Leaving no one behind, bringing everyone together with digitalisation

April 29, 2022

Digitalisation allows environmental and natural resources data to be centralised and made available nationally.

Theresa Dearden | UNDP Papua New Guinea

A villager from the island of New Britain, Gesupo recently attended a UNDP protected area workshop. Although a rewarding and informative experience, he says it was hard work getting to the workshop venue, from the forests of Tavolo.

This journey took them on a two-day trek through the lush, pristine rainforests of Tavolo Wildlife Management Area, followed by a short hop on a mission plane waiting at an airfield. Finally a two-hour boat ride from Pamalmal to the workshop venue in Kokopo, East New Britain Province. Anticipating their exhaustion, the organisers had thoughtfully allowed for a day of recovery for all participants.

Leaving no one behind, UNDP’s guiding value - while supporting the digitalisation of Papua New Guinea’s environmental information management - is no easy task. In this country’s complexity of landscapes, the digital process calls for bringing together diverse communities, representing over 800 languages, varying levels of literacy, and a range of occupations.

In a series of workshops conducted in 2016 and 2017, customary landowners and community members from 58 Protected Areas learned about the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool or METT, now customised with UNDP’s support, for Papua New Guinea’s unique cultural needs. The PNG-METT tool is designed to help evaluate the management of Protected Areas and help to digitise and centrally share environmental data.

The journey so far

Papua New Guinea’s rich traditional cultures and wealth of indigenous knowledge is isolated locally with limited national access. As a result, Protected Areas may be prone to mismanagement. Digitalisation allows this environmental and natural resources data to be centralised and made available nationally.

Issues raised by customary landowners at the METT workshops included the younger generation’s lack of knowledge on the boundaries of Wildlife Management Areas and the need for them to appreciate Protected Areas and their values. They were also concerned about the absence of research and monitoring plans, conservation training, emergency procedures and maps.

“For us, especially indigenous people, it’s our life. We have this deep connection, this cultural connection with our forest, but we lack that management component”, said Junior Novera, PhD Biology, from Kunua, Bougainville.

“Maybe we have a cultural perspective on management but maybe we lack modern, scientific management approaches.”

How centralised NRM data empowers communities

By integrating scientific data and traditional knowledge, a new Natural Resource Management (NRM) Hub under development by UNDP, will bridge the flow of NRM data between communities and the government, including international organisations, NGOs, academics, policymakers and civil society organisations.

Community members will find it easier to access financial, logistical, and technical help for managing and safeguarding their Protected Areas. An increase of knowledge will include communities as better advocates for change. Communities will be further empowered to improve measures such as physically marking Protected Area boundaries to resist encroachments by logging and oil companies.

Over the course of March and April 2022, the NRM Hub and its products have been introduced to the stakeholders of the Protected Area Roadshow, occurring in four regional locations across Papua New Guinea. Policymakers armed with more granular environmental data from Protected Areas will make better decisions for mitigating hazard damage and controlling illegal activities. Over time, centralised data could literally catalyse a new level of NRM in Papua New Guinea.

“For us, especially indigenous people, it’s our life. We have this deep connection, this cultural connection with our forest, but we lack that management component.”
Junior Novera, PhD Biology, from Kunua, Bougainville.