Forest Certification in Developing and Transitioning ... - UTas ePrints

forest certification in papua new guinea
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For any developmental purpose regarding land-based resources, consent has to be
sought from the landowners. Agreements on resource use are usually made between
three main parties: customary owners, the state, and the developer.
The forests that are constantly harvested are found in the lowland rainforest and
other mid-montane forests, but most other forest types are located in the higher inaccessible
areas. Presently some of these forests are under threat from major developments
like oil palm, mining, and large-scale logging.
Figure 1
Map showing the extent of the allocation of PNG’s forest resources to the logging
industry
Source: Shearman and Cannon 2002
It is important to note that the majority of what here is termed “proposed forestry
areas” cannot be logged: many are completely inaccessible and some do not include
much merchantable forest type, and indeed, some have been logged already.
The graph in Figure 2 shows how over the last 30 years, the size of concessions being
allocated to the industry has expanded significantly.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies