Communities affected by three Special Agriculture Business Leases in the West Pomio District of East New Britain Province have assessed the economic damage caused by logging and oil palm planting at more than K2.4 billion.
A group of customary landowners in Papua New Guinea have regained access to their land following a significant legal victory against supporters of a logging company.
Photo shows an earlier (December 2016) protest by people in Pomata against logging
Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau (RH) is continuing it's efforts to log in the Pomata SABL area in the Pomio District. Local people say this is despite a court decision ordering all logging operations to stop pending the outcome of a court challenge to the logging permit.
People living in the Pomio district say the three local men who have been vocal in a logging company owned newspaper, supporting SABL leases and the operations of Rimbunan Hijau, do not represent the majority.
The local people say it is completely wrong to claim the Sigite Mukus Integrated Rural Development Project is an SABL success story, as claimed by Mathew Lila, James lelrea lutkal and Bruno Tevolman.
Police stationed at logging camps in the Pomio district of East New Britain are continuing to intimidate and threaten landowners protesting against illegal SABL leases and wide spread logging.
Landowners in the Pomio district of East New Britain have petitioned the government [see pdf file below] calling on them not to authorise logging in a new concession area on their their land as part of the Sigite-Mukus Integrated Rural Development Project.
The National Court sitting in Kimbe has ordered an extension to the ban on any forest related activities by logging giant Rimbunan Hijau in its contested SABL lease areas in the Pomio District of East New Britain.
The extension was ordered at a hearing on Monday. The original orders were granted on November 16 - as reported below. The matter will return to court later this month.
Picture: A logging ship collects logs from the RH operation in Pomio
Source: PNG Exposed
Controversial Malaysian logging company, Rimbunan Hijau, has failed to abide by a court order to stop all logging operations in two lease areas in the Pomio district of East New Britain.
The National Court has issued a restraining order stopping any forest logging operations by Rimbunan Hijau in two controversial Special Agriculture and Business Lease areas in the Pomio district of East New Britain.
The orders have been obtained by landowners from Portions 196C and 197C who claim the SABLs were obtained by fraud and forgery and without their consent and without following the proper processes under the Lands Act.
