Fishy business. The Social Impact of SST.pdf - Act Now!

The Sepik office of WWF has a mandate from the Office of Environment and Conservation(OEC) and the Department of East Sepik (DES) to help the process of integrated developmentand conservation. This means identifying and where possible protecting conservation valueswhile working within a society shifting from a subsistence economy to a cash economy.Achieving this integration requires a healthy and active state and community. TheOEC/DES/WWF agreement focuses on landowners in the Hunstein Range; but as the WWFSepik Community Land Care Project has evolved, it has become increasingly necessary for thisoffice to become involved with development issues throughout the Sepik. This is in partbecause development options for the Hunstein will be shaped by development occurringelsewhere in the Sepik. In addition, we have found that both the local government andcommunity sectors have increasingly asked for assistance from WWF on a range ofdevelopment issues throughout the Sepik.The SSTC proposal, if successful, will have a major impact on the direction of development inthe Sepik. This in turn will influence civil society and therefore conservation values. HenceWWF's interest in the proposed tuna factory.Social and Infrastructural ImpactsOf the issues raised previously by myself (see the attached February 2001 commentary) andlocal NGOs, the potential negative social impacts remain the most problematic. For example,the SSTC says (S3.7 of the Environmental Plan Application) that the low wage structure inPNG is one reason for choosing this country. There is indeed a pool of potentially employablepeople in Wewak, which offers advantages for both the company and the township. However,potential problems arising from this include:•the creation of a pool of unemployed attracted to Wewak from the Sepik; and•a low wage structure failing to adequately compensate those moving from a non-cashsubsistence economy to a cash economy; in other words, factory workers may find theirpurchasing power provides a quality of life lower than available in the subsistence economy.The SSTC says it intends to work with local government to address many of these issues, thatis:South Seas Tuna Corporation will carry out a baseline economic survey of its employees at thetime of their recruitment. This survey will help with long term monitoring (Section 9.3.4 p.9.9)andThe South Seas Tuna Corporation will work wtih the Wewak Town Council, the East SepikProvincial Government and the relevant Utility Managers in a co-operative manner to helpthem improve the infrastructure of Wewak...(Section 9.3.4 p.9.9)With this in mind, WWF's Wewak office would like to work with the SSTC, local level andprovincial government, to establish:•the provincial and local level strategic planning mechanisms available and/or required to allowthis to happen; for example, how does the tuna factory development fit in with the five yeardevelopment plans being prepared at district and provincial level?80