I. RECAP OF RECENT EVENTS
On Monday, September 27th, it was reported in Papua New Guinea
(PNG) that the Prime Minister Paias Wingti will put forward to his
Cabinet within the week a proposal to ban log exports from PNG.
This is tremendously good news, in that the PNG forestry situation had
been going from very bad to much, much worse. The Pacific Heritage
Foundation, a Papua New Guinea (PNG) based non-governmental
organization, estimates that PNG's "massive forest resource will be
effectively wiped out in far less than one generation;" noting that "for
all practical purposes, all this resource is controlled by foreigners."
Rimbunan Hijau of Malaysia is responsible for approximately 80% of
all PNG log exports.
Until now, PNG remained one of the last countries in the world where
raw log exports have not been banned. As a result, Asian timber
merchants are descending on PNG at an alarming rate. Log exports
have more than tripled over the past year.
"The scale of the plunder is beyond historical comparison," states the
Pacific Heritage Foundation. Over the past 12 months, New Britain
Island alone has seen 1000 pieces of logging equipment unloaded.
Most have been transported by Malaysian timber operators from
Sarawak, where the timber supply is rapidly dwindling.
II. WHY WE SHOULD CARE AND WHAT IS BEING DONE
Reports from throughout PNG are that vast areas of forest land is being
degraded and destroyed. Logging and skidding is taking place along
streams and rivers and on slopes greater than 30 degrees. Restricted
species are being logged and exported. Many under size trees are being
cut. An estimated 30-40% of the ground area is being compacted by
bulldozers. Water courses are also being blocked, causing redirection
of the flow. All these practices are illegal under current PNG
legislation.
Encouragingly, PNG has the first honest Minister of Forests in decades,
Mr. Tim Neville. Mr. Neville has been vocal in his calls for sustained
yield forestry and has called for a cracking down on foreign logging
companies that are not meeting their financial, environmental and social
responsibilities. Many more PNG citizens and organizations are
speaking out, with a massive growth being seen within the PNG
rainforest preservation movement.
Within the past week, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth
Malaysia) called upon the Malaysian government "to immediately
launch an investigation into the conduct of these Malaysian logging
companies overseas..." They continue, "it is highly unfortunate that
while our Prime Minister is attempting to promote South-South
solidarity and cooperation as a counter-force to the exploitation of
Third World countries by industrialised countries, Malaysian companies
are behaving with such impunity abroad."
And now PNG's Prime Minister appears to be taking the lead in timber
industry reforms. Mr. Wingti has been at the forefront of forestry
reform in the past, establishing the now famous Barnett Inquiry which
documented environmental destruction and seemingly inherent
corruption accompanying multi-national timber development in PNG.
The international community has an opportunity to commend visionary
forest policy. It should be acknowledged that such a move was indeed
a "tough decision". Mr.Wingti needs to be congratulated on pursuing
such a course.
III. BROADENING THE BAN--STOPPING SPECIFIC
CLEARLY NON-SUSTAINABLE LOGGING OPERATIONS
AND PUSHING FOR ECOLOGICAL VS TIMBER
VOLUME SUSTAINABILITY
In addition, the Prime Minister should be encouraged to broaden his
concept of sustainability from perpetual timber supply to continued
ecological integrity of ecosystems. Small scale, village owned
wokabaut somils (small, portable sawmills) which harvest only several
trees from a hectare thus protecting natural forest composition and
structure are far preferable to nationally owned industrial logging with
its accompanying environmental costs.
Broad policy guidelines must be specifically implemented. Clearly
unsustainable operations, constituting the majority of the PNG timber
industry, should be stopped. Madang Province offers both old and new
examples of grotesque, truly devastating exploitation of PNG's natural
environment. JANT Pty. Ltd. of Japan continues its chipping of
valuable hardwoods to make cardboard boxes, the only place in the
world where tropical hardwoods are being clearcut to be used in such a
wasteful fashion. The Rai Coast Timber Rights Purchase area, newly
commenced in Madang Province, is to be clearcut in less then ten years,
with production peaking at 130,000 cubic meters a year, and local
milling to only account for 20,000 cubic meters. The Islands region is
in shambles, with East New Britain to follow New Ireland within 10
years into nearly complete deforestation. All these examples, like
nearly all projects within PNG, clearly fail to pass Mr. Wingti's goal of
ensuring "that our forests are managed on a fully sustainable harvesting
system so that the resource will be fully sustainable."
IV. COME ON, JUST DO IT!
We appeal to each of you to take the time to bring up the above points
with the following individuals. Voting in cabinet is to occur mid-
weeks. If you can, a fax would get there before the vote. Mailed
letters will be effective in continued efforts to promote an ecological
broadening of the proposed log export ban to ecological sustainability.
We would like to support not only Mr.Wingti, but also Mr.Neville. In
addition, addresses for the two leading newspapers are included. Tenk
yu tru! (Thanks alot!)
Hon. Paias Wingti
Office of the Prime Minister
PO Box 6055
Boroko, NCD
Papua New Guinea
(675) 27 6696 Fax
Hon. Tim Neville
Minister of Forests
Forest Headquarters
PO Box 5055
Boroko, NCD
Papua New Guinea
(675) 25 4433 Fax
Ms. Anna Solomon
The Editor
The Times of PNG
PO Box 1982
Boroko, NCD
Papua New Guinea
(675) 25 4433 Fax
The Editor
Post Courier
PO Box 85
Port Moresby, NCD
Papua New Guinea
(675) 21 2721 Fax
Please, we need you and your friends to write letters soon! Now is the
time for some real progress in the defense of Gaia!
Glen Barry
Ecological Enterprises
2701 University Avenue, B-368
Madison, WI 53705
U.S.A.
(608) 233 2194 phone and fax
(608) 231 2312 alternate fax
gbarry@macc.wisc.edu email