On August 16, 2016, Forest Minister Douglas Tomuriesa told Parliament that more than 800,000 trees would be planted PNG-wide by 2050 as part of a long-overdue re-afforestation programme.
Tomuriesa said that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had made an announcement in Paris, France during the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 that the trees would be planted as part of PNG’s effort to mitigating the effects of climate changes.