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.

ACT NOW! i raitim na Wantok Niuspepa i pablisim lo Tok Pisin 25th Julai 2024

Long taim i no gat gutpela plen long Distrik level, bai i no gat kwaliti helt na edukesen sevis long Papua Niugini.

Risets bilong ACT NOW i soim olsem tupela yia bihain long las nesenel ileksen, wanpela kwata tasol o 25 % bilong ol Distrik i tokaut long faiv-yia divelopmen plen bilong 2023 – 2027.

Ol Distrik Divelopmen Plen 2023 -2027

Lonsim plen tasol i no kamap yet - 17 %

I gat Plen – 7%

No gat Faiv Yia Plen – 75%

Video: 'No Limestone' is the chant as young people protest against the proposed commercial limestone and cement project on their island.

 A lack of proper planning at the District level is a critical failure that is undermining the delivery of quality health and education services across Papua New Guinea.

ACT NOW! is excited to announced it’s partnership with Wantok niuspepa. 

The only “Tokpisin” newspaper in the country will be featuring stories based on the District Development Authority Watch or DDA Watch website for the next 6 months. 

The first issue featuring DDA Watch website was published on Thursday the 30th of May 2024. Copies of the Wantok Newspaper are circulated nationwide through the Catholic Church and it’s partners. 

Three recent case studies published by ACT NOW, Ten Years Without A Crop, A New Forest Grab, and Where is the Beef? illustrate how logging companies use false or inflated claims of agriculture planting to obtain Forest Clearing Authorities which are then used as c

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.

The Wasu Cattle Farm Project in Morobe Province has been the subject of investigation due to concerns about its legality. This project, also known as the Wasu Integrated Agriculture Project, received a Forest Clearing Authority (FCA) in 2019. It was ostensibly granted for a cattle farming project, but there have been no signs of either cattle or agriculture.

The Marape Government is not on track to meet it’s log export reduction goals as outlined in the Medium Term Development Plan IV. 

In 2022, the Government announced a ban on all round log exports in the next 3 to 5 years, with the intention to increase local downstream processing to promote greater employment, increase GDP and boost government revenues. 

The log export data shows an export of 2.2million cubic meters in 2023. 

Image: Greenpeace

The Forestry Act and other parts of the forestry law framework in Papua New Guinea are insufficient to combat widespread illegal logging and forest crime. 

Therefore, greater emphasis needs to be placed on using criminal law sanctions, both in PNG and internationally, to tackle the illegal destruction of forest resources and the economic, social and environmental harm it causes.