12. Análisis de la influencia de los procesos de acceso y seguimiento de los usuarios de
13.3. Rediseño de los procesos y procedimientos
use of ‘Papua New Guinean ways’ of shaping development. This discussion locates the country’s mineral resources and policies in the Government’s overall developmental vision for the country. These can be seen to operate in three tiers – the Constitution, the policy framework, and the enabling legislation. Relevant sections of each of these are reproduced in Appendix 6. The first two are discussed here, with a particular focus on aspects of policy that relate to the intersection of resources and development. The more operational aspects of legislation and the institutions charged with enacting the legislation will be discussed in the following section. THE CONSTITUTION
The Papua New Guinea Constitution, developed in the years before Independence, contains provisions around the protection of human rights, including the right to life, liberty and security of person, and the right to take part in political activities. The significance of Papua New Guinea’s natural environment and resources is highlighted in the National Goals and Directive Principles in the Constitution, the foundational document for the nation (see Appendices 6). The ‘wise use’ language of the fourth National Goal and Directive predates by a decade the language of the Brundtland Commission’s now famous definition of sustainable development. Importantly the fifth and final of the National Goals and Directive Principles also declares ‘our fifth goal to be to achieve development primarily through the use of Papua New Guinean forms of social, political and economic organization’.
To a large extent, the challenge that faces Papua New Guinea is bound up in the tension between having a globally connected, economically-driven extractives sector, and a need to deliver broad-based improvements in human development in ways that reflect ‘Papua New Guinean forms of social, political and economic organization’. In other words, development that both employs processes and delivers outcomes that are locally meaningful and acceptable. These tensions flow through to the various central government development planning policies.
POLICY FRAMEWORKS
In the past seven years, the government of Papua New Guinea has formulated a development policy framework consisting of the Vision 2050, the 2010-2030 Development Strategic Plan (DSP), and the 2011-2015 Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP). Although originally developed through largely independent processes, they are conceived as a set of nested and cascading plans. Most recently, a National Strategy for Responsible and Sustainable Development (NSRSD) was produced by the Planning Minister as an addendum to the DSP and is expected to be incorporated into the revisions to the MTDP underway in 2014.
The first three frameworks, and their priorities and targets are based on the assumption of accelerated economic growth based on an expanding extractive resource sector. As a result, they give an important indication of how revenues from natural resource extraction are expected to be used and to contribute to human development across PNG.
The strategic direction for Vision 2050 is that, ‘Papua New Guinea will develop and grow the manufacturing, services, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and eco-tourism sectors from 2010 to 2050. This direction will enable economic growth by 2050 to be broad based, ensuring that disposable household incomes will be much higher than at present. These initiatives will enhance our socioeconomic performance and improve our overall HDI ranking.’
The challenge therefore is, ‘How do we shift an economy that is currently dominated by the mining and energy sectors, to one that is dominated by agriculture, forestry, fisheries, eco-tourism and manufacturing, between 2010 and 2050?’ (Vision 2050, 2009) The Vision 2050 proposes that the current heavy reliance on resources does not adequately balance the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. The Vision calls for a shift through time (as originally envisaged in the first post- Independence (1977) policy on mining) from a mineral-dominated economy to a one that can better balance environmental and social goals alongside economic growth.
The Development Strategic Plan (DSP) aims to set ‘the direction for the economy to move from an economy heavily dependent on non-renewable natural resources to one which has a broader base with dynamically developed industries in both secondary and tertiary sectors and with well-connected and vibrant markets’. The policy still recognises the importance of petroleum and mining industries, setting goals that include a doubling of mineral exports, while also striving to minimise the adverse impact of mining on the environment. There is a clear tension here between the broad aim of shifting away from a resource development economy and the goals of, for example, doubling mineral exports by 2030. Some of this tension is further reflected in specific targets articulated within the MTDP.
The MTDP retains the aim of doubling mineral exports, with the comment that ‘The minerals sector has been the key source of exports and revenue to the Government over the years. There remains considerable mining potential so the sector will continue to play a critical role in Papua New Guinea’s development.’
The recently launched the National Strategy for Responsible and
Sustainable Development (NSRSD) represents an attempt at a
paradigm shift with regards to the development path to achieve PNG Vision 2050. It sets out a development road map for a more socially and environmentally responsible and sustainable socio-economic growth model for Papua New Guinea. The strategy emphasizes the need to respond to the growing revaluation of the environmental capital of the world, and an increasing understanding of the threats of unchecked pressure and damage. While very much in line with the messages of this Report, the challenge will be to address the tensions and trade-offs between extractive industries, economic growth, social responsibility and environmental sustainability. The strategy does however make it clear that Papua New Guinea has a unique global opportunity to chart a new development path, one that combines responsibility and sustainability. This report will offer
support – through concrete policy suggestions and options – to this paradigm shift that promotes more sustainable and inclusive forms of development.
3.4 REGULATING THE EXTRACTIVES
SECTOR IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
One of the key lessons from international experience outlined in Chapter 2 is that institutions and governance are critical to translating revenues from the extractives sector into improvements in human development. In this section and the next, the formal regulatory framework, and the quality of governance within this framework in Papua New Guinea, are reviewed.
The Papua New Guinea mining and petroleum sector is regulated by the State under two main Acts: the Mining Act (1992) and the Oil and Gas Act (1998). These Acts are in turn the responsibility of the MRA and the Department of Petroleum and Energy, and there are Ministerial portfolios for each of these areas. The Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazard Management is primarily responsible for policy development in the minerals sector (and has led the review of the Mining Act during 2013-2014).
Translation of an exploration target into a mining operation requires application for a Mining Lease (ML) or Special Mining Lease (SML) (or a Petroleum Production Licence (PPL) in the case of oil or gas). Securing this tenement entails the applicant negotiating three
sets of agreements: a Mine Development Contract with the state, Compensation and, if required, Resettlement Agreements with affected communities, and a set of Memorandums of Agreement (MoAs) between the developer, the National Government, the respective provincial government, and the affected landowners. The last of these provide for the distribution of benefits between the various levels of government and the landowning community. These MoA negotiations occur in the context of a Development Forum, a mechanism initiated in 1988 that ensure local representatives and sub-national government are involved in discussions and negotiations over the distribution of benefits, and result in formal agreed Benefit Sharing Agreements (BSAs) (West 1992; Filer 2012). Concerns over the capacity of The Department of Minerals and Petroleum in the late 1990s led to World Bank assistance (which is on-going) to support the restructuring of the department. This eventually resulted in the creation of the MRA, which operates as a stand-alone statutory agency tasked with regulating, monitoring and facilitating the mining industry. There are plans to provide a similar statutory authority for the petroleum industry. There is also provision for other government departments to become involved in, and oversee, some aspects of the sector.
These include the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) (responsible under the Environment Act 2000 for reviewing and approving the environmental and social impact assessments and the on-going environmental monitoring programs of the mines)