Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea – Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) First edition 2013 United Nations Human Settlements Programme P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya E-mail: [email protected] www.unhabitat.org HS Number: HS/029/14E ISBN Number(Series): 978-92-1-132400-6 ISBN Number:(Volume) 978-92-1-132618-5 DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The analysis conclusions and recommendations of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Governing Council. Cover Photo © Bernhard Barth ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for the Port Moresby climate change vulnerability assessment was provided by the Government of Norway, the United Nations Devel- opment Account, and the Cities and Climate Change Initiative. Principal Authors: Regina Kiele, Angela Mageto, Georgina Numbasa, and Gertrude Miria Reviewers: Bernhard Barth, Liam Fee, Ilija Gubic, Sarah Mecartney, and Christopher Radford Editor: Peter Grant Design and Layout: Deepanjana Chakravarti Contents 01 Introduction 01 1.1 Cities and Climate Change 01 1.2 UN-Habitat’s Cities and Climate Change Initiative 01 1.3 Assessment Framework 02 02 Overview of the City 03 2.1 Geographic Location 03 2.2 Physical Features of the City 03 2.3 Governance Structure 05 2.4 Demographic Trends 07 2.5 Urbanization Trends 08 2.6 Economy and Livelihoods 10 2.7 Existing Tenure and Land Use 11 2.7.1 Land Ownership 11 2.7.2 Land use 12 03 City-wide Vulnerability – Scoping Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity 14 3.1 Exposure 14 3.1.1 Sea Level Rise 14 3.1.2 Extreme Rainfall and Increased Precipitation 15 3.1.3 Extreme Temperatures 16 3.1.4 Drought 17 3.1.5 Strong Winds and Tropical Cyclones 17 3.2 Sensitivity 18 3.2.1 Ecological Systems 18 3.2.2 Physical Systems 20 3.2.3 Electricity Supply 20 3.2.4 Housing 20 3.2.5 Water Supply and Sewerage 21 3.2.6 Roads and Stormwater Drainage 23 3.2.7 Protective Infrastructure and Seawalls 24 3.2.8 Economic Systems and Livelihoods 25 3.4 Adaptive Capacity 26 3.2.9 Social Systems and Health 26 3.4.1 Wealth and Social Capital 26 3.4.2 Technology and Information 27 3.4.3 Infrastructure and Institutions 27 3.4.4 Ongoing Adaptation Measures 27 04 Vulnerable People, Places and Sectors 29 05 Identifying Key Adaptation Options 32 5.1 City Level Adaptation Options 32 5.2 Practical Adaptation Options at the Local Level 33 5.3 Multi-level Adaptation Options 34 06 Recommendations and Conclusions 35 07 Annex 1. Key Adaptation Options 36 Annex 2. Key Hotspot Areas 42 List of Figures Figure 1: Assessment Framework 02 Figure 2: Map of Port Moresby 04 Figure 3: Administrative boundaries in Port Moresby 05 Figure 6: Port Moresby’s growth since 1945 08 Figure 7: Formal settlements, informal settlement and traditional villages in Port Moresby 09 Figure 8: Settlements and urban villages in National Capital District 10 Figure 9: Customary and State Land in the National Capital District 11 Figure 10: General Land Use in National Capital District 13 Figure 11: Annual Rainfall in Port Moresby, 1950-2009 15 Figure 12: Projected Temperature and Rainfall in Port Moresby 16 Figure 13: Tropical Cyclones Passing Within 400 km of Port Moresby, 1969/70 - 2009/10 18 Figure 14: Vulnerability and adaptation hotspots in National Capital District 29 Figure 15: National Capital District Local Planning Areas, with 8/9 Mile Highlighted 31 List of Tables Table 1: Overview of the City 03 Table 2: Land Use and Activities in Port Moresby 12 Table 3: Sea-Level Rise Projections for Papua New Guinea 14 Table 4: Port Moresby Temperatures and Rainfall, Annual and Seasonal Trends 1950-2010 16 Table 5: Annual Average Air Temperature Projections for Papua New Guinea 17 01 Introduction 1.1 Cities and Climate 1.2 UN-Habitat’s Cities and Change Climate Change Initiative Climate change is already affecting millions of people worldwide. In urban areas, which are typically charac- terized by significantly higher population density, cli- It is within the power of cities and local authorities mate change will exacerbate and compound existing to work towards the reduction of greenhouse gas climate vulnerabilities, especially for the urban poor. emissions which are the causes of climate change, As a result of climate change, it is expected that storm and to understand how to protect themselves from frequency and intensity will increase, flooding will be- the effects. The Cities and Climate Change Initiative come more serious and drought will affect food pro- (CCCI) promotes the mitigation of, and adaptation to, duction in rural areas, which will have damaging ef- climate change in developing countries. More specifi- fects in urban areas. Coastal areas are also threatened cally, it supports the development of pro-poor innova- by inundation from storm surges and sea-level rise. tive climate change policies and strategies. It builds on Existing urban development challenges, such as poor UN-Habitat’s rich experience of sustainable urban de- health and inadequate housing, are substantially exac- velopment (through the Environmental Planning and erbated by the effects of climate change. At the same Management approach of the Sustainable Cities and time, urban areas are the main drivers of increasing Agenda 21 Programmes), as well as on well-recog- greenhouse gas emissions. This means that cities must nized capacity building tools, to support city managers be at the centre of efforts to address the challenge and practitioners in adapting to climate change. It also of climate change, both to mitigate its causes and to promotes collaboration by local authorities and their adapt to its anticipated effects. associations in global, regional and national networks, with the triple rationale of: 1) enhancing policy dia- In Papua New Guinea, as in many areas in the Pacific, logue so that climate change is firmly established on urban populations are often located in hazard-prone the agenda; 2) supporting local authorities’ efforts to areas in the coastal zone. Storm surges and sea-level bring about these changes; and 3) enhancing aware- rise can affect settlements, food production and infra- ness, education and capacity-building in support of structure. A lack of basic services such as clean water climate change strategies. A major outcome of the supply and solid waste management can exacerbate initiative will be the development of a set of tools for the negative effects of climate change. Amid all this, mitigation and adaptation. CCCI now operates in over the poorest are almost always the most vulnerable, as 30 cities in 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. they have less access to infrastructure, basic services and social safety nets in the event of a disaster. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea - Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment 01 1.3 Assessment Framework it is represented as either a long-term change in climate conditions or in climate variability, including the The climate change assessment framework is adapted magnitude and frequency of extreme events. Sensitiv- from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ity is the degree to which a system is affected either (ICFF) Third and Fourth Assessment Reports. Vulnera- adversely or beneficially by climate related stimuli. bility to climate change is described as a function of Adaptive capacity refers to the ability of a system to exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Exposure adjust to climate change, including climate variability is the degree of climate stress upon a particular unit; and extremes. Figure 1. Assessment Framework minus Source: UN-Habitat 02 Cities and Climate Change Initiative 02 Overview of the City 2.1 Geographic Location tribal group in Papua New Guinea, giving the city a rich cultural diversity. It also accommodates the seat of the National Government. The Central Business Dis- Port Moresby is the capital city of Papua New Guin- trict is situated on a peninsula at the entrance of the ea, located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on Fairfax Harbour where the main commercial wharves the south-eastern coast of the island of New Guinea and other commercial and business establishments at latitude 9.25° south of the equator. Port Moresby, are also located. The total population according to the though surrounded by Central Province, is not tech- 2011 census is 364,125. nically part of it and instead makes up the National Capital District. While the definitions of the boundaries of Port Moresby vary, for this study National Capi- 2.2 Physical Features of tal District and Port Moresby are used interchangeably. The offshore islands of Daugo (Fishermans) Island, the City Daunagena Island, Gemo Island, Lolorua Islands and Manubada are also part of the National Capital Dis- Port Moresby is situated within the catchment areas of trict. the Vanapa and Brown Rivers, but is not actually located on any major rivers itself. There are rivers, streams Besides being the capital, Port Moresby is also the and flood plains at the periphery of the city, such as main administrative and commercial hub for the coun- the Loloki River, which continues to the sea outside try.

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