National Research Institute Commentary
By VINCENT PYATI*
Introduction
LAND and land resources constitute the most important
resource in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The contribution by land resources in terms
of the Gross Development Product (GDP) is more than 70% of the total GDP.
Unfortunately,
land is limited and finite in quantity while the population and its activities
are ever increasing.
There are endless conflicts over land use because of its
finite nature.
The demands for agriculture, livestock, forestry, mining, oil and
gas projects, fisheries, conservation, urban development, infrastructure
development, human settlements, tourism and others are greater than the
available land resources.
These demands are becoming more pressing every year.
The population dependent on land for food, fuel and employment still continue
to increase.
Where land is still plentiful, especially in the rural
areas, many people have inadequate access to land or to the benefits from its
use.
In the face of scarcity, the degradation of arable land, primary forest,
water bodies, river systems, and the general ecology are clear but individual
land users lack the incentive or resources to stop it.
It is therefore imperative that land is used in the
most sustainable and rational manner to ensure optimum productivity and
safeguard the opportunities for future generations.
The best way to achieve
sustainable and optimum land utilization is through land use planning alone.
What is land use planning?
Land-use
planning is the systematic assessment of land and water potential, alternatives
for land use and economic and social conditions in order to select and adopt
the best land-use options.
Its purpose is to select and put into practice those
land uses that will best meet the needs of the people while safeguarding
resources for the future generations.
It
is a public policy tool used to order and regulate land use in an efficient and
ethical way to prevent land use conflicts.
Governments use “land use planning”
to manage development of land in an efficient and orderly manner.
The driving
force in land use planning is the need for change, the need for improved
management or the need for a quite different pattern of land use which is dictated
by changing circumstances.
Why is national land use plan an urgent need in PNG?
The National Land Development Program (NLDP) genesis
in 2005 after previous failed land reform attempts and has reached milestones.
The never-ending landownership conflicts that frequent the corridors of Aopi
Centre, streets of Waigani Court House and the halls of Boroko Land Titles
Commission Office became history as of 1 March 2012 after the
enactment of Incorporated Land Group (Amendment) Act 2009 and the Customary
Land Registration (Amendment) Act 2009.
The legal framework and the instruments are now in
place and it recognises exclusive ownership of land by customary land owners.
In order to develop land, it has two key components namely land tenure and land use.
The enactment of the above mentioned legislations paves the way for easy settlement
of landownership disputes.
The objectives of land use will be realised when a
National Land Use Plan is formulated and implemented to identify potential land
for different uses and map them for easy reference by developers and landowners
alike.
The principle of balance land and land resource development will be the
primary objective in the land release process under the National Land Use Plan.
In the absence of a National Land Use Plan, land use
remains fragmented and incomplete, generally because of institutional barriers,
conflicting mandates, and the prioritisation of economic over social and
environmental goals and of short-term development over long-term goals.
The international
and national strategies and action plans catalysed by the conventions on
biodiversity, climate change and poverty reduction such as Agenda 21 are not
integrated with sectoral plans into a comprehensive National Land Use Plan.
Moreover, sectoral codes, legislation and procedures governing planning process
and regulations for human settlements, agricultural, forest lands and protected
areas among others are not harmonised.
The scope of sectoral land use plans by intensive land
users, especially by Department of Agriculture & Livestock, PNG Forestry
Authority, Mining and Logging companies are very narrow that they do not
encompass a wider geographical area and long term perspectives.
They do not
carry out an assessment of future land resource requirements and identify areas
with critical land degradation hazard and water use problems.
Larger ecosystems
of physical units, such as watersheds, valley bottoms, wetlands and
biodiversity “hot spots” are at high risk.
Land and water resources are subject
to almost irreversible degradation by uncontrolled disposal of urban and
industrial, especially mining wastes.
Frequent reports of environment
contaminations are hitting the headlines of the dailies and an example is the court
challenge between lower Porgera landowners and the state as reported in the
National front-page dated 21st of March 2012 and the most recent
seabed mining proposal which is widely criticised and opposed.
In the urban areas, squatting on prime land, disaster
prone areas, easement reserves, waste dumps, hillsides and peri-urban areas
without proper water supply, sanitation, electricity, transport and other
services is a great concern.
Open spaces, designated for recreational
activities and urban agriculture land such as the land between 9-Mile and
Bomana in NCD are converted to other uses without due concern for environmental
damages, including air and water pollution, noise, and food security.
The urban
development plans (land use plans) for most of our cities, towns, district
headquarters were done during the colonial times and are not reflecting current
scenarios.
Each sector has its own land use activities, which are
not always integrated with those of others.
This alternative land uses have led
to conflict over land use allocation and formulation of policies and laws.
There are inadequate consultations between sectors both in land use allocation
and formulation of policies and laws.
Different sectors and
institutions/agencies have different institutional responsibilities and
mandates for land use management that are at times conflicting and overlapping.
There is also poor condition between institutions and agencies responsible for
sustainable land management activities.
For instance, the working relationship
between NCDC and Department of Lands and Physical Planning is non-existent as
revealed by the NCDC Deputy City Manager, Regulatory Services at the recent
National Land Conference.
Lack of common guiding principles has lead to each
sector or institution pursuing its own objectives when it comes to planning for
land utilisation.
Some laws relating to land and natural resources
management and administration are weak and outdated. In addition, land
resources are subject to different uses and thus its management falls under
different sectoral institutions that have limited human and financial resources
as revealed by Minister for Environment and Conservation, Hon. John Pundari for
the Department of Environment and Conservation in the media recently.
Furthermore, decentralisation introduced new
structures and institutions are aimed at improving service delivery at LLG and
ward levels, but these are faced with lack of implementation due to lack of
adequate professional expertise, as well as poor coordination between the
national, provincial and local governments.
Inadequate sectoral coordination
has also had negative impact on land use, just as weak inter-sectoral and
district co-ordination has resulted in contradictory land use patterns.
There
is also poor implementation of existing policy and legal instruments related to
land use and land management.
Papua New Guinea is faced with the problem of policies
(both formal and informal), which allows changes in land use of protected
areas, especially forests, wetlands and wildlife reserves.
Many protected areas
are being illegally encroached on in pursuit of economic development.
There is lack of effective planning both in rural and
urban areas, which has resulted not only in haphazard development in urban
areas, but also patterns.
In general, rural settlement patterns are wasteful in
land use; they are dispersed, render provision of services less efficient and
make it difficult for government.
The absences of proper urban plans have also
resulted into mushrooming of new unplanned urban centres and expansion of
existing ones.
There is no capacity to plan and implement urban development
plans.
There is also extravagant use of urban land resulting in urban sprawl
like the 8-Mile and 9-Mile areas.
What will be the role of a
National Land Use Plan?
A
National Land Use Plan will provide guidance in cases of conflict between
different land users by indicating which areas of land are most valuable for
what type of use.
It will set the parameters for the different land users to
use land within their confines.
The motivational ideas surrounding the
advocating of a National Land Use Plan are summarised in the following
paragraphs and are not exhaustive.
·
It
will balance the competing demands for land use by different sectors such as
agriculture, forestry, mining, oil and gas projects, wildlife conservation,
eco-tourism, heritage tourism, human settlements, infrastructure developments
(airports, seaports, roads) fisheries
and others and achieve environmental objectives.
It
will translate the national socioeconomic plans such as PNG Vision 2050,
Development Strategic Plan, Medium Term Development Strategy, and other
sectoral plans into land use.
All these sectoral activities happen on a piece
of land with its own identity, name, specific characteristics, fabric and form.
It will bridge the higher order policies of government with the sectoral
policies and plans. T
he National Land Use Plan will be the spatial dimension of
socioeconomic plans and guide to achieve environmental objectives.
·
It
will coordinate all sectional agencies involved in land use.
It will provide a
spatial framework for land utilization in respect of different land use
categories including agriculture, forestry, urban development, human
settlement, infrastructure development, fishery, environmental protection and
conservation, industrial development, among others.
It will provide a broad
framework for land use and will dictate land use at a strategic level to
accommodate the interest of all land users.
It
will provide a flat playground for all sectors to harmoniously pursue their
respective goals to improve quality of life for all citizens.
We will discuss in Part 2 of
this commentary the constraints in developing a National Land Use Plan and then
provide a set of recommendations to conclude the way forward.
* Vincent Pyati is a Research
Fellow with the land development research program under the Wealth Creation
Pillar at the National Research Institute.
