Deforestation in Papua New Guinea
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Deforestation in Papua New Guinea has been extensive and in recent decades from 2001 to 2020, Papua New Guinea lost 1.57Mha of tree cover, equivalent to a 3.7% decrease in tree cover since 2000, and 1.15Gt of CO₂e emissions.
Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
in
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
is mainly a result of
illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...
, which contributed to 70-90% of all timber exports, one of the highest rates in the world.Global Corruption Report 2011: Climate Change, Corruption A root cause of deforestation and forest degradation
Patrick Alley (director of Global Witness). pg.299-311
Illegal logging is linked to
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
, environmental issues and
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
concerns.corruption report 2009 Corruption and the Private Sector
Transparency International August 2009 page 288-289
The PNG Government is interested in turning the asset into carbon trading revenue through the REDD programme.Global Corruption Report 2011: Climate Change
Hypothetical offsets Carbon trading and land rights in Papua New Guinea, Sarah Dix (Transparency International Papua New Guinea) 345-347
April Salome Forest Management Area is a pilot project for REDD initiative by
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in th ...
.Colin Filer
How April Salumei Became the REDD Queen.
' In ''Tropical Forests Of Oceania: Anthropological Perspectives'', edited by FILER COLIN, BELL JOSHUA A., and WEST PAIGE, 179-210. Australia: ANU Press, 2015.


Deforestation by region

In Papua New Guinea, the top 5 regions were responsible for 53% of all tree cover loss between 2001 and 2020. Western had the most tree cover loss at 205kha compared to an average of 71.4 kha # Western , 205kha #
West New Britain West New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea on the islands of New Britain. The provincial capital is Kimbe. The area of the province is 20,387 km² with a population of 264,264 as of the 2011 census. The province's only land border is w ...
, 179kha # Madang , 158kha #
East New Britain East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely des ...
, 156kha #
Sandaun Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the a ...
, 139kha


Legislation, institutions and governance


Legislation

The main legislation governing forestry sector is the ''Forestry Act 1991'', as amended by th
Forestry Amendment Act 2019
with additional detail provided in regulations including the Forestry Regulation 1998. Other relevant legislation concerns environmental impact assessment and the collection of royalties.


Institutions

The exportation of timber and the licensing of logging activity in
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
is managed by the Papua New Guinea Forestry Authority.


Compliance

International NGOs such as Global Witness have questioned the legality of administration of forest harvesting.


Timber Legality and Timber Verification

The PNG Government has provided little active support for forest or timber certification. In 2012, less than 6% of PNG's forests were independently verified or certifie
World Resources Institute, Forest Legality Project, PNG page
The Timber Legality and Timber Verification (TLTV) scheme of certification has been partly financed by the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO). A report on forest legality risks for timber sourced from PNG, by NepCon, Consultants to the FSC, an international certification body, gave PNG a rating of 3/10
NEPCon PNG Timber Risk-Assessment 2017
compared to Switzerland with 100/100 and Australia with 98/10
Nepcon Australia Timber Risk Profile


Environment and human rights

PNG's logging industry negatively affects food sources, water supply and the cultural property of communities. According to Transparency International PNG's logging industry is synonymous with political corruption, police racketeering and the brutal repression of workers, women and those who question its ways.


Land rights

On 28 May 2010 PNG's Parliament amended the ''Environment and Conservation Act'', removing the rights of
indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
to challenge deals concerning the country's natural resources. Reports have also called for governmental and international development partners to reset activities in respect for local communities that actually own the forests enabling the owners to better conserve the forests.


Special Purpose Agricultural and Business Leases (SPABLs)

According to a report published by
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
in 2012, over 5 million hectares of customary land had been improperly leased through Special Purpose Agricultural and Business Leases (SPABLs), between 2003 and 2011. The land equates to over 11% of the country and over 16% of accessible commercial forests. In 2011 forestry exports grew by approximately 20%, almost solely due to logging within SPABLS. There has been a marked increase in deforestation of primary forests particularly for palm oil through SPABLs. Founding father, Kaitlin made her accurate report. According to the report, 75% of the SPABLS are held by foreign owned companies, particularly those based in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and almost all logs are being exported to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Following an early warning letter from the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
High Commission for Human Rights (
UNHCHR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
) expressing concerns over the improper leasing of customary lands, the government of PNG issued a moratorium on the issuance of SPABLs. The government also ordered a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the improper granting of SPABLs. The findings of the report are expected to be tabled before parliament in August 2012.


Corruption

The logging industry has influence in PNG through political donations, public sponsorship, lobbying and media ownership. The 1989 Barnett Inquiry found that some logging companies bribed or influenced politicians. According to the governmental report (1989) corruption included bribery, non-compliance with regulations, extensive violations of landowners’ rights and extreme environmental destruction. Logging companies are roaming the countryside with the self-assurance of robber barons; bribing politicians and leaders, creating social disharmony and ignoring laws in order to gain access to, rip out, and export valuable timber. Logging industry provide a ground for arms smuggling. There are human rights abuses of the forest communities and labour. A review of fourteen logging operations 2001- 2006 was highly critical, with the exception of a Japanese company. Forest minister, Belden Namah, addressed logging and corruption in the parliament for the first time in 2008. He found that many responsible persons for monitoring forestry operations had ignored the law and were ‘in the pockets’ of logging companies. He suspended two forestry licences and announced that no permits are to be issued for log exports after 2010. Unnamed PNG politicians are linked in the media to US$45 million in a
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
bank account, allegedly money earned through secret logging deals.


Logging industry

Malaysian timber conglomerate
Rimbunan Hijau Rimbunan Hijau is a Malaysian multinational logging corporation controlled by Malaysian businessman Tiong Hiew King. The company has operations in many countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Vanuatu, ...
(RH) is one of the main logging companies. In October 2008 it admitted in court that it had been awarded logging rights in PNG illegally. Operating subsidiary of Rimbunan Hijau include Wawoi Guavi Timbers.


REDD programme

There is no domestic policy or legislation on carbon trading in PNG. The ''Office for Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability'' (OCCES) was created in 2008 under the Prime Minister's Office, to manage the REDD funds. In March 2008 PNG signed an agreement with Australia to cooperate on REDD. In 2009 the OCCES issued certificates for at least 40 future REDD credits for 1 million tonnes of carbon each. One of the projects is in the 800,000 hectares (ha) of virgin rainforest in Kamula Duso. The controversies and complexity pose management and governance challenges. According to
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
weak forest governance is a factor of forest degradation. If it is unresolved, the success of REDD is uncertain and may reinforce corruption, undermine human rights and threaten forest biodiversity.
Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
questions: ” Why should complex REDD policies involving large amounts of money work in countries unable to contain illegal logging and forest conversion in the first place?”REDD myths
Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
december 2008 page 26, 11


See also

* April Salome Forest Management Area *
Certified wood Certified wood and paper products come from responsibly managed forests – as defined by a particular standard. With third-party forest certification, an independent organization develops standards of good forest management, and independent aud ...
*
Conservation in Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea together with the West Papua region of Indonesia (New Guinea) make up a major tropical wilderness area that still contains 5% of the original and untouched tropical high-biodiversity terrestrial ecosystems. PNG in itself contains ...
*
Deforestation in Indonesia Deforestation in Indonesia involves the long-term loss of forests and foliage across much of the country; it has had massive environmental and social impacts. Indonesia is home to some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world and ra ...
*
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation Reduction, reduced, or reduce may refer to: Science and technology Chemistry * Reduction (chemistry), part of a reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction in which atoms have their oxidation state changed. ** Organic redox reaction, a redox reacti ...
*
Sustainable forest management Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. ...


References


External links


Shearman et al.: ''The State of Forests of Papua New Guinea'' 2008
{{Deforestation Environment of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
Forestry in Papua New Guinea Environmental issues in Papua New Guinea