Govt finalises bill to manage protected sites

Business

THE Government has finalised a Protected Areas Bill 2022 to establish and manage a national system of “protected areas” in the country, Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Minister Wera Mori says.
The bill would reclassify protected areas into National Protected Areas, which included national parks, marine sanctuaries, national heritage sites and special management and regional protected areas.
Mori said this would preserve some of PNG’s nearly 18,900 known unique plants and thousands of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and coral.
“The Government endorsed a National Protected Area Policy in 2014 and now this Protected Area Bill will support the expansion of the country’s protected area system.”
Mori said the process of formulating a policy for protected areas in PNG began in 2010 and the consultation process had covered the country well.
He said the policy was approved by the National Executive Council, and as a result, the Conservation Environment Protection Authority had published the PNG Policy on Protected Areas 2014.
“The bill balances the need for central conservation standards and seeks to balance conservation standards with the needs of customary landowners, provincial governments, local level governments and private freeholders and leaseholders among others,” he said.