New student blog from Niklas Piringer, MPA/ID 2026 @Kennedy_School, who spent winter break in Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬. 🌏 His second-year policy analysis focuses on designing an economic growth strategy for the soon-to-be independent Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Its people overwhelmingly voted for independence in 2019. ⚒️ Niklas explores the idea of reopening the Panguna copper and gold mine, shuttered since 1989, and the source of the conflict that defined a generation. 🔍 Learn more about Niklas's journey as he met with key government and mining stakeholders to test his analysis. growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/ho…
The abandoned pit has become a hub for informal artisanal mining, with families living and working within its walls. One of Bougainville’s central economic challenges is creating a pathway from this informal economy into a formal, regulated, revenue-generating operation.

ALT The abandoned pit has become a hub for informal artisanal mining, with families living and working within its walls. One of Bougainville’s central economic challenges is creating a pathway from this informal economy into a formal, regulated, revenue-generating operation.

Infrastructure investment, potentially funded from mining revenue, is key to long-term development: Deeply eroded roads make overland travel near-impossible, forcing 90% of Bougainville’s transport onto small boats.

ALT Infrastructure investment, potentially funded from mining revenue, is key to long-term development: Deeply eroded roads make overland travel near-impossible, forcing 90% of Bougainville’s transport onto small boats.

In the Buka Passage, nearly every boat flies the Bougainvillean flag, a visible declaration of a population that has decided its future.

ALT In the Buka Passage, nearly every boat flies the Bougainvillean flag, a visible declaration of a population that has decided its future.

Last edited Mar 5, 2026 · 4:00 PM UTC
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