Contaminants and the soil environment in Papua New Guinea: an overview

Papua New Guinea (PNG) comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and outlying islands, north of Australia (Fig. 1). Irian Jaya, a province of Indonesia, occupies the western half. The total land area of PNG is 462840 km2 and includes North Solomons, New Britain, New Ireland, Manus and many other islands. Much of the interior of mainland PNG is mountainous and heavily populated, with a total population of 3.8 ×106 in 1990 (National Statistical Office 1993), and a mean population growth rate of 2.3% yr−1. The people are culturally and linguistically diverse, and many tribal groups live in relative isolation. More than 700 distinct languages are spoken.