One of the most beautiful island groups of the Pacific, Bougainville has a remarkable history. Tragically, it is as the site of devastating civil conflict that Bougainville is perhaps best known. In exploring the rich environmental, cultural and social heritage of Bougainville before the conflict, this collection provides an insight into the long-term causes of the crisis. In doing so, it surveys such topics as Bougainville’s prehistory and traditional cultures, the impact of German and Australian colonialism, the attempts by disparate local cultures to find a common identity, the assertion of political autonomy in the face of coercion to integrate with Papua New Guinea, and contemporary efforts to resolve conflict and plan a viable future. A landmark collaboration between expert commentators on Bougainville and Bougainvilleans themselves, this volume provides a comprehensive picture for those seeking to understand Bougainville’s history and future directions. Bougainville before the conflict was published in association with the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Project, which is supported by The Australian National University and the Commonwealth of Australia.

In March 1997, the Papua New Guinea Defence Force revolted against government plans to use mercenaries to end the war on Bougainville to reopen that island's rich copper mine.

This book outlines how Rio Tinto—one of the world’s largest miners—redesigned and rebuilt relationships with communities after the rejection of the company during Bougainville’s Civil War. Glynn Cochrane recalls how he and colleagues utilized their training as social anthropologists to help the company to earn an industry leadership reputation and competitive business advantage by establishing the case for long-term, on the ground, smoke-in-the-eyes interaction with people in local communities around the world, despite the appeal of maximal efficiency techniques and quicker, easier answers. Instead of using ready-made, formulaic toolkits, Rio Tinto relied on community practitioners to try to accommodate local preferences and cultural differences. This volume provides a step-by-step account of how mining companies can use social anthropological and ethnographic insights to design ways of working with local communities, especially in times of upheaval.

A collection of 16 short stories from Bougainville, in the South Pacific. Bougainville was thrown into turmoil in the late 1980s due to opposition to a giant mine run by CRA. These stories are written by a writer who experienced the subsequent civil war in which up to 15,000 people were killed.

Set in the South Pacific and based on true events, this is a novel about war, gold, interracial friendship, and the emergence of a new nation. Growing up in Bougainville, an island archipelago in the South Pacific, Ishmael always wanted to be a soldier. The Crisis—a brutal civil war with Papua New Guinea ignited by the gargantuan Panguna Mine—gives him his chance. As the guerrilla leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, Ishmael secures a peace agreement that provides his islands with a measure of autonomy and the future right to conduct an independence referendum. If the people vote affirmatively, Bougainville could become the newest nation on earth. In the aftermath of the Crisis, Bougainville’s corrupt and inept government causes a vacuum. From its perch across the Pacific, China salivates. They covet Bougainville, both for its Panguna Mine and its strategic location, and are prepared to do whatever it takes to grab it. When Ishmael and Bougainville’s chiefs ask Jack Davis, a pin-striped American investor, to help rebuild their economy, he is intrigued. Although primitive, Bougainville holds billions in gold and copper, and its people seem lovely. Jack’s life has been comfortable, but things are changing. His family members have moved on with their lives, and his country doesn’t seem to value people like him anymore. Maybe Bougainville would be different. That two men—one black and one white—from totally different walks of life could meet on a remote island and decide they stand for the same things is a testament to Bougainville and its people, and shapes a story that anyone who believes in the innate goodness of humanity should read. The fact that it all really happened is truly inspirational.