Prime Minister James Marape has met with officials of Total Energies and Compagnie des Bois du Gabon (CBG), in Libreville, Gabon, on Wednesday 1st March.
He was accompanied by Forests Minister Salio Waipo and Environment and Conservation Minister Simon Kilepa.
Compagnie des Bois du Gabon (CBG) has partnered with France-headed global oil, gas, and energy major Total Energies SE to develop a forward-looking model of sustainable and responsible forest management that combines sustainable harvesting, biodiversity conservation, and long-term carbon storage.
CBG is a key player in Gabonese forestry, recognized for its responsible and sustainable management of 600, 000 hectares (ha) of forest, certified to the highest international standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and for its ongoing contribution to protecting biodiversity.
Prime Minister James Marape said he wants such an arrangement in PNG.
“TotalEnergies and CBG have a very good partnership here in Gabon,” PM Marape said after the meeting.
“They are also in partnership with the government here on land use in regards to forest management.
“Such a partnership has already started in Papua New Guinea at Kuriva in Central Province.
“TotalEnergies is also looking at more such partnerships in PNG to offset their carbon footprint (through the Papua LNG Project).
“I also want major oil and gas companies in PNG, such as ExxonMobil and Santos, to get involved in such partnership.”
Meanwhile, the two-day ‘One Forest Summit’ in Libreville started on March 1st.
The Libreville meeting, on 1 and 2 March 2023, aims to lead to new commitments and concrete initiatives concerning the advancement of knowledge and the promotion of scientific cooperation on forest ecosystems, the promotion of sustainable value chains in the forest sector, the development of innovative sources of financing, notably by exploring market-based solutions for biodiversity conservation.
The One Forest Summit also expects to promote solidarity between the world’s three major tropical forest basins, the Congo Basin, the Amazon Forest and the forests of South East Asia including PNG.