This is the third in a series of papers concerned with the intellectual history of the 'informal economy' and its relevance to current concerns in Papua New Guinea (PNG; the eastern half of the island of New Guinea). Proceeding from the observation that monetized informal economic activity in PNG has been of relatively limited importance, the paper seeks explanations by comparing two stylized constructs, Monsoon Asia (where the informal economy is dynamic) and Melanesia (where it is limited in scope and contribution to livelihoods). Papua (occupying the western half of the island of New Guinea) is seen as a meeting point, or zone of transition, between Monsoon Asia and Melanesia. A long history of 'trading and raiding' on this frontier marked the encounter between ceremonial exchange, as practiced by Melanesians, and the system of tribute imposed on Papuans by Moluccan sultanates. Limited economic specialization and exchange in Melanesia contrasted with the Asian household economy, enmeshed in complex social hierarchies and systems of occupational differentiation. Historically, the Malay Archipelago engaged in a world trading system, into which it drew west New Guinea/Papua over millennia. Travelling peddlers played a key role in the archipelagic trade system, demonstrating the antiquity of the informal economy tradition in the cultures of Monsoon Asia. The paper seeks explanations for the comparative absence of that tradition in Melanesia. Finally, it examines the recent and rapid emergence of an informal economy in Papua, dominated by non-Melanesian immigrants, in the wake of the incorporation of (Dutch) west New Guinea into the Republic of Indonesia in 1963.

<p>Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) have built a strong relation since 1986 under the Treaty of Mutual Respect, Friendship, and Cooperation. Both countries have agreed to promote economic and political goals. Economically, Indonesia and PNG share a strong commitment to boost economic development in numerous strategic fields; and politically, both countries strongly adopt the principle of non-interference and subscribe to the notion of territorial integrity. To secure the goals, Indonesia and PNG have signed a number of MoUs in wide range of areas both in soft cooperation such as capacity building for oil and energy exploration and hard cooperation to combat cross-border crimes, drug smuggling and terrorism. Addressing the cooperation between Indonesia and PNG is the key to understand the dynamics of West Papua ongoing struggle within Melanesia forums such as the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).Having said that, this essay specifically addresses two main points. First, it examines the political interests of Indonesia throughcooperation with PNG and how this cooperation affects Papua status within Indonesia.Second, it discusses the strategic roles of Papua which shapes the cooperations. The essayargues that Indonesia uses the cooperation to secure its political goals to gain support from PNG and other Melanesian states to maintain its territorial integrity and to combat separatism and such cooperation is best understood in terms of Papua strategic roles for Indonesia.</p><p> </p>

For more than 50,000 years of Papua New Guinea's human history, Papua New Guineans have been making significant contributions to Science, particularly in the fields of Chemistry and Medicine. However, because of the absence of any written language for over 800 dialects, the information has not been recorded and the contributions of ancient Papua New Guineans have largely gone unnoticed and unrecognized. However, during the past 40 years, some researchers, Holdsworth[1], Woodley [2], Timi[3], Dindi [4], Rai[5] have conducted scientific studies on medicinal plants in PNG which probably would have been used by ancient Papua New Guineans to treat deceases. Identification of the plants were carried out with the help of villagers initially and then with botanists and chemists Papua New Guinea. Chemical characterization was carried out by chemists in Papua New Guinea. Nine years ago, the author was able to introduce a Unit in the Grade 11 and 12 Chemistry Syllabus under the title 'Traditional Chemical Practices' which consists of traditional chemical and medicinal activities. Similar units had been introduced at undergraduate level in the University of PNG 7 years ago. Already there is evidence that the learning of what their ancestors had discovered and used has been an inspiration to students, and can stress the importance of learning modern scientific principles and methods to build on what their forefathers had done. This paper summarizes some of the scientific contributions of ancient Papua New Guineans, and endeavours to show how the studying of them at school and university levels may have influenced students to join chemical and medical streams at universities and encouraging first year undergraduates to take up chemistry in later years.

Little is known about the natural history of dengue in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We assessed dengue virus (DENV)-specific neutralizing antibody profiles in serum samples collected from northern and southern coastal areas and the highland region of New Guinea between 1959 and 1963. Neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated in sera from the northern coast of New Guinea: from Sabron in Dutch New Guinea (now known as West Papua) and from four villages in East Sepik in what is now PNG. Previous monotypic infection with DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-4 was identified, with a predominance of anti-DENV-2 neutralizing antibody. The majority of positive sera demonstrated evidence of multiple previous DENV infections and neutralizing activity against all four serotypes was detected, with anti-DENV-2 responses being most frequent and of greatest magnitude. No evidence of previous DENV infection was identified in the Asmat villages of the southern coast and a single anti-DENV-positive sample was identified in the Eastern Highlands of PNG. These findings indicate that multiple DENV serotypes circulated along the northern coast of New Guinea at different times in the decades prior to 1963 and support the notion that dengue has been a significant yet neglected tropical infection in PNG for many decades.

Land law and economic development in Papua New Guinea, by David Lea and Timothy Curtin. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle, UK, 2011, 207pp. ISBN: 9-781443-826518. The incorporated land group (ILG), created by the Land Group Incorporation Act (1974) in Papua New Guinea, was one of a number of results of the 1971 Committee of Inquiry into Land Matters that convened in Papua New Guinea just before Papua New Guinea independence in 1975. It allowed for the legal incorporation of customary land-holding groups and was designed to promote business and cash-earning opportunities in rural Papua New Guinea in the post-independence period of nation- and citizen-building. In more recent times, the ILG however has been put under considerably more strain by being forced to acquire functions that were not envisioned by its architects in 1971—namely the receipt, distribution and investment of incomes from resource extraction projects. The ILGs set up by various resource projects (most significantly in the petroleum project areas of PNG) have all run into various and severe difficulties in meeting these requirements of resource income management and business development on a scale not ever anticipated in 1971. Using examples from Papua New Guinea's petroleum project area and elsewhere, I cast doubts on the capacities of contemporary indigenous landowning units to make incorporation work for them in the face of current organization and financial challenges.

Human Genetics Papua New Guinea was likely a stepping stone for human migration from Asia to Australia. Bergstrom et al. analyzed genome-wide autosomal data from several peoples in Papua New Guinea and determined population structure, divergence, and temporal size changes on the island. A sharp genetic divide is evident between the highlands and lowlands that appears to have occurred 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, concurrent with the spread of crop cultivation and the trans-New Guinea language family. Science , this issue p. [1160][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aan3842

Since 2001 the Muslim population of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has increased from a modest 479 to over 5000 (approximately 500%) mainly as a result of a spike in conversions to Islam by indigenous Papua New Guineans. The evidence suggests that the recent growth of the Muslim minority in PNG is likely to continue in the future. Nevertheless, for the foreseeable future, Muslims in PNG will remain a small religious minority in a predominantly Christian country. Based on extensive fieldwork undertaken among this growing Muslim minority community in PNG, this paper discusses statistics, patterns and trends of conversion to Islam in a Muslim-minority country that borders Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country. It provides a brief but important empirical contribution to the study of an emerging Muslim minority that appears representative of a broader trend of global Muslim population growth through religious conversion.

Abstract The contemporary art of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been described so far as a political form of expression revealing the postcolonial aspirations of the population since the country’s independence from Australia in 1975. However, observers, critics and anthropologists have until now neglected to take into consideration the economic aspects of art production in the country. Drawing on Karl Marx and Pierre Bourdieu’s analysis of artworks as commodities and as a social field, this article describes a little-known aspect of the PNG art market. It analyses the role of cash in art production and its progression. Copied from the vegetable trade, the Papua New Guinean art market has given birth to the figure of the ‘ground buyer’. They are local intermediates who operate as usurers and have become the main interlocutors to western buyers. In comparing cash crop and art, the article underlines the versatility of PNG players in the art world and allows comparison between art production and other economic activities in urban Melanesia.

Background: Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the most populous and fast growing developing country in the south Pacific with 80% of the population living in remote village settings. It has the most languages of any country on earth and the internal part of the country was not explored by Europeans until the 1930’s. Its history is rich and diverse and PNG has been closely associated historically with Australia and achieved independence in 1975. This presentation will examine the several stages of anaesthesia development in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s economy is weathering the pandemic well, despite many challenges. Real GDP in 2022 is projected to exceed its 2019 level, and the medium-term outlook is positive, supported by investment in (and revenues from) the resource sector. The war in Ukraine is impacting PNG through higher commodity prices and higher inflation, with the former leading to a stronger balance of payments and higher fiscal revenues, since PNG is a large commodity producer. Risks remain skewed to the downside and include a worsening health situation given the low vaccination rate, volatility in commodity prices, and political instability.