Plea For UN Intervention Over Illegal PNG Logging
A United Nations Committee is being urged to act on human rights violations committed by illegal loggers in Papua New Guinea.
Watchdog groups ACT NOW and Jubilee Australia have filed a formal request to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to consider action at its next meeting in August.
'We have stressed with the UN that there is pervasive, ongoing and irreparable harm to customary resource owners whose forests are being stolen by logging companies,' ACT NOW campaign manager Eddie Tanago said
He said these abuses are systematic, institutionalised, and sanctioned by the PNG government through two specific tools: Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs) and Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs) – a type of logging licence.'
'For over a decade since the Commission of Inquiry into SABLs, successive PNG governments have rubber stamped the large-scale theft of customary resource owners' forests by upholding the morally bankrupt SABL scheme and expanding the use of FCAs,' Tanago said.
He said the government had failed to revoke SABLs that were acquired fraudulently, with disregard to the law or without landowner consent.
'Meanwhile, logging companies have made hundreds of millions, if not billions, in ill-gotten gains by effectively stealing forests from customary resource owners using FCAs.'
The complaint also highlights that the abuses are hard to challenge because PNG lacks even a basic registry of SABLs or FCAs, and customary resource owners are denied access to information to the information they need, such as:
The existence of an SABL or FCA over their forest.
A map of the boundaries of any lease or logging licence.
Information about proposed agricultural projects used to justify the SABL or FCA.
The monetary value of logs taken from forests.
The beneficial ownership of logging companies – to identify who ultimately profits from illegal logging.
'The only reason why foreign companies engage in illegal logging in PNG is to make money,' he said, adding that 'it's profitable because importing companies and countries are willing to accept illegally logged timber into their markets and supply chains.'
'If they refused to take any more timber from SABL and FCA areas and demanded a public audit of the logging permits – the money would dry up.'
ACT NOW and Jubilee Australia are hoping that this UN attention will urge the international community to see this is not an issue of 'less-than-perfect forest law enforcement'.
'This is a system, honed over decades, that is perpetrating irreparable harm on indigenous peoples across PNG through the wholesale violation of their rights and destroying their forests.'
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Marape's forest promised dismissed as 'empty gesture' by PNG advocacy group
Logging ship, Turubu Bay, East Sepik (taken from cover image of 'The FCA Logging Scandal' report). Photo: Oakland Institute A community advocacy group in Papua New Guinea says Prime Minister James Marape's promise to stop issuing new forestry licences will do nothing to stop illegal logging destroying the country's remaining forests. Marape reportedly told the Green Climate Fund in Port Moresby that no new forestry licences will be issued after 16 September, PNG's 50th anniversary. He pleaded with the international community to act urgently and decisively to preserve the world's oceans and forests, calling them the lungs and lifeline of our plant. But ACT NOW campaign manager Eddie Tanago calls this an empty gesture because current licences will allow logging for many years to come, especially with the government failing to enforce its own rules. "Stopping new licences will not stop the illegal logging that is destroying our forests and will not stop the human rights abuses by foreign logging companies and their tax evasion and money laundering," he said. Tanago said licences already in play will remain valid for decades and the prime minister's promise will not stop these licences being extended in the future. He said at least one-third of current log exports still come from areas that were issued logging permits in the colonial era, 50 years or more ago. According to ACT NOT, these are permits that have been repeatedly renewed without the consent of the current generations of resource owners. Tanago also points to ample evidence show logging companies routinely operate outside their logging permit boundaries, but the authorities never action to stop them. He said the National Forest Board placed a moratorium on issuing new Forest Clearing Authority (FCA) licences more than two-years ago, but one-third of log exports are still coming from these FCA areas. This is despite the published evidence that the FCA licences were obtained under the guise of bogus agriculture projects and the logging is illegal. ACT NOW said the PNG Forest Authority has proved to be totally incapable or unwilling to enforce Papua New Guinea's forestry laws and as a result illegal logging and associated forest crimes remain unchallenged. Tanago said if if Marape is serious about preserving the country's forests, "then he should order a full public inquiry into the FCA logging scandal and order the suspension of all log exports until the legality of individual licences has been independently verified."
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Scoop
Plea For UN Intervention Over Illegal PNG Logging
Article – RNZ A United Nations Committee is being urged to act on human rights violations committed by illegal loggers in Papua New Guinea. RNZ Pacific A United Nations Committee is being urged to act on human rights violations committed by illegal loggers in Papua New Guinea. Watchdog groups ACT NOW and Jubilee Australia have filed a formal request to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to consider action at its next meeting in August. 'We have stressed with the UN that there is pervasive, ongoing and irreparable harm to customary resource owners whose forests are being stolen by logging companies,' ACT NOW campaign manager Eddie Tanago said He said these abuses are systematic, institutionalised, and sanctioned by the PNG government through two specific tools: Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs) and Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs) – a type of logging licence.' 'For over a decade since the Commission of Inquiry into SABLs, successive PNG governments have rubber stamped the large-scale theft of customary resource owners' forests by upholding the morally bankrupt SABL scheme and expanding the use of FCAs,' Tanago said. He said the government had failed to revoke SABLs that were acquired fraudulently, with disregard to the law or without landowner consent. 'Meanwhile, logging companies have made hundreds of millions, if not billions, in ill-gotten gains by effectively stealing forests from customary resource owners using FCAs.' The complaint also highlights that the abuses are hard to challenge because PNG lacks even a basic registry of SABLs or FCAs, and customary resource owners are denied access to information to the information they need, such as: The existence of an SABL or FCA over their forest. A map of the boundaries of any lease or logging licence. Information about proposed agricultural projects used to justify the SABL or FCA. The monetary value of logs taken from forests. The beneficial ownership of logging companies – to identify who ultimately profits from illegal logging. 'The only reason why foreign companies engage in illegal logging in PNG is to make money,' he said, adding that 'it's profitable because importing companies and countries are willing to accept illegally logged timber into their markets and supply chains.' 'If they refused to take any more timber from SABL and FCA areas and demanded a public audit of the logging permits – the money would dry up.' ACT NOW and Jubilee Australia are hoping that this UN attention will urge the international community to see this is not an issue of 'less-than-perfect forest law enforcement'. 'This is a system, honed over decades, that is perpetrating irreparable harm on indigenous peoples across PNG through the wholesale violation of their rights and destroying their forests.'
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Scoop
Plea For UN Intervention Over Illegal PNG Logging
A United Nations Committee is being urged to act on human rights violations committed by illegal loggers in Papua New Guinea. RNZ Pacific A United Nations Committee is being urged to act on human rights violations committed by illegal loggers in Papua New Guinea. Watchdog groups ACT NOW and Jubilee Australia have filed a formal request to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to consider action at its next meeting in August. 'We have stressed with the UN that there is pervasive, ongoing and irreparable harm to customary resource owners whose forests are being stolen by logging companies,' ACT NOW campaign manager Eddie Tanago said He said these abuses are systematic, institutionalised, and sanctioned by the PNG government through two specific tools: Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs) and Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs) – a type of logging licence.' 'For over a decade since the Commission of Inquiry into SABLs, successive PNG governments have rubber stamped the large-scale theft of customary resource owners' forests by upholding the morally bankrupt SABL scheme and expanding the use of FCAs,' Tanago said. He said the government had failed to revoke SABLs that were acquired fraudulently, with disregard to the law or without landowner consent. 'Meanwhile, logging companies have made hundreds of millions, if not billions, in ill-gotten gains by effectively stealing forests from customary resource owners using FCAs.' The complaint also highlights that the abuses are hard to challenge because PNG lacks even a basic registry of SABLs or FCAs, and customary resource owners are denied access to information to the information they need, such as: The existence of an SABL or FCA over their forest. A map of the boundaries of any lease or logging licence. Information about proposed agricultural projects used to justify the SABL or FCA. The monetary value of logs taken from forests. The beneficial ownership of logging companies – to identify who ultimately profits from illegal logging. 'The only reason why foreign companies engage in illegal logging in PNG is to make money,' he said, adding that 'it's profitable because importing companies and countries are willing to accept illegally logged timber into their markets and supply chains.' 'If they refused to take any more timber from SABL and FCA areas and demanded a public audit of the logging permits – the money would dry up.' ACT NOW and Jubilee Australia are hoping that this UN attention will urge the international community to see this is not an issue of 'less-than-perfect forest law enforcement'. 'This is a system, honed over decades, that is perpetrating irreparable harm on indigenous peoples across PNG through the wholesale violation of their rights and destroying their forests.'
