An exploration of the impact of oil palm development on women in Pomio, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This thesis explores the impact of oil palm development on women in Pomio, East New Britain Province (ENBP) of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Pomio is the largest district in ENBP but the district is least developed due to the district’s challenging topography. To introduce socioeconomic development, forest resources such as timber have been exploited. For such socioeconomic developments to eventuate, customary land is sub-leased to foreign developers and significant land-use change has resulted. After logging activities, oil palm was introduced as an agricultural crop to sustain the livelihoods of the indigenous people. In ENBP, land is highly treasured. However, it is sometimes forgotten that that it is especially precious to women. ENBP is a matrilineal society with women traditionally exercising significant responsibility over land, a major clan asset. They transfer inheritance rights over land to the next of kin within the clan and have traditionally played an important role in the decision-making about the distribution, use and management of land within the clan. However, with the modern emphasis on commercial agriculture, extractive and other commercial activities has often, this is changing. This research seeks to determine how women’s lives have been affected by palm oil development. It seeks to answer the following questions - how do they participate in decision-making processes, what factors affect the degree of women’s participation, what are the views of women on these land-use changes, and how do they maintain their roles and status with the land-use changes? This study used qualitative research methods including in-depth interviews and observations with a range of women spokespersons, villager elders, village leaders, officers from government agencies and developers. Fieldwork took place at two different sites in Pomio district where two different developers and lease schemes are involved in establishing oil palm projects; with project site one under the plantation scheme while project site two under the nucleus-estate smallholder scheme. The results show that the oil palm projects have both positive and negative outcomes for communities but the negatives outweigh the positives. The communities have lost their traditional livelihoods due to land clearance. Women are more affected than other members in the community. They are faced with all kinds of pressures as land is taken away from them, their livelihoods are diminished. As a result, women have turned to alternative activities to sustain themselves and their families. Their ability to support customary obligations is eroding, as are traditional values as the society transits from a subsistence economy into a cash economy as a result of land-use change. Despite the impact on their lives, women were found to have limited and a reducing ability to participate in decisions about the land-use that impacts on them. This study concludes that to empower women’s participation in decision-making processes in relation to customary land-use change, women need to be better educated to improve communication and language skills so that they are more informed about decisions being made at the community level, and so they can more effectively challenge the decisions that negatively impact on them, their communities and future generations.