Impact
of logging upon the local peopleImpact
of logging upon the local people
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Honours Special Project
Assignment 3
This is a report of fieldwork undertaken on the Krisa
people of the Kilimeri Census Division of
Sandaun Province by Ian Leklek, a Bachelor of Arts Honours student in Social
Anthropology,
of the Anthropology and Sociology Department, University of Papua New Guinea.
10th June-2nd July 1996
Ian Leklek
92239791
BA Honours
9.9.96
1) Changes in Economic Activities and Consumption Pattern
2) Health, Education and Social Welfare
During the period of my fieldwork, a number of people in Vanimo, Lote
and Krisa villages
helped me in one way or another. I would like to thank them and acknowledge
my debt to them
here. I will mention a few names below and if I miss anyone, then
please accept my apologies
for the omission.
Vanimo: Fr. Giro (Parish coordinator, Vanimo Diocese), Ignatius Wunum (Provincial Education Assistant Secretary)
Lote: Willie and wife (Manager, Lote Mission Station), Sister Ann (Sister in Charge, Lote Mission Station), Fr. Anthony (Resident Father)
Krisa: Damien Bewa (son of Bewa), John Bewa Tou (Bigman), Michael Tibon (Catechist), Cathy (wife and cook), Evelyn Paine (cook), Mr Siligras (teacher), John Maku (counsellor), Mr Paine (DPI Officer), Steven Abala (friend).
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the European Economic
Community for
making this fieldtrip possible, without them it would have been impossible.
In many less economically developed areas of Papua New Guinea, local forest resource areas represent one of the only major resources which can be exploited to obtain greater access to the cash economy and to the goods and services available in the more economically active parts of the country.
Local communities often welcome forest operations which will bring them immediate cash payments from royalties, access to full-time or occasional wage employment, and opportunities for expansion of small businesses or sale of produce to company employees. For many villagers, forest operations often also mean increased government and commercial services and easier access to major centres.
In some local communities, only the edges of the forests are considered essential for the harvesting of building materials, canoe trees, food items or medicinal plants. Swampy areas where sago and pandanas grow are far more significant and the deeper parts of the forest may be seen as a forbidding and somewhat sinister place inhabited by "masalai "(pidgin: bush spirit) or supernatural creatures and spirits of long dead ancestors. Local legends and "tumbuna" (pidgin:ancestor) stories emphasise the dangers in the forest for younger members of the group if they break community rules of conduct.
In these areas, timber logging may be welcomed as providing economic gain without a significant cultural or group cost. It may even be viewed as a useful way to clear the land for future economic development. In these situations, it is understandable that local landowning groups downplay or disregard cultural or subsistence uses as they consider that immediate financial benefits are too important to be risked in favour of traditional beliefs and practices.
In other communities, forests are the clan or group hunting grounds,
places of cultural and ritual significance, sources of fresh water and a
wide variety of important food or household items, and of plants used for
ceremonial, medicinal or magical purposes. Forest operations in these
areas may significantly change the lifestyle of those local communities
involved.
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