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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
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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
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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