A moratorium on new Forest Clearance Authorities, recently announced by the PNG Forest Authority, has been welcomed by community advocacy organization ACT NOW, but the group says the measure does not go far enough.

KK Connections Limited

• Number of concessions (1993-2021): 15
• Total Log export (2019-21): 991,615 m³
• Market share of log export (2019-21): 10%

KK Connection Cluster (From"The New Timber Baron Report")

WTK HOLDINGS

• Number of Logging Concessions (1993-2021): 19
• Total Log Exports (2019-2021): 1.3 million cubic meters
• Market share of all log exports (2019-2021): 14%

WTK Cluster ( from "The New Timber Baron Report") 

Map showing location of log exporting TRP projects 2019-21

More than thirty large-scale logging projects appear to be operating in defiance of a Court ban issued by the Deputy Chief Justice in June 2021. Together the logging operations accounted for 40% of Papua New Guinea’s total log exports in the twelve months from July 2021.

Papua New Guinea’s latest corruption score is a damning indictment of the government’s failure to properly fund anti-corruption agencies and it confirms PNG as one of the most corrupt country in the world.

THE NATIONAL (February 3rd 2023) 

By FRANK SENGE KOLMA (fskolma@gmail.com) 

By Customary Land Advocate. 

A much-publicized four-lane road is being constructed by a Chinese company while customary landowners are not aware of what is going on. It is a perverted ploy by the State through its agencies and certain individuals to bring what seems to be a glamorous mode of development to Morobe Province at the expense of people’s customary land.

By Land Advocate

By Customary Land Advocate

The Wafi-Golpu Pipeline corridor will run from the mine site in the mountains of Wampar Local Level Government (LLG) area right through to Lae City and then onto the coastline of Wagang village in Ahi LLG area and finally into the sea of the Huon Gulf. Along the way this pipeline will run through mostly customary lands of the peoples of Wampar and Ahi LLG areas, and only a small portion will run on state land.

By Customary Land Advocate

Due to the lack of affordable housing in urban areas, especially in the larger cities of Lae and Port Moresby, working class people are moving away to the periphery of these two cities to have access to cheap land where they can live and work without having to pay for rented accommodation. People in overcrowded and crime-infested squatter settlements in these two cities are also moving away to the periphery of the two cities to resettle and have a new lease of life.