Prime Minister James Marape has spoken of the importance of preserving Papua New Guinea’s tropical rainforest in a meeting with the United Nations General Secretary and in his address to the UN General Assembly last Friday 

Yet, community advocacy group ACT NOW says his government is doing nothing to stop widespread illegal logging and in particular the abuse of agricultural clearing licences.

Marape has described PNG’s rainforests as vital to PNG and to the global community says Campaign Manager Eddie Tanago, yet PNG is the world’s largest exporter of tropical logs and most of the logging is illegal and unsustainable.

ACT NOW says it has documented numerous examples of logging licences being issued for bogus agriculture projects and Colonial era logging permits are still being renewed in defiance of court orders and community opposition. As a result logs worth millions of Kina are still being exported every month.

“The PM has spoken of PNGs rich cultural and lingual diversity being dependent on the deep connections that local people have to the land and that many communities depend on the forests for their livelihoods, yet his government is actively assisting foreign logging companies to destroy these habitats”, says Eddie Tanago.

“The PM has also highlighted that the well-being of Papua New Guineans depends on the health of its forest and marine ecosystems and reinforced the importance of environmental conservation and the need to safeguard natural resources for future generations. So why is his government glossing clear evidence of widespread illegal logging?” 

PNG’s rainforests are part of the third largest forest area in the world after the Amazon and Congo and Marape has described the forests as the ‘lungs of the earth’ due to their crucial role in absorbing carbon pollution and supporting biodiversity.

But ACT NOW says the global community is not going to pay heed to the PM’s pleas for financial help while it is obvious his government is content to see the forests plundered by foreign owned logging companies in defiance of national laws.

ACT NOW is also pointing to the Prime Ministers recent warning to foreigners not to engage in criminal activities in PNG and to expect tough penalties if they do.

“If the PM wants to get tough on foreign criminals then his government needs to take action against foreign owned logging companies. They are logging without the informed consent of local clans and have been stealing timber for decades,” says Eddie Tanago.