THE controversial Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) and forest clearance will not be captured in the national forest plan undergoing review, the National Forest Service says.

Dr Ruth Turia, the director forestry policy and planning with National Forest Service, highlighted this in Kokopo, East New Britain, last Friday during the consultation workshop on the national forest plan for the New Guinea Islands region.

She said during the two-day workshop concerns were raised about forest clearance authority and SABL, especially in the New Britain area but the plan had not captured these areas.

“We are more focused on cutting down whole forests with nothing there for us, which is why we have not included these two programmes in the plan we working on,” Turia said.

“We can make a broad statement on what they are but with the implementation of those programmes.
“We have no information on where they are going to be happening so we cannot plan for them under the national forest plan.”

The first official draft of the plan would be compiled for all the regions.

“We are reviewing the existing forest plan 1996, gauging consultations by region and consolidate comments.”

Turia said major highlights being captured in the plan included mitigation on climate change and its effects, REDD, which was one area where forests played a major role, and a better estimate of forest cover nationwide. She said the forest plan was a requirement under the Forestry Act section 47 for the PNG Forest Authority.

“The plan will detail how provincial and national government manage the utilisation and development of forest resources in PNG.”

She said they had a draft document based on 19 provinces so far.

“The national plan has captured what provinces want to see in their province.”

Stakeholders that attended the NGI workshop comprised of National Forest Service staff, NGOs, provincial government planners, officers from the departments of agriculture and Livestock, environment and conservation, Office of Climate Change and landowner representatives from Pomio.