FAO Description PNG Forest Situation in 2020

FAO Description PNG Forest Situation in 2020

There was estimated to be about 29 million hectares of forested land remaining in the country. This was a decline from the 33 million hectares estimated in 1975. The loss of some 4 million hectares over a 30-year period is partially attributed to shifting cultivation, conversion of forested lands to agriculture, logging, urban development, infrastructure development, mining developments, and various natural disasters. The area and number of timber concessions had increased over the years from an area of a little over 1,000 hectares in 1940 to over 11 million in 2009. The forest resources in many of these concessions have been almost exhausted in terms of their resource base. The concessions played the important role of acting as “vehicles” for immediate development. Timber Concessions that have been acquired since 1991 are intended to facilitate sustainable forest management (SFM), therefore a 35-year cutting cycle has been inbuilt into the harvesting schedule of Forest Management Agreements (FMAs).

Forests in 2020 (based on past trends) are predicted to decline in area, but not significantly. Most of the forest concessions have been logged, however, due to the selective nature of logging, it is predicted that forest cover will still be maintained except for where large-scale conversion has taken place to cater for agricultural plantations.

The forest industry will continue to contribute to the economic development of the country and provide a source of income and other related goods and services especially to the rural population. Of the many timber companies that were operating from the 1980s to early 2000, only a handful of companies will continue to operate into the future. Many are shutting down operations due to lack of adequate forest resources in the concessions and the ever-increasing operational costs due to often remote locations and the financial crisis currently being experienced globally. Round wood log exports, which are the primary forest products currently being produced in the forests and exported are expected to decline as timber concessions exhaust their merchantable forest resources and the ban on ‘round log export’ comes into effect. More onshore processing and value adding are expected into 2020.

Utilization of the forests as a source of energy is a major issue in major urban areas and, especially in the Highlands Region, where there are fuelwood shortages for cooking and heating in the villages. The social functions of the forests, especially in terms of income generation, will continue to be an issue in the future.