Paiam is a new township in the high mountains of Papua New Guinea built in association with the Porgera Joint Venture mine, one of the world's largest and most remote open cut gold mines. The Paiam town project is an interesting and genuine attempt at building sustainability into a community associated with a mine. A result of a tri-party agreement between a resource developer, government and land owners, this town is a good example of appropriate utilisation of benefits, obtained from resource development, directed at achieving a sustainable environment at local and regional levels._x000D_
Mining brought technology and income to the region, although as most mine staff fly directly in and out, local landowners considered there was a limited flow of benefits within the nearby townships. An agreement with government and mine was reached that more mine personnel and their families be housed locally. In 1998, we, a firm of Landscape Architects and Heritage Consultants based in Cairns, Queensland, were engaged to assist develop the fledgling town of Paiam into a livable and sustainable town and to produce material that would convey that information to stakeholders._x000D_
The design focused on establishing a sustainable town, with livability, urban form, aesthetics and opportunities for economic, social and cultural development._x000D_
Aiming to be a livable town for locals and mine staff it included a market place designed as a focus for town life, essential for social cohesion and economic opportunities._x000D_
Located at 2200 m on steep rainforest clad topography, the town development has been laid out using an appropriate urban form based on organic village layouts. Clusters of houses allow for a common public area so children's play is monitored assisting with a sense of community similar to a traditional defensible village._x000D_
Aesthetical consideration helps in developing community pride whilst maximising potential for development of a tourist industry._x000D_
Opportunities for ongoing economic development were incorporated in the design and construction process. These included developing skills and trades to service the region and to provide skills, development, income opportunities and infrastructure to last beyond mine closure. Administration procedures were set in place to form the basis of good governance._x000D_
The shift from traditional subsistence lifestyle to a sustainable community with traditional attributes was the project's goal and is being achieved._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Prowse, A, 2010. Paiam - a plan for a new sustainable high altitude equatorial town in Papua New Guinea, in Proceedings Sustainable Mining 2010, pp 237-248 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).