Wantok Niuspepa | 30 October 2025

Nupela keis stadi bilong ACT NOW! wantaim Jubilee Australia Research Centre i painimaut sampela hevi i kamap long loging operesen aninit long Forest Clearing Authority (FCA) long Wanigela, Oro Provins.

Dispela ripot i gat infomesen i soim olsem loging operesen i gohet yet maski sapos ol asples i egensim, na i soim olsem ol i no yusim FCA long wok egrikalsa, na i bin gat wari tu sapos ol i bihainim lo o nogat.

Malaysian timber tycoons should stop destroying Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s forests. 97% of controversial timber licences found to be linked to Malaysian business people, says Pamela Avusi, Coordinator for PNG Environmental Alliance.

 A groundbreaking new investigative report: “Malaysia's Timber Colony: Exposing Malaysia’s Grip Over Papua New Guinea’s Forests”, reveals the disturbing role of Malaysian-linked companies in local deforestation. According to its findings, 97% of PNG’s Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs) are controlled by Malaysian-linked companies.

By Eddie Tanago

The National Forest Board’s failure to stop the illegal FCA forest grab is undermining the Prime Minister’s commitment to protecting Papua New Guinea’s tropical forests.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York the Prime Minister has reminded the world of the fragile state of the environment and the need for everyone to act as stewards not destroyers of God’s creation. 

A new case study by ACT NOW! and Jubilee Australia Research Centre has revealed serious concerns about ongoing logging operations under a Forest Clearing Authority (FCA) in Wanigela, Oro Province.

The report details how the logging has been allowed to proceed despite strong local opposition, evidence the FCA is not being used for forest clearance and agriculture, and concerns over legal compliance.

The case study examines Northern Forest Products Limited, the license owner, operating under an FCA first granted in 2017. 

The Prime Minister’s promise to stop issuing new forestry licences will do nothing to stop illegal logging destroying Papua New Guinea’s tropical forests, says ACT NOW!

Addressing the recent meeting of the Green Climate Fund in Port Moresby, the Prime Minister is reported to have said no new forestry licences will be issued after 16^th September, the 50th anniversary of PNG’s Independence. 

However, stopping new logging licences is an empty gesture that will have no practical impact.

ACT NOW has launched a new advertising campaign on radio and television calling on the PNG Forest Authority to take immediate action on the abuse of Forest Clearing Authority licences.

Eddie Tanago | Campaign Manager

ACT NOW is calling on the Prime Minister and regulatory agencies to take urgent action to address the huge discrepancies in log export values revealed in a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

By Fr. Giorgio Licini, Caritas PNG Advocacy

A new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime provides evidence Papua New Guinea could be missing out on billions of Kina in taxes and royalties from the logging industry.