P h ilomena Miria
Papua New Guinea lies in the great Pacific Ocean within
the area of latitude 0 to 14 degrees south and longitude of 141
to 160 degrees east of the equator. The mainland of PNG
shares the boundary line with the eastern part of the Republicof Indonesia known as Irian Jaya. Tectonically, Papua New
Guinea is bisected by one of the most geological active seismic
region of the world known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire”.
It (PNG) is more exposed than most countries in the world
to the effects of disaster-causing natural phenomena. Thenation has a history of natural disastrous events that haveaffected its people and economy adversely. This is because of
its natural location in the area where tectonic plates meet and where Pacific and India
air stream meet or interchange. The natural disasters that PNG is prone to includes
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, drought, tropical cyclones, floods,landslides and even frost in the highlands. In addition to the natural disasters, PNG
also experienced man-made disasters such as oil spills, industrial pollution,
unregulated land use, environment degradation caused by development activities andpopulation movements. The complexity of the disaster causing events tend to increase
as Papua New Guinea develops into a combination of transitional and modern society.
The most disastrous event that occurred in the history of Papua New Guinea was theAitape Tsunami of July 17 1998, killing over 2200 people, hospitalizing over 300, andleaving more than 11,000 homeless. Lessons learnt from the tsunami of 1998 and othermajor disasters such as the Rabaul Twin Volcanic Eruption and the 1997 – 98 Drought
showed that PNG as a community was not prepared to meet the challenges that thesenatural disasters imposed on its communities. As a young developing nation withlimited resources, Papua New Guinea is making efforts to address the issue of effective
disaster management.
Bearing in mind that natural disasters cannot be stopped, the least a country can dois, to ensure that vulnerable communities are better informed and are more aware of
their own risk, and are better prepared and able to cope with disasters when they occur.
And the Government of Papua New Guinea through the National Disaster
Management Office considering lessons learnt from previous disasters has launched anEducation and Awareness Program for the 21st century for the entire country andparticularly for the vulnerable areas with the ultimate aim of reducing disasters.
I work with the Risk Management Section of National Disaster Management Officeas the Training/Education Officer. The National Disaster Management Office is theOffice responsible for Disaster Management in Papua New Guinea. Coming to ADRC, I
had a vague idea of the Visiting Researcher Program. However, during my orientation
program, I came to learn and fully understand that the Visiting Researcher Program
does not only provide training rather it provides an environment where researchers
from the 23 member countries come to share their experiences and knowledge,
contribute and co-operate with disaster related experts and professionals at ADRC andin Japan.
I also learnt that apart from sharing experiences and knowledge, the visiting
researcher program provides opportunities for Visiting Researchers to visit various
disaster prone areas such as volcanic eruption, earthquake, and landslides and also
visit Japan Government Organizations and other Institutes and Agencies that areassociated with disaster management. At the end of the program the Visiting
Researcher does not only gain experience but also enhances his or her knowledge andskills in the field of Disaster Management.
I look forward to learning, sharing ideas, working, co operating and contributing tothe activities of ADRC.
< Phi lomena Mi ria, Trai ning Offi cer, National Disas t e r M a n a g e men t
Of fice , Dep t . of Pro vi nci al & Lo cal Go vern me nt Af fa ir s, PN G >