The Independent State of Papua New Guinea, a haven for wildlife and a leader in self-sufficient living,
Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the second largest island in the world, New Guinea. It
stretches north, covering the Bismarck Archipelago and east to Bougainville, the northernmost island
of the Solomon Archipelago.
Papua New Guinea, the most culturally diverse nation on earth, with over 800 languages and 40,000
years of history. PNG was only recently touched by European colonialism in the late 19th century,
when German and British colonies were established in the north and south respectively. Which led to
the formation of Papua New Guinea as a territory, before finally gaining independence in 1975.
Nine million people, 851 languages, 80% of the land is covered by forest while over 40% of the
population live an entirely self-sufficient life. PNG could be the most developed nation on earth,
depending on what metrics you like to use.
Papua New Guinea is one of the last wildernesses, a country developed with nature in mind, the
mistakes of the western world haven’t been made yet, or at least not totally destructive. Papua New
Guinea is a shining light for sustainability.
With the help of basic infrastructure projects, PNG has the potential to be a world leader in sustainable
development. As a result of only 13% of the nations population having reliable access to electricity,
PNG doesn’t rely on any large environmentally damaging power plants. Therefore, new and
sustainable methods of electricity production are easier to implement. This applies to other
infrastructure in different sectors like tourism, education and water, just to name a few.
While it’s nice to put a positive spin on the lack of basic infrastructure, the reality is that this affects all
walks of life in the community, with one the main issues being the lack of business, income and
opportunities distributed more equally among communities and in particular, rural Papua New Guinea,
where basic infrastructure often only exists for large enterprises, often foreign owned and unavailable
to residents. These businesses and enterprises tend to dominate the business and tourism market by
having the initial capital to construct the infrastructure needed, that local entrepreneurs don’t have
access to.
Just with the help of basic infrastructure, coordination and community led initiatives, Papua New
Guinea can focus on its strengths, like being the most sustainable nation on earth, attracting ecotourism and inspiring the next generation to be proud of their self-sufficient lifestyle and have the
ability to present it to the world.