Ethnic groups take up arms

By ANGELINE KARIUS and JEFFREY ELAPA

TWO Highlands groups clashed violently over the weekend in a predominantly Papuan settlement in Moresby South, The National reports.

Police said yesterday that the ethnic clash between Engans and Eastern Highlanders at the Horse Camp settlement at Sabama, in NCD, led to four people being hospitalised with gun shot wounds while at least 10 homes were razed.

Resident and Boroko police communications officer Chief Sgt Hohoves Kora (left), Joyce Bay councillor Joe Vali and Badili police station commander Bill Warake talking to media personnel and residents at Sabama yesterday

Acting police superintendent of operations Jim Namora and the coordinator of the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) accident and emergency unit Dr Sam Yockopua confirmed the casualties.

Many families were affected and office workers had to stay away from work yesterday in fear of being attacked or their homes being burnt down.

Namora said what started as a fight between the two Highlands group spread when settlers from other parts of the country took sides, based on which side of the settlement they resided in.

Horse Camp had been an exclusive settlement of coast people from Gulf and Western since the 1960s until Highlanders started buying blocks from the early settlers in the past 20 years.

Police said yesterday that the weekend clash carried over from an earlier fight between the two groups early last month during which a youth was knifed in the leg after being accused of stealing from an Engan man.

Police turned up in numbers yesterday at the settlement to keep the tense situation under control, adding that both sides were well armed.

They fear one group may pre-empt an all-out fight by a sneak raid during the night.

An Eastern Highlands community leader, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the latest clash erupted on Sunday after compensation negotiations to settle the previous clashes between the two groups failed.

Residents told the media yesterday that they heard several gun shots during Sunday night which police said they were investigating to determine that nobody was shot and wounded.

Of the buildings torched, according to police, was a trade store owned by a former Enga provincial assembly member Michael Magal.

Two Westerners were wounded by stray bullets fired by police to defuse what was a volatile situation.

PMGH’s Yockopua confirmed admitting two people with gun wounds, adding that another two had spear wounds while a fifth person was treated for wounds sustained when he was hit by a vehicle during the confrontation.

He said that the identities of the four people were still unknown but they would be kept under tight security as further treatment venues were sought because of the seriousness of their injuries.

Engan leader and spokesman Luke Yom claimed the Engan were frustrated over the continuous stealing by youths from the area and the fight was the result of that frustration.

Police said last night that the tension was still high and that anything could happen because, they believed, both groups were armed with bush knives, sticks, rocks and bows and arrows.

Papua New Guinea urged to speed up gas development or lose buyers

PAPUA New Guinea must accelerate development of its natural gas projects and lock in customers or risk losing out to other nations pushing coal seam and shale gas ventures, an oil and gas expert said, The National reports,

Independent researcher and the chairman of FACTS Global Energy, Dr Fereidun Fesharaki, gave the warning at the 11th PNG mining and petroleum investment conference in Sydney yesterday.

The US$15billion PNG LNG project under development by ExxonMobil, and partners Santos, Oil Search Ltd and the PNG government is on track to deliver its first shipment of LNG in 2014.

Fesharaki said PNG must act quickly to secure Asian markets or face competition from the cheaper Qatari LNG currently being sold to the US. “You have to be aware that this threat is there, so you have to act to shore up your customers,’’ he said.

“It is not possible to compete with Qatari LNG on economics … the only way to compete is to tie up the market.’’

Fesharaki said LNG production in Qatar cost about a quarter of that in PNG.

The Australian government has provided concessional loans of US$500 million to support development of the PNG LNG project, which is viewed as critical to the social and economic development of PNG.

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare said in his opening address that Australian companies had already won contracts worth twice as much as the finance provided by the Australian government.

“My government is anticipating that LNG revenues will propel the economy to new heights and significantly improve our social indicators, which for too long have remained stagnant,’’ Sir Michael said.

PNG was expecting growth of 7.1% this year and 8% next year, he said.

But exporting gas from the remote Southern Highlands and Western was not without its challenges, according to ExxonMobil upstream project manager for the PNG LNG project Decie Autin.

Autin said a 700km pipeline, including 450km of sub-sea pipeline, would be required to transport the gas to an LNG facility near Port Moresby for shipment.

She explained that the pipeline must also traverse low lying topography, deep gorges and steep terrain that were subject to landslides and significant environmental areas, making it a complex undertaking.

An export terminal would operate 24 hours a day at the LNG processing site near Port Moresby, loading an LNG tanker for export every two to three days, she said.

Sir Michael said the government would continue to focus on providing a stable political environment and transparent mining regime to encourage further development.

 

 

New petroleum firm to be set up, says Prime Minister

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare announced yesterday that a new national petroleum company will be established to manage the state’s interest in the oil and gas industry, The National reports.

He made the announcement at the 11th PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment conference at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia.

Sir Michael did not give details of the new petroleum company but said his government would review, rationalise and reform the state’s mining and petroleum interest participation that would form the basis for the new petroleum company.

Treasurer Peter O’Neill later reaffirmed Sir Michael’s announcement at a press conference.

He said the government had undertaken the initiative to park the state’s interest in a single entity.

The announcement was among new initiatives that the government had undertaken to make PNG’s investment environment conducive for investors and tap into the revenues generated by the vast petroleum industry in the country. 

Delivering his keynote address, Sir Michael told investors that his government had made the investment environment conducive by providing the necessary policy legislation for investors.

He said in early 2003, his government passed legislation to make investment in the country’s resources sector more attractive. In that year alone, spending of mineral exploration doubled in value to around K60 million well before the China factor caused an upsurge in commodity prices.

“My government will ensure Papua New Guinea’s competitive edge will be strengthened and maintained,” the prime minister said.

“To do this, the government, with consultative input from the industry, will immediately pursue a key number of initiatives.

“The government will continue to provide a stable environment in the form of political and policy stability and remain committed to a petroleum and mining regime where rules are widely known, fair and transparent and understandable.

“The government will ensure licence holders do not sit on licences but fast track development on our resources and review, rationalise and reform the department of petroleum and energy.”

Sir Michael said part of the review would involve setting up a petroleum resources authority with similar roles and functions as the Mineral Resources Authority.

The prime minister said the policy reviews were in line with the government’s Vision 2050 and its development strategic plan.

He admitted that the economy looked gloomy before his government took office but things had changed over the past eight years, resulting in an unprecedented consistent economic growth.

He said under his government’s tenure, the most notable achievement was the delivery of the K45 billion PNG liquefied natural gas project.

He was optimistic that revenue from the LNG project would transform the nation’s economy and improve the living standards of its people.

“Revenues from LNG, as I have explained, will underwrite many of our social and economic programmes over the next three decades.”

The prime minister urged potential investors to make Papua New Guinea their next investment destination.

 

 

More colleges and varsities needed, says administrator

By ZACHERY PER

 

THERE is a great demand for tertiary education as more and more students pass out from the school system, a high school graduation ceremony outside Goroka, Eastern Highlands, was told last week, The National reports.

Acting Eastern Highlands provincial administrator John Gimisive said lack of spaces at tertiary institutions was pressing the government to build more higher educational institutions to cater for the increasing number of graduates.

Gimisive was speaking at the graduation of Rintebe High School in upper Bena, Unggai-Bena district, last week.

He also raised concern that while the number of students leaving high schools and secondary schools were increasing, there were not enough tertiary institutions to complement this increase.

He told students, teachers, parents and guardians and guests at the graduation ceremony last Tuesday that students had to work hard to secure placing in PNG’s tertiary institutions.

“We have more primary and secondary schools under the reformed system with more child enrolments, but the tertiary level is not expanding.

“My concern is that there are not enough spaces at the universities and colleges for large numbers of students passing out from secondary and national high schools every year,” Gimisive said.

He said spaces were limited and students in secondary and high schools were competing for these spaces.

Gimisive said students studying overseas and others attending private and church-run agency schools, and those from other Pacific Island nations, also fight for the limited places at tertiary institutions.

However, he encouraged the graduating students not to feel let down if they did not get a university or college placing.

He said there were other avenues for leavers to further their education.

Expert technical advisory panel to review the Watut River System

Following representations to the Hidden Valley Joint Venture by the Member of Parliament for Bulolo Mr Sam Basil who raised landowner community concerns, an expert technical advisory panel will review sediment and pollution issues affecting the Watut River.

The panel will complement the existing regulatory processes and scrutiny of mining operations conducted by the PNG Government.

It will likely include international specialists with best practice experience relevant to the PNG natural environment

In recent discussions with Mr Basil it was agreed that terms of reference and membership of the expert technical advisory panel would be determined with a view to finalising details at a meeting in January.

Regulators will be key participants in this meeting and in ongoing discussions.

It is envisaged the expert technical advisory panel will be briefed on both historic and current studies and will visit the mine site.

The Joint Venture has provided Mr Basil with a briefing on the environmental management and monitoring of sediment run-off from the mine along with background information and a number of studies.

The Joint Venturers said that the expert technical advisory panel would be a vehicle for the constructive resolution of sediment related issues in a transparent and cooperative forum.

The meeting also discussed the establishment of multi stakeholder panels to consider the broader future development of Morobe Province.

 

Background

The Hidden Valley Mine is operated by the Hidden Valley Mine Joint Venture (HVJV) a 50:50 Joint venture between Harmony Gold of South Africa and Newcrest Mining of Australia.

The Hidden Valley Mine is located near Wau and Bulolo in Morobe Province.

 It was officially opened in September 2010.

The Hidden Valley Mine has a workforce of more than 2,000 people: 95 per cent are PNG nationals and 50 per cent come from the local communities.

It is important to note that the Hidden Valley Mine has an engineered tailings storage facility and no mine processing residue, or tailings, is discharged into the river.

The mine related sediment in the river that has caused community concern was run-off from mine overburden and construction activities.

 The mine transitioned from construction to operation in October this year.

Mine sediment run-off is now significantly lower due to mitigation measures.

These measures included ceasing of side casting of waste rock and overburden in September 2009, ongoing revegetation of exposed slopes and erosion control, and the storage of waste rock in engineered waste rock facilities.

Hidden Valley Mine has a demonstrated record of working with local communities.

The Hidden Valley Joint Venture has been making voluntary compensation payments to communities along the Watut River for flood damage to crops and gardens, regardless of whether this was due to additional sediment run-off from the mine construction activity or by natural events such as landslips and heavy rain.

A sustainable development program is bringing education support, agricultural skills, health programmes and community facilities such as sanitation and water supplies, school classrooms, community halls and aid posts.

These programs were developed in partnership with the local and provincial government and are aligned with their development programmes.

 

Media inquiries contact:

Hidden Valley Joint Venture

David Wissink

Ph: (675) 472 1703 ext 243

Mobile: (675) 7100 2406

Fax: (675) 472 1705

Email: david.wissink@morobejv.com

 

Hon. Sam Basil, MP

Member of Parliament for Bulolo

Email: vipersco@yahoo.com.au

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=698071613

 

The importance of research, science and technology

By SENIORL ANZU of NARI

The roles of research, science and technology are important for overall prosperity of any developing economy.

In agriculture, it is accepted that research, science and technology make positive inputs to agricultural development and eventually contribute to overall economic growth.

This happens when improved agricultural technologies and new innovations and knowledge generated through scientific research and innovative development are used in innovative ways by the farming and rural communities.

Papua New Guinea’s economic growth and social advancement remains in natural resource (renewable) sectors, including agriculture.

This sector is the mainstay of PNG where the majority of the population (85%) sustains their livelihoods.

Agriculture is the sector that must be targeted, irrespective of very exciting developments in other sectors at this present time.

The core contributions of agriculture are in the areas of food security, cash income generation, increasing gainful employment, reducing poverty and rural development - which would help realise broadbased economic growth.

That is where the government’s medium to long-term focus is for the future.

PNG agriculture also has potential for long term prosperity.

 This is through people empowerment and wealth creation, as singled out in the PNG Vision 2050.

Agricultural research and improved technologies are seen to be the most-critical catalytic agents in promoting the agriculture sector, economic growth and sustainable rural development.

PNG has distinct comparative and competitive advantage in developing its agriculture sector given the ample natural resources.

Basic opportunities in the agriculture sector lie in PNG’s rich resources and the potential to achieve substantial productivity gains through science-based agricultural technology and transfer of knowledge to communities.

Many of the potentials can be realised through increased productivity and diversified and expanded production.

They can be achieved through improved agricultural technologies and new knowledge created from science-based research which must be used by the farming and rural communities.

Technologies cannot be limited to one condition.

They can be borrowed from other countries.

Actors in the sector make assessments and adapt them to local conditions and circumstances.

Technologies can also be developed through innovations.

This is done through applied research, which requires scientific and systematic methods and processes.

Scientific research explores for truth and emphasises clarity of thinking using systematic processes.

Technology development translates research outputs into practical application for farmers and rural communities to use.

This is where institutions of research and technology development, higher education and training, and quality assurance come in.

They play a vital role in such an innovation system.

A number of institutions, universities and the private sector are incorporating science and technology in their research and development efforts.

 These are in the areas of crop improvement such as breeding, and biotechnology, crop diversification, pest and disease control such as management of the potato late blight infestation, and value addition.

 Over the years, the use of science and technology has helped developed various technologies that are appropriate for local conditions.

Examples of technological innovations involving National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) include the development of plant-derived pesticides using locally-available resources, chemical control for taro beetle, hybrid taro varieties, crop propagation technique of marcotting, and the development of low-cost livestock feed using locally-available feed resources such as sweet potato and cassava.

 These and many others further need to be taken on further into our development contexts. They can contribute to increase productivity and empower growth and advancement.  

Globally, science and technology processes have been positively influenced by improvements in information and communication technologies, in human skills and in institutional development.

Challenges of modernisation are at our doors, and we need to accept them in all aspects and move to close the gap with the developed world.

For such to happen, knowledge and intellectual capacity is required.

Knowledge is created through research, science and technology development.

This knowledge, when adopted, helps in solving or alleviating constraints to development.

 It, as well, enables new opportunities for development to be explored.

Results from many empirical studies world wide have suggested a 30% or greater return on investments in agricultural research.

 Many developed nations invest at least 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) in this area. 

The simple reason is that this investment gives a good return.

PNG has huge agricultural potential.

Thus the same can be anticipated.

Some effective integration of the potential of the “national innovation system,” is required to harness this potential.

This also requires input by responsible actors so that scientific research, improved technologies and knowledge are incorporated in the existing systems and practices so as to create a knowledge-based economy.

Thus the need for and potential of agricultural development and the capacities and potentials of research, science and technology should be harnessed through relevant innovation systems.

Science and technology are critical for improved agricultural production and productivity. The use of research, science and technology at NARI stands to benefit PNG livestock farmers with the development of low cost livestock feed using locally-available feed resources such as sweet potato

Milne Bay butterfly habitats unspoiled says British scientist

There are plenty of healthy habitats for butterflies and other creatures on Milne Bay povince’s Calvados Chain of Islands which are largely unspoiled, says a British entomologist and Pacific butterfly specialist. John Tennent, a scientific associate at the Natural History Museum in London, said his research had identified several species not previously recorded from Milne Bay as well as a significant number of butterfly species and subspecies not known to science.

British entomologist and Pacific butterfly specialist John Tennent

He has just returned from several weeks touring Milne Bay’s eastern Louisiades islands and is on his way back to England to stat the real work of sorting, identifying and publishing.
“Small dots on the map do not do the islands justice.
"The rugged islands of some of the Calvados Chain are stunning and there is a lot of healthy habitat out there which, because of the difficult terrain, has remained largely untouched,” he said.
“The data obtained during this research will be of critical value to researchers in other disciplines including biogeographers.
“The final results will include a comprehensive book on the 250 or so butterflies of Milne Bay Province islands.”
British High Commissioner to PNG, Jackie Barson, said the publishing of a book on Milne Bay’s butterflies would be an asset to the province and add to the growing data which confirms PNG as a mega biodiversity hotspot.
“I congratulate Mr Tennent on completing his research in the islands of Milne Bay.
“While this has undoubtedly been challenging, collaboration with other organizations such as Conservation International and the PNG Binatang Research Centre has helped make his work a lot easier,” she added.
Mr Tennent has been in Milne Bay Province since April 2010 carrying out a survey of the islands’ butterflies and has visited 76islands in the Province, and recorded butterflies on 74 of them.
He expects to spend most of his time in the coming year working on the specimens and the data collected during his time here, before returning to Milne Bay to tidy up loose ends early in 2012.
On many islands he has worked closely with the staff of Conservation International, an organisation for which he has nothing but praise.
He has also provided assistance in identifying butterflies to the PNG Binatang Research Centre in Madang.