Eco-Timber from the Forests of New Britain, Papua New Guinea

by Pacific Heritage Foundation

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
Successes and Challenges
"OK...So What?"

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