Papua New Guinea

The independent state of Papua New Guinea is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, with Indonesia comprising the western half of the island. The British took responsibility for Papua New Guinea in 1885 but transferred administration to Australia in 1902. Independence was granted in 1975. In 1990, the island of Bougainville revolted, leading to a nine-year conflict and the loss of 20,000 lives. Bordering on the South Pacific Ocean and the Coral Sea, Papua New Guinea has a 5,152-mile (8,295-kilometer) coastline. The climate is tropical with only slight seasonal variation. The staggered monsoon season lasts much of the year, occurring from December to March in the northwest and from May to October in the southeast. The terrain is generally mountainous interspersed with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills. One of the largest swamps in the world is located along the southwestern coast.

The rich store of natural resources includes gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, and fisheries. Two-thirds of all export earnings come from mineral deposits, but the cost of developing these resources has prevented serious exploitation. Crime and government corruption also hamper development. Only a small portion (0.46 percent) of the land is arable. Some 85 percent of the workforce are engaged in the agricultural sector, but agriculture generates only 35.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Only 13 percent of the 5,545,268 people live in urban areas. With a per capita income of $2,400, Papua New Guinea is ranked 171th out of 232 countries in world incomes. Around 37 percent of the population live in poverty even though Australia contributes to the nation's budget. The United Nations Development Programme Human Development Reports rank Papua New Guinea 137th of 232 on overall quality-of-life issues.

As New Guinea and much of Melanesia sits adjacent to the tectonically active Pacific “Ring of Fire,” earthquakes are common and often severe. Droughts, mudslides, and tsunamis pose additional threats to the environment and to human lives and property. Due to the high commercial demand for tropical timber, the forests that cover 75 percent of the land area have been depleted, threatening 60 percent of the rain forest.

Heavy pollution is present wherever mining projects occurred because of open cast mining operations and the practice of directly discharging mining waste into water sources. Corals and sea coasts have proved to be especially vulnerable to this deterioration. Other contaminants, such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), pollute water and soil. DDT, used to control mosquitoes, shows up in samples of mother's milk and marine food.

Environmental threats to human health are very high in Papua New Guinea. Food and waterborne diseases such as bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever are common. In some locations, vectorborne diseases such as dengue fever and malaria pose additional risks. HIV/AIDS has also become a problem (0.6 percent). Over 60 percent of the population lack access to safe drinking water, and 55 percent have no access to improved sanitation. Infant and childhood mortality are both unacceptably high, contributing to the 4.1 children per woman fertility rate. Because literacy rate are low (71.1 percent), particularly among females (57.7 percent), the dissemination of environmental and health information is made more difficult. A 2006 study by Yale University ranked Papua New Guinea 96th out of 132 countries on environmental performance, [Page 1336]slightly below the relevant income group and considerably below the relevant income group average. Scores were particularly low in the categories of environmental health and biodiversity and habitat. Clan ownership of lands has made it difficult to protect land, and there is no national park system in Papua New Guinea. The country is rich in animal and plant life, including more than 6,000 species of butterflies. Of 214 endemic mammal species endemic to Papua New Guinea, 58 species are threatened with extinction. Likewise, 32 of 414 endemic bird species are endangered.

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