A lack of proper planning at the District level is a critical failure that is undermining the delivery of quality health and education services across Papua New Guinea.

Research by community advocacy organization ACT NOW has revealed that two-years on from the last national election, just one quarter or 25% of Districts have published a five-year development plan for 2023-27. Good planning is essential for the delivery of quality services.

ACT NOW! is excited to announced it’s partnership with Wantok niuspepa. 

The only “Tokpisin” newspaper in the country will be featuring stories based on the District Development Authority Watch or DDA Watch website for the next 6 months. 

The first issue featuring DDA Watch website was published on Thursday the 30th of May 2024. Copies of the Wantok Newspaper are circulated nationwide through the Catholic Church and it’s partners. 

Three recent case studies published by ACT NOW, Ten Years Without A Crop, A New Forest Grab, and Where is the Beef? illustrate how logging companies use false or inflated claims of agriculture planting to obtain Forest Clearing Authorities which are then used as c

A Forest Clearance Authority license is a type of logging licence issued by Papua New Guinea Forest Authority, based on the recommendation of the PNG Forest Management Committee with the consent of the National Forest Board that allows individuals or companies for large scale conversion of a specific areas of forest to agriculture or other land use activities.

The Wasu Cattle Farm Project in Morobe Province has been the subject of investigation due to concerns about its legality. This project, also known as the Wasu Integrated Agriculture Project, received a Forest Clearing Authority (FCA) in 2019. It was ostensibly granted for a cattle farming project, but there have been no signs of either cattle or agriculture.

The Marape Government is not on track to meet it’s log export reduction goals as outlined in the Medium Term Development Plan IV. 

In 2022, the Government announced a ban on all round log exports in the next 3 to 5 years, with the intention to increase local downstream processing to promote greater employment, increase GDP and boost government revenues. 

The log export data shows an export of 2.2million cubic meters in 2023. 

Image: Greenpeace

The Forestry Act and other parts of the forestry law framework in Papua New Guinea are insufficient to combat widespread illegal logging and forest crime. 

Therefore, greater emphasis needs to be placed on using criminal law sanctions, both in PNG and internationally, to tackle the illegal destruction of forest resources and the economic, social and environmental harm it causes.

Anua Melo Independent Blog | 11 May 2024

Dr Lawrenc Sause | Auna Melo Independent Blog | May 12 2024

The government must act to stop the ongoing abuse of agricultural clearing permits which are being used as a cover for large-scale selective logging.

Forest Clearing Authorities are being routinely misused to facilitate large-scale illegal and unsustainable logging. They are supposed to be used to authorise the clearing of small discrete areas of forest for agriculture planting but this concession type is now responsible for the largest share of PNG’s log exports, according to government statistics.