Higher Ground Initiative Factsheet: November 2022

Provided to the Republic of Nauru

Factsheet Page 1/4

HIGHER GROUND INITIATIVE Land Portion 230

www.metrocology.com

November 2022

A vision for a safe, secure, and resilient future for Nauru.

The Higher Ground Initiative (HGI) master planning project is providing a vision for future development of the Republic of Nauru, guided by the Pillars of the Higher Ground Initiative and responsive to the challenges of the changing global climate. Funded by the Government of Nauru and led by the HGI Steering Committee, this project was launched in August of 2021 and will continue its consultation and documentation process through 2023.

The project team is being led by urban planning consultancy Metrocology, in partnership with the firms Design Workshop; Merrill, Pastor & Colgan Architects; Land Equity International; Boffa Miskell; and Fraser Thomas.

To date, a draft vision for a safe, secure, and resilient future for Nauru has been developed. Together with the participation of all vested stakeholders and committed partners, the next steps of this master planning project will be taken and a path for implementation will be established, led by the HGI Steering Committee on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Nauru.

The purpose behind

for a comprehensive approach

this master planning.

using an island-wide strategy, one that balances the ecological

Key Master Planning

• Leverage untapped human

Objectives for HGI:

resources for an inclusive

• Provide a more adaptive built

• Leverage untapped natural

environment for the island

energy, food and water resources

• Develop a resilient domestic

• Access to affordable climate

economy and infrastructure

finance necessary for adaptation

• Build independence from the

• Provide a Government-wide

current reliance on foreign

response to resiliency

goods, services, natural

• Move away from the colonial

resources, and funding sources

legacy of phosphate mining

• Create a new model of urban

• Continue the role as an

development for the Pacific

international climate leader

development strategy

This master planning project is a

footprint of proposed future

response to the call to action

development within the capacity

issued with the Higher Ground

of the nation to sustain its

Initiative: to migrate vulnerable

population.

homes and critical infrastructure

provide plans for buildings and

away from rising sea levels, and

private spaces, public facilities

to plan for the just transition to a

and open spaces, infrastructure

future of safety, security, and

and agriculture systems, streets

resiliency in the process. The

and

social, economic, environmental,

recommendations

and cultural needs of Nauru call

implement those plans.

paths,

This project will

and

the

policy

needed

to

Provided to the Republic of Nauru

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Addressing the critical need for quality housing in Nauru.

Protecting against

There is an immediate need for safe, affordable, and accessible housing in

Nauru

Nauru. In order for the Government to address the burden that current

Adapting to these impacts will

overcrowding forces on the country, this project has developed a strategy

require commitment from every

for new housing and architecture that is based on a modular system, where

member

a core housing module serves as the base from which a wide variety of

investment from businesses and

global climate change.

Climate change will impact life in in

countless

of

the

ways.

community,

Providing economic

institutions, a robust whole-of-

growth and resilience.

government approach to policy

development: houses will be constructed with materials either already

The vulnerability of the Nauruan

and support from international

available or can be manufactured on-island and will be built by a workforce

economy is a concern, and the

partners and allied nations.

drawn from the local community to construct and maintain the new

country is in need of meaningful

neighbourhoods.

expansion of current economic

This project will help Nauru

opportunities.

transition

options to both plan and detailing can be applied.

The proposed housing demonstrates a holistic approach to sustainable

This approach to housing provision supports both

immediate and long-term needs of Nauru, helping the Government to

Existing national

reform and resiliency strategy,

to

climate-adaptive

quickly contribute a large amount of new, high-quality, affordable housing

utilities and island infrastructure

cross-sector strategies, and will

while creating new, high-skilled, in-demand jobs in the process.

systems are heavily reliant on

significantly contribute to an

costly carbon-based resources,

island-wide climate adaptation

contributing to the pressures of

response. HGI is an opportunity

economic stagnation in Nauru.

for innovation in a variety of areas, from food production and

infrastructure

fresh water capture to renewable

developed in conjunction with the

energy resource and modernized

Higher Ground Initiative will not

utility efficiencies.

New sustainable

only add to economic growth, but can encourage a just energy transition for the country through its designed sustainability based on renewable resources.

The

initiative offers the opportunity for Nauru to shift from an extractive economic model to one that is regenerative.

HGI Phase 1 Reporting prepared for:

Department of Climate Change and National Resilience Hon. Rennier Gadabu

M.P., Minister for Climate Change and National Resilience

Ms. Marlene Moses

Special Advisor for the Higher Ground Initiative

Higher Ground Steering Committee Marlene Moses

Committee Chair

Berilyn Jeremiah

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Environment

Reagan Moses

Secretary for Climate Change and National Resilience

Novena Itsimaera

Secretary for Finance

Chitra Jeremiah

Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Gabrissa Hartman

Secretary for Infrastructure

Yvette Duburiya

Secretary for Land Management

Newman Rykers

Chair for RONPHOS

with support from

Benedict Joseph Abourke

Operations Manager, Nauru Rehabilitation Corporation

and

HGI Action Team Creedence Halstead

Project Manager, Nauru Rehabilitation Corporation

Jora Dame

Project Officer, Nauru Rehabilitation Corporation

Itema Moses

Project Officer, Nauru Rehabilitation Corporation

Provided to the Republic of Nauru

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Responding to the fundamental pillars of the Higher Ground Initiative.

The Pillars of the Higher Ground Initiative are embedded into all aspects of

The Pillars of HGI are demonstrated through detailed examples of various

the planning and recommendation development for this project. The results

contexts found within the urban design and architecture proposed for LP230,

of the integration of economic diversification, affordable green housing,

as well as the island-wide master plan. Together these proposals provide a

education and training, energy security, food security, water security, public

comprehensive scheme of resilient land development for Nauru, with

health, low/zero-emissions transport, environmental restoration, land

designs and recommendations that reinforce each other and directly engage

rehabilitation, as well as affordable finance and good governance, are all

all nine goals of HGI. Implementation of this vision will inaugurate a new

specifically demonstrated through the details of the various aspects of the

chapter in Nauru nationhood, with a visionary investment in the future of a

neighbourhood and building designs for Land Portion 230 (LP230), as a pilot

country that is leading by example, demonstrating to other small island

project for the ambitious island-wide HGI vision.

developing nations that such an initiative is both feasible and replicable.

Water Security

Affordable Green Housing

Cultural Restoration

Energy Security

Economic Diversification

Education & Training

Environmental Restoration

Food Security

Public Health

Low/Zero-Emissions Transport

Good Governance

Provided to the Republic of Nauru

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environmental, economic, and cultural

constraints;

ensures

participatory planning processes that deliver beneficial outcomes for all Nauruans; and models an innovative and also achievable approach to sustainable urban

Informing frameworks for the vision of HGI.

development.

A successful master plan requires a corresponding road map for realization. Currently in Phase 2, the workplan includes a program for

The project is also informed by the principles of neighbourhood

The project is informed by the

design outlined in the Charter of

Goals of the U.N. Sustainable

the

Development Agenda, proposing

additionally by the supplemental

a vision that provides a more

objectives of the Canons of

adaptive natural environment;

Sustainable Architecture and

supports an economy resilient to

Urbanism,

climate impact; restores local

approach to designing urban

provision of goods, services, and

places rooted in sustainable

resources; provides co-benefits

building practices and resilient

across sectors respecting social,

community planning.

New

The planning process for the future of Land Portion 230 has just begun.

Urbanism,

which

offer

and

an

further on-site investigation of context, refinement of proposals, engagement of stakeholders, and participation of the community in the safeguarded implementation of the master plan for Land Portion 230.

Four key implementation areas are now underway, to sufficiently leverage the design intentions of the master planning work toward immediate and practicable outcomes that are successfully aligned with the long-term goals of the Higher Ground Initiative. Those project areas include: 1. Food Security & Environmental Projects, including investigations and reviews, prioritization setting, and implementation planning; 2. Land Portion 230 Master Plan consultation and refinement; 3. Architectural Design Development, specifically for housing to be delivered on LP230; and 4. Land Tenure Administration and Policy Investigations and further Project Implementation Planning.

Department in Government, the vision for HGI will be consulted

PHASE 1: MASTER PLANNING

through a series of workshops, presentations,

meetings,

and

Recommendation Drafting

September 2021 - August 2022

tours seeking feedback, input, and clarification on details of the plans and recommendations of the project.

Over the course of upcoming

Consultation with

consultation across all sectors of the public and inclusive of all

constituents of the outcomes of

people impacted by its evolving

the Higher Ground Initiative, and

implications, ensuring a level of

meaningful consultation will be

understanding and incorporating

crucial

all vulnerabilities that the project

master

planning proposals of the are fair and future-proofed. Success will not be possible without a high level of stakeholder engagement in

the

September 2022 - August 2023

project will require sweeping

The citizens of Nauru are the key

ensure

Workshops and Analysis

years, implementation of this

project stakeholders.

to

PHASE 2: REVIEW AND CONSULTATION

decision-making

and

must remain responsive to.

PHASE 3: LP230 IMPLEMENTATION Engineering and Construction

September 2023 - Ongoing

For More Information: HGI Director

Project Manager

priority-setting of the planning

Enola-Gay Anadella Edward

Demetri Baches

and implementation processes.

enolagayedward@gmail.com

demetri@metrocology.com

+647 5587741

+001 306 6067701

Through leadership from the Steering Committee, and with the support from the Heads of

HGI Phase 2 Fact Sheet date: November 2022