In 2019, extractives made up over a quarter of PNG’s gross domestic product (GDP) and accounted for 88 percent of its export revenues.
Yet, much of the population have not benefitted from these revenues.
A report recently published by the PNG Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) and UNDP, “Making Nature’s Value Visible: Valuing the Contribution of Nature to Papua New Guinea’s Economy and Livelihoods”, outlined this.
“It is the mostly subsistence-based agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors that account for a quarter of the GDP, and supports over 80 percent of the population,” said UNDP.
The data and evidence is clear; highly concentrated extractive-based growth, combined with insufficient enforcement of environmental standards, cannot sustainably and inclusively increase a country’s prosperity.
Unpacking the data of the report, PNG invests approximately K112 million (US$ 32 million) each year toward environmental protection. This is 0.5 percent of current government spending.
The total economic value of its natural environment, on the other hand, is estimated at K1 trillion (US$ 255 million) per annum, or 13 times the country’s 2020 GDP.
For every Kina invested in environment protection, nature provides K9,800 in ecosystem services, say the report authors from the James Cook University in Australia.
“The development imperative for PNG is clear. The country will gain significantly in both the short and long run, by pivoting its economy toward its most abundant resource: the natural environment.”