Logging

​Fish, logs to be processed on shore: PM

Speaking during the Australia-Papua New Guinea Business Council Forum in Port Moresby today, O’Neill said it is the Government’s intention to have on-shore and downstream processing facilities for both the fisheries and logging sectors.

He said less than 25 percent of all fish caught in PNG waters were processed in PNG, meaning the country was losing out on around K350 million per annum.

Customary landowner: SABL exploits human rights

Customary landowner Anna Sipona from Malmal Village in west Pomio said the SABL is a strange concept to the people of Pomio that promotes human rights abuse.

Representing the silent majority in the affected villages in west Pomio, Sipona said the SABL issue is not just about land and logging but about the human rights of women and children.

“Women and children are the biggest losers in this land grab and it is just another form of abuse.

Basil questions logging on island

Deputy Opposition Leader and Bulolo MP Sam Basil made the statement after seeing recent pictures of logging activities on Siassi Island, Morobe Province.

“It is surprising to continue to see the little island of Siassi being continued to be logged,” said Basil.

“What benefits have those logging operations brought back to the Siassi Islanders? Can the LLG President make some enquiries to the National Forest Authority (NFA) to see if this project is supported by the Morobe Provincial Government and his LLG?

Logging landowners eyeing fisheries

The customary landowners of Amanab 1-4 and Imonda consolidated forest management area (FMA) will provide seed capital for the development of the Vanimo Coastal Fishery Development (VCFD) project.

VCFD chairman Kevin Yehiura Muriki said the K18 million project will be managed by Paradise Tuna Corporation Ltd.

The project site will be at Ningra Village, about 2km outside Vanimo town.

Muriki said the project’s main aim is to reinvest and diversify the landowners’ revenue.

Papua New Guinea’s deforestation problem

Eleven years ago, PNG formed the Coalition for Rainforest Nations and presented the idea of REDD to the UN climate meeting in Montreal.

The architect of REDD, Kevin Conrad, completed his MBA in International Finance at Columbia University in 2005. For his final MBA project, Conrad looked at whether the money from carbon credits could be as profitable as logging in Papua New Guinea. He decided that it could.

Logs top primary products export in region

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji share close to 90 percent of total revenue earned by the Pacific Islands region for the export of primary products worldwide.

Primary products are still the top earner for the region according to Pacific Islands Trade Report 2010-2014 sponsored by the European Union and Pacific Community.

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Solomons Govt gets tough on illegal logging

Mr Parapolo says the measure is part of the government's crackdown on illegal logging operations.

He says he is very concerned about the level of allegedly illegal logging but says at the moment there is no way of verifying reports of illegal activity.

Mr Parapolo says the government will work with the Forest Association to track down illegal operators.

Solomons loggers call for evidence of Tax evasion

The allegations were originally levelled at logging companies by the former Minister of Forests Bodo Dettke when he was removed from his portfolio amid concerns of it conflicting with his extensive logging interests.

Since then civil society organisations and members of the public have been calling for the offending companies to be prosecuted.

But the president of the Solomon Forest Association, Johnny Sy, says it is almost a month since the allegations were made and no evidence has surfaced to support the claims.