Plan for Implementation

Regardless of how ambitious its goals or how thorough its methodology, a master plan will only be valuable to its recipients if it includes a corresponding road map for realization. In response to this obligation, the design team has developed a program for further investigation of context, refinement of proposals, engagement of stakeholders, and participation of the community in the safeguarded implementation of the vision of the Higher Ground Initiative. The following Plan for Implementation should not be seen as a complete set of steps needed to fully realize the project as designed, but rather an immediate strategy for operationalizing the vision documented within this body of work toward a just and sustainable generational transition, realized through the island-wide initiative of HGI.

Four key implementation project areas are necessary, in order 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 HGI. Those project areas include:

1. Food Security & Environmental Projects, including investigations and/or reviews, prioritization setting, and implementation planning;

2. Land Portion 230 Master Plan Refinements; 3. Architectural Design Development, specifically for LP230; and 4. Land Tenure Administration & Policy Investigations and Implementation Planning.

Work to progress projects focused on food security and environmental considerations should include analysis of Nauru’s hydrology, geology, landscape and cultural values, ecology and biosecurity, agriculture and aquaculture, and transport infrastructure, and involve consultation by engineering consultants with Government officials, community leaders, industry representatives, other practitioners likewise working in the Nauruan context including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and their consultancy partners. Ongoing coordination of all of these activities and analyses with stakeholders at the Department of Climate Change and National Resilience (CCNR) will be vital, particularly as prioritization setting and implementation planning commence. As part of those tasks, detailed constraints and opportunities mapping will need to be produced, off-island touring of example(s) of existing aquaculture, agri-tech, and mining remediation locations, as well as dialogue with government and industry sector representatives. From this research and consultation, thorough strategies for landscape and ecology rehabilitation, energy resource transition, transport integration, agriculture and aqua-culture capacity development, and especially, strategic spatial planning that is fully integrated with the Nauru Sustainable Urban Development Project (NSUDP) planning should be developed, providing a clear project implementation plan for HGI.

Every master plan must evolve as understanding evolves, and so ongoing review and refinement of the master plan for LP230 should be performed in concert with engineering assessments developed through the various environmental project areas, including findings related to existing hydrological, geological, and ecological conditions of the property and its immediate surroundings. Furthermore, proposals detailed within the master plan should be consulted through a broad community engagement process, in order to ensure that the neighbourhood designed for LP230 reflects the complete perspective of needs, aspirations, and expectations of the community. On-island investigation of existing development patterns and housing conditions, commercial capacity and service provision, cultural values and community practices, and technical and logistical feasibility of development should be performed in order to ensure that the master plan for the 10 hectare Government owned property can successfully serve as the inaugural phase of implementation response to the HGI mandate. Ongoing review and refinement of details of the island wide master plan will be necessary throughout future decades of implementation to continually ensure each subsequent phase is responding to that mandate while adapting to the changing needs of Nauru.

Design development of the buildings that will be constructed throughout LP230 should include the evolution of design proposals being developed for housing, mixed-use buildings, and civic buildings including their relationships to the streets, sidewalks, and parking. Documentation of floor plans for various alternatives, framing plans, cross sections of buildings, and building elevations will be advanced to the design development level of detail with the goal of solidifying final designs for the variety of building types identified in the LP230 Site Plan. Mixed-use building design should be advanced with priority given toward maximum program and use flexibility, such that designs can be customized for specific internal configurations and identified end-users during future design and construction phases. Housing design should be advanced with attention paid to building foundation, ground floor slab, floor plan, roof framing, elevations, cross sections, wall sections, and construction details, especially those that are important to the goals of housing provision set by the master plan.

The investigation of land tenure and policy, with a specific focus on planning for HGI project implementation, should provide the tools needed to enable the development of LP230 according to the master plan. Work to establish the basis for allocating land and/or housing on LP230 should include the development of a land and a land use policy, as well as frameworks for land disputes and the establishment of legal basis for land mobilization. Support for the expansion of administrative capacity should be provided including instituting system improvements to existing land allocation processes and procedures, and the establishment of improved digital land and spatial information and management systems.

Because the HGI program is considered a highrisk program, and in order to adequately meet the international standards of environmental and social safeguards that are a likely requirement of external financing, the preparation of preliminary environmental and social safeguard risk screening and mitigation is essential for implementation. Risk screening should be followed by the development of an Environmental and Social Safeguard Management Framework (ESMF) and Plan (ESMP), and appropriate training should be undertaken to ensure key safeguarding skills are retained in-country. A stakeholder engagement plan must be developed, and should be maintained and updated throughout the process of implementation of the HGI vision, with prioritization on supporting the familial relationship to land over a market-driven approach that might lead to further, climate-based gentrification. Furthermore, initiating a robust process of community consultation, beginning with for housing options utilized on LP230 to serve as a valuable pilot for the institution of new key processes in land mobilization in Nauru, will provide additional opportunity to daylight landbased vulnerabilities and mitigate exacerbation thereof. SECTION 4.0