Authority revises guidelines for provincial forest plans

THE 1995 PNG Forestry Authority guidelines for provincial forest plans (PFPs) were revised last month.
The authority along with key government and non-governmental organisation representatives and provincial administration’s forestry officers from targeted provinces updated the guidelines.
“It is timely to have these guidelines revised as there have been a lot of changes since 1995,” PNGFA forest policy and planning directorate director Dr Ruth Turia said during the revision in Port Moresby.
“Having the guidelines revised will also support the development of the national forest plan.”
She said the guidelines developed in 1995 were to assist provinces to develop their PFP requirement under the PNG Forestry Act 1991.
“The revision of guidelines will result in new PFPs which will contribute immensely to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conservation, sustainable management of forests and carbon stock enhancement (REDD+),” Dr Turia said.
She said the plans will help to safeguard all relevant forest and land use sectors and ensure that all provincial priorities are captured and effectively taken into account.
Chief technical adviser of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Mirzohaydar Isoev said: “It is a great honour for UNDP to be a key partner of the Government, and upscaling the PFPs throughout the country will significantly contribute to reduction of GHG emissions and development of green economic growth in PNG.”
The UNDP/FCPF project has technically and financially supported through various inter-agency technical working groups at the national and provincial levels and provided concrete recommendations to make the guidelines more practical.
Turia thanked the UNDP/FCPF project and Japan International Cooperation Agency for their support in the revision process of the guidelines.
The guidelines have been trialed in West New Britain and revised based on the lessons learned and experiences gained.