By Junior Ukaha

The PNG Eco-Forestry Forum (PNGEFF) wants the Government to speed up the report of an inquiry into the special agricultural business leases (SABL).

PNGEFF communications manager Samson Mark yesterday said affected landowners and the general public wanted to know the status of the inquiry as it has taken more than two years to have a final report ready.

PNGEFF, a non-governmental forest advocacy organisation, made this call following the publication of a research by the James Cook University in Australia into the oil palm industry and deforestation in the country.

The report, titled “Oil Palm and Deforestation in Papua New Guinea” was carried out by researcher Paul Nelson and found that large tracts of land were given out to developers under the disguise of oil palm projects for logging purposes.

Mark said since 2010 customary land owners had lost over 5.2 million hectares of forested areas to foreign logging firms for supposedly agro-forestry projects.

He said this had reduced customary landownership to about 86% from the known 97%.

“The fact that customary land owners lost rights to lands for 99 years lease term is of grave concern and the Government must do something about it,” Mark said. 

He said the forum maintained that such issues of importance should not be swept under the carpet, and urged Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to reiterate his call to the commissioners to hand him the “complete report” with recommendations so the rot could be uncovered and dealt with once and for all.

“This report is taking unusually long, and keen land owners who had lost their precious inheritance through this scam are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the report,” Mark said.