Eco-Timber from the Forests of New Britain, Papua New Guinea
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Eco-Timber from the Forests of New Britain, Papua New Guinea |
by Pacific Heritage Foundation
Partners: Pacific Heritage Foundation (PHF)
East New Britain Sosel Eksen Committee
Individual and Community Rights Advocacy Forum (ICRAF)
Forest Research Institute1997 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.
Successes and Challenges "OK...So What?"
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