PAPUA New Guinea’s approach towards forestry development is at the crossroads unless foresters adjust themselves to the changing trends in the domestic and global timber trade and climate change.
National Forest Service division manager field services Ben Taupa sounded this warning yesterday at the opening of the PNG Forest Authority New Guinea Islands regional workshop in Kokopo, East New Britain.
He said given the changing trends in the domestic and global timber trade and climate change, the way foresters were approaching forestry development in PNG would need to change.
“Trading of forest products in the last 50 years will not be the same in the next 50 years and foresters must accustom themselves with these changing trends and initiate changes in our forest policies, legislation, standards and practices.”
Mr Taupa said foresters must be sensitive to the changing behaviours of landowners, the environmental issues and impacts that arise as a result of timber harvesting. Landowners are better aware and educated than in the last 40 to 50 years.
“In recent times, the forestry sector had come under very heavy scrutiny by non-governmental organisations and international friends. They claim most if not all the logging operations in PNG were illegal,” he said.
Mr Taupa said last year, the Forest Authority, with the assistance of the International Timber Trading Organisation, held a seminar to clarify the question of legality because of the regional and international negative perception of PNG’s forestry sector.
He said internationally, the timber markets and trade were changing in response to customers needs and climatic change. This could be seen in the trends with traditional log markets like Japan and South Korea, which were now low takers of PNG logs.
He said the 2007-2012 corporate plan that was recently launched by the Forestry Minister was for the PNGFA to be in tune with the changing Government development policies and aspirations.
Mr Taupa said in response the National Government’s 2005-2010 MTDS to improve the economy, the Forest Authority had committed to 10 impact projects which to date, had signed eight.