Biodiversity Conservation Network
17. Eco-timber from the Forests of New Britain
Location: East New Britain and Other Sites, Papua New Guinea Partners: Pacific Heritage Foundation (PHF)
East New Britain Sosel Eksen Committee
Individual and Community Rights Advocacy Forum (ICRAF)
Forest Research InstituteProject Title: Community-Based Eco-Forestry Projects BCN Funding: $451,738 Partner Contribution: $559,825 Grant Period: October 1, 1995 - September 30, 1998
What's at Stake?
The forests of the islands in Eastern Papua New Guinea (PNG) including New Britain are home to outstanding plant and animal life -- many of them rare and endemic. But similar to so many of these last great wildernesses, the islands' natural wealth is being aggressively pursued by developers. And even though the rights of landholders to make decisions about their resource use is respected by legislation and customary rules in Papua New Guinea, large foreign logging companies have been able to persuade local landowners to sell the rights to their timber for a fraction of its true market value. The landholders are currently facing some of the most intense commercial logging operations in the region, if not the world. PNG is at a critical juncture regarding its national forestry policy, as this year the World Bank and the new national government discuss policy directions.
Meanwhile, factions within the forestry department seek to remove the existing environmental controls regarding the forestry sector. To counter these threats, the Pacific Heritage Foundation (PHF) and its partners are offering alternatives to communities in New Britain, New Ireland, East Sepik and Eastern Highlands provinces of Papua New Guinea. The aim is to demonstrate the sustainability of small scale timber operations. The project's primary objectives are to: 1) reduce the decline of forest resources by supporting community-owned saw milling enterprises, 2) establish a central processing and marketing unit to generate high returns to communities, and 3) increase capacities for extension, technical, social and legal services. PHF will also support social and biological monitoring.
1997 Update
Pacific Heritage Foundation (PHF) is an active partner with community-based eco-forestry projects in the Bainings and Wide Bay areas, with existing projects at Riet, Arabam, Illi, Mu and Murunga and a new project initiated in Merai. Merai is the gateway to the Cape Bogan Forest. For the present, the encroachment of large scale logging from the east has been halted by the landowners
We are hopefully well on the way to achieving one of our major goals -- protecting 60,000 hectare of coastal area from export loggers. (The Wide Bay area is listed in the new National Forest Plan for commercial logging in 1998.) Despite submissions from foreign logging companies to sign a Forestry Management Agreement for Wide Bay, the Provincial Forestry Board recently met to discuss policy for forestry industry activities in the province. At present these companies are still locked out. The community-based eco-forestry projects in Mu, Marunga, Illi and Merai, are working with the East New Britain Sosel Eksen Komiti to support a conservation area near Sampun. These communities are managing some of the last remaining contiguous areas of primary forest in East New Britain.
Most of the eco-forestry projects are doing well and are at the stage of consolidating their operations. Project managers have trained new employees in maintenance, record keeping and financial accounting.
PHF is consistently monitoring the operation and maintenance of the sawmill and other small scale business ventures, as well as the systematic socioeconomic and biological monitoring of changes that affect households, clans and communities.
Local people are raising questions about tree felling techniques, the impacts on their current gardening needs and practices, cash crop development and other business ventures which compete for forest reserves. Given a rapid population growth rate, expansion of cash crops and the potential use of timber and non timber forest products, Pacific Heritage Foundation needs to do even more education in land use management.
Success Stories
Logging companies often tempt communities to sell their forests by offering to 'donate' vehicles. But in Illi, the profits of the eco-forestry sawmill enterprise financed the community's initial purchase of a Mitsubishi 4x4, 3.5 ton truck as well as the ongoing payments. The truck is a source of great pride among the local people. It is also a catalyst to other businesses and income generation. Traditional landowners from Illi, as well as people from remoter villages down the coast hire the truck to transport their copra to the urban market three hours away by rough road. Due to this new access to markets, some family groups have built new copra and cocoa dryers -- using project timber. The dryers add value to the cash crops before selling them to the export market. Copra is the main income for families to pay for school fees, housing material, kerosene and food. Several new houses have been completed as people use money earned from copra, and food sales to buy local timber and building supplies.
The women also use the vehicle to sell extra garden produce. Each Friday at dawn, there is great excitement as women pile into the truck with surplus betelnut, root crops and bananas for sale at market one hour's drive away. Women say, "we are learning how to market" often returning with K15 to K20 in hand -- enough money to pay the annual school fees for one child in elementary school.
Many people in East New Britain are watching the developments in Illi with keen interest.
Challenges
The first community-based eco-forestry projects supported by PHF were at Riet and Arabam. The abundant easy money from land sales and the ë donation' of trucks by logging companies have been difficult for people in these communities to turn down, but they have succeeded so far. Arabam had steady production from their portable sawmill until the end of 1996. Divisions within the multi-clan and multi-language community of Arabam have meant constraints to access to forest resources and heated discussions about who should receive benefits. The directors and project manager are attempting to settle the disputes but they have come to a stand-still in timber production. They express their worries about the long term consequences of logging on their land, yet would appreciate a road network into the forest reserves. This clan group still opposes the pressures of logging companies, but they are struggling to resolve the land disputes and to decide whether to resume the sawmill operation.
In initiating new eco-forestry projects, more discussion is needed about the socio-political groups in the community. PHF has learned that the clan and sub-clan leaders are the key decision makers and both men and women's traditional land rights are respected. However, it is difficult to predict the conflicts and constraints that will arise until people are actually managing the enterprise.
Over the last five years people have become more aware of the value of their forest resources, the massive destruction caused by large scale logging on their land and their capabilities to negotiate and manage alternative eco-forestry businesses.
But everything takes time. There was a lengthy period of village meetings, discussions in the office, then more meetings, before legal action was taken by the majority of the Kairak clan to serve a court injunction to stop the Senbaum Timber Rights Permit by Bismarck Logging.
We have learned a great deal over the last two years about assisting communities who are interested in conserving their traditional heritage, but we will need more time with our partners to determine the key factors which enhance conservation practices in Melanesia.
Case Story Box: A Local Disaster
The normal method of attack by the loggers is to isolate a small group of so-called "leaders" and deal directly with them. This happened at Maranagi earlier in the year when an approach was make to build a road to Maranagi village. Under the Forestry Act, the road-builder is permitted to harvest the trees on the road line, and for 30 meters on each side. The leader agreed with the proposed route and accepted an unknown amount of cash as a reward.
From then on it was all downhill. The road clearing extended as much as 140 meters from the center line. There was no attempt to route the road over suitable terrain. No drains or culverts were constructed, and no gravel or stone was layered over the clay base. When the dry season finished and the rains came, the road became useless overnight. Soon, the degree of damage made repair impossible.
The loggers were happy -- they got something like four times their legal harvest. The leaders were happy -- they received some money. But the remainder of the village was sadly disillusioned although we are not certain how much. The loggers say the original route was a mistake and they now have a better one to construct a proper road.
Authors:
Max Henderson is the Executive Director of PHF. A naturalized Papua New Guinean citizen, he is founder and visionary of Pacific Heritage Foundation since 1993.
Marie Tyler is Programme Coordinator of PHF in 1997. As home economist and rural extension specialist, she is interested in resource management and environmental education in communities in transition.
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