Introduction

The National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) has recently (2003) been established by the Government of Papua New Guinea to replace the Marine Transport Division of the Department of Transport. As a self funded statutory authority, the NMSA is responsible for implementing government regulatory functions in order to facilitate a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible shipping sector for stakeholders in government, industry and the community. The National Maritime Safety Authority Act was certified on 25 Nov 2003.

Preparing the groundwork for the establishment of the NMSA was done through the NavAids Rehabilitation Project financed by the Government of PNG through a combination of counterpart and Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan funds. The project’s responsibilities among others included:

• Establishing a Project Management Unit and a Project Implementation Unit;
• Contracting international experts in the fields of management, civil engineering, navigational aids, hydrography, environment, training and community engagement;
• Initiating and completing a civil engineering bid process to rehabilitate navigational aids throughout Papua New Guinea;
• Overseeing and facilitating the civil engineering work;
• Establishing a network of Community Lighthouse Committees and Community Security and Maintenance Agreements to ensure the safety and security of the navigational aids; and
• Handing over project documents and information to NMSA staff as the agency becomes operational.

1.0 NAVAIDS PROJECT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM

1.1 Background

The NavAids Project Community Engagement Program began in January 2002 with the commencement of the ADB Technical Assistance. This program was the first real attempt by the then Department of Transport and Civil Aviation to engage communities in the 14 maritime provinces of PNG. The design of the CEP was based on the Rehabilitation of the Maritime Navigational System Project (Feasibility Study: ADB TA No. 3162-PNG) Report and Recommendations to the President (RRP 32184) .

The Community Engagement Program is described in the TA document as a special form of outsourcing, with the primary aim to reduce the level of vandalism on navaids and engender “ownership” at the community level through responsibility for the maintenance and security of the system. In the TA document, components of the CEP are listed as:

• Service agreements with community groups;
• Small routine maintenance contracts backed up with a supply of essential materials;
• Public information programs and workshops to educate people on the benefits and importance of navaids and to explain their responsibilities and benefits under the maintenance contracts;
• Improved law enforcement; and
• Lease agreements with the owners of land occupied by the navaids.

The objective of the CEP along with other project components as described in the ADB PAM Project Framework is to:

“Institutionalize sustainable operation and maintenance of the navigation aid and community programs that are effective in maintaining the network.”

For many years, the navigational lights of Papua New Guinea have been unreliable markers for mariners, due to non-functioning navigational aids along the coast. Travel by sea has relied on good weather and daylight hours, so that visual sightings could guide the way. Over 60% of the damage to navigational lights was due to vandalism. A program of Community Based Security and Maintenance of the Lights (CBSML) has been undertaken by the newly structured NMSA through its Community Development Unit.

The NavAids Project civil engineering work has completed 170 navigational aids sites will have been rehabilitated in Papua New Guinea. The NavAids Project Community Engagement Program (CEP) laid the foundation for the NMSA Community Based Security and Maintenance of the Lights Program. Community based contracts with Community Lighthouse Committees and landowners leasing navaids sites currently guarantee annual performance payments for 20 years.

The CEP Process as implemented over the past three years has served as the “initial community contact” in the community engagement – community development continuum. Return visits to work with the CLCs on the substantive requirements of their CSMA contracts have not been undertaken, as this was not considered to be part of the NavAids Project mandate. Project focus has been on completing initial visits and contracts with all NavAids Project related communities slated for Navaids

1.1 Commuity Engagemnent Program Process

The CEP and the civil works components of the NavAids project were undertaken in three phases:

• Phase I – Milne Bay, 35 sites.
• Phase II – New Guinea Islands, 64 sites.
• Phase III – PNG Mainland coastline, 55 sites.
• Phase IV – Bougainville, 16 sites.

The CEP team preceded the engineers, informing provincial governments, Local Level Governments, community members and landowners about the upcoming rehabilitation of the light structure. The teams were comprised of NavAids Project staff and national and provincial government staff. In some cases, NGOs were also members of the CE teams. The CEP teams made initial visits to NavAids related communities to, among other things,:

1. Establish Community Lighthouse Committees (CLCs);
2. Facilitate the signing of the Agency Agreement, allowing the contractors access to the site while the land issues were being resolved;
3. Put in place the Community Service and Maintenance Agreements (CSMAs) to establish the legal grounds for CLCs authority should vandalism of the light or the structure take place and to provide ongoing maintenance and security of the site; and
4. Begin the process of lands purchase (for Phase I) or lease (for Phase II and Phase III).

2. COMMUNITY BASED SECURITY AND MAINTENANCE OF THE LIGHTS PROGRAM (CBSML)

2.1 CBSML Program Rationale and Objectives

This Community Based Security and Maintenance of the Lights (CBSML) Program Implementation Framework has been prepared to facilitate the transition between the NavAids Project Community Engagement Program and the NMSA CD Department Program. The framework builds on the NavAids Project CEP process and achievements, linking the process of initial community contacts with the new NMSA CBSML Program.

The CBSML Program is based in the theory and practice of community engagement. The theory is that through community ownership of the navigational lights rehabilitated under the NavAids project, vandalism will be reduced. The objective of the CBSML is to encourage positive community experiences with NMSA and to support CLCs to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. The Program will foster greater understanding of the importance of the lights for Papua New Guineans within the larger community, reducing the likelihood of community vandalism.

2.2 CBSML Program Component Descriptions

The CBSML Program is comprised of six components. These are:

• Community Lighthouse Committees Strengthening
  
  The CLCs are the frontline of community security measures and maintenance practices. Supporting and strengthening both their confidence and credibility to perform the tasks outlined in the CSMA are a primary focus of the NMSA CD Unit. The Provincial Lighthouse Committees will provide an important link to the CLCs in their provinces, and will be kept informed of NMSA CD Unit CLC activities and progress.
• Awareness Raising and Training
  
  Awareness raising is aimed at the national, provincial and community levels, to increase awareness of the necessity of keeping the lights functioning as well as to inform about marine safety issues and the CBSML program.

  Training is a cross-cutting theme and will be a focus for all components of the CBSML program. CLCs will need training about managing their contractual obligations and responding to “lights out” or vandalism emergencies.

• Provincial Lighthouse Committee Partnership Consolidation
  
  Some of the PLCs have been formally established as committees under the provincial government structure, others are still proceeding with that process. The PLCs provide a bridge between the NMSA and the provincial governments, acting as the marine sector champions. The CD Unit will provide support to the PLCs to consolidate their role within the provincial structure, as well as to strengthen their ability to act as a focal point for development opportunities related to the navaids sites. It is envisaged that in the future the PLCs will play a major role in shaping the marine sector within their provinces.
• Community Development Facilitation
  
  The CD Unit has the intention to assist the CLCs to optimize the benefits of this payment and any remaining funds from the annual maintenance payment of K2000 through additional community development initiatives.
  
  
  The CD Unit approach to community development will be to work closely with CD stakeholders, the PLCs and grassroots initiatives, linking appropriate navaids sites with relevant CD opportunities.
• CLC and Landowner Contracts Administration and Monitoring
  
  Based on the contracts established under the NavAids Project CEP, NMSA will be responsible to pay the CLCs an annual fee of K2000 for the security and maintenance of the lights and light structures for a period of 20 years. The landowners in Phase II, Phase III and Phase IV of the project will be paid an annual site leasing fee of K2000 for a period of 20 years.
  
  
  The annual payments are an important incentive for ensuring the security and maintenance of the lights.
• Monitoring and Evaluating Program Results
  
  One of the overall goals of the navaids rehabilitation work was to reduce the cost of transport expenditure at the community level. The rationale for this goal is that more efficient transport due to functioning lights would lead to reduced costs for shippers, resulting in reduction of costs for the end user. The benefits of the community based approach were also to be distributed among the population (people directly involved in the CSMA work disaggregated by age and gender. From the ADB documents, therefore the intended socioeconomic impact of the navaids rehabilitation work was to mitigate poverty and improve health of affected communities.

  The stated outcome of the CBSML Program includes the positive socio-economic impacts on women and the poor, as well as the security and maintenance of the lights. The CD Unit will monitor and evaluate the impacts of the CBSML Program based on these stated outcomes. A CLC performance matrix will be developed identifying performance indicators, data sources, data collection frequency, reporting responsibilities as well as some overall program evaluation issues and questions. Measures will be designed and indicators developed for community reporting formats to determine whether the above goals are being met.