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Supporting integrated rural community development and sustainable resource use through a viable and sustainable eco-forestry industry Latest News
New amendments to Forestry Law legitimize illegal and unsustainable logging December 7, 2007. Parliament recently passed two sets of amendments to the Forestry Act 1991 without Debate. The Forum describes the new laws as a ‘CRIMINAL DISGRACE’ and challenges The Forest Minister and the Prime Minister to explain to the people of PNG why they are selling out the country’s forests at the lowest possible price. It says the new laws among other things overturn the 1991 reforms and now allow illegal and unsustainable logging to continue. They also ignore the recommendations of the International Tropical Timber Organizations on achieving sustainable forest management in Papua New Guinea. more>> Forum calls on Australia to ban imports of illegal timber April 13, 2007. The PNG Eco-Forestry Forum supports the recent call by the Indonesian Government for Australia to ban the import of illegally logged timber. In supporting the call, the Forum says, while Australia is a sovereign country with its own laws governing its affairs, it must not give a blind-eye on the serious issue of illegal logging. more>> Commitment to large-scale logging cheating PNG August 31, 2006. Small and medium-scale sawmills could offer better financial returns than current large-scale logging and could deliver many other benefits. “The Government’s current commitment to large-scale logging operations is cheating both current and future generations”, says Kenn Mondiai, Chairperson of the Forum. more>> NGO’s complain about ANZ Bank ties to illegal logging August 25, 2006. Australian and Papua New Guinea non-government organizations have filed complaints against the ANZ Bank over its ties to logging companies accused of human rights abuses and environmental destruction. The complaint alleges ANZ is “actively facilitating and supporting” the PNG operations of Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau whose operations have been clouded by allegations of human rights abuses and illegal logging more>> PNG bombarded with illegal logging equipment August 14, 2006. The Post Courier newspaper in Port Moresby has reported that a recent seizure of logging equipment by Customs Officers is only the tip of the iceberg. “PNG is being bombarded by a relentless wave of Asians trying to smuggle logging and heavy machinery and other goods into the country illegally”, says the newspaper. more>> Timber Workers call for full investigation August 9, 2006. The PNG Timber and Construction Workers Union strongly support the call by CELCOR and the Australian Conservation Foundation for a full investigation into the logging operations of Multi National Company Rimbunan Hijau Group, which the TCW claims “operates about 85% of the logging operations in PNG”. more>> Logging companies committing rights abuses August 8, 2006. Multinational logging companies operating in Papua New Guinea are involved in widespread human rights abuses, political corruption and the brutal suppression of workers, environmentalists allege. Malaysian logging companies are utilizing corrupt police officers to beat up and jail anyone who opposes their activities, according to a joint report released by the Centre for Environmental Law & Community Rights and the Australian Conservation Foundation. more>> or download full report Current logging unsustainable August 3, 2006. A new report commissioned by the Eco-Forestry Forum, confirms that current large-scale logging is both ecologically and financially unsustainable and will soon exhaust all of PNGs available commercial forest resources. The Report, “Wasting our Heritage”, written with the cooperation of the Forest Industries Association, finds that financial benefits to landowners and the government will start to fall sharply within 6-7 years and that new concessions will be largely logged out by 2020. more>> Logging tax scam “costing PNG $100 million a year” July 20, 2006. Australia is investigating claims that timber companies are rorting the PNG Government of $100 million a year according to a report in The Australian newspaper. “Logging companies are grossly understating the value of timber exported… This allows them to substantially reduce export taxes which are calculated on the value of the log… more>> Australian Minister claims PNG logging is illegal June 28, 2006. Australian Forestry Minister Eric Abetz has claimed that the “vast majority” of rainforest logging in PNG is illegal. Senator Abetz has said successive PNG Governments had turned a blind eye to illegal logging and warned Canberra would move to ban imports of illegally sourced timber more>> Court halts new RH logging operation June 19, 2006. The Supreme Court in Port Moresby has ordered that a proposed new logging operation by Rimbunan Hijau should be stopped pending further court hearings. The Court Order has been hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight against illegal and unsustainable logging in Papua New Guinea by Eco-Forestry Forum Chairperson Kenn Mondiai. more>> Illegal logging to be challenged in the Courts May 4, 2006. The Eco-Forestry Forum is taking legal action through the Courts to challenge the latest attempts by the Government to unlawfully allocate new logging rights. Malaysian giant Rimbunan Hijau has recently acquired permission to log the enormous Kamula Doso concession in Western Province through an extension to its existing Wawoi Guavi Timber Permit. But Kenn Mondiai Chair of the Forum says that legal advice shows that the extension is “total unlawful” and therefore the Forum is asking the courts to intervene. more>> Illegal logging rampant March 6 2006. ILLEGAL logging is rampant in Papua New Guinea and is fueled by corruption and the government's failure to enforce its own laws, a prestigious conservation group charged Wednesday. The U.S.-based Forest Trends said that the PNG government’s own extensive reviews of logging concessions found that none could be defined as legal. more>> UK firm dumps illegal and unsustainable timber from PNG October 20, 2005 One of the biggest builders' merchants in the UK has today pulled illegally logged rainforest timber from its shelves, and suspended all further supplies. The move follows a major investigation to track timber from the rainforests of Papua New Guinea to builders' merchants in the UK, via mills in China where the illegal timber was effectively 'laundered' and transformed into plywood Jant logging operations criticised July 22, 2005. Local MP, Alois Kingsley has strongly criticised the forest operations of the Japanese owned JANT logging company in Madang Province. In Parliament this week the MP said that local people had not received any tangible benefits after more than 30 years of logging and they suffered from the damage to the environment. Kingsley also questioned why the company was being allowed to export wood chips rather than processing the timber on-shore. Rimbunan Hijau subsidiary accepts expulsion July 16, 2005. Rimbunan Hijau's subsidiary, The LumberBank (TLB), has backed down over its expulsion from the New Zealand Timber Importers Association. TLB was excluded from the Association in May last year over for allegations that it trades in unsustainable and illegal timbers. The expulsion was endorsed by the High Court in December but Rimbunan Hijau had planned to appeal that decision. However, this week it announced an embarrassing climb down and abandoned any further legal challenge. Former Chief Justice backs Forum opposition to Bill June 15, 2005. Former Chief Justice, Sir Arnold Amet, has backed the Eco-Forestry Forums opposition to the governments new Forestry Bill. In his opinion, published yesterday, Sir Amet concludes the Bill contains "very fundamental and dangerous errors" and he recommends the "Minster and Government should withhold the Bill from Parliament in its present form". Sir Amet's analysis confirms that under the Bill "the rights of the customary landowners of a forest resource are not going to be fully respected and recognised" and "fundamental safeguards" will be denied. Forestry reform project cancelled May 19, 2005. The PNG Eco-Forestry Forum says political interference and vested interests are responsible for the cancellation of the Forestry and Conservation Project which was announced yesterday. "The message is clear for the international community'', says the Forum, "this Government cannot be trusted to honour its contracts and the logging industry is immune from political scrutiny". more>> Forest Minister removes resource owner's rights May 2, 2005. In a bold and controversial move the Forest Minister is trying to remove the rights of forest resource owners and Provincial governments to be consulted over the choice of which logging company should harvest a particular forest area. more>> Palm oil roundtable not welcome April 18, 2005. A visit to PNG by representatives from the international Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been criticised by a coalition of civil society organisations. The NGOs say the Roundtable is not welcome in PNG as 'in our opinion there is nothing sustainable about oil palm estates and they alienate people from their land. more>> Industrial logging does not deliver development April 18, 2005. The Eco-Forestry Forum is challenging the Government to justify its plans to give new timber permits to logging companies currently operating in PNG. "The Government and the pro-loggers continuously tell us we need to give away our forests to foreign logging companies in order to be 'developed'. But where is the development from 25 years of intensive logging in our forests?" asks the Forum. more>> Forum calls for Minister's sacking March 22, 2005. The Eco-Forestry Forum has written to the Prime Minister formally requesting the removal of the Minister for Forests for his failure to deal with the overwhelming evidence of mismanagement in the logging industry. more>> Rainforest Alliance undermining forest conservation efforts in PNG January 14, 2005. The PNG Eco-Forestry Forum has criticised the American based Rainforest Alliance for undermining the efforts of local conservation groups in Papua New Guinea struggling to combat widespread illegal and unsustainable logging. The Alliance's Smartwood Program has refused to withdraw its certification of the forest operations of a company that is part of a multinational group accused of widespread illegal logging and human rights abuses in PNG and other parts of the world including SE Asia and Africa.more>> Most logging is illegal November 30, 2004. The Eco-Forestry Forum believes most logging operations in Papua New Guinea are illegal. "Current large-scale logging fails to meet a whole raft of critical legal requirements and is generally illegal" says Kenn Mondiai, Chair of the Forum. The Forum says that many major concessions are illegal simply because they are not operated sustainably as required by the National Goals of the Constitution and the Forestry Act. more>> Click here to see all Press Releases | ||||
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