Lae: city at the center of Papua New Guinea

This paper provides historical and personal perspectives of fragility issues in Morobe Province, the largest province in terms of population size, as well as the country’s industrial heart and home to Papua New Guinea’s second city, Lae. Clear governance structures are in place in Morobe, but this does not guarantee an effective realization of those structures, leading to an everyday fragility, especially in Lae. Poor resourcing is another factor. Some of the most promising local initiatives to address fragility are those that might, to non-Papua New Guinean eyes, look unusual. Yet they are the most effective.