A new report on logging in Papua New Guinea calls for urgent action by authorities in PNG and overseas to address long standing issue related to illegal logging, human rights abuses and environmental harm.

The report, published by community advocacy organisation ACT NOW and the Jubilee Australia Research Centre, focuses on Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs), a type of logging licence. It raises serious concerns that FCAs are being abused to allow large-scale logging, while government authorities fail to act. 

While allegations surrounding FCAs have increasingly made headlines, this marks the first ever report to provide an overview of FCAs, which account for a third of all log exports from PNG

“The report demystifies what Forest Clearing Authorities are, the rules around them and how they are working in practice. It brings together analysis from individual case studies, that, when taken together show a really alarming picture for forests, communities and rule of law’, says ACT NOW Campaign Manager, Eddie Tanago.

“The report also points out that tropical forest experts were calling for FCAs to be halted at least as far back as 2011". 

In 2023, the PNG Forest Authority announced a moratorium on the issuing of new FCA licences, yet no action has been taken since to stop existing projects.

To make matters worse, although the moratorium also called for an audit of existing FCAs to be conducted by PNGFA staff, more than two years later no audit findings have been published. The PNGFA have not responded to written requests to release any audit reports.

The report describes abuses both in the application process for FCA licences and in the execution of the logging post-approval. This covers issues as diverse as FCAs being granted for forest clearing associated with agricultural projects that lack viable plans, to exaggerated boundaries and concerns surrounding consent from customary owners. 

Analysis of issues related to the abuse of FCA licences draws on four previously published case studies on the Wammy Rural Development Project in West Sepik Province; the Mengen Integrated Agriculture Project in East New Britain; the Wasu Integrated Agriculture Project in Morobe Province; and the Loani Bwanabwana Integrated Agro-Forestry Project in Milne Bay Province.

The report says the totality of this evidence points to a very high risk that logs or timber products sourced from FCA projects and any financial proceeds could be classified as illegal. 

As well as calling for immediate action by the government to suspend log exports from all FCA areas until a transparent and public inquiry has been held, ACT NOW and Jubilee Australia are calling for criminal law enforcement agencies, commercial banks, the diplomatic community and aid agencies and overseas timber buyers to take action. 

“The PNGFA has repeatedly shown itself incapable of controlling the issues of forest crime and illegal logging”, says Eddie Tanago.

“It is therefore essential that other agencies, both in PNG and overseas, step up to stop the continued illegal logging of our forests and associated crimes including money laundering and human rights abuses”.

"90% of our log exports go to China, so it is particularly important for China to act.” 

Jubilee Australia points out that while many overseas countries have prohibitions on the import or handling of illegally sourced timber, this is not preventing the trade in logs and sawn timber from PNG. 

"On the one hand, countries want to stamp out illegally logged timber – which is really positive. However, we know that the places where illegal logging is most rampant is where forest enforcement is least likely to be picking up on those illegalities. Legal due diligence requires more than just asking if a company holds a license or export permit. It requires evidence that a company has met the legal requirements to acquire, or maintain, that license. Countries importing timber or timber products from PNG without such evidence are inadvertently undermining the rule of law in PNG and the forests and peoples it should protect."

Summary of Recommendations

• The Government to suspend all log exports from FCA areas until an independent, transparent and public inquiry into the legality of all existing FCA licences and logging operations has been completed.
• The National Forest Board to extend the moratorium on new FCA licences until a full government inquiry has been conducted and any recommendations have been implemented and to publish the findings of the completed audits of FCA projects. 
• The fraud squad, UNODC and Interpol to identify the criminal laws that may have been broken in the submission and approval of fraudulent FCA applications.
• Commercial banks to identify any customers linked to FCA logging operations and ensure full compliance with all anti money laundering regulations and bank environmental and social responsibility policies
• The diplomatic community and aid agencies to support the PNG government to implement a review of all existing FCA licences and action the inquiry recommendations. Assist the PNGFA to establish a public register of all timber harvesting operations as provided under S.103A of the Forestry Act.
• Overseas timber buyers to ensure any unprocessed logs, sawn timber and timber products purchased from PNG are independently verified as coming from a valid, legally approved and sustainably managed source.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

Download the report at: https://actnowpng.org/sites/default/files/publications/The%20FCA%20Logging%20Scandal%20-%20compressed.pdf