In the Media
Expert speaks out on impact of logging in PNG
February 03, 2012
ABC Radio Australia
There is a huge area of Papua New Guinea which has now been set aside for these SABLs. It’s about 5.5 million hectares, about 11% of the countries land area and one of the common concerns is that these SABLs which were supposed to be designed for larger scale agricultural development, in fact, in many cases are being exploited by timber companies as a back-door or insidious way of getting around existing forestry regulations trying to limit the impact of industrial logging in PNG.
One of the world’s leading tropical biologists says clear felling of forests on Papua New Guinea’s controversial Special Agricultural and Business leases (SABLs) is likely to have profound impact on PNG’s environment.
He further said that it would dramatically change the landscape in PNG in terms of the forest cover, in terms of, obviously the social dynamics, the impacts on traditional communities, in terms of biodiversity if all SAB leases to be cleared.
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Keywords: Asia, deforestation, logging, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SABL, SABLs