Commercial banks operating in Papua New Guinea have given at least K300 million (AU$144 million) in available credit, since 2000, to the country’s five largest exporters of tropical logs, according to a new report, The Money Behind the Chainsaws, from Act Now! and Jubilee Australia Research Centre. 

Download this article as a PDF - Illegality and Human Rights Abuses

Global Witness

A two-year investigation shines a light on palm oil in Papua New Guinea, the notorious industry’s newest frontier. It reveals a litany of human rights abuses and the wide-scale destruction of tens of thousands of hectares of climate-critical rainforest, linked to major financial institutions including BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.

Download this article as a PDF - Logging and Forest Loss

The forests of Papua New Guinea perform a range of vital functions, supporting communities, ecosystems and the planet as a whole. Despite this, they remain under threat from unsustainable and often illegal logging by foreign logging companies.

The value of Papua New Guinea’s forests

By Eddie Tanago, ACT NOW!

The Prime Minister must extend the government's ban on new logging permits to cover all types of logging consent in order for it to be effective.

The PM last week directed the PNG Forest Authority to stop issuing new permits and permit extensions so the government can meet its deadline of 2025 for an end to the export of unprocessed raw logs.

Illegal logging in Papua New Guinea represents a major money laundering threat as it generates very large illegal profits and it has a very high detrimental impact on the economy as well as the natural environment. 

This is according to a money laundering and financing of terrorism risk assessment published by the Bank of Papua New Guinea in 2017.

A logging truck drives past an unfinished kit house on New Hanover. Photo: Jason Roberts

In 2015, anthropogist Jason Roberts spent months living with the people of New Hanover, documenting their lives and the impacts of large-scale logging and land alientation.

By Kingtau Mambon | UPNG Economics Tutor

Loop PNG

The Popondetta District Court has issued court orders on companies operating in the Musa Foru area, from carrying out any logging activity. 

Governor for Oro Gary Ju a has applauded the move, saying Musa Century Limited and Musa Valley Management have been prevented from logging activities including the shipment of logs from the area for a period of 90 days, until issues pertaining to the concerns of the landowners are addressed.