Deliverables: 2.1.B.1 Lead Participatory Risk Mapping Exercise Across C-CAP Communities & 2.1.C.1 Update Community Hazard, Risk And/Or Vulnerability Maps
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Deliverables: 2.1.B.1 Lead participatory risk mapping exercise across C-CAP communities & 2.1.C.1 Update community hazard, risk and/or vulnerability maps This document was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was prepared by the Coastal Community Adaptation Project (C-CAP) implemented by DAI for USAID/Pacific Islands. March 2013 INTRODUCTION From mid November 2012 through early February the C-CAP technical team carried out participatory risk and infrastructure assessments and mapping in five communities in each of C- CAP’s year one counties of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. A standard methodology was developed and used in each of the communities to determine first, what climate related impacts are being faced by the communities and secondly, what community infrastructure whether built or natural was being affected by climate change related events. The C-CAP Community Engagement Methodology can be found in Annex 1. The climate change risks and infrastructure information gathered was registered in a geo-spatial format using a simple Google maps platform where both images and text were incorporated to provide important information regarding both the risks and infrastructure identified by the community members. The following report documents each of the twenty community sessions by country and summarizes the information provided by community members in each of the workshop sessions. This information will first be used in the development of a C-CAP Infrastructure Prioritization Index. The index, to be tested in March 2013, will assist communities in deciding what climate change adaptation projects they would like to undertake. The risk and infrastructure mapping information will also help the communities develop longer term disaster risk reduction strategies and land use plans while incorporating climate predictions including precipitation, storm surge, high tide events and sea level rise. Papua New Guinea Working closely with the Office of Climate Change and Development (OCCD) and their Adaptation department the C-CAP project team and OCCD staff facilitated Risk Mapping exercises in five coastal villages in the Central and National Capital Districts of Papua New Guinea. Prior to contacting the village authorities, C-CAP consulted with the other new USAID program, MARSH and WWF technical staff in order to coordinate efforts and explore possible collaborative activities. Given previous work in several Central Province villages and good receptivity from the local authorities the following communities were identified: Gabagaba, Tubusereia, Pari, Boera and Lealea. During the first half of December 2012 and early January 2013 a joint C-CAP and OCCD team visited each community to conduct one day risk mapping exercises. Each community meeting was organized by the village Councilor, the official government representative. Councilors asked a representative group of village members to participate in the exercises to include women, elders, youth and disabled in order to get a representative view of each village. Background Papua New Guinea consists of the eastern half of New Guinea Island and about 700 offshore islands between the equator and 12°S, and 140°E–160°E. At 462 243 km2, Papua New Guinea is the largest of the 15 Pacific Climate Change Science Program Partner Countries. The country’s geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains, the New Guinea Highlands, runs the length of New Guinea Island, which is mostly covered with tropical - 3 - rainforest. Dense rainforests can also be found in the lowland and coastal areas as well as the very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly Rivers. The highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4697 m (Papua New Guinea Country Statistics, SOPAC, 2010). The population of Papua New Guinea is approximately 6 744 955, with 40% living in the highlands and 18% in urban areas. The capital, Port Moresby, is located in the south-east and has a population of approximately 500 000. Eighty-five percent of the population live a subsistence lifestyle in rural areas. These people depend on traditional agriculture and fishing for their livelihoods. Mining and oil production are the main sources of revenue for Papua New Guinea, accounting for 60% of export earnings and 20% of government revenue. Agricultural crops are still a major source of revenue, in particular copra (Papua New Guinea is the biggest producer in the South Pacific), coffee, palm oil and cocoa. Export of forestry products, once among the country’s main sources of revenue, has declined in recent years. (Source: Chapter 11- Climate Change in the Pacific: Scientific Assessment and New Research, Australia’s Pacific Climate Change Science Program, 2011) The Central Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts due to the accelerated increases in population from the interior. Many are flocking to the capital in search of employment by companies in the expanding mining and petroleum sectors. The cost of food and lodging in the capital is so high that many, including public servants, have no choice but to live in the surrounding villages where housing options are less costly. This population pressure translates into a heavy demand for land and natural resources in the neighboring communities. This additional stress will only intensify problems associated with a changing climate such as damage to crops from extremes in rainfall, wind and drought and a drop in fish availability from coral reef degradation and bleaching. An already acute land tenure problem will only be acerbated by climate change related risks and effects. Recurring concerns surrounding climate change related issues included longer droughts, stronger and more regular? flooding events, increased storm intensity, accelerated coastal erosion, stronger king tide events and sea level rise. The need for potable water was expressed in all communities where for several months in the year the population is dependent on water trucked in from Port Moresby at very high costs. Those who cannot afford the trucked water must drink contaminated water from boreholes or rainwater catchment tanks. Many cited waterborne diseases like diarrhea, typhoid and malaria as common health issues. The following sections summarize the information provided by each of the communities during the participatory risk identification sessions. They are a result of a standard community engagement methodology developed by the C-CAP team prior to visiting with each community. The methodology can be found in Annex 1. Gabagaba The village of Gabagaba is located approximately 80 km south of Port Moresby. It is a bedroom community for some working in the capital who cannot afford the very high costs of lodging in the city. The population of the village is estimated at around 2,000. Contact with the village leaders was facilitated by the Office of Climate Change and Development who recommended a long time local partner, Felix Mavaru Morea to accompany the C-CAP team to Gabagaba after making contact with village leaders to request their participation. The government official in Gabagaba, Councillor - Joe Kila was an active participant in the mapping exercise on the 17th of - 4 - November 2012. The session was attended by 20 participants, which included women leaders, elders, and youth. Risk Identification The session started with a general open discussion on risks and impacts due to climate change. The C-CAP team reviewed the causes of global warming and its effects on climate. Several examples from the United States were provided to help focus the discussion. After the general overview, the members of the community were asked to provide examples of risks and impacts that they have been experiencing which may also be attributable to global warming and its effects. The following list was provided during the brainstorming session: Global Warming Impacts Unpredictable weather – There are no longer two distinct seasons with drought and rain now coming at random periods. This is having a negative impact on traditional knowledge as the natural indicators like animal movements are no longer accurate. This is resulting in less communication and information sharing between generations. Wind patterns are changing and impacting fishing by driving stocks away. Precipitation Pattern Changes Increased incidence of flooding with poor drainage has resulted in sanitation problems from standing water. This is compounded with poor sewage management. Drought is affecting agriculture and drinking water supplies and heat waves are more frequent. Natural Disasters Corals are dying/ bleaching and fishers must go farther to get fish. Overfishing with small mesh nets is depleting fisheries. Coastal soil and beach loss from wave action and higher king tides compounded by mangrove deforestation is leaving little vegetation in the coastal zone to protect the community. Image 1: Erosion of coastal lands risks destroying homes and livelihoods such as this pig pen on the right of the image. More images from Gabagaba can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/90755241@N08/sets/72157632198145584/detail/ - 5 - Economic, Social and Water Infrastructure Mapping The community was then asked to identify their local infrastructure and its vulnerabilities to climate change impacts by dividing it into three categories Economic, Social and Coastal & Water infrastructure. In four groups, they then made hand drawn maps of the infrastructure they had identified as important to the community. See Annex 1 for the maps. Representatives of the community then accompanied the C-CAP team in geo-referencing and photographing the infrastructure and risks identified by the group in the brainstorming sessions. Located below is a screenshot of the simple Global Positioning System (GPS) data in the free Google Maps internet mapping application which can be consulted by following the link provided. Following the screenshot is the list of infrastructure as presented and analyzed by the community. Image 2: Gabagaba Climate Change Risk Map, with geo-referenced economic, social and water and coastal infrastructure points, photographs and risk profiles.