Customary Land

Prime Minister must act to stop widespread illegal logging

Submitted by Eddie Tanago on Wed, 02/10/2024 - 11:29

Prime Minister James Marape has spoken of the importance of preserving Papua New Guinea’s tropical rainforest in a meeting with the United Nations General Secretary and in his address to the UN General Assembly last Friday 

Yet, his government is doing nothing to stop widespread illegal logging and in particular the abuse of agricultural clearing licences.

Marape has described PNG’s rainforests as vital to PNG and to the global community, yet PNG is the world’s largest exporter of tropical logs and most of the logging is illegal and unsustainable.

Prime Minster must act to stop widespread illegal logging

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 02/10/2024 - 09:18

Prime Minister James Marape has spoken of the importance of preserving Papua New Guinea’s tropical rainforest in a meeting with the United Nations General Secretary and in his address to the UN General Assembly last Friday 

Yet, community advocacy group ACT NOW says his government is doing nothing to stop widespread illegal logging and in particular the abuse of agricultural clearing licences.

Loani FCA logging another bogus agriculture project?

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 21/08/2024 - 09:27

A new logging operation in Milne Bay Province could be yet another example of a bogus agriculture project being used as cover for a large-scale forest grab.

The new logging operation began on Sideia Island earlier this year as part of the Loani Bwanabwana Integrated Agro-Forestry Project.

Operated by a Malaysian logging company with no previous agriculture experience, the project is promising 36,700 hectares of new agriculture planting, including balsa, cocoa, vanilla and rice.

Loani Bwanabwana Forest Clearance: Another Bogus Agriculture Project?

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 21/08/2024 - 09:24

Community advocacy group ACT NOW! says a new logging operation in Milne Bay Province could be yet another example of a bogus agriculture project being used as cover for a large-scale forest grab.

The new logging operation began on Sideia Island earlier this year as part of the Loani Bwanabwana Integrated Agro-Forestry Project.

Operated by a Malaysian logging company with no previous agriculture experience, the project is promising 36,700 hectares of new agriculture planting, including balsa, cocoa, vanilla and rice.

Logging on Sideia: Absolutely no political will

Submitted by ACTNOW on Thu, 01/08/2024 - 17:41

David Mitchel / Eco Custodian Advocates

The idea of a tropical log export ban in PNG started in the 1990s with fifteen specific timber species.

Again in 2010 the Forest Minister Nama indicated that round logs exports to cease, in 2018 the then Prime Minister, O’Neil said no round log export by 2020, which PM Marape reiterated in 2019 and yet another Forest Minster Tomuriesa in 2020 said a ban on round log export by 2025.

Now in 2024 PNG is the greatest tropical round log exporter in the world with Malaysia’s exports decreasing, now second.

Research Case Studies Reveals Abuse of Forest Clearing Authority License

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 05/06/2024 - 13:18

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.