This article aims to shed light on the impacts of peri‐urbanisation processes across two case studies in Port Numbay within the Province of Papua. Five methods were used to gather data: focus group discussions, semi‐structured interviews, archival research, ethnographic observations, and remote sensing imagery and geospatial analysis tools. The results generated insights into: (1) the lasting legacy of historical transmigration and decentralisation policies that have influenced the processes of peri‐urbanisation in shaping the social and economic conditions within peripheral communities; (2) how peri‐urbanisation has impacted biophysical environments including social‐ecological systems and environmental health systems; (3) a range of peri‐urbanisation trends (land clearing, deforestation and expansion of settlements over time). The article tests an interdisciplinary method for monitoring processes of peri‐urbanisation. It concludes that approaches to decentralisation, health service delivery and sustainable development interventions into peri‐urban zones should consider local conditions. Recommendations for policy and further research are also provided.

Within Pacific Small Island Developing States (Pacific SIDS), the ridge-to-reef (R2R) approach has emerged as a framework for monitoring river connectivity between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The study measured water quality, including pH, over 88.40 km of the Ba River in Fiji. The sampling design focused on measuring spatio-temporal variability in pH throughout the sugarcane season with three rapid sampling periods (RSP1, 2 & 3) along the Ba River, together with continuous measurement of temperature and pH using stationary data loggers at two locations upstream and downstream of the sugar mill. Spatial variability in pH and water quality was characterised before (RSP1 and RSP2) and during (RSP3) the sugarcane season. Mean pH measured before the sugarcane crushing season for RSP1 and RSP2 were 8.16 (± 0.49) and 8.20 (± 0.61) respectively. During the sugarcane crushing season (RSP3), mean pH declined by 3.06 units to 6.94 within 42 m downstream of the sugar mill (P ≤ 0.001). The 3.06 unit decline in pH for RSP3 exceeded both the mean diurnal variation in pH of 0.39 and mean seasonal variation in pH of 2.01. This decline in pH could be a potential source of acidification to downstream coastal ecosystems with implications for coral reefs, biodiversity and fishery livelihoods.

Although some studies have mentioned land use and land cover across the borderlands of New Guinea, there have not yet been a series of systematic studies that link the topic with the construction of the Sota border post (Pos Lintas Batas Negara–“PLBN Sota”). With reference to realism, liberalism and asymmetrical power relations, this study examines the development impacts of the Sota border post. A set of interdisciplinary mixed-methods approaches are used including geospatial and earth observation analysis, collation of bureau of statistics data as well as academic and grey literature review. Results provide a baseline land cover assessment for the study area surrounding the Sota border post. There have also been a range of socio-economic and biophysical impacts of the infrastructural and immigration capacities along the Southern borderlands of New Guinea. In terms of international relations, the presence of the Sota border post is expected to foster cooperation between Indonesia and PNG, decrease conflict, and promote stability in the border area. As a result, both realism and liberalism can be used as theoretical frameworks to understand the trajectory of developments along the borderlands. However, due to the asymmetries of power, the rhetoric of liberalism may be rendered less convincing.KEYWORDS:Asymmetries of Power; Indonesia and PNG; International Relations; Land Cover and Land Use Change; Sota Border Post