1948 FAO PNG

1948 FAO PNG70

FAO reported on forestry in the territories as under the administration of the Department of Forests of the Territories in conjunction with the Commonwealth Forestry and Timber Bureau of Australia. They have a land area of over 46 million hectares (115 million acres) about equally divided between Papua and New Guinea. Together they are 60 to 70 percent forested. The population is in the neighbourhood of a million. Forest types include the lowland rain forest from sea level up to about 700 meters (2,000 ft.) elevation. The midmountain forest consists of Araucaria and oak; and the mossy forest at 2,300 to 3,500 meters (7,000 to 11,000 ft.) elevation is composed of Nothofagus, Phyllocladus, Dacrydium, Libocedrus, and Podocarpus. There are also some swamp forests and savannah types of little economic value except for mangrove. The lowland rain forest resembles the mixed dipterocarps of Indonesia, the Philippines, Indochina, and Malaya. The Araucaria resembles that of north-eastern Australia, and the mossy forest is similar to the indigenous type of New Zealand. The ownership of forest land remains with the inhabitants either as individuals or as village groups. Government ownership must be obtained through purchase from the inhabitants before territorial forest reserves can be established.

There has been extensive coverage of the territories by aerial photographs taken during the war. There has also been considerable botanical collection and classification work by the Australian Forest Products Laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research at Melbourne, and by the State botanist of Queensland in Australia. There are, however, only very rough estimates of the volume of timber in the territories. Such estimates place the rain forests at 38 to 114 m3 log volume per hectare (640 to 1,630 cu. ft. per acre) and the Araucaria-oak forest is said to carry about 1.1 million m3 (40 million cu. ft.) over a total area of 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres). During the war, U. S. Army sawmills produced considerable quantities of lumber. There are now 11 sawmills operating which in 1947 produced about 21,000 m3 (740,000 cu. ft.) of lumber. The Australian government operates a sawmill to train local sawyers and some skilled labourers. As production expands, Australia hopes to meet not only the present annual requirements of the territories, but to obtain considerable quantities of hardwoods for Commonwealth use. Although pre-war annual consumption of timber in the territories was not great, it is estimated that rehabilitation requirements will need almost 23,600 m3 (830,000 cu. ft.) a year for the next five or six years. Minor forest products include sago from the Metroxylon palm, nipa palm leaves for thatching, mangrove bark for tannin, dammar gum, canes, and bamboos.

Among the problems facing any forestry program in the territories, one of the most urgent is the control of shifting cultivation. Territorial forest reservations will have to be made to meet local demands and expanded export industries. A comprehensive inventory should be made, taking advantage of the excellent aerial photographs that are available. It will be necessary to secure trained foresters, and such training is being provided at the Australian Forestry School at Canberra. Plans are under way for a research program in silviculture through the Commonwealth Forestry and Timber Bureau, and in products through the C.S.I.R. at Melbourne.

70 FAO in Unasylva Vol 2 # 6 1948 New Guinea and Papua