. [42] Jacoby, L.L. (1983). Perceptual Enhancement: Persistent Effects of an Experience. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 9 (1), 21-38. [43] Brosius, H., & Kepplinger, H. M. (1990). The agenda-setting function of television news: Static and dynamic views. In Communication Research, 17, 183-211. [44] Iyengar, S. et al. (1982). Experimential Demonstration of the Not-So-Minimal Consequences of Television News Programs. American Science Review, 76 (4), 848 – 858. [45] Jacobs, L. R., & Shapiro, R. Y. (2000). Politicians don’t pander: Political manipulation and the loss of democratic responsiveness. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [46] Scott, S. (2009). Persuasive Communication – the Art of moving people through to action. Retrieved October 23, 2011. from http://www.persuasivecommunication.co.cc. [47] Blanchard, K. & Ridge, G. (2010). Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A”. Retrieved November 20, 2011 from: <http://www.kenblanchard.com/ >

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_communication�

http://www.persuasivecommunication.co.cc/�



335

HS72013-HS-075

Facilitating participatory communication in agricultural development: negotiating complexities in Gebensis village

Barton M Gabi11 and Lilly Sar2

Department of Communication & Development Studies

Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae. Email: [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT The aim of the study in 2011 was to identify communication strategies relevant to effecting social,

economic and political change, and to develop a framework to help women politicians in PNG plan more effective political campaigns. The focus of this study was PNG women because of the compelling need to increase their representation and participation in the national parliament and the parliamentary decision-making processes. Data for the study was collected through a survey questionnaire and case studies, and the data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study provided the basis for a conceptual framework which emphasizes the significance of strategic communications planning in political campaign to achieve set political outcomes. This study also contributes significantly to politics in PNG; in providing a platform for women politicians to have a level playing field with their male counterparts.

Keywords: participatory mapping, agro tourism, agricultural knowledge systems, Huon District. 1. INTRODUCTION The complexities pertaining to development requires equal participation from all stakeholders so that

the expected outcome of the planned project materialises. One of the most vital mechanisms that are able to drive development effectively is communication. This paper draws on literature on participatory development communication (PDC) and Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for Rural Development (AKIS/RD) [1] to discuss the role of communication in development interventions in rural communities. Three quarters of the world’s poor live in rural areas [2] and in Papua New Guinea (PNG) more than 80% of the people live in rural village communities. These people depend on agriculture and related activities to sustain their livelihood; agricultural activities been the main source of income and nutrition. Therefore complex range of information is needed by rural people to develop sustainable livelihood strategies. In enhancing the agricultural extension, Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for Rural Development (AKIS/RD) is an institutional framework and dynamic processes of information integration and exchange that are necessary to promote agricultural development. In the Gebensis agro tourism project stakeholders need to have an effective communication strategy not only to make people aware of the project objectives but to also hear perceptions of people on how to sustain the operations.

Participatory communication seeks to facilitate the sharing and use of local people’s knowledge in influencing decision making process to enable social change. Quarry and Ramírez highlight the importance of participatory communication strategies such as mapping tools, for its listening and advocacy dimensions [3]. Participatory mapping is useful tool in engaging rural people to enhance the capacity of individuals and community organisations to represent and plan their development interventions. In rural communities such as Gebensis, it is not necessarily a need for more information but rather an enhanced capacity to communicate across cultural, religious and linguistic boundaries.

Therefore the aim of this paper was to share the learning experiences in utilizing PDC tools [4] to create an enabling environment for information and knowledge exchange among and between various



336

stakeholders in the Gebensis Eco tourism project. The discussion that follows describes the learning journey of the first author in the process of conducting fieldwork research in rural communities. The journey began in the Master of Communication Studies subject ‘Communication theories’ taught in the Communication for Development studies department at the PNG University of technology (PNGUT). In the subject various communications theories were covered including PDC theoretical perspectives. Therefore the field trip was to experience some of the participatory methods used to engage various stakeholders in agricultural development intervention in Gebensis village. Although there is a mention of eco tourism and National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) projects, this paper does not discuss the technical aspects of these projects.

2. Communication process As mentioned earlier in the paper, my learning journey began in the classroom trying to understand

the huge volume of information on different functions and definitions given to various strands of communication. Communication for development strand alone is known by many names [3] some of which are Development Support Communication, Communication for social change and Strategic communication. Therefore the field trip was to experience some of the tools used in communication strategies to enhance understanding of participatory function of communication.

In covering the theoretical perspectives of PDC, the class had to be introduced to participatory communication tools (Fig. 1) and the rational for using such tools in communities.

Figure.1: Venn diagram showing community networks

3. Background to the Agro tourism project On the day of the field trip the NARI Sweetpotato processing project staff gave background

information to the establishment of the Agro tourism project at Gebensis village Morobe Province. The presentation also explained the contribution of the Sweetpotato project to the Eco lodge.

Gebensis village was selected collectively by the stakeholders in the project including the donor-South Korea, NARI and the Gebensis community to be the sight of Eco Lodge in 2009. The lodge was to promote the use of African Yam (Dioscoria rotundata) products to improve food security and generate income for the community. Due to differences of opinions and expectations within and between community members and the project partners, the eco lodge was not functioning as intended. This was not any different from other community development interventions where negotiations are essential to bring understanding between diverse stakeholders. Therefore Lilly Sar, the facilitating author was requested to explore communication strategies for mutual benefit in the Eco tourism project due to her experiences in the use of participatory development communication methods.

337

The briefing highlighted the projects currently taking place at Gebensis. One such project was to train the community members in cultivation of African yam with the intention of developing yam products and contribute to the outputs of the Gebensis Agro tourism project. There other project was the ACIAR/NARI project-Market diversification of sweetpotato processing. The project introduced sweetpotato flour and the various ways in which sweetpotato flour could be processed and value added to generate income. The NARI staff and the facilitating author had developed rapport with the community so we were able to gain entry with them to the community. Chambers [5] emphasised that before getting data from community, it is essential to build rapport with people and to avoid “rural development tourism” (p.25) where outsiders go to communities for brief visits and may not experience the realities that affect community development.

4. Participatory mapping processes: negotiating complexities In order for effective data collection, a more proactive approach was needed so that everyone

involved in the project were given equal opportunities to participate. Hence, participatory communication was seen as the best approach to build relationship and to enable open communication among various groups in the community and the outside Research and Development Organisations (R&D). According to Bessette [4] “community participation means facilitating the active involvement of different community groups, together with stakeholders involved and the many development and research agents working with the community and decision makers” (p.2). Embracing a participatory communication approach ensures adequate involvement of parties directly affected by the development intervention. In retrospect, Mefalopulos [6] states, “participatory communication is a necessary component needed to increase project sustainability and ensure genuine ownership by the so called beneficiaries” (p.3).

The participants in Gebansis village embraced the theories in PDC [4, 6]. The villagers were asked to produce three kinds of maps, the Natural Resource Management (NRM) map, the village map and a map of NARI technology pathways specifically with the sharing and utilisation of knowledge on sweetpotato flour. To achieve this, the villagers were divided into three groups and each group was required to gather locally available material to represent spatial information on the maps.

The mapping exercise involved drawing their maps on the ground by representing various features with locally available material. The completed ground maps were transferred onto large sheets of paper by a representative from the mapping team. The rationale for allowing people themselves to transfer map from ground to paper was to encourage further discussions and clarification around the spatial information represented on the map [5].

4.1 Village Mapping The village mapping group showed the structure of the village and location of community resources.

Places of significance shown on the map were health facilities, community school, community meeting areas, markets, convenient shops and the location of the eco lodge. This map also showed households and number of people in each household including the location of the Eco lodge management members and the land owners.

Gebensis village has a total population of approximately 7000 people. The village is divided into 8 portions with nominated community leaders. The management for the Eco lodge has equal representation from across the village. The information from the map was to be used by the community with assistance from NARI and other stakeholders for capacity building in Agro tourism management.

4.2 Natural Resource Mapping Natural Resource map included the natural and cultural resource in the community. Hence this map

provided information on the natural resources and possible sites of interest to visitors at Gebensis village. Cultural sites of significance were also included in the map upon consultation and agreement by the people.

The involvement of people in discussions of possible tourist attractions enabled local people to contribute to their community development interventions. The collective drawing of the maps also

338

encouraged relationship building among people and to bring a sense of community around common development interventions such as the eco lodge.

4.3 NARI Technology pathway mapping The group working on mapping the NARI technology pathway gathered information on who attended

training on food processing using sweetpotato and what each of these participants did with the knowledge gained. On the map people indicated locations of training on food processing and also showed the location of households where participants were actively utilising knowledge gained from the training. Data on the map showed those who had benefited from the training were evenly spread throughout the village.

However, notably was that those who were actively utilising sweetpotato flour were teachers from the local school who made pastries and biscuits (Fig. 2). In addition, the teachers were in close proximity to the only drum oven used to bake, belonging to a community leader.

Figure: 2 Biscuits made from sweetpotato flour

5. Participatory Development Communication The use of participatory mapping to gather the much needed data at Gebensis village created a bridge

of trust between the village people and other stakeholders as they felt they were meaningfully contributing to their community development interventions. Maps, according to Chambers, “are instrument of power” therefore it is significant who contributes to the mapping activity and who draws and who decides what spatial information is represented on the map [5]. The role of the facilitator is to identify the groups of people most significant for the purpose of creating the map.

The maps would be used by everyone involved in the project for the developing the agro tourism project in Gebensis. Furthermore, the direct involvement of the villagers enabled them to perceive Agro tourism and value adding to sweetpotato and yam in relation to the eco lodge as a way forward to improving their livelihood. The people expressed interest to collaborate with R&D in developing their resources for community development.

6. Agricultural knowledge and Information Systems for development Participatory development communication methods enhance local people to express their knowledge.

Maps give visual representation of what people perceive to be useful [5] and may show spatial distribution of certain aspects of environment, perhaps traditional land boundaries, agricultural areas or cultural sites of significance. The tool allows people in the community to express their ideas regardless of level of literacy. Therefore it is particularly useful in giving voice to the rural people in determining how to do development in their communities.

In agricultural development communication between all stakeholders in the AKIS/RD triangle; Researchers, extension providers and educators in collaboration with farmers is essential. Links between organisations within the framework for AKIS/RD need to rethink how rural farmers engage in development interventions and how they are benefiting from those engagements.

Agricultural knowledge systems require an understanding of farmers and their interaction with the environment. Therefore a need to rethink how agricultural Research, Extension and Educational

339

organisations can best utilize Indigenous farmer knowledge for improved farming practices leading to positive changes in livelihood for rural people. Communication science plays a role in bringing together stakeholders including farmers to create a space for collective learning. This is evidenced in literature looking at Development communication [4, 3] for sustainable agriculture.

7. Lessons learnt from the fieldwork research People are an essential part to developing their own communities. The field trip enabled Barton Gabi

as a research assistant to realise that when working on community development projects hearing people’s perceptions is significant. Interpersonal communication is essential to facilitate dialogue allowing everyone on the mapping team to express their views and reach a consensus on spatial information on the maps. A valuable learning for Barton Gabi was seeing people take charge of the mapping activity. As the participants stood by their completed map, there was a sense of accomplishment; their facial expressions and gestures was a sight to behold.

The field trip highlighted one of the most important aspects of any development intervention; participation from everyone involved regardless of social, linguistic and educational differences. From the field trip and review of literature, development projects in Papua New Guinea may not achieve their intended purpose due to lack of engaging people in development interventions for their community.

8. Concluion and recommendation The outcome of the fieldtrip was important as it allowed the villagers to participate in the discussions

relevant to the development of the agro tourism project. Hence, any development that engages in linear communication alone does not fully encompass the general voice of all concerned. Data gathered on Agro tourism project highlighted information gaps that inhibited people from understanding how the project was to benefit the community. There needed to be awareness as well to gather necessary information on community profile to identify all stakeholders in the community.

Participatory development communication strategies were essential for initiating and reinforcing people’s participation in the development projects in their communities. Establishing dialogue over the mapping activities enabled the Gebensis people to participate in the development process and gave them a sense of ownership over the project instead of been mere beneficiaries.

Development efforts would benefit greatly by genuine engagement of landowners and community development agencies. Time spent in the community gives research and development organisations an insight into the complexities affecting the learning of introduced agricultural technologies.

With such invaluable insight into the significance of using PDC, it is imperative that this theory and other relevant theoretical perspectives to development be integrated across academic disciplines in university and college teaching. It is difficult to see how much tertiary education can do to move away from what Chambers [5] termed ‘rural development tourism’ (p.25) where staff career advancement depends on academic publications. What is significant is the mode and style of teaching so as long as teaching is didactic, graduates will be didactic in turn; they will continue to have top-down mentality into their careers.

Development problem situations in rural communities are interrelated therefore the simple linear top-down approach need to be broadened to negotiate complexities. Transforming university and college teaching is a significant way forward towards achieving Papua New Guinea’s 2050 vision.

REFERENCES [1] FAO/World Bank. Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for Rural Development:

Strategic vision and guiding principles. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, 2000

[2] IFAD. Rural Poverty Report: The challenge of ending rural poverty. Oxford University Press for International Fund for Agricultural Development, Oxford, 2001

[3] Quarry, W. and R. Ramírez, R. Communication for another development: Listening before telling. Zed Books, London, 2009

340

[4] Bessette, G. Involving the community: A guide to participatory development communication. Southbound publishing, Penang, 2004

[5] Chambers, R. Revolutions in development enquiry. Earthscan, London, 2008 [6] Mefalopulos, P. Theory and practice of participatory communication.

http://www.universityoftexas.org.us (02/05/2013) Acknowledgements National Agricultural Research Institute and the people of Gebensis village for allowing us to work in

collaboration for rural development.

http://www.universityoftexas.org.us/�



341

HS72013-HS-091

Problems and prospects of postgraduate program at Unitech: A case study of the department of agriculture

Shamsul Akanda1, Abdul Halim and Macquin Maino

Department of Agriculture, PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG


ABSTRACT Higher education and research is the cornerstone for the sustainable development of a country. Higher

education and research cannot be seen in isolation. A university like the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNG Unitech) must be leading the post graduate (PG) studies and research simultaneously. Postgraduate education and research provide confidence among students, staff and the nation at large for the development of science, technology and education. In the current age of rapid technological change, postgraduate studies are no more a luxury, but an absolute necessity. Although, PNG Unitech was established in 1973, post graduate studies and research are still at its infancy. The enrolment of PG students is about 2% of the total undergraduates and almost 50% come from Agriculture Department alone. Seventy students graduated with various postgraduate degrees in agriculture since 2000, where the male to female ratio is 2:1. About 30% of the academic positions are vacant and only four Departments have substantive Heads of the Department. PNG Unitech has embarked on strengthening its postgraduate program and research to realize her strategic goal of scholarship character development. Twelve of the 13 academic Departments have the PG program. To further strengthen the postgraduate studies and research, Unitech needs to have a holistic approach through a corporate strategic plan, including recruitment and retention of qualified academic staff through the provision of higher salaries and promotion; improve funding for PG studies, research and capacity building; building the collaborative partnership with industries and private sectors for financial support and joint research; proper advertisement of the program strength; and the change of attitude. The paper also looks at the options to strengthen the PG program at Unitech taking the examples of the Department of Agriculture to produce quality postgraduates with advanced skills for a sustainable economic development.

Keywords: higher education, postgraduate program, research, quality, strategic plan.

INTRODUCTION Education is the most important component in life to bring a positive change in the society. It provides the individual with knowledge, skills and competencies to effectively participate in the society and economy. Education is about learning skills for life. Highly educated people increase their chances of finding a better job with higher salary. They are also less affected by global recession, as the educational attainment, knowledge and skills make them more attractive in the workforce. Postgraduate education and research is one of the most important ways to stay at the top of knowledge advancement and technological change. A postgraduate degree is a strong factor that will gain the individual a competitive advantage in the labor market, and provide him/her with more opportunities in case such market collapses [1]. The postgraduate studies would provide students with the intellectual depth and breath, and appropriate training necessary to improve their competency in pursuing productive careers in various fields of teaching and research and in other ways make a larger contribution to society than would be otherwise possible [2]. In the current fast-paced business environment, more and more people are investing time and resources in postgraduate education. Graduate students can gain new skills and competencies that will give them the


342

right tools to re-enter the competitive arena with renewed confidence - provided they choose the right program [2]. Knowledge and advanced skills are critical determinants of a country's economic growth and standard of living as learning outcomes are transformed into goods and services, greater institutional capacity, a more effective public sector, a stronger civil society, and a better investment climate. Good quality, merit-based, equitable, efficient tertiary education and research are essential parts for this transformation. Both developing and industrial countries benefit from the dynamic of the knowledge economy. The capacity for countries to adopt, disseminate, and maximize rapid technological advances is dependent on adequate systems of tertiary education. Improved and accessible tertiary education and effective national innovations systems can help a developing country progress toward realizing the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those related to all levels of education, health, and gender equity [3]. PNG UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY IN PERSPECTIVE

The PNG University of Technology started its journey in 1973, mostly as a teaching university with the vision to be the leading science and technological university in Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific. To materialize this mission, Unitech sets its vision to develop and offer teaching, research and community service of high standard, engendering critical evaluation and application ofscience and Technology for Papua New Guinea and South Pacific. The Unitech has come a long way since its inception. It has contributed significantly in the nation building process by producing graduates in many different areas. Because of the technical nature of its programs, Unitech can play a leading role in terms of PG studies and research not only in PNG, but also in the whole of South Pacific region. This uniqueness of Unitech comes with a special responsibility of producing postgraduates to fulfill the manpower demands not only for various sectors in PNG but also for the whole of Pacific Island Countries. The Engineering programs at Unitech are the specialty that could be used unilaterally to attract students from all over the Pacific Island countries. To be skillful and globally competitive, the present day graduates should have the knowledge, qualifications and skills that can meet the challenges of the present century.

To move PNG forward there is no shortcut or alternative but to build a highly qualified knowledge nation through a quality PG academic program. To meet this challenge, Unitech has to build the capacity for making science and technology contribute to the country’s development. The government, industries, private sectors and overseas aid agencies can help, but the University of Technology needs also to commit itself to make the change. Unitech has to come out and build the partnership with the industries and private sectors so that country could benefit from the fruits of knowledge based innovations.

There is a shortage of skilled manpower in all sectors of PNG including the universities. Papua New Guinea needs hundreds of skilled and qualified staff with leadership capability to drive the development agenda. To overcome this situation and to maintain a sustainable development of the country, there is no alternative but to expedite the PG studies and research in each of the universities. Strengthening the in-country PG studies at the universities would help train a large number of students within the shortest possible time to meet the demand of the country in a very cost effective way. This in turn will help the country to come out of the vicious cycle of manpower shortage and uncertainty.

Recently, the PNG Government through the Office of Higher Education (OHE) instituted policy changes in higher learning institutions to address human resource requirements of this nation.To align with the Government policies, like Vision 2050, DSP 2030; Unitech embarked on “UNITECH 2030 plan” with the strategic development goals of:

• Promotion of scholarships • Externalization of academic programs • Entrepreneurial quality development The Unitech is determined to expand on postgraduate education and research to realize its current

strategic goals. For promotion of scholarships, there is a need for holistic plan to integrate the major components of the learning process, like knowledgeable, competent and dynamic faculty members;

343

meritorious and enthusiastic students; a curriculum that meets the needs of the 21st century; and the conducive academic and research environment [4].

The PG study at Unitech is still at its infancy even though it has attained the university status 40 years ago. Twelve of the 13 academic Departments have the PG programs. Currently, there are about 70 PG students at Unitech in different programs including 5 PhD students. The number of students is increasing every year and about 50% of the students are under the self-sponsorship category.

STATUS OF PG STUDIES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The Department of Agriculture started its postgraduate programs in 1997 despite shortage of academic staff. The introduction of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) Scholarship Scheme in 2005 provided the required impetus both in terms of student numbers and academic supervision. The ACIAR Scholarship Scheme opened up the new era in terms of PG teaching, research and supervision. The ACIAR scheme has provided better-trained agricultural graduates, improved staff research capacity and advanced laboratory equipment for use by staff, students and industry. The students are highly valued by employers.

Table 1: Area of specialization and gender distribution of postgraduate students in the Department of

Agriculture during 2000 – 2013

Degree Number Gender Area of Specialization Number Male Female

PhD 2 2 0 Economics/Extension 1 Agronomy/Crop Physiology 1 MPhil 21 15 6 Entomology 5 Plant Pathology 4 Extension 4 Economics 2 Animal Nutrition 2 Animal Science 1 Soil Science 1 Plant Breeding 1 Agric. Engineering 1 PGD 47 30 17 Extension 10 Animal Nutrition 6 Aquaculture 5 Soil Science 5 Agronomy/Crop Physiology 5 Plant Breeding 4 Economics 4 Plant Pathology 3 Post-Harvest 2 Forestry 2 Animal Health 1 Total 70 47 23

The ACIAR scholarship scheme was initially introduced to Agriculture Department, but was later

extended to Department of Forestry and Food Science Section of the Applied Science Department. This ACIAR scholarship scheme was a highly successful program with 100% graduation rate. On the conclusion of ACIAR scholarship Scheme in 2010, a total of 34 students (5 MPhil and 29 PGD) graduated successfully under this scheme. The ACIAR program became a role model for many other academic departments at Unitech as well as other Pacific Countries, like Fiji. The ACIAR introduced a similar scheme in Fiji (USP) and are still continuing. The graduating students have skills

344

in communication, gained an understanding of methodology and techniques of research and contributed to knowledge of the problems and solutions of regional and national agriculture. Moreover, the staff has gained resources to build their laboratories and develop their interests in agricultural research. Most projects resulted in publications for both staff and students, furthering both Unitech and their own personal reputations for research in tropical agriculture in PNG. A major and lasting achievement of the ACIAR project has been the encouragement of young people to consider research in Agriculture as a meaningful career which contributes not only to their personal development, but also to the productivity and sustainability of Agriculture in Papua New Guinea [5].

In 2011 -2012, New Zealand Government under the “Women in Agriculture Program (WAG)” provided scholarship to 9 students, but after that the program came to an end. The department also managed funding from the Morobe Provincial Government. The Agriculture Department is now in the forefront in terms of postgraduate studies and research at Unitech. The other academic departments of Unitech are also encouraged by the success of the Agriculture Department’s PG program. Since 2000, the Agriculture Department graduated 70 PG students including 2 PhDs. Table 1 shows the distribution of degrees, number of students, gender, and the areas of specialization. The highest number of graduates is trained in Extension followed by Animal Nutrition. The overall male to female ratio is 2:1. Currently, the Department of Agriculture has 37 PG students in different programs including 3 PhDs. In 2014, an International student from Guyana is expected to arrive and enroll into a PhD program under the Caribbean Pacific Island Mobility Scheme (CARPIMS) Scholarship with European Union funding. This is also recognition of the academic strength of the Department in terms of PG studies and research.

During the period from 2005 to onward, ACIAR was the major funding source. Other funding sources included PNG Unitech GAP program, European Union, AusAid, Kenmore Groups and self-sponsorship. All the graduated PG students gained lucrative employment in industries, research organizations, Government Departments, International Organizations, private sectors and academia. The PNG Unitech is the largest employer followed by National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and the others are Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL), National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA), University of Natural Resource and Environment (UNRE), Coffee Industries Corporation (CIC), Cocoa and Coconut Industries Ltd (CCI), Lihir Gold, Ok Tedi, Ramu Agri-Industries (RAI), government departments, Trukai Industries, and Non-government Organizations (NGO) etc. Some of the students, who were sponsored by industries/institutions, went back to their workplace on successful completion of their studies and working with confidence and satisfaction. About one-third of the former postgraduates are now overseas for higher studies.

STRENGTH OF THE AGRICULTURE PROGRAM

The Department of Agriculture has 18 academic staff and 10 of them are with PhD; and 5 are overseas on PhD study program. The Department has sufficient expertise to further expand the PG studies and research provided the physical facilities (office space, lecture rooms, laboratories, etc.) are improved. The department also established collaborative partnerships through Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) with many national and international institutions to expand its horizon of collaboration in terms of PG studies and research. Along with these, the following have acted as catalyst to bring the PG studies and research this far [4, 5].

1. Dedicated staff and team effort, enthusiastic students, congenial academic environment and proper leadership 2. Selection of highly qualified and motivated students 3. Nurturing staff-student co-operation 4. Management of research activity and funding

WORKSHOP ON REVIEW OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH AT UNITECH A workshop was organized during 28-29 September 2010 to review the postgraduate studies and

research in the Department of Agriculture with the following objectives: • To get feedback from the stakeholders on the existing postgraduate studies and research in the

Department of Agriculture and the future manpower need in Agriculture • To find the potentials and prospects of sustaining the on-going postgraduate studies and research

programs of the Department of Agriculture • To recommend the strategic plan for next five years to strengthen the postgraduate studies and

research program in Agriculture in PNG

345

This workshop was attended by 82 participants representing universities, research organizations,

industries, government departments, NGOs from PNG and overseas. The Senior Executive Management of the PNG Unitech challenged the participants to come up with specific recommendation as a way forward for strengthening the PG studies and research.

Even though much of the discussions were centered on agriculture and the Agriculture Department, the workshop came out with the following recommendations that were holistic, resilient and robust enough as a way forward for the whole university.

1. The development of PG training and research at Unitech would require an increase in the numbers of staff trained to PhD and Masters level to act as academic leaders capable of supervising PG students and research. However, there is still capacity for immediately increase in PG numbers if scholarships are provided from external sources.

2. There is a need to develop a strategic plan to provide funding for both the infrastructure and scholarships to facilitate the required development.

3. PNG industry and research organizations need to be advised of the opportunities offered by Unitech for staff development through PG training and research, and these organizations should be invited to discuss their needs for collaborative research and staff training.

4. A comprehensive list of PNG and international organizations have been nominated as possible source of funding for scholarships and collaborative research, and these organizations should now be engaged to help plan the future human resource needs of PNG industry and government organizations.

5. The staff of the Agriculture Department must draw up a comprehensive plan for the development of infrastructure, staffing, PG training and research over the next 20 years (2030). This plan must link closely to the Unitech 2030 Strategic Plan.

These recommendations were in line with Unitech 2030 to make real difference in terms of PG studies and research.

FOLLOW UP OF THE WORKSHOP

In the last couple of years, Unitech has taken some targeted steps to expand PG studies and research. The number of PG students is in constant increase and many of the students are coming on self-sponsorship.

• To improve the academic capability, the university created four professorial level positions in each of the academic Department. The university is also vigorously pursuing to fill the academic positions with some success. The effort is still continuing. Once the recruitment is completed, it would have the required momentum to improve both the undergraduate and PG programs.

• The concept of PG School was approved back in 2006. Only in the middle of 2013, it came into reality with the appointment of a Dean to coordinate all PG related activities. The PG School now can take the challenge to guide the PG program not only to increase the number of graduates to meet the growing demand but also to maintain proper quality. The main motto of the Post Graduate School would be to promote a nationally and internationally competitive postgraduate program and quality research at Unitech. The school would also play a vital role in manpower development locally in Papua New Guinea for sustainable developments across the sectors including the academia.

• The university embarked on developing the strategic corporate research plan. The academic departments have identified and prioritized the areas of research and in the process of developing the departmental research plan.

• The university has made the provision for the “adjunct faculty” position to utilize the manpower resources of the organizations/industries/institutions to move its research agenda.

346

• The university has signed the “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)”with many national and international institutions to tap into each other’s resources.

WAY FORWARD 1. Universities are universal and are the place for those who can cope with and meet the challenges

of the present day with an eye in the future. To provide sustainable quality education and make the universities competitive and dynamic, there is always a constant need to attract and retain talents. Over the years, Unitech could not attract and/or retain most talented students in the academia. One of the causes might have been the non-attractive salary package in the universities compared to private institutions and industries which leads to severe shortage of academic staff at various departments of Unitech. To overcome these difficulties there is an urgent need to reorganize the appointment criteria and develop a clearly defined career pathway for the academics to excel along with salary re-structuring. This will be moral boosting for the young academics and would bring enormous benefit to the university in terms of intake, retention, quality assurance; and research and publications.

2. Universities should hire qualified senior academic staff with proven track record of postgraduate supervision, research and leadership qualities. Unitech should aggressively pursue to fill the HODs position.

3. All the academic departments should have a five year strategic plan for PG studies with very specific targets both for current Unitech staff and new intakes

4. Current departmental academic staff members should be encouraged and assisted to enroll in various PG programs to upgrade their qualifications. This is essential not only for academic quality assurance but also for sustainability of the departmental programs. Unitech can make special funding provision targeting the current staff to upgrade their qualifications

5. There should be a clear pathway to upgrade the qualifications and promote the staff to the next levels. This will definitely be an encouragement for many of the academic staff to complete their degree here at Unitech.

6. Clearly formulated incentives should be provided to the Unitech staff in terms of research funding, attending national/international conferences and promotion. On enrollment, departments can make provisions to allocate less teaching hours to allow the staff to carry out their research.

7. Encouraging and mentoring the meritorious final year undergraduate students to enroll for PG studies

8. Increase the number of GAP scholarship as well as the amount of stipendto attract students in the PG studies and to make it more attractive and competitive

9. Increase the funding allocation for the research 10. Allocation of budget for infrastructure build up to cater for higher number of students and provide

proper learning environment 11. There is a need for holistic and integrated approach for postgraduate education and research in

PNG where all the stakeholders including the politicians can play their role.In this office of higher education (OHE) can play a vital role including providing scholarships.

12. There is an urgent need to start the postgraduate programs up to the PhD levels in all the academic departments without further delay.

13. Equip the universities with proper logistics to start the PG programs. Different universities have strength in different areas and those could be the starting point for the universities and build on these strengths.

14. Improve ICT facility including the faster wireless internet connection should be established 15. Improvement of the Library facility including access to current scientific journal and inter-

university loan facility.

347

CONCLUSION With the current strength and capability, Unitech can do more in terms of PG studies and

research. Above all, there is a need to change the attitude of ‘no have’ to make use of ‘whatever we have’. After all, our “ATTITUDE” will determine our “ALTITUDE”

REFERENCES

[1] http://Higher education\The value of a postgraduate degree _ Education _ theguardian.com.htm [2] Pumwa, J. 2010. Graduate programs in Mechanical Engineering at PNG University of

Technology. A paper presented at the workshop on review of postgraduate studies, research and recommendation for the future directions, held at the PNG University of Technology, during 28-29 September 2010

[3] www.worldbank.org/Higher education\Education - Tertiary Education (Higher Education.htm [4] Satter, M. A. 2010. Unitech’s role to support postgraduate studies and research (Promotion of

Scholarships at Unitech). A paper presented at the workshop on review of postgraduate studies, research and recommendation for the future directions, held at the PNG University of Technology, during 28-29 September 2010

[5] Norton, B. 2010. Lessons learned from the ACIAR Scholarship Scheme. A paper presented at the workshop on review of postgraduate studies, research and recommendation for the future directions, held at the PNG University of Technology, during 28-29 September 2010



348

HS72013-HS-092

Individualization of customary lands in Melanesia: How theoretically

sound is the policy prescription?

Khandakar Qudrat-I Elahi

Department of Agriculture, PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT Customary land tenure (CLT) is pervasively practised in many countries of the world, including the

Melanesians. In the contemporary customary land literature, this system is overwhelmingly treated as an impediment to rural development and economic growth. The argument is that communal ownership discourages rural people from working harder for bettering their socioeconomic lots by creating tenurial insecurity.

The post-colonial land reform policies in Melanesia, which have been executed with the technical and financial supports from the international bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, have basically been guided by this theory, whose popular name is ‘individualization’. The outcomes of the policy are not however encouraging. Not only that the individualization programs failed to bear the expected outcomes, in some cases they harmed the interests of the people for whom these programs had been designed.

This dilemma about the policy outcomes has raised some serious questions about the economic soundness of ‘individualization theory’. In this presentation, it is argue that the economic wisdom of ‘individualization’ is ‘conceptually biased’: It follows directly from the microeconomic theory of production that is founded on two fundamental premises. First, the institution of private property motivates individuals in their pursuits of financial gain. Second, human beings are selfish by nature, particularly with respect to wealth creation. Indeed the truth about these premises can hardly be denied. But the fact remains that the customary tenurial system- being practiced in the remote Melanesian rural areas- shares none of these premises. This proposition suggests that the microeconomic theory of production is not an appropriate theoretical framework for analysing customary land issues..

Keywords: customary Lands, mass poverty, individualization, neoclassical economics, conceptual bias

1 INTRODUCTION Customary land Tenure (CLT) system characterises the land ownership arrangements in Melanesia. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), customary ownership accounts for about 97% of the country’s land resources. This figure is more or less similar to those in other Melanesian countries: 90% in Vanuatu; 88% in Fiji; 87% in the Solomon Islands and 81% in Samoa (Wikipedia 2013).It is thus not difficult to see the importance and impacts of the CLT system on the area’s socioeconomic development and economic growth.

But devising policy measures to reform the system seems highly complicated, because the political realities are in clear conflict with the legal and economic measures recommended by concerned experts. The constitutions of these countries recognise and respect the political and legal status of this long-established customary tenurial arrangement. On the contrary, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies- engaged in formulating and implementing policies and programs for the socioeconomic development of these countries- have been recommending dismantling the system in order to accelerate the region’s economic growth and prosperity(AusAID 2008; Gosarevski, Hughes and Windybank 2004; IFAD 2008). The Policy measure recommended by the international development community is absolutely


349

unambiguous: Abolish customary land tenure system by establishing individual property rights. The popular name is of this policy prescription is ‘individualisation’. This is the land tenure system that exists all over the world, particularly in the industrialised West.

It is now well known that these donor-dominated programs did not bear the expected outcomes (Lastarria-Cornhiel 1997; Besteman 1994 and 1999; Lund 2000). Not only that the individualisation programs failed to fructify, in some cases they worked against the interests of the people for whom these programs had been designed. In response to this policy debacle, the Australian Agency for International Development, for example, has dramatically changed its own previous policy directions in PNG. In a report titled, Making Land Work: Reconciling Customary Land and Development in the Pacific, it has been promoting the idea of balancing the pace of land reforms through accommodating CLT systems with agricultural development plans and schemes (AusAID 2008).

This policy dilemma concerning customary lands has raised some critical questions about the economic soundness of ‘individualisation theory’. For example, why do the orthodox economists jump to the conclusion that introducing Individualised Land Tenure (ILT) system is the only solution to the economic woes of the concerned developing countries? Helen Hughes, one the leading Australian expert on current affairs in the South Pacific, has underlined her opinion strongly in the influential Pacific Economic Bulletin: “CLT system means low agricultural productivity and small incomes; it does not permit any country to develop”.

The basic difference between CLT and ILT systems concerns the nature of ownership rights: land is communally owned in the former case, while it is privately possessed in the second. Thus, the individualisation theory seems to suggest that the institution of private property has special features which create a congenial connection between private ownership and economic prosperity. One way to address this dilemma is to subject the supposed congenial connection to critical scrutiny, i.e., putting the conceptual foundation of conventional wisdom of CLT system under critical review. The main objective of this paper is to make an exploratory attempt in that direction.

The paper has been organised in five sections. Following Introduction, the next section discusses the nature of customary land ownership prevailing in Melanesia. This discussion is critically important for understanding the debate that seems to have resulted from the unexamined application of neoclassical economic theory in analysing the CLT system. In Section III, the major criticisms of the CLT system are listed and explained. The theories of neoclassical production economics are briefly described in Section IV, which is supposed to help identify its weaknesses. The paper is ended in Section V by summarising its main arguments and drawing the author’s major conclusion.

2 WHAT IS CUSTOMARY LAND? The subject of this paper is customary land. And the statistics cited above indicates how serious the

issue is in the context of the region’s national development. To be able to make some informed observations in this regard, we need a clear understanding of what the phrase ‘customary land’ means, so that the potential efficacy of the proposed land reform can be analysed objectively. Apparently such a clear understanding is in absentia.

The word ‘customary’ is used basically to refer to a particular kind of land ownership. In the industrialised West, as well as in many other countries, individuals enjoy private ownership rights on the lands, guaranteed and protected by the state, that they have inherited and/or purchased with own or borrowed fund. The situation is different in case of customary lands. Here individual families do not own the lands they operate, perhaps because these lands were never demarcated. Since these people, as the members of a clan or tribe, are living and using its resources for subsistence in the area from the time immemorial, these lands are thought to be communally owned.

This notion of ‘customary lands’ might raise some curious questions on critical thinking. If the term ‘customary’ is meant to imply the absence of individual ownership, then land resources in all societies were customary at the beginning. For example, the anthropological history of PNG indicates that human species began to settle in this part of the word about 50,000 years ago (Bourke 2013). It can be easily imagined that the original occupants had gradually dispersed in different locations of the country,

350

although it is not entirely known how that happened. Like all other countries, the land resources of PNG were the free gifts of nature, available abundantly for use by its occupiers. The fact that PNG has about 800 languages seems to imply that there were at least 800 groups who lived in different places of the country with little or no knowledge of the existence of one another. Having been ignorant about the people of other clans, whom they might have treated political compatriots, each group believed the land area under its occupation as sovereign territory. The group was sovereign, because it developed its own laws and rules in order to make clan-living possible. In modern political terminology, the situation can be described as the existence of 800 sovereign nations in the land mass now called PNG.

PNG became independent from colonial rule in 1975. In Political terminology, the formation of one nation might be considered as a sort of ‘social contract’ through which the people of those 800 nations have unified their separate sovereignties under one central authority. All clans and tribes populating PNG are now governed by the laws formulated by the central government, which is of course composed of the representatives from all the existing clans/tribes. This line of reasoning gives rise to two interesting questions for critical thinking. The First question is how to determine the status of ‘customary lands’ in the context of new political reality. By the political philosophy cited above, the Government of PNG emerges as the rightful owner of these customary lands as it is the prevailing sole sovereign authority.

The second question, which follows from the previous one, concerns the political rights of the citizens of a country to own and accumulate property. This point is particularly important because the lands being described as ‘customary’ include the vast areas of rainforests, hills and mountains, valleys etc., in addition to the areas practically used by the clan members. By the theory of John Locke, the famous 17th century English political philosopher, all resources belong to the nature. However, individuals qualify them to claim ownership right over those natural gifts on which they have expended times and efforts to improve their productivity and/or make them suitable for human use (Locke 1690). Individuals, it must be obvious, can do little to improve the economic value of, say, mountains or marshy lands, which might contain large deposits of minerals, gas or oil. By the theory of private property then the individuals cannot claim ownership over this type of land resources. On the other hand, the clan or tribal ownership in the name of ‘customary land’ is no longer justifiable under the political reality.

Finally, the ordinary perception of ‘customary lands’ becomes even more ambiguous when it is examined in the context of the current discussion. The issue being debated here is whether granting individual entitlement to the families operating customary land would improve their economic welfare through improved agricultural productivity. In other words, this debate is primarily concerned with the portion of customary lands being used for agricultural purposes, like crop production, aquaculture, cattle raising etc. This point deserves critical consideration because both the analysis and conclusions drawn from it might be influenced by the notion of the size of land resources under investigation. According to a World Bank report published in 2010, the total land mass of PNG is 462,243 km2, which may be considered huge compared to her population of about 6.4 million. However, her agricultural land constitutes only 2.54% or 11,740 km2 of this vast landmass (Trading Economics 2013). Assuming that 80% of the country’s people live in the rural areas, the estimated agricultural land available per person is only 0.023 km2 or 2.3 hectares, which is much lower compared to 0.722 km2 or 72.2 hectares, the estimated land per person in PNG.

Then we need to consider the country’s topography and landforms to form some informed opinions about the possibility of effective management and ownership control of agricultural lands after individualisation. PNG is largely a mountainous country, much of which is covered with tropical rainforest. Allen (undated) describes the nature of land types and landforms prevailing in the Southern Highlands Province (SHP), which may be taken as indicative of the whole country. He produced the information about SHP’s landforms from the PNG National Census 2000, which is as follows: Mountains & hills (65.4%), Volcanic (29.2%), Plains & plateaux (3.5%) and Floodplains (1.9%). What is interesting about this information is that mountains and hills and volcanic landforms contain 95% of agricultural land and 90% of SHP’s population live on these landforms. These facts about landforms in PNG ought to indicate the difference between the CLT system practised in Melanesia and the ILT system being

351

practised elsewhere in the world, particularly in the West and by that the practical and policy issues involved with the implementation of the individualisation measures.

3 CONVENTIONAL CRITICISMS OF THE CLT SYSTEM The CLT system differs from its rival ILT system basically in terms of land ownership. In ILT, land

titles belong to individuals, while they are communal in CLT. This fact about the institutional arrangement concerning land resources implies that the controversy concerns essentially about the effects that land ownership has on the motivation of the rural people with respect to bettering their economic welfare.

Experts employed by the donor agencies have identified several institutional ‘imperfections’ in the CLT system, which they argue impede the economic incentives needed for accelerating agricultural growth. These anti-developmental features are often called ‘modernist arguments ‘and stated as the benefits of the registration and commercialisation of customary lands(Anderson 2011; Gosarevski et al 2004): (i) greater security of title; (ii) a strong boost to formal economies; (iii) improvements in agricultural productivity; (iv) access to rural credit; (v) benefits for subordinate groups (women in particular) who have been excluded in traditional systems and (vi) resolving conflicts over the distribution of benefits from the exploration of mineral and forest resources.

Among the above points, (ii), (iii) and (v) are clearly the consequences of individualisation; they do not cause or contribute to the productivity improvement in agriculture. The point (vi) is not relevant to the topic under debate. Therefore, points (i) and (iv), detailed below, are the ones that are actually the subjects of this analysis.

Tenurial Security and Agricultural Productivity: This is the most serious criticism levelled against

the CLT system. Communal ownership is said to be associated with low agricultural productivity, constraining the economic development of the concerned countries (Hughes 2003; Gosarevski et al 2004). The basic reason for making these negative remarks is the tenurial insecurity inherent in the system. Land policies promoted in Africa during 'the land reform decades' from the late 1960s to early 1980s were based on the premise that customary systems did not provide necessary security to ensure agricultural investment and productive use of land (Peters 1994). The lack of land security in customary tenure is said to be due to the absence of clearly defined and enforceable property rights. The economic histories of Europe and North America may be seen as glorified examples of the superiority of ILT over CLT.

A 2008 report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) details the issue of access insecurity to land and its linkage to the tenure system. Land tenure, as defined by the report, is the rules, norms and institutions that govern how, when and where people access land or are excluded from such access. Land tenure security, on the other hand, refers to enforceable claims on land, with the level of enforcement ranging from national laws to local village rules, which again are supported by national regulatory frameworks. It refers to people’s recognized ability to control and manage land – using it and disposing of its products as well as engaging in such transactions as the transferring or leasing of land.

Access to land and tenure security issues are particularly important from macroeconomic perspectives. Population growth, high food prices, the impact of climate change, trade regimes, global consumer- and corporate-driven food systems and growing demand for agro-fuels and feed are causing fierce competition for land and intense pressures on tenure systems. This emerging situation threatens land and tenure security – and hence the food security – for those whose access to land was not previously property alone as well as in association with others (IFAD 2008).

To the millions of rural poor people, who depend on agriculture for their livelihood, IFAD says, secure access to productive land is critical. It reduces their vulnerability to hunger and poverty; it influences their capacity to invest in their productive activities and in the sustainable management of their resources; it enhances their prospects for better livelihoods; and it helps them develop more equitable relations with the rest of their society, thus contributing to justice, peace and sustainable development. However, it is also pertinent to note that a 2005 World Bank analysis of land policies in 73 countries between 1960 and 2000 shows that countries with more equitable initial land distribution achieved

352

economic growth rates two to three times higher than those where land distribution was less equitable (International Fund for Agricultural Development 2008). So the question of equity is evidently crucial in relation to both security and productivity.

Incentives to Savings and Credit Supply: Tenurial insecurity is also argued to be a disincentive to saving mobilisation and investment in rural community. This implies that private property rights would ordinarily encourage hard working ambitious men and women to become wealthier. As rural people become richer, their capacities to save improve and help them make regular investments in their properties to increase earnings. Private property rights also encourage local financial institutions to supply credits in rural areas by taking landed property as collateral. Thus, on this reasoning, individualisation of communal land would augment agricultural development by encouraging investment in agriculture through the growth in rural banking.

4 FUNDAMENTALS OF ORTHODOX ECONOMIC THEORY The theoretical insights, which have inspired the individualisation policy prescription, are derived

from mainstream microeconomics. Microeconomic theories of production and consumption are the foundations of economics. Therefore all students of economics are well-instructed in these theories, which they sub-consciously use in analysing all economic issues and topics. This suggests that the donor-appointed experts, many of whom are acclaimed economists, have also used the microeconomic production theory in analysing the problems of productivity in the CLT system. In order to facilitate the critical evaluation of the theory of individualisation to be carried out in the following section, the following paragraphs briefly describe the main ideas of neoclassical production theory.

Modern microeconomics is founded on two fundamental premises. First, the institution of private property underpins the decentralised economic activities which individuals undertake in market economy. Second, human beings are selfish by nature, meaning that they normally undertake economic activities with the intent of maximising benefits and/or minimising loss. This impression was suggested by Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, who famously wrote: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages (Smith 1776).” Economists use the jargon Homo Economicus to reflect this feature of humankind in economic decision-making.

John Stuart Mill, a 19th century philosopher-cum-economist, is popularly credited for conceiving the idea of Homo Economicus without actually using the terms. He defined political economy as the study of those aspects of production and distribution of wealth which depend upon the laws of a particular portion of human nature. In Mill’s words, this portion of human nature deals with the human motive concerning wealth acquisition: “Political Economy considers mankind as occupied solely in acquiring and consuming wealth; and aims at showing what is the course of action into which mankind, living in a state of society, would be impelled, if that motive, except in the degree in which it is checked by the two perpetual counter-motives above adverted to, were absolute ruler of all their actions (Mill 1844: 137).

The above classical idea about human nature and motive found concrete treatment in the hands of neoclassical economists, who introduced advanced calculus and matrix algebra in explaining the basic theories of economics. The mathematisation of economics by default required more rigorous statement of human motive in economic decision-making. This account about the individual’s role in economic decision-making becomes clearer when the modern definition of economics is taken into consideration. Modern economists seem to have formed some sort of consensus about a definition of their discipline which has been supplied by one great economist Lionel Robbins (1932) in his book, An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science: ‘Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses’.

Robbins definition has reduced economics into a science of choice. The logic behind so characterising the discipline of economics rests on two practical situations that regulate economic decision-making. Human beings by nature has unlimited desires for goods and services which give them utilities, both physical and mental. But economic resources available to them for satisfying those

353

unlimited wants are strictly limited, meaning individuals are unable to appease all their desires. This situation compels economic agents to make choices among their competitive desires/alternatives. Neoclassical microeconomics postulates that individuals’ make their choices based on two criteria. As consumers, they target utility maximization, while they seek profit-maximization and/or loss minimization as producers.

5 NEOCLASSICAL CRITICISMS OF THE CLT SYSTEM: A CASE OF CONCEPTUAL

BIAS In the context of the CLT debate, the individualisation advocates are using the producer theory of

microeconomics. Following the conventional economic theory of production, the individualization experts are assuming that the tribal people, living in remote rural areas, have the same motive of maximizing profits cultivating lands. But they are reluctant to exercise their natural commercial tendency because of the absence of ownership on lands. It then follows logically that the removal of this economic disincentive entails individualizing the customary through registration. As the individual villagers become owner of the lands they are operating, they work harder to better their economic wellbeing by the natural tendency.

It is an empirical knowledge that the human weakness toward private ownership is ‘natural’ and that the institution of private property is more consistent with the modern idea of human development. To convince ourselves about this truth, we only need to look at the economies of the North. This empirical truth however does not necessarily suggest that the system works like a 'magic wand':the institution of private property would generate expected outcomes no matter when and where the system is introduced. The existence of the developing world in which the institution of private property predominates is the living testimony to the truth of this statement.

People, living in the tribal societies where the CLT systems are the way of life, are educated in the culture and customs that teach them the principle of communal living and ownership. Their outlooks toward private possession and acquiring private wealth are observed to be quite modest. Naturally, the neoclassical production theory, which predicts the effects of tenurial security, offered by the institution of private property on farm productivity, appears inappropriate for explaining and predicting production relations prevailing in CLT systems.

All academic observations, experiments and demonstrations, first and foremost, take place in the minds of concerned researchers. Later they collect and analyse real-world data in order to verify and confirm their conceptions. Thus when an inappropriate conceptual methodology guides an intellectual investigation, there can be, little if any, hope that it would lead to accurate inferences. This is particularly true in deductive analysis, where accuracy or otherwise of major premises determines the conclusions- for better or worse.

6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Customary systems of land tenure are widely practiced in many developing countries. The

fundamental feature that distinguishes these systems is that land resources are owned by a kin group or a collection of kin groups and administered through the unwritten customs of the concerned community. Group members are granted use-rights, which they can enjoy hereditarily. In contrast, lands in the modern capitalist market economies are individually owned and publicly administered. Owners are entitled to exercise their right in the way they like- e.g. to operate, rent/lease or sell- within the framework of rules set by governments.

The literature on customary land shows an overwhelming convergence of opinions that CLT is an impediment to rural development in concerned countries. Rural/tribal people living under customary system are said to have little incentives to work harder and to save and invest in their businesses due to lack of access security. On the other hand, financial institutions are less interested to extend services in agriculture, because rural people cannot provide proper tangible collaterals. Since land owned is the most important asset in agriculture, peasants are unable to offer collaterals if lands are communally owned.

354

This paper argues that the conventional wisdom described above is conceptually biased. The entire edifice of microeconomic analysis is founded on two fundamental premises- the ownership pattern in the economy is dominated by the institution of private property and individuals are selfish by nature, particularly concerning wealth creation and consumption. The first of these premises - right to own and accumulate private property - is taken as axiomatic for modern market economies. In the case of agricultural enterprises, farming households own lands, which are publicly registered and protected by the legal system. Farmers can use this ownership right in the way they like- operate, rent/lease or sell. This premise is institutional. The second premise concerns the natural/inborn attributes of individuals undertaking economic activities. Ever since Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, the assumption that human beings are by nature selfish, meaning they normally pursue the goal of maximising monetary benefits and minimising loss, has pervaded mainstream economics.

Customary tenure, which is still being widely practiced in the remote rural areas of the developing world, shares neither of these premises. The very definition of CLT system means that the institution of private property does not exist in these cases. Will the imposition of ILT in these communities create necessary incentives among the tribal people? This is indeed an interesting and important question that deserves serious attention from both researchers and policymakers. But this is a very different issue, which requires a different approach for analysis. The focus of the analysis is more empirical study than deductive reasoning. Second, the culture and customs of tribal communities teach their people the principle of communal living and ownership, which are very different from those of the so-called ‘civilised’ world. The outlooks of tribal people toward private possession and acquiring private wealth are frequently quite modest.

Thus the studies of customary land tenure system conducted by employing the theoretical framework of neoclassical economics, it may be concluded, tend to be conceptually biased and are therefore susceptible to error in their policy reform recommendations.

REFERENCES

Allen, B. (undated). The Setting: Land, economics and development in the Southern Highlands. Available at http://epress.anu.edu.au/ssgm/conflict/html/ch03.html, (accessed on 29 September 2013).

Anderson, T. (2011). Melanesian Land: The Impact of Markets and Modernisation. Journal of Australian Political Economy. 68: 86-107.

AusAID (2008). Making Land Work. Vol. One: Reconciling Customary Land and Development in the Pacific. Australian Agency for International Development, Canberra.

Besteman, C. (1994). The ‘local factor’ in economic and political analysis: Individualisation and the assault on customary tenure in Africa- title registration programmes and the case of Somalia. Africa, 4.

Besteman, C. (1999). Unravelling Somalia: Race, Violence and the Legacy of Slavery. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Bourke, R. (2013). History of agriculture in Papua New Guinea. Available at http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/history.pdf (accessed on 27 September 2013).

Gosarevski, S., Hughes, H. and Windybank, S. (2004). Is Papua New Guinea viable? Pacific Economic Bulletin. 1: 134–48.

Hughes, H. (2003). Aid Has Failed the Pacific. Issue Analysis, 33. IFAD (2008). Improving access to land and tenure security /Policy. International Fund for National

Development. Available at: http://www.ifad.org/pub/policy/land/e.pdf (accessed 01/22/2013). Lastarria-Cornhiel, S. (1997). Impact of Privatization on Gender and Property Rights in Africa. World

Development, 8: 1317-1333. Locke, J. (1690). The Second Treatise of Civil Government. Reprinted as eBook by The University of

Adelaide. Available at ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/locke/john/l81s/ ‎ (assessed on 27 September 2013). Lund, C. (2000). African Land Tenure: Questioning Basic Assumptions. Drylands Programme Issue. Paper No. 100. London: IIED.

http://epress.anu.edu.au/ssgm/conflict/html/ch03.html�

http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/history.pdf�

355

Mill, J. S. (1844). On the Definition of Political Economy; and on the Method of Investigation Proper to It. In Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy. New York: Augustus M Kelley Publishers, 1968.

Peters, P. (1994). Dividing the Commons: Politics, Policy, and Culture in Botswana. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.

Locke, J. (1690). The Second Treatise of Civil Government. Reprinted as eBook by The University of Adelaide, available at ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/locke/john/l81s/ ‎ (assessed on 27 September 2013).

Robbins, L. (1932). An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science. London: Macmillan & Co Ltd. 1962.

Smith, A. (1776). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. New York: The Modern Library, 1937.

Trading Economics (2010). Agricultural land (% of land area) in Papua New Guinea. Available at ‘Agricultural land (% of land area) in Papua New Guinea’ (accessed on29 September 2013).

Wikipedia (2013). Customary land. Free Internet Encyclopaedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customary_land (accessed on 29 September 2013).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customary_land�



356

HS72013-HS-093

Retaining Youth in Agriculture in PNG: Challenges and Opportunities

Abdul Halim

Department of Agriculture, PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG Email: [email protected]

BACKGROUND

Youth is thought to be a transition stage between childhood and adulthood, but it is a very challenging period of time when many significant life events occur and decisions are made. Although the terms youth and young people are conceived differently in various parts of the world, they most commonly refer to adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24, where - Adolescent describes those between 10 and 19, - Youth describes those between 15 and 24, and - Young people those in either group (World Youth Report 2003). Despite these commonly used categories, countries often use different distinctions, and “youth” can include people up to the ages of 29 or 35. It is also fact that rural youth and agricultural youth are not the same. It varies from country to country depending on situation. DEFINITION OF YOUTH

Youth have been defined by age group between 15−24 years old. The youth covers a stage in the lifecycle moving from dependence to independence and then inter-dependence. It can range from as young as age 10 years to as old as mid-thirties, depending on the age at which some children have to start maintain themselves and the way society look at it. DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURE Agriculture is beyond production of commodities in the farm and in rural areas. Other related activities as marketing, production and distribution of inputs and job creation in rural and urban areas through value addition of products both in small and commercial scales are also included. Retaining youth in agriculture needs to be addressed keeping this definition in view. Youth are usually unemployed without motivational thrust to get them engaged in entrepreneurship development or enter into either subsistence or commercial agriculture. PACIFIC SCENARIO

Young people account for a large proportion of the population of Pacific Island countries. The youth age group of 15−24 years accounts for nearly two million people, which is close to a fifth of the regions’ total population. Over a quarter of the total population are in the wider youth age grouping of 15−30 years (Table 1). The age range between 15 to 34 years is used to define youth in the national youth policies of the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue and Palau. In Kiribati, it is 15 to 30 years and in Papua New Guinea, it is 12 to 25 years. The broader age range used to define youth can be taken to reflect the extended time it takes, particularly for males in these societies, to find a reliable source of livelihood to support a family (UNICEF 2011). The territories of Pacific Region represents 21 counties and grouped into Melanesia (5 countries), Micronesia (6 countries) and Polynesia (10 countries). Total population of this region is nearly 9.86 million of which 1.93 million (19.58%) are youth. Youth are usually unemployed and even have no motivational thrust to get them engaged in entrepreneurship development or enter into either subsistence or commercial agriculture due to many factors. Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available and seeking employment (SPC 2010).


357

Table 1: Youth share (aged 15 - 24 years) of the populations in countries and territories the Pacific region, 2010.

Sub-region and country/territory

Estimated population in mid 2010

Total 15-24 yrs

15-24 yrs as prop of total pop %

15-24 yrs as prop of total adult pop 15-59 yrs %

MELANESIA 8,641,883 1,695,272 19.6 33.7 Fiji 847,793 155,555 18.3 28.9 New Caledonia 254,525 44,853 17.6 27.5 Papua New Guinea 6,744,955 1,337,953 19.8 34.4 Solomon Islands 549,574 104,910 19.1 35.0 Vanuatu 234,023 45,423 19.4 35.1

MICRONESIA 547,345 106,838 19.5 32.1 Federated States of Micronesia 102,624 12,170 20.6 35.1 Guam 187,140 32,134 17.2 27.5 Kiribati 100,835 21,222 21.0 35.6 Marshall Islands 54,439 12,384 22.7 42.1 Nauru 9,976 2,106 21.1 34.2 Northern mariana Islands 63,072 10,191 16.2 23.9 Palau 20,518 3,365 16.4 23.3

POLYNESIA 663,795 127,871 19.3 32.3 American Samoa 65,896 13,602 20.6 35.8 Cook Islands 15,529 2,937 18.9 31.5 French Polynesia 268,767 50,088 18.6 28.3 Niue 1,479 253 17.1 28.9 Pitcaim Islands 66 Samoa 183,123 35,899 19.6 36.0 Tokelau 1,165 228 19.6 35.9 Tonga 103,365 20,281 19.6 36.5 Tuvalu 11,149 2,152 19.3 32.3 Wallis and Futuna 13,256 2,432 18.3 31.0

Total Population 9,853,024 1,929,981 19.6 33.5 Source: SPC pacific Island Populations Estimates and projections of demographic indicators for

selected years, 2010. The data for Vanuatu are based on the 2009 census. The data for the Federated States of Micronesia are based on the preliminary results of the 2010 FSM-wide Census.

358

AUSTRALIAN SCENARIO AND GLOBAL TREND

The total population of Australia is 22,015, 576. Out of them 13.5% are youth (between 15-24 years). Access to job market by the youth in Australia is as like as global trend, especially those of Europe and North America (the world fact book 2013). Demographic trends indicate more young people in the world today than ever before, especially in developing countries (James Laraki (2012). Many young people are reportedly choosing not to pursue livelihoods in agriculture, especially as farmers. If this is the case, there are clear implications for the future of agriculture, especially at a time where many challenges are faced in the context of efforts towards food security and poverty reduction. Unemployed youth in the world representing 101countries are 11.3% of which male and female are 11.3% and 11.9% respectively. Unemployed youth form a large proportion of the total unemployed population. In 1994, of the 855,500 unemployed people, 38% were aged 15-24. 54% of these unemployed youth were male (Andrew M. and S. Sebawal2008).

Table 2: Youth Labor Force in Australia

Source: The World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_as.html) Accessed 18/8/2013 The youth unemployment rate has been much higher than the total unemployment rate over the last 15 years. In 1994, the youth unemployment rate was 17% compared to an overall unemployment rate of 10%. People aged 15-19 had the highest rate of unemployment (23%) of any age group (the world fact book 2013)). CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF RETAINING YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE

Farming and related activities are not easy and promising business for livelihood maintenance. It is a challenge of how to retain young people in agriculture in the Pacific Region in the context of the present scenario. A large number of youth are migrating to urban centers and other countries with a hope of looking for better opportunities. Youth and agricultural youth are not the same. In Australia, Europe and North America vast majority of the youth living in rural areas earn from other sectors, not from agriculture. Simultaneously youth living in urban can also earn from agriculture and agriculture related activities. So the challenges of today are to identify the different scale of activities and segment those according to employment and market opportunities. The broad categories of youth outlined by a by Kees Van der Greet (2010) are: (1) Student, (2) Part time labor force, (3) Employed (salary work/wage labor, self employed, family labor, under employed, working below educational skills, job with low productivity and earnings), and (4) Unemployed (not in labor force and not in school, involved in child

Age group Percentage Male % Female %

0 – 14 18.2 2,050,403 51.3 1,946,829 48.7

15 – 24 13.5 1,524,835 51.3 1,447,607 48.7

25 – 54 42.2 4,713,552 50.77 4,570,282 49.23

55 – 64 11.8 1,294,224 49.73 1,308,231 50.27

65 + 14.4 1,451,869 45.95 1,707,744 50.05

Total 100.1 11,034,883

10,980,693

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_as.html�


359

care, not allowed to go outside and frustrated and depend on others). Employment is seen as the most preferred and last resort by those with secondary and tertiary education. Yet an increasing number of youth remain unemployed and seem to be incapable or unwilling to do what is necessary to provide young people with employment in the agriculture sector. In view of the issues raised there are several challenges for the young job-seekers in front to make agriculture attractive. Some challenges and opportunities are therefore highlighted.

Challenges/Problems: • Lack of awareness and access to information, particularly isolated island nations of the Pacific

Regon. • Lack of access to resources to address young generations’ need and interest in agriculture • Lack of aspirations, expectations and need for achievement of young people on their life choices,

thought about themselves, families and communities • Lack of self confidence and dependency on others • Customary land ownership in the Pacific Region and even in Australia • Geographical isolation of islands depriving access to opportunities and resources in the Pacific

Region • Lack of access to land and capital along with entrepreneurial skills • Lack of security and frequent crises and uncertainty about market and other required support

services • Lack of improved infrastructure, ICT, storage and cooling facilities • Migration to urban centers in the hope of getting employment and for a better life. • Lack of connection between food and agriculture leading to an uncertain future for sustainable

food security. • Skill gaps in agricultural education and training at all levels to retain youth in Agriculture • General perception about farming is that it is for rural, uneducated, poor and aged people. To

change this mindset is a challenge. • Lack of policy support and implementation plan by different public, private and international

agencies. Opportunities/Solutions • Available information, knowledge and technologies can facilitate to minimize gap regarding

access to information, skill training and other support services for the youth. • Proper use of improved infrastructure, ICT, storage and cooling facilities may create opportunity

in agriculture sector • Available comprehensive livelihoods programs in promoting the employment of young instead of

standalone intervention to be used. • Modification of curriculum and syllabuses in educational institutions at all levels can minimize

skill gap by incorporating livelihoods and entrepreneurship approach. • Available business and entrepreneurship skills to be include in agricultural curriculum. • Existing Internships programs in education including agriculture are crucial to building a cadre of

well-prepared young professionals for careers in ARD. • Properly planned partnership involvement of academic and other institutions, local community

and industries is a great opportunity. • The experiences of cooperatives/youth organizations/ Grameen Bank/young farmers’ field

schools (YFFS)/Krishi Gen Kendra of Indian State Universities may be utilized to develop skills and set mind of the youth in agriculture.

• Youth to be trained to work across different disciplines and in partnership with different stakeholders, understand the value chain and potential for profit and entrepreneurship at different stage. “The ARD school curricula could become more relevant and of greater interest to young

360

people by inclusion of entrepreneurship knowledge in the curriculum. This is important to at least to arouse the desire for innovation, self-reliance and private practice of agricultural skills.”(Alex Percy and Leonoor 2011-12).

• Strengthening of national and international policy support to attract young people to agriculture . • Educational Institutional Model for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (EIMSRD)

may be tried in the Pacific Region • A brief of the EIMSRD followed by a case study in PNG: Examples A Brief of EIMSRD Developed by the University of Technology, Papua New Guinea The Papua New Guinea (PNG) University of Technology (Unitech) has developed a location specific

Educational Institutional Model for Sustainable Rural Development (EIMSRD). The concept is based on Model Village approach suitable for the Islands countries of the South Pacific. The model operates four important programs, viz., Capacity Building, Research, Training and Technology Transfer (Halim 2012). The programs are coordinated by the South Pacific Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SPISARD), an outreach wing established within the Department of Agriculture of Unitech in 2004. The university students and staff of different Departments including nearby secondary schools are involved in implementing the plans. The selected model villages are the conduits points to operate the programs. The research help to adjust the approach to training and technology transfer, improve university teaching, and develop entrepreneurship among the local youth and outgoing students of the university. The concept and experiences of this project may be tried to other islands countries of Pacific Region. This model may be discussed separately in another forum.

A Case Study to Retrain Youth in Agriculture in PNG Production of Commercial Fish at Dimbil, Anglimp Southwaghi District, Jiwaka Province: Jonah Anton, Final Yr. (2013) student of the Department of Agriculture, PNG University of

Technology Partnership: PNG Sustainable Development (linked with OCTEDI Mining), IASS Ltd, NFA

and the Jiwaka Provincial Government. Waghi Inland Fish Farming Project (WIFFP) is a fish project that is located in the new Jiwaka

province between Chimbu and Western Highlands Province. Previously fish farming in Jiwaka province was very poor up until recently when a training centre was established at Banz, North Waghi District called the Maria Queen Fisheries Training Centre. Inland fish farming was a totally new idea to the bulk of the population in the province and most of the people were unable to produce enough fish to feed their families and also to meet the demand in the province. Despite having good land resources, fast flowing water from the mountains, and food availability they could not culture the fish due to a lack of technology. Only the people who lived around Waghi River were fortunate to catch the fish but the rest could not either because they lived further away from the Waghi River or they didn’t have an abundance of fish thriving in streams close by to them.

During 1990s, there was a training conducted at Banz, Maria Queen Fisheries Training Centre which drew interest to fish farming from farmers and they began constructing ponds in their villages. Fingerlings were transported from other provinces and were supplied from the training centre. However, the farmers were unable to produce the required output because they lacked knowledge on pond construction, management, feeding and breeding. This discouraged the farmers from further progress on their fish farming activities.

In 2011, a survey was conducted by an agriculture student from the PNG University of Technology at Dimbil village, in the Anglimp South Waghi District. From the survey, it was concluded that there are land areas that have great potential to carry out fish farming. The survey also predicted that there are some good benefits for inland fish farming. Therefore, they have engaged with the village people from Dimbil to involve themselves in the fish farming (case study report 2013).

The proposed project is currently an established 100% locally own small medium scale business entity which operates under the business name: Waghi Inland Fish Farming Project (WIFFP). It covers an

361

area of two hectares of land and has the capacity to produce 20 000 to 50 000 Table size fish every three months.

The Project is being done in collaboration with the Inland Aquaculture Support Services Limited (IASS Ltd) and the provincial government.

REFERENCES 1. Alex Percy-Smith and Leonoor Akkermans(2011-12)“ Working towards a new

generation of Young Professionals in ARD”, YPARD (Young Professionals Plat form for Agricultural Research for Development), commissioned consultants –A Youth Perspective.

2. Andrew Morrison and Swetlena Sebawal (2008), The Economic Participation of Adolescent Girls and Young Women: Why Does It Matter?

3. Case study report (2013) on the commercial fish production at Dimbil, Anglimp Southwaghi District, Jiwaka Province, PNG

4. Halim A. (2012): Key Functions of a University for Rural Livelihood Improvement: The Experiences of the PNG University of Technology in Papua New Guinea, paper presented in the Canadian International Conference on Education (CICE-2012) held during June 18-21, 2012 at Guelph, Toronto.

5. James Laraki (2012), Future Farmers: Exploring Youth aspirations for Agriculture, (http://www.nari.org.pg/node/223)

6. KEES Van der Geest (2010) Rural Youth Employment in Developing Countries: A Global View (Report by FAO)

7. SPC(2010),Pacific Island Population Estimates and Projections of Demographic Indicators

8. UNICEF (2011), Pacific Office Secretariat of the Pacific Community ,New Caledonia 9. World Bank (2008), The Economic Participation of Adolescent Girls and Young Women: Why

Does It Matter? Note s Number 128 10. World Fact book (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-

factbook/geos/countrytemplate_as.html) Accessed 18/8/2013 11. World Youth Report (2003): The Global Situation of Young People. New York: United Nations).

Global Round Table Working Group on Youth- Youth and the State of the World.

http://ypard.net/sites/ypard.net/files/Working%20towards%20a%20new%20generation%20of%20Young%20Professionals%20in%20ARD.pdf�



http://www.nari.org.pg/node/223�





362

RECOMMENDATIONS

In the plenary session of the 7th Huon Seminar, a group discussion on the papers presented was organized. The recommendations which emerged in the plenary session are complied category wise and presented below:

Engineering Sciences 1. The communication being very important for development, the use of broadband network for rural

communication needs to be promoted.

2. In the area of environment protection and conservation and use of green technology, following points needs to be developed or addressed to;

a. Protection and use of green technology to solve environment problems b. Knowhow about deep sea mining to venture into deep sea mining c. Protection of environment by extraction of commercial ore in tailings d. Continue to updated scientific information on marine environment

3. In the area of application of technology, following needs to be encouraged and promoted;

a. Use of GIS to study species of trees for commercial purpose b. Technology of improving processing and concentration of Chromite ore c. Development of small scale steel production in aid of environment protection and

conservation d. Development of road designs and techniques to suit local conditions and climate (viz. for

Lae, water logging is a serious concern) e. Development of a master plan for the development of Lae city

4. On climate change issue development and promotion of bio-fuels production in PNG was

considered very important.

5. In the education sector, following are the recommendations; a. Improvement in quality of engineering graduates by:

i. Improve teaching and learning in the higher/secondary schools (Better inputs = better outputs)

ii. Establishing school of excellence b. More funding to improve facilities in the universities c. Accreditation of engineering degree courses is needed

6. In the area of private public partnership, there is a strong need to further strengthen interaction

and collaboration between industry, academia and government, in order to improve curriculum design, research and development and for enhanced financial support for the institutions.

Members of Engineering Science Category Group Discussion

1. Dr. Praveen Pandey 2. Ms. Stephanie Konts



363

3. Mr. Brain N’Drelan 4. Mr. H. S. Srivastava 5. Dr. Ora Renagi 6. Dr. Gabriel Arpa 7. Ms. Mary Kama 8. Mr. Patrol Maino 9. Dr. Reilly Nigo

10. Mr. Herman Kunsei

Life Sciences Main issues are the environment, sustainability and climate change. The following points emerged from the group discussion; 1. Development of a robust food control system in PNG enables local entrepreneurs to tap the

potential of food processing and marketing. Currently the food control system is fragmented.

2. There is a need to establish food control agency which is independent and statutory.

3. Food control agency must address impediments created by the five components of current national food control system

4. Further data collection has to be done to assess the safety of environment due to volcanic ash

exposure.

5. Currently linkage between department of environment and conservation and department of health is missing.

6. Data generated has to be shared and made available to access by the public.

7. Promote and encourage establishment of societies / clubs of students which can act as

watchdogs to the environmental issues.

8. To provide relevant information of crop production including natural manures and fertilizers to the rural population. This is necessary to achieve food security.

9. Capacity building is needed to identify animal parasitic diseases and to develop biological control

measures and also animal husbandry practices. Very importantly, rural extension services have to be strengthened.

10. To respect and make use of traditional knowledge and conduct scientific studies on them to have

a real database of all the species of medicinal interest, for the betterment of the society.

11. Pigs have a traditional importance in PNG’s culture. The demand of livestock is much more than the supply (in terms of markets). Therefore there is a need to establish a good linkage between a common pig farmer in a small village and the formal meat market, so that both get mutually benefited.

12. To encourage continuous research on both natural and plantation forest resource to maximize the

benefits as well as to address climate change issues in terms of volume equations calculated for the tree species around PNG.



364

Members of Engineering Science Category Group Discussion

1. Dr. R. Rao, 2. Dr. G. Janarthanan, 3. Dr. Larry Orsak, 4. Mrs. S. Denano, 5. Ms. K. Hundang 6. Ms. Lena W. Yual 7. Ms. Paula Kaup 8. Mr. Alfred Kik 9. Mr. Mondo Karmar 10. Dr. Max Peki 11. Dr. H. Sakulas

Social Science

The following summary is presented in five categories and sums up the main issues discussed by the group which summarized the presentations under the social sciences category.

1. Customary Land Related Issues in Papua New Guinea:

Reforming customary land is a serious issue in PNG. This is because about 97.5 per cent of the land in PNG is under customary ownership. The prevailing theory is that the customary ownership is an impediment to agricultural development. Therefore, this system should be dismantled by individuals and the ownership. Recommendations This policy recommendation has been derived from orthodox economics theory which is built around two basic premises: 1) existence of the institution of private property, and 2) human beliefs are by nature selfish. These premises are not quite consistent with the situation prevailing in the rural PNG. Here people believe in the spirit of mutual dependence and simple life. Therefore, it is recommended that the reforms of customary lands should be undertaken carefully so that the policy measures do not come in conflict with the interests and intentions of the rural people.

2. Business related issues:

Higher education is needed to move PNG economy. However, there are very limited number of placements at the 6 PNG universities (4 public & 2 private), vis-a-vis the number of grade 12 graduates. Also, the qualifications of many of the grade 12 graduates in the areas of mathematics, science, and English are poor. Consequently, they cannot get accepted. This calls for a need to:

1) Improve elementary and secondary educational foundations in English, Mathematics, and

Science,

2) Increase Technical Vocational Education &Training (TVET) education to produce the technicians needed in the public and private sectors so that those not selected into universities can be absorbed into TVET institutions.

3) Increase university education enrolment capacity. Allow more private universities to be established in PNG. Expand the capacities of the existing public universities. However, before this a demand-supply assessment study is essential.



365

3. Communication & Development Studies:

Research-based information presented over the two days highlighted socio-economic development issues which are important to plan for social change in PNG communities. Strategic planning of the research data aimed at improving the lives of Papua New Guineans should be founded on:

1) Integration – ideas, concepts, knowledge & expertise from the fields of engineering, life sciences & social sciences should be integrated while explaining socio-economic development issues to make them more inclusive.

2) Collaboration – collaborative approach in planning for socio-economic developments gives value to strategic plans for social change.

3) Strategic Planning – This is crucial as it defines the intended outcome (value) and details the approach (implementation plan & strategies) to achieve the social change.

Therefore, it is significant to re-look at the mode and style of teaching in universities and colleges. Graduates need to be prepared to work in collaboration and to network across disciplines. Breaking out of the top-down mentality is paramount in bringing social change for improved livelihood by 2050.

4. Higher Education:

National Higher Education Plan III (NHEP III) sets the framework to implement the Development Strategic Plan (DSP) 2030 and Vision 2050. However, there is a need for clear guidelines in the following two areas:

1) The weak-link in collecting data necessary for the implementation of NHEP III 2) The overall monitory and evaluation of the HE sector for NHEP III to have the cascading effect

from OHE to universities and colleges. 3) Dissemination of information about NHEP III, DSP 2030 and Vision 2050 and to get feedback

from the beneficiaries and accordingly the implementation plan is required to be made.

5. Agriculture Extension, Women and Youth

1) The extension approaches in PNG are being controlled by different commodity boards, NGOs and other sectors according to their own needs. There is a need to develop unified extension policy to address different needs of the small and marginal farmers.

2) Coffee Industry Corporations (CIC) needs to address more small holder coffee growers and develop a need based policy guidelines.

3) The youth need attention in order to develop entrepreneurship among them, especially those pursuing vocational and professional education. Example of case studies of Unitech agriculture department may be tried by other agencies.

4) Women farmers need special attention as they spend more time in farming activities and family management. They need more training to improve the quality of life in rural families.

Members of Social Science Category Group Discussion

1. Dr. Lilly Sar 2. Ms. Betty Tiko 3. Dr. Eric Gilder 4. Ms. Lisa Larry



366

5. Ms. Mary Aisi 6. Dr. Rachel Aisoli-Orake 7. Mr. Samuel Ati Hinafa 8. Dr. Khandakar Elahi 9. Mr. Enrico C. Mina

10. Ms. Josephine Giwar

Other Recommendations: In the 7th Huon Seminar plenary session a proposal was made to launch a YOUNG SCIENTIST FORUM at the PNG University of Technology in 2014 to promote science, technology and research amongst youth in Papua New Guinea. To support the activities of the forum a corpus fund shall be created from the funds raised for the 7th Huon Seminar, 2013.



367

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Keynote Speakers

Social Sciences: Prof. David Kavanamur, Director General, Office Higher Education Engineering Sciences: Prof. M. A. Satter, Pro Vice Chancellor Academic Life Sciences: Mr. M. Maino, Pro Vice Chancellor Admin

Paper Presenters Name Email Paper No. Engineering Sciences David Lopez [email protected] HS7-2013-024 Graham Atkins [email protected] HS7-2013-096 H.S. Srivastava [email protected] HS7-2013-097 John Pumwa [email protected] HS7-2013-095 Kaul Gena [email protected] HS7-2013-089 Manau Saki [email protected] HS7-2013-032 Mary Kama [email protected] HS7-2013-037 Murray Konzang [email protected] HS7-2013-045 Ora Renagi [email protected] HS7-2013-013 Praveen Pandey [email protected] HS7-2013-094 Reily Nigo [email protected] HS7-2013-066 Stanley Rungwa [email protected] HS7-2013-003 Life Sciences Alfred Kik [email protected] HS7-2013-014 Barton Gabi [email protected] HS7-2013-075 Eko Maiguo [email protected] HS7-2013-019 Gwendolyn Ban [email protected] HS7-2013-060 Kundo Hundang [email protected] HS7-2013-039 Lena Yual [email protected] HS7-2013-048 Mex Peki [email protected] HS7-2013-078 Mondo Karmar [email protected] HS7-2013-098 Paula Kaupa [email protected] HS7-2013-069 Sogoing Denano [email protected] HS7-2013-067 Stanley Amben [email protected] HS7-2013-016 Social Sciences A. Halim [email protected] HS7-2013-093 Alex Botu [email protected] HS7-2013-010 & HS7-2013-011 Barton Gabi [email protected] HS7-2013-075 Betty Tiko [email protected] HS7-2013-059 Eric Gilder [email protected] HS7-2013-008 Francis Hualupmomi [email protected] HS7-2013-004



368

K. Elahi [email protected] HS7-2013-092 M. A. Satter [email protected] HS7-2013-035 Mary Aisi [email protected] HS7-2013-074 Patrol Maino [email protected] HS7-2013-046 S. Akanda [email protected] HS7-2013-091 Samuel Hinafa [email protected] HS7-2013-031 Other Registered Participants Chris Kobal Chris Mbah Eduardo Banzon G. Sarwar Khan Harry Chapau Harry Sakulas, Ian Leklek Larry Orsak Lisa Larry M. Betasolo Steven Atone Invited Guests Guest of Honor Mr. Ben Micah, Hon’ble Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments Senior Executive Management of the PNG University of Technology Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. John Pumwa Pro Vice Chancellor Academic Professor M. A. Satter Pro Vice Chancellor Admin Mr. M. Maino Acting Registrar Mrs Veronica Thomas Acting Bursar Mr Bapa Bomotang Other Guests Dr. Mosey Sau, Advisor to the Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments Sponsors Delegates from following organizations;

PNG Ports Corporation Ltd. PNG Power Ltd. Unitech Development and Consultancy Office of Higher Education Mineral Resource Development Company National Analytical and Testing Services Ltd.



369

BEST PAPER AWARD

The papers presented in the 7th Huon Seminar-2013 were evaluated on the basis of professional merit, scientific/technical significance and relevance of the paper to the PNG vision 2050, compliance to the paper submission guide lines and the presentation quality. The best paper from each of three categories was selected and awarded. Following are the category wise winners;

Engineering Sciences: Mary Kama, A. K. Chakraborti and P.S.A Leki; Department of Mining Engineering, PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG; Paper No. HS7-2013-037

Life Sciences: Mondo Karmar, Peter Damba, Arinaso Pilisi, Elizabeth Malabuo, Alois Jenkiau;

The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority; Paper No. HS7-2013-098 Social Science: Alex A. Botu; Victoria University, Faculty of Arts, Education and Human

Development, Footscray Park Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 8001; Paper No. HS7-2013-010

Date post:	24-Jan-2023
Category:	Documents
Upload:	wwwunitech
View:	0 times
Download:	0 times