title: The role of tourism promoting community participation in the development of Jiwaka Province in Papua New Guinea

authors: Kau, Theresia Wome

subjects: Tourism development

abstract: This master’s thesis explored whether or not tourism can facilitate community development in the Jiwaka Province in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The people of Jiwaka Province, a newly created province, could benefit from tourism if a national tourism policy is implemented at the provincial level. The literature review examined the role of tourism development in less developed countries, indigenous tourism development, tourism policy, indigenous tourism, tourism advocacy and community development. Action research was used to identify the role of tourism in development of the new province to identify the role, if any, that community participation can have in tourism development. It identified the extent of tourism demand for the Jiwaka Province, some obstacles to tourism development in the province, and how people and smaller communities can become involved in tourism development in Jiwaka Province. The research process led to tourism advocacy, where the researcher helped to educate local people in awareness of the potential they possess and the opportunities available for their community to participate in and to promote development through tourism. The qualitative techniques adopted as part of action research to collect data were interviews and participatory observation. Individual and focus group interviews were used, involving 271 participants, including tourism policy officials in Port Moresby, political leaders of Jiwaka Province, Local leaders and community representatives. 
The results indicate that the top down approach of the current tourism policy is not effective for tourism development and does not facilitate community participation at the grass roots level. Most local people in Jiwaka Province are very ignorant of the potential and benefits of tourism. There is potential for tourism development, but there are obstacles at all levels of government. Currently, development for all sectors of Jiwaka Province is at an embryonic stage. Therefore, growth in tourism and the Jiwaka community can become a reality over time alongside infrastructural development and other economic advancements. 
The key issues preventing community participation in tourism are corruption in the government, limited government funding, security and law and order problems, and issues related to tourism marketing and policy implementation at the national, provincial and district levels. Other issues involve funding from the office of the governor in Jiwaka, delays in establishing the provincial government apparatus in the province due to inefficient government human resource processes in Port Moresby, no tourism office space in the province, infrastructural development, and ignorance of tourism. 
The thesis concluded that community tourism development is the only way for tourism development in Jiwaka because of customary land ownership; a bottom-up approach will deliver more benefits to the community than the current top down approach; a government policy/funding vacuum to support community development leading the communities to turn to corporate and NGO support is deeded, as is the need for tourism advocacy. Recommendations are made to the Jiwaka Provincial Government to prioritise tourism, as a key development agent for communities in Jiwaka Province, using a bottom-up approach, which empowers local people and encourages community participation.

text: The role of tourism promoting community participation in the development of Jiwaka Province in Papua New Guinea This master’s thesis explored whether or not tourism can facilitate community development in the Jiwaka Province in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The people of Jiwaka Province, a newly created province, could benefit from tourism if a national tourism policy is implemented at the provincial level. The literature review examined the role of tourism development in less developed countries, indigenous tourism development, tourism policy, indigenous tourism, tourism advocacy and community development. Action research was used to identify the role of tourism in development of the new province to identify the role, if any, that community participation can have in tourism development. It identified the extent of tourism demand for the Jiwaka Province, some obstacles to tourism development in the province, and how people and smaller communities can become involved in tourism development in Jiwaka Province. The research process led to tourism advocacy, where the researcher helped to educate local people in awareness of the potential they possess and the opportunities available for their community to participate in and to promote development through tourism. The qualitative techniques adopted as part of action research to collect data were interviews and participatory observation. Individual and focus group interviews were used, involving 271 participants, including tourism policy officials in Port Moresby, political leaders of Jiwaka Province, Local leaders and community representatives. 
The results indicate that the top down approach of the current tourism policy is not effective for tourism development and does not facilitate community participation at the grass roots level. Most local people in Jiwaka Province are very ignorant of the potential and benefits of tourism. There is potential for tourism development, but there are obstacles at all levels of government. Currently, development for all sectors of Jiwaka Province is at an embryonic stage. Therefore, growth in tourism and the Jiwaka community can become a reality over time alongside infrastructural development and other economic advancements. 
The key issues preventing community participation in tourism are corruption in the government, limited government funding, security and law and order problems, and issues related to tourism marketing and policy implementation at the national, provincial and district levels. Other issues involve funding from the office of the governor in Jiwaka, delays in establishing the provincial government apparatus in the province due to inefficient government human resource processes in Port Moresby, no tourism office space in the province, infrastructural development, and ignorance of tourism. 
The thesis concluded that community tourism development is the only way for tourism development in Jiwaka because of customary land ownership; a bottom-up approach will deliver more benefits to the community than the current top down approach; a government policy/funding vacuum to support community development leading the communities to turn to corporate and NGO support is deeded, as is the need for tourism advocacy. Recommendations are made to the Jiwaka Provincial Government to prioritise tourism, as a key development agent for communities in Jiwaka Province, using a bottom-up approach, which empowers local people and encourages community participation.

year: 2014

title: Metagenome analysis of an extreme microbial symbiosis reveals eurythermal adaptation and metabolic flexibility

authors: Grzymski, Joseph J.

subjects: Epsilonproteobacteria

abstract: Hydrothermal vent ecosystems support diverse life forms, many of which rely on symbiotic associations to perform functions integral to survival in these extreme physicochemical environments. Epsilonproteobacteria, found free-living and in intimate associations with vent invertebrates, are the predominant vent-associated microorganisms. The vent-associated polychaete worm, Alvinella pompejana, is host to a visibly dense fleece of episymbionts on its dorsal surface. The episymbionts are a multispecies consortium of Epsilonproteobacteria present as a biofilm. We unraveled details of these enigmatic, uncultivated episymbionts using environmental genome sequencing. They harbor wide-ranging adaptive traits that include high levels of strain variability analogous to Epsilonproteobacteria pathogens such as Helicobacter pylori, metabolic diversity of free-living bacteria, and numerous orthologs of proteins that we hypothesize are each optimally adapted to specific temperature ranges within the 10–65 °C fluctuations characteristic of the A. pompejana habitat. This strategic combination enables the consortium to thrive under diverse thermal and chemical regimes. The episymbionts are metabolically tuned for growth in hydrothermal vent ecosystems with genes encoding the complete rTCA cycle, sulfur oxidation, and denitrification; in addition, the episymbiont metagenome also encodes capacity for heterotrophic and aerobic metabolisms. Analysis of the environmental genome suggests that A. pompejana may benefit from the episymbionts serving as a stable source of food and vitamins. The success of Epsilonproteobacteria as episymbionts in hydrothermal vent ecosystems is a product of adaptive capabilities, broad metabolic capacity, strain variance, and virulent traits in common with pathogens.

text: Metagenome analysis of an extreme microbial symbiosis reveals eurythermal adaptation and metabolic flexibility Hydrothermal vent ecosystems support diverse life forms, many of which rely on symbiotic associations to perform functions integral to survival in these extreme physicochemical environments. Epsilonproteobacteria, found free-living and in intimate associations with vent invertebrates, are the predominant vent-associated microorganisms. The vent-associated polychaete worm, Alvinella pompejana, is host to a visibly dense fleece of episymbionts on its dorsal surface. The episymbionts are a multispecies consortium of Epsilonproteobacteria present as a biofilm. We unraveled details of these enigmatic, uncultivated episymbionts using environmental genome sequencing. They harbor wide-ranging adaptive traits that include high levels of strain variability analogous to Epsilonproteobacteria pathogens such as Helicobacter pylori, metabolic diversity of free-living bacteria, and numerous orthologs of proteins that we hypothesize are each optimally adapted to specific temperature ranges within the 10–65 °C fluctuations characteristic of the A. pompejana habitat. This strategic combination enables the consortium to thrive under diverse thermal and chemical regimes. The episymbionts are metabolically tuned for growth in hydrothermal vent ecosystems with genes encoding the complete rTCA cycle, sulfur oxidation, and denitrification; in addition, the episymbiont metagenome also encodes capacity for heterotrophic and aerobic metabolisms. Analysis of the environmental genome suggests that A. pompejana may benefit from the episymbionts serving as a stable source of food and vitamins. The success of Epsilonproteobacteria as episymbionts in hydrothermal vent ecosystems is a product of adaptive capabilities, broad metabolic capacity, strain variance, and virulent traits in common with pathogens.

year: 2008

title: Ko Te Kawa Tūpanapana i ngā Hau Tūpua a Tāwhiri-mātea : The validation, revitalisation and enhancement of Māori environment knowledge of weather and climate

authors: Skipper, Apanui Sonny

subjects: Maori Environmental knowledge

abstract: KO TE KAWA TŪPANAPANA I NGĀ HAU TŪPUA A TĀWHIRI-MĀTEA – THE RITUALISTIC FORMS GOVERNING THE SUPERNATURAL WINDS OF TĀWHIRI-MĀTEA
Mankind has always gazed skyward observing the im immense power generated by forked lightning when it strikes the land. The resounding thunder booming across the landscape never failed to capture the awe and imagination of a people. Māori were no different. The legacy of their Polynesian ancestors, who populated most of the Islands of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the largest ocean on the planet, based on belief, courage, and navigational expertise, honed over many millenia, reached Aotearoa approximately in the 12 century. These highly skilled ancestors from the tropics applied a formalised process of settling a new land. It also required their own weatherlore to be recalibrated to the local conditions, in order to survive in a much harsher, colder climate.

Over the centuries the descendants of these early Polynesian settlers, developed an extensive localised knowledge of weather, climate, and seasonal indicators to accurately predict daily weather, monthly or annual climate conditions. The ongoing lessons learned especially after experiencing a fatality were incorporated into cultural practices of important everyday activities such as ahuwhenua, te mahi hī ika, kohi rongoā, whakaako tamariki, gathering pounamu, whakatū rāhui, and kaitiakitanga, in order to minimise further loss of life.

Formal recognition of these contributions was made at the inaugural Māori Climate Forum in Wellington in 2003, where a number of Māori elders highlighted the importance of giving a greater account of Māori knowledge of environmental change. Among the many priorities identified for research at this forum, an opportunity based on a challenge from a Māori elder led to the development of a pilot project to explore traditional Māori understandings of weather–climate variability and change. 

One of the key outcomes from this work was the identification of Māori environmental indicators to anticipate local weather and climate conditions and thereby manage the risk associated with weather-climate extremes. However, in spite of the work achieved, there remain unanswered questions about the use and ongoing efficacy of environmental indicators to forecast and monitor weather and climate risks, including how new opportunities might be created to promote learning about subtle signals in nature that can reveal much about changes in weather and climate conditions. 

Due to the fact that many of the elders that provided the basis of this thesis have passed away, a great sense of responsibility has remained with me to complete this research. To identify the gaps in the previous research, to ground-truth it, to consolidate and carefully document the level of localised environmental knowledge of weather and climate specifically with iwi from Tainui-Hauraki, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, and Ngāi Tahu. A total of 56 interviews and 17 group wānanga were conducted during 2009-2016. Examples of Māori Environmental Knowledge were also sourced from numerous personal conversations with knowledge holders from 1989-2003, adding to the body of knowledge that was analysed to provide further context. A conceptual framework coined `Ngā Whenu Tapu e Waru’ was created from identifying the key themes of the interviews to inform how Māori Environmental Knowledge was described in the three regions. This study has yielded understandings of wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and cloud classifications; weather and climate indicators; spiritual signs of misfortune and death; memory techniques; longitudinal weather predictions, and lunar calendars in each region.

This thesis is underpinned by a Kaupapa Māori theory and research methodology that links to a body of transformative research and literature conducted by Māori scholars based on the knowledge and experience of tūpuna  Māori. 

Heoti anō rā kei ngā kākahi whakairoiro, kei ngā matataiko, nau piki mai, nau kake mai ki tēnei wānanga nui whakaharahara.

text: Ko Te Kawa Tūpanapana i ngā Hau Tūpua a Tāwhiri-mātea : The validation, revitalisation and enhancement of Māori environment knowledge of weather and climate KO TE KAWA TŪPANAPANA I NGĀ HAU TŪPUA A TĀWHIRI-MĀTEA – THE RITUALISTIC FORMS GOVERNING THE SUPERNATURAL WINDS OF TĀWHIRI-MĀTEA
Mankind has always gazed skyward observing the im immense power generated by forked lightning when it strikes the land. The resounding thunder booming across the landscape never failed to capture the awe and imagination of a people. Māori were no different. The legacy of their Polynesian ancestors, who populated most of the Islands of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the largest ocean on the planet, based on belief, courage, and navigational expertise, honed over many millenia, reached Aotearoa approximately in the 12 century. These highly skilled ancestors from the tropics applied a formalised process of settling a new land. It also required their own weatherlore to be recalibrated to the local conditions, in order to survive in a much harsher, colder climate.

Over the centuries the descendants of these early Polynesian settlers, developed an extensive localised knowledge of weather, climate, and seasonal indicators to accurately predict daily weather, monthly or annual climate conditions. The ongoing lessons learned especially after experiencing a fatality were incorporated into cultural practices of important everyday activities such as ahuwhenua, te mahi hī ika, kohi rongoā, whakaako tamariki, gathering pounamu, whakatū rāhui, and kaitiakitanga, in order to minimise further loss of life.

Formal recognition of these contributions was made at the inaugural Māori Climate Forum in Wellington in 2003, where a number of Māori elders highlighted the importance of giving a greater account of Māori knowledge of environmental change. Among the many priorities identified for research at this forum, an opportunity based on a challenge from a Māori elder led to the development of a pilot project to explore traditional Māori understandings of weather–climate variability and change. 

One of the key outcomes from this work was the identification of Māori environmental indicators to anticipate local weather and climate conditions and thereby manage the risk associated with weather-climate extremes. However, in spite of the work achieved, there remain unanswered questions about the use and ongoing efficacy of environmental indicators to forecast and monitor weather and climate risks, including how new opportunities might be created to promote learning about subtle signals in nature that can reveal much about changes in weather and climate conditions. 

Due to the fact that many of the elders that provided the basis of this thesis have passed away, a great sense of responsibility has remained with me to complete this research. To identify the gaps in the previous research, to ground-truth it, to consolidate and carefully document the level of localised environmental knowledge of weather and climate specifically with iwi from Tainui-Hauraki, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, and Ngāi Tahu. A total of 56 interviews and 17 group wānanga were conducted during 2009-2016. Examples of Māori Environmental Knowledge were also sourced from numerous personal conversations with knowledge holders from 1989-2003, adding to the body of knowledge that was analysed to provide further context. A conceptual framework coined `Ngā Whenu Tapu e Waru’ was created from identifying the key themes of the interviews to inform how Māori Environmental Knowledge was described in the three regions. This study has yielded understandings of wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and cloud classifications; weather and climate indicators; spiritual signs of misfortune and death; memory techniques; longitudinal weather predictions, and lunar calendars in each region.

This thesis is underpinned by a Kaupapa Māori theory and research methodology that links to a body of transformative research and literature conducted by Māori scholars based on the knowledge and experience of tūpuna  Māori. 

Heoti anō rā kei ngā kākahi whakairoiro, kei ngā matataiko, nau piki mai, nau kake mai ki tēnei wānanga nui whakaharahara.

year: 2020