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———————- PRESS RELEASE ———————-
The Kokoda Track has been closed at Naoro for the past two weeks by landowners of the Mt Kodu area in regard to frustrations over the delays experienced by the Australian exploration company, Frontier Resources Pty Ltd, being granted a renewal of their Exploration Licence, which expired over 18 months ago.
The Naoro people are demanding “no mining exploration licence renewal then no trekking”. This is putting pressure on the PNG Government to give urgent attention to the renewal of the Exploration Licence to Frontier Resources. It should be noted that this is an Exploration Licence – not a Mining Lease, as exploration is still required to prove the gold and copper resource is of such magnitude to justify the expense of a mining operation. A satisfactory Environmental Impact Study and other environmental, social and economic issues will need to be approved before any Mining Lease is issued.
The recent problems of environmental damage from the Tolokuma Gold Mine in the Goilala area of the Central Province should not be repeated with any Mt Kodu mine. Tailings from Tolokuma has effected villagers residing along the Angabanga River system and environmental studies are continuing into this purported pollution.
Any similar problem from Mt Kodu mining operations could affect villagers living along Ofi Creek, Naoro River, Brown River and Goldie River right to the southern coast west of Port Moresby. There is a large population in the lower reaches of this river system who rely on this water for their daily needs.
KTA board representatives and the Koiari LLG President met with some 150 Naoro, Ioribaiwa and Edevu landowners in January 2008 and resolved that mining exploration and trekking should co-exist with trekking of the famous Kokoda Track. This resolution was passed on to the Minister for Mines. There has still been no decision made on the renewal.
Over recent weeks and currently, there have been many discussions with individual landowner leaders from Naoro area, and other villagers from along the Track from Kokoda to Owers’ Corner and Sogeri as well as meetings between Government officials to resolve the issue. A suitable solution seems close to hand. A demonstration and petition presentation is planned for the Minister for Mines at his office next Wednesday 20 February by Naoro landowners under Police surveillance.
The majority of stakeholders believe that the Exploration Licence should be renewed to Frontier Resources. In any renewal of a mining or petroleum exploration licence, there is a mandatory 50% reduction in the area of the tenement. It is therefore suggested that such reduction would allow for Frontier to continue exploration at their Mt Kodu site with access on their present Owers’ Corner to mine-site track and the North West Elo site with access from the Edevu road off the Hiritano Highway. There should be a 2 to 3 km wide “Exclusion Zone” where the Kokoda Track passes through the Mt Kodu prospect included in the Exploration Licence. Mt Kodu exploration boundary would be to 500 metres east of the Kokoda Track at Ofi Creek. This is the present situation.
Kokoda Track War Historian and author of Field Guide to the Kokoda Track, Bill James, has supplied copies of 1942 military maps of the Kokoda Trail and parallel tracks between Ioribaiwa, Manari and Kagi which indicate that there were three parallel tracks to the Kokoda Trail in the Ofi Creek and Naoro area. The commanders during the Kokoda Campaign referred to the main wartime route as Kokoda Trail and the others as parallel or secondary tracks which were also used in the campaign. One of those tracks is the original Port Moresby – Buna route (Bunadala) which was used by Police and Postmen pre-war to get mail and small parcels between Port Moresby, Kokoda, Buna and other outposts in between. These tracks have been merged in places to form the current Kokoda Track / Trail.
The Kokoda Trail “War Zone” or proposed “Exclusion Zone” of suggested 2 to 3 Kilometres width (with the Track/Trail located within) was the scene of bloody battles where many Papuan carriers including Koiari, Biage, Kanage and Orokaivans together with Japanese and Australian soldiers lost their lives. Most Australian bodies were recovered and re-interred at Bomana War Cemetery whilst the Japanese and Papuan remains were left buried where they died or often in mass graves. Some Japanese remains were identified years later by their families and were returned to Japan. There are still World War II bodies located on the Kokoda Track, as was recently revealed by Kokoda Spirit Managing Director, Wayne Wetherall, who last week located the full skeletal remains of a Japanese soldier including his dog-tag.
As described by Bill James and Soc Kienzle (son of the late Kokoda Campaign Angau Officer Bert Kienzle of Mamba Estate in Kokoda), the Kokoda Track/Trail is a sacred war grave site. It is improper for a bulldozer to excavate graves without proper procedures being followed. Can you imagine a bulldozer tearing up the graves at Bomana War Cemetery or 9 Mile Cemetery. There would be a public outcry!
The Naoro landowners suggest that with mining exploration continuing, a parallel track some 400 metres to the west of the existing Kokoda Track at Ofi Creek be used by trekkers. There is also the other option of trekkers commencing or completing their trek to/from Kokoda by access from the Edevu Road off the Hiritano Highway. This road passes through the Edevu Sawmill and logging access roads to Matilogo Village and can be traversed by 4WD vehicle quite safely. These roads have recently been graded by the Logging Company who are selectively logging the area west of the Kokoda Track. From Matilogo Village across the ravine can be seen the Kokoda Track villages of Efogi and Kagi. It is a 5 hour walk from Matilogo to Manari Village on the Kokoda Track.
Last week the Edevu landowner leaders were approached on the possibility of accessing Kokoda Track via their territory and they are keen for such to happen as they wish to participate in sustainable tourism developments, including Mount Victoria, which landowners and local tour operators with overseas clients are embarking on this year. They have vehicle transport, guides and carriers also available for hire to Trekking groups.
On the Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) issue, KTA was established by NEC decision in May 2003 and proclaimed by the Head of State on 5 June 2003. The five year life of the KTA expires on 5 June 2008. The three year term of office of the Management Committee expired on 9 December, 2007 and the two Local Level Governments of Koiari and Kokoda have not yet resolved who the new LLG appointed members will be. The KTA board is therefore currently acting in a transitional capacity, with the Executive Officer currently trying to caretake the organization under much pressure.
The National Government, through the Department of Provincial and Local Government Affairs when establishing KTA, did not make provision for budgetary support for recurrent expenses of KTA, including the employment of the Executive Officer and support staff, and the administrative expenses of the office and field activities. Budgeted allocations for KTA from both Oro and Central Provincial Governments have never been received by KTA management for banking into the authorized KTA accounts. The operation of KTA has had to be funded by utilizing part of trek fee income. This is a sore point with landowners along the Track who believe that the majority of trek fee income should be used for community benefit projects.
In 2007, there were 5117 trekkers registered on Kokoda Track. Trek fees amounted to K895,000 of which 50% had been used for recurrent expenditure, including excessive allowance and claims paid to certain management committee members and their associates. The balance has been used for Community Developments and Benefits ranging from Secondary / High School and Tertiary sponsorships to over 60 students from the Kokoda Track area families, track clearing and log bridge maintenance, VHF village radio and Mt Fala repeater maintenance, water supply extensions, school, hospital and aid post supplies, church meeting financial assistance, youth and sports (including Lae Games) assistance, women’s affairs, welfare of medical and funeral costs contribution, agriculture developments of sheep and poultry, camp site improvement assistance, local tour business operations assistance, etc.
KTA is working in conjunction with the National Cultural Commission and the Kokoda Trail Development Programme in infrastructure improvements along the Track commencing in March 2008 with a Police Post at Owers’ Corner and Efogi and community camping ground facilities at Owers’ Corner, Efogi, Isurava, Kovello, and suspension bridges on dangerous river / creek crossings of Goldie River, Eora Creek and Templeton’s Crossings. The new Police Posts will be staffed with regular police on rotation, community police and a Ranger.
KTA has provided assistance to the communities but it is not possible to improve the situation under the present KTA administrative structure. KTA was established under the Organic Law on Provincial and Local-level Government and the Provincial and Local Government Administration Act. It appeared to be the ideal vehicle to administer the trekking activities and infrastructure developments along the track but because of the fantastic interest shown by trekkers and the communities, the present structure cannot cope. Trekker statistics were 76 in 2001, 365 in 2002, 1,074 in 2003, 1,584 in 2004, 2,374 in 2005, 3,747 in 2006, 5,117 in 2007 and over 6,000 anticipated in 2008.
Since March 2007, discussions have taken place with KTA board members, Koiari and Kokoda LLG members, Kokoda Track landowner leaders, Tour Operators, Government officers and the Australian High Commission in relation to replacing KTA with a more appropriate body. This has become more necessary now with the allocation by the Australian Government of AU$15.9 million (K42million) for assisting the PNG Government in obtaining World Heritage listing of part of the Owen Stanley Ranges, including the Kokoda Track, and assisting with the establishment of suitable administration of sustainable trekking/tourism on the Track.
The possibility of corporatizing the Kokoda Track operations by having some 17 village communities along the Track as shareholders in such company, with minority shareholding by the Kokoda and Koiari LLGs was considered but is impracticable. Because Australian Aid will only be allocated to a PNG Government Agency, the current consideration is to establish a Foundation under the Associations Incorporation Act. This will be modelled along the lines of the Surf Association of PNG Inc (SAPNGI) which has affiliated “Club” members from the 20 surfing sites in PNG, associate members and corporate members. It has taken 20 years for this arrangement to be established and proven. The SAPNGI has been widely accepted by landowners in the surfing industry. Other Pacific nations of Fiji, Samoa and Solomon Islands want to adopt the model to get landowners involvement in the tourism / surfing industry and the benefits that ensue.
In the case of the Foundation for the Kokoda Track, it is proposed that PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) take the lead role in conjunction with the Dept of Environment & Conservation in administering the Foundation with financial assistance from the Australian Government and the PNG Government. It is proposed that a Kokoda Trail Division be established within TPA. Its structure would include a General Manager, Manager Marketing, Manager Corporate Services, Manager Operations. Under these managers would be officers for marketing, product development, human resource, investment training, public relations, rangers and projects. As World Heritage listing progresses, that aspect could be encompassed within a merged structure.
It is proposed the Foundation membership would be six Affiliated Kokoda Trail Village Communities (KTVC), each appointing a community selected board member. These communities envisaged are Kanage/Orokaiva, Lower Biage, Upper Biage, Upper Koiari, Lower Koiari, Sogeri Grasslands Koiari. There are several KT Associate Members (Government) envisaged in representatives of Kokoda LLG, Koiari LLG, PNGTPA, NCC, DEC, RSL, and KT Corporate Members of Industry Stakeholders (Tour Operators, Airlines, Hotels, Transport Companies, etc).
In March, TPA is conducting 4 day training courses at Kokoda, Kagi and Sogeri in the role of tour guides and trekking and sustainable tourism, including a St John Ambulance First Aid Course for the 20 guide and medic attendees at each course. At these venues TPA officers will also explain the changing roles of KTA and the proposed Foundation.
Hopefully the change from KTA to Foundation can be achieved in the next three months. The Minister for Culture and Tourism, Hon Charles Abel MP is backing the proposal together with rationale being adopted with the Mt Kodu mining issue. It is proposed that the National Executive Council (NEC) will be considering Kokoda Track issues during their meetings this coming week.
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Yours faithfully
Kokoda Track AuthorityWarren R Bartlett
Executive Officer
KTL_Logo.jpgKokoda Track worth more than gold: Parkop
By Harlyne Joku – Source National Newspaper
National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop yesterday described the Kokoda Track as priceless and worth more than a gold mine.
Mr Parkop said the Kokoda Track area must be placed on the World Heritage List.
He explained that the famous track being placed on the World Heritage List would make it recognised internationally for what it is worth “priceless and a legacy that is worth much more than a gold mine”.
“Certain things in this world are priceless. You cannot put a value on them. You cannot simply trade them for money. The Kokoda Track is significant for both Australia and PNG. It is worth much more than a gold mine” Mr Parkop said.
He said he directly opposed the proposed mining activities at Kodu Hill and Mount Bini in the Koiari area of Central province claiming it would definitely affect the renowned Kokoda Track.
“There are choices that we have to make in relation to development. The Kokoda Track has a huge tourism potential,” he said.But former Mining Minister Sam Akotai urged Mr Parkop to take note of the local’s needs.
Mr Akoitai said both the PNG and Australia government must treat the proposed mining issue with openness.“We have to look at how best we can protect the track at the same time how we can help the local people with their development needs and benefits,” he said.
Mr Akoitai said ordinary Australians have access to efficient services and cannot deny the same to ordinary rural Papua New Guineans by holding back development.
But he added that activities at this stage were only at the exploration stage.
Mr Parkop said that if the issue was brought before cabinet, he would have no power to oppose it but if it was addressed in parliament, he would definitely oppose it.
Both Mr Parkop and Mr Akoitai made the comments on the FM100 Talk back show yesterday morning.
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