Provide Design and Cost Estimation for Kamiali Resource Centre

Details

Mission and objectives

Morobe Development Foundation Inc. is a leading Community based Group base in Lae Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea who has the vision to help young people reach their full potential by utilizing their hidden talents in community development initiatives so they can realize their potentail and become a role model in the community. MDF was established to address a broader and more diverse range of objectives and work through the use of dance, music and drama, MDF’s primary aim is to ensure that women participate equally in decision making in any project undertaken, including projects related to Ending Violence against Women, and promoting Human Rights with a aim to support the Government and UN their Development Goals. MDF in collaboration with the United Nations Volunteering Program (UNVP) has also undertaken various scientific research studies related to the environment - forest cover loss, land use land cover change, the influence of various parameters on surface waters, and coastal shoreline turtle habitat loss. These projects included the participation of various experts and researchers from diverse fields across various countries across the globe - ranging from marine biology, biodiversity conservation, PNG community management, remote sensing, and land use policy among various others. MDF is managed by a management committee, which is made up of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman, Secretary, the Treasurer, the Project Coordinator, Community Development Officer, and a male and female member of the foundation, and ensures that women participate equally in decision making. We at MDF assert that we have the required skill sets, knowledge, established international network, and the necessary foundational work to undertake projects successfully.

Context

The mission to design Kamiali resources center is to provide the community, tourists and researchers with the chance to sustainably interact with flora and fauna and to preserve the area's biodiversity. The reserve allows residents and visitors alike an opportunity to engage in village life and wildlife-related experiences and activities and conduct research. However, KWMA lacks modern technology and framework to monitor and protect the area. Furthermore, recently discovered sedimentary deposits in the Bitoi River Delta within the reserve, and suspended silt observed in the coastal waters of the reserve suggest possible ecosystem alteration and/or contamination from suspected upstream mining activities. The root cause and effects of which must be studied and mitigated, as appropriate, and with urgency, to preserve this pristine environment. Funding this critical technology, research, and conservation framework is the focus of this project. A significant proportion of KWMA’s protected areas do not have the foundational plans that support communities to govern how their areas will be managed, observed, and sustained both to preserve the many species yet to be discovered and to support community initiative to sustain their livelihood. Kamiali Resource Centre (KRC) is a flagship initiative of the conservation work of the Village Development Trust Inc. (VDT), the Lababia people, Morobe Province and Papua New Guinea. While the KRC currently lacks a permanent building, UNDP through its SGP has allowed the Morobe Development Foundation (MDF), together with the Kamiali Foundation Association Inc. (KFA) to revive the KRC and maintain its purpose and goals through local community facilitation. Unlike VDT, MDF has come onboard to train and has registered an indigenous local Lababia community group known (as KFA), to provide ongoing stewardship over the KWMA through local initiatives both supported by Huon District Administration and International donor agencies. To do this, local program staff require foundational plans, and funding to support essential activities that promote the effective and sustainable management of existing protected areas including key biodiversity areas. MDF has carried out its own remote sensing and literature survey at the northern boundary of the KWMA, resulting in the discovery that the Bitoi River Delta has experienced significant riparian accretion of alluvium into the gulf resulting in a dramatic change to the local coastline's profile in recent years. The primary beneficiaries of the project will be the indigenous communities of Lababia where the Kamiali Wildlife Management Area is located, especially the 20 landowners, 10 committee members of KWMA, 20 youths and the 1,200 plus people of Kamiali Wildlife Management Area. Lababia has around 132 household, 340 males and 313 female 100 youths (male 40 and female 60) and children under 15 years old (39 males and 34 females). (NSO, 2011). The secondary beneficiaries of the project will include the Huon District Administration, the Scientific Communities, the Tourists, The National Government, Donors who will use the maps, the updated biomass data, and reveal new tests results from the testing of the Bitoi River.

Task description

MDF requires the services of 3 Online Volunteers with Architecture background to design for the construction and provide cost estimation for a resource center at Kamiali. Each of the three online volunteer/s will be assigned to provide his/her tasks of design and cost estimation which will be submitted to MDF as a leading community group in Papua New Guinea who strive to develop rural communities by facilitating and implementing community projects such as water supply, mini grid electrification program and other community projects. The Online Volunteers will help MDF by providing design for the construction and cost estimation for Kamiali resources center (KRC). The task simply involves communicating with the contact person for MDF who will provide the baseline information and the template for the cost estimation and also to discuss project idea base on the actual proposal. Therefore, the volunteers will benefit from the recognition of their services by issuance of a certificate of appreciation from UNV.