''If we cannot measure what we wish to manage, if we cannot see what we wish to save, how can we understand the consequences if nothing is done?''

Papua New Guinea’s coral reefs, virgin rainforests, rich volcanic soil and mineral wealth is a treasure of natural resources. The health and well-being of natural and human ecosystems are key to the sustainable development of Papua New Guinea.

Aiming to improve environmental policies and prioritize investments to secure long-term sustainable use of natural resources, a new natural resources management portal being developed will provide users with data and online tools to collect, share and manage environmental information from local, national and global sources.

If the country’s environmental resources are to be managed collectively and effectively, decision makers need access to sound information in an appropriate format. Information needs to be tailored according to different users’ requirements throughout their decision-making processes.

The United Nations Development Programme's new online Natural Resource Management Hub will house a range of support tools designed to help policymakers, civil society organizations and other stakeholders make informed decisions on natural resources and sustainable livelihoods in Papua New Guinea.

The Hub will assist with project planning, reporting and evaluation of natural resource processes. This includes: collecting data from communities in protected areas; making global spatial data available for mapping at the local level; and sharing data in new ways through interactive articles and visualizations.

A web-based toolkit, the PNG NRM Hub features two open-source Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) tools and Lukim Gather - a mobile data collection app, in addition to other resources.

The PNG NRM Hub tools are evolving in response to UNDP’s user experience (UX) research into the everyday experiences of those working in the NRM sector - as well as users of the Lukim Gather app. Through interviews with early users, UNDP gained deep insights into their expectations and motivations, as well as how these tools were helping them with their NRM efforts.

UNDP’s interactive UX research includes surveys and interviews and is open to stakeholders whose work requires access to data on natural resources such as forests, agricultural products, Protected Areas and others.

UNDP welcomes stakeholders to help us refine this online portal via a short Survey. By completing the online UX survey (10-15 mins) participants will help UNDP to better understand the needs and challenges of people working in NRM and further refine development and use of the PNG NRM Hub tools. The Survey is open until end of March 2022. See fact sheet to learn more about the process. UNDP also welcomes participation in a Zoom interview (optional) after completing the survey.