Papua New Guinea (PNG) possesses one of the planet's largest
remaining tropical rainforest. At least seventy-five percent of its original
forest cover is still standing, occupying vast, biologically rich tracts over
100,000 square miles in all. Its forests provide the habitat for about 200
species of mammals, 20,000 species of plants, 1,500 species of trees and 750
species of birds, half of which are endemic to the island. It has been estimated
that between 5 and 7% of the known species in the world live in PNG. Rare plants
and animals like the largest orchid, the largest butterfly, the longest lizard,
the largest pigeon and the smallest parrot ever registered live in these
forests.
The forests also constitute the home of the indigenous peoples,
the Maisin. For the Maisin, forests provide everything from food and medicinal
plants, to materials for houses, canoes and tools. Under the Papua New Guinea
constitution, the Maisin are the legal owners of their traditional lands. But
these forests and forest peoples are under threat due to large-scale logging
activities and oil palm plantations. Oil palm plantations are not aimed at the
production of edible oil for the local population and almost the entire
production is export-oriented.
Resource Exploited
Problems Created
Groups For
Groups Against
Timber extraction e.g. Kiunga-Aiambak road project
located in previously intact rainforests in Papua New Guineas remote Western
Province.
Diseases spread amongst indigenous Maisin
population through contact with the timber cutters
Increase in viral diseases and
malaria, because of the ecological changes deforestation causes
Loss of game animals
Loss of clean water supply through sedimentation
PNG Government: who sold logging rights and helped
finance the project
Transnationals and their shareholders: Malaysian company
bought logging rights
Consumers in MEDCs who want cheap plywood and furniture
Indigenous population who obtain work with the logging
company
Landowners: not consulted and paid very little in
compensation for the loss of their cocoa smallholdings.
Environmental groups: e.g. Greenpeace
Australian Government: Australia lies too close to Papua
New Guinea to be isolated from its social problems
Indigenous population who object to the logging
companies illegally taking over their land and the cultural, social and
financial problems that followed
Oil palm plantation at Aitape
Sedimentation and Eutrophication caused through
soil erosion (after forest clearance) and use of fertilisers would kill the
nearby coral reef in Sissano Lagoon
Prawn and sea fishing industry destroyed in Sissano
Lagoon through use of fertilisers and pesticides
PNG Government: offers tax incentives in the oil palm
sector designed to encourage growth and boost production
Transnational oil palm companies and their shareholders
Plantation workers have jobs
Fertiliser and pesticide company have more sales
Indigenous people who claim legal rights to the land
seized from them
Local fishermen who would lose their livelihoods
Tour companies and workers: the coral reef attracts
tourists and divers
Tourists who prefer to see unspoilt coral reefs
Sissano Lagoon: coral reef and
fishing industry threatened by sedimentation after forest clearance
Ease of access resulting from the
incursion of a logging road has resulted in the complete loss of forest cover
and subsequent soil erosion
The effects of forest clearance on water quality
Sustainable Development and Forest Conservation
Funded by the Chevron Oil company and Greenpeace and agreed by
the PNG government after being taken to court by the Maisin people. The PNG
government has been under pressure from the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Australian Government to enforce
environmentally-friendly changes in their development programme. Awareness
patrols to remote areas by local environmental charity groups have been
spreading the message of what exploitative logging will do to rural communities.
The recent screening on PNG television station EMTV of the Rainforest
Information Centre's documentary Mama Bilong Olgeta on the PNG logging
industry was a great success.
"The
Papua New Guinea government has decided to exclude Maisin customary lands,
located in Collingwood Bay from plans for timber or large scale agricultural
development. Greenpeace and others have been active in the area in developing
small scale alternative community development schemes. Despite numerous
community attempts to have their land removed from large scale industrial
development consideration, a number of schemes were proposed. This action should
give the community the room they need to regulate their own development
potential in a sustainable, community owned manner."
PNG Government Press Conference
statement following the Maisin court case
Cottage industries: nut harvesting, tourist souvenir and tapa
cloth production
Greenpeace active in developing Maisin cloth and art markets in
the USA
Local log-processing industries are being established.
Processed timber is worth much more on the world market
Small logging operations are encouraged, owned by many
different companies, who all have certified sustainable management certificates
Problems Encountered
High levels of illiteracy and lack of skills create difficulties in dealing
with tourists
Rivalries between different tribal clans makes team work difficult
Government difficulties in controlling the activities of the multinational
logging companies
Coconut
oil powers island's cars
For
years, the people of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have been
dependent on expensive fuel imported onto the island. Shortages have often
caused many businesses in this part of Papua New Guinea to grind to a halt. High
energy costs have not helped either.
Increasingly, locals are turning to a cheaper and far more sustainable
alternative to diesel. Coconut oil is being produced at a growing number of
backyard refineries. more
More information for this case study can be
found in 'Tomorrow's Geography', Harcourt and Warren, Ed. Warn, Hodder &
Stoughton www.hodderheadline.co.uk
Further reading on the role of China in the
destruction of the tropical forests of Southeast Asia including Papua New
Guinea: Forests in Southeast Asia
Fall to China
