Profits Mask Food Shortages in a Land of Plenty

The petroleum industry arrived in the Lake Kutubu area, around 20 years ago with Chevron and BP and soon the delicate ecological balance often in play in remote areas began to shift.

Oil companies searching the rugged and beautiful highlands, in the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, for oil, cut through virgin rain forest and came into contact with the remote hill tribes bringing with them diseases, an increase in population and the widespread use of industrial clearing practices on the fragile earth.

Malnourished child in Moro. Credit: Damian Baker

The Lake Kutubu wetlands, consisting of the second largest freshwater lake in PNG, are of international importance and are listed under the Ramsar wetland convention. With 14 species of fish, 12 of which are endemic to the area, it is ecologically one the most important fisheries in the entire Papua New Guinea and Australian area.

However the extra pressures placed on this fragile environment have brought the area close to an environmental disaster putting at risk the unique international wetlands and affecting the customs and diets of village populations.

In December 2007 after a reported chemical spill in the lake, the World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) contracted Wetlands International to conduct a rapid ecological health assessment of the region.

While overfishing and human impact are recognised as contributors to the situation, the alleged chemical spill into the lake by Australian company, Oil Search Limited (OSL), had been claimed by locals to be a major contributor to the decline in fish numbers.

This report has yet to be released after two years but a copy of the assessment obtained by Mineral Policy Institute (MPI) and made available to me noted a 37 percent decline in fish density at a depth of four metres. One species of crustacean not commonly eaten by locals has declined by as much as 95 percent, according to the report.

According to local fishermen, larger fish are almost non-existent and the healthy catches of the past are now a distant memory.

The PNG environment department engaged an academic from the University of PNG to investigate the OSL spill incident. The review involved a check of all previous relevant documents and a visit to the site. While it is unclear when this investigation was originally undertaken, it appears that the report had been completed by June 2008.

Fisherman on Lake Kutubu, PNG. Credit: Damian Baker

However, like the WWF report and other studies which may have helped to shed light on the spill, authorities have failed to release this review to the public. The PNG Government has been criticised for the delay and a conflict of interest as it appears to be a major OSL shareholder (OSL annual report 2008). This lack of transparency has raised concerns among locals about the accountability of the government and its long-term motives.

Nutrition Problems

Health related problems not previously reported by locals have been seen since the oil companies’ descent on the area.

Previously relying on a diet of fish, the nine lakeside villages are now struggling to replace protein in their diet. Other forms of protein are difficult to find and with chicken priced at $A20 it is out of reach of most local people.

Mothers I interviewed were concerned about dietary imbalances and their children’s health. Concerned health workers have confirmed that in one vilage area two thirds of infants suffered from malnutrition.

In an effort to alleviate this problem I saw tracts of newly cleared land along the lakes edges as locals introduce gardening to their villages. If there is an increase in this practice, it will bring its own problems to the area with erosion and land degradation a common problem in PNG.

Kutubu village at dusk. Credit: Damian Baker

The fishing we witnessed taking place is done mostly by women and children and the size of the fish taken were alarmingly small. Over fishing is recognised as a contributor to the decimation of fish numbers and locals are looking for guidance on this and other environmental issues.

A unique and somewhat controversial financial arrangement between Chevron and the US arm of the WWF was put in place in 1992. The agreement, now into its fifth phase, has cost millions of dollars (documents I sighted showed that phase two alone was worth $4.5 million), and locals wonder where the money has gone and what has been achieved.

They are disappointed that after taking part in the 2007 report commissioned by WWF, little or no action has been taken. Since that time, communication between WWF and villagers has been minimal at best.

A 2001 report in the Sydney Morning Herald, stated that secret internal Chevron documents claimed, “WWF will act as a buffer for the joint venture against environmentally damaging activities in the region, and against international environmental criticism”.

This reported collusion with the oil company and a lack of action from WWF has reinforced the villager’s scepticism, and distrust of WWF’s motives.

After the 2007 spill, Soge Dorebo, chairman of the Restoration and Protection of Kutubu Environmental Association said he was, “disappointed that WWF was not with the community to help and guide us with our problems in our time of need”.

Mr Dorebo said “WWF are eager to use Kutubu for positive promotion in media and publications but they are not here to help the community when we need them to help us with our environment.”

“They are not taking our environment seriously.” he added. “We would like to see sustainable projects encouraged in our local area, like fisheries or education on how to deal with our problems and to sustain a healthy lifestyle while protecting and restoring our environment.”

OSL is about to embark on a major gas infrastructure development in PNG called the PNG LNG Project (to be led by Exxon Mobil).

It is the biggest development of its kind in the history of PNG and although anger and frustration among landowner groups are mounting, the project negotiations are continuing at a rapid pace.

The oil and gas money will no doubt keep flowing to international corporations and WWF could be seen to seen to have a reliable income for some time yet. It would easy for the Lake Kutubu people to feel forgotten in the rush for oil and gas riches.

See the original article at: http://theangle.org/2009/11/16/profits-mask-food-shortages-in-a-land-of-plenty/

ENDS

© Scoop Media