Forestry plays role in reducing poverty in rural PNG
October
10: A new report from an Australian consulting
firm reveals that private sector forestry investments play a vital role in
reducing poverty in rural areas in Papua New Guinea.
The report, ‘The Economic Contribution of Rimbunan
Hijau's Operations in PNG', has found that forestry
contributes significantly to economic and social development in rural areas.
The
report, which was commissioned by forestry company Rimbunan Hijau (RH), details the private sector
funding of roads, bridges, airstrips and services like health and education
in rural areas. It found that RH's contributions in these areas
exceeded government spending by as much as 80 per cent.
Authored
by Australian consulting firm ITS Global, the report indicates that the
forestry industry contributed approximately 187 million kina ($US90 million)
to the PNG economy in 2006; accounts for 5
per cent of PNG's exports and employs more than
9,000 people.
On
its own, RH's forestry operations contributed just under
80 million kina (K) to the economy last year.
The company paid nearly K70 million last year
in levies, royalties and duties. In addition, the company employs more than
4,000 forestry workers.
New
PNG Forestry Minister Belden Namah said that he was "impressed" by the
report, as it revealed the industry's positive contribution to the PNG economy.
The
report comes at a time when the private sector is becoming a more significant
player in aid delivery in PNG. RH is part of BAHA (Business
Against HIV/AIDS), a private sector coalition that aims to deliver positive
outcomes in the fight against HIV/AIDS. RH is the first forestry company in
PNG to have a company-wide AIDS
policy approved by BAHA.
Read
the full report here.
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September 9: The APEC
Australia 2007 Conference was held on 2-9 September, and culminated with the
15th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting, the APEC Economic Leaders issued the Sydney APEC
Leaders' Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development, which included an Action Agenda on Forests. The Declaration identifies the need
for the promotion of sustainable forest management and combating illegal
logging. APEC Leaders also agreed to
establish the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and
Rehabilitation to strengthen capacity building and information sharing; and
to work towards increasing forest cover in the APEC region by at least 20
million hectares by 2020.
In addition, Australia and Indonesia have signed the Kalimantan
Forests and Climate Partnership agreement. The partnership programme
consists of preservation, restoration and reforestation works to which Australia will commit A$30
million. Australia also announced
funding of A$15.7 million for the Asia-Pacific
Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Programme. The programme is
aimed at assisting countries in the Asia-Pacific region to raise their level
of forest management expertise and to improve their forests' carbon
sequestration performance.
September 24: The UN-convened High-Level Event on Climate
Change (HLECC) was held at the UN Headquarters in New York on September
24. The meeting was aimed at building
momentum for the UN
Climate Change Conference, to be held on 3-14 December in Bali, at which
negotiations are to take place for a post-2012 international climate change
agreement.
The HLECC marked the first meeting of a newly-formed Coalition
of Rainforest Nations. The coalition consists Brazil, Cameroon, Congo, Costa Rica, Gabon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Peru. The group issued
a Joint
Statement which states that industrialized nations have "primary
responsibility" for the "current atmospheric interference leading
to global warming and its consequences". Consequently, the Coalition is
seeking compensation payments for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and
Degradation (REDD).
Greenpeace
and the World
Conservation Union (IUCN) expressed their strong support for REDD
incentives at the meeting. Greenpeace
stated a need for a 'Deforestation Reduction Mechanism' which would provide
financing to end deforestation. The
IUCN has called for an encouragement of improved management of carbon rich
wetlands and forests through economic incentives, as well as through the
diffusion of knowledge of best practice.
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Greens maintain unscrupulous attacks on PNG, ANZ
In more recent developments, Australian and New Zealand Greens
campaigning against the proposed Gunns pulp mill in Tasmania are using the PNG forestry industry
as a pawn in their campaign. The campaign is attacking Gunns' banker, ANZ. To gain further
leverage on the bank, campaigners have unscrupulously dragged another ANZ client, Rimbunan
Hijau, into the campaign. All of
Rimbunan Hijau's forestry operations in PNG are legal. The
attacks are doubly unscrupulous, first relying on unsourced
and unsubstantiated claims about levels of illegal logging in PNG, then drawing a
link with a company that just happens to operate in that country. A recent
ITTO draft report that has been eagerly flaunted by NGOs such as Greenpeace
in their criticism of the industry did not at any point state that illegal
logging was of concern in PNG.
Earlier in October of this year, NZ Greens leader Russel
Norman attempted to gain leverage on the forestry industry in PNG by making a formal
complaint against ANZ to the New Zealand contact point of
the OECD. He makes the claim that ANZ is violating its
OECD responsibilities in developing countries by offering financial services
to timber companies such as Rimbunan Hijau. These tactics have been tried
previously in Australia by the Australian
Conservation Foundation (ACF). The Australian
OECD contact point considered the ACF case so lacking in
merit that it was not forwarded to the OECD for a hearing. Again, this is a
case of anti-forestry campaigners looking for headlines and attention rather
than backing up their claims with facts about forestry in developing
countries.
Greenpeace tactics hold little sway in developing countries
October 9: Greenpeace has come under pressure from local groups
on both sides of the Pacific Ocean in relation to its
anti-forestry activities. In Castelo dos Sonhos in Brazil, Greenpeace
campaigners were ambushed by angry local residents and timber workers after
they attempted to haul a tree trunk to Rio de Janeiro for an
'exhibition' on climate change. Locals were upset that the NGO did not ask
locals for permission prior to removing the tree.
In Indonesia, Greenpeace has
ignored the failure of its PNG-based Global
Forest Rescue Station and established a 'Forest Defenders Camp' in Riau. In PNG, the Global Forest
Rescue Station was designed to promote subsistence eco-forestry. It was an
exercise that ultimately failed to bring sustainable development outcomes to
the people of the region. Greenpeace's ongoing
campaign against forestry and the oil palm industry across the region
demonstrates that it has a very limited understanding of how to combat
poverty in developing countries.
World Bank releases Forest Carbon Partnership
Fund details
October 11: The World Bank has released details of the Forest
Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). The FCPF is a market-based mechanism
aimed at compensating developing countries for REDD. It comprises a Readiness Fund, which aims
at building carbon inventories for developing countries; and a Carbon Fund,
which aims at piloting REDD payment schemes in approximately five countries.
The target size for the Readiness fund is US$100 million; the target size for
the Carbon Fund is $200 million. The World Bank has indicated that it will
rely heavily on contributions from governments, the private sector and other
public sector entities. According to a
World Bank
presentation, the FCPF aims to have US$1 billion at its disposal for
compensation payments by 2014. It has also stated in a concept note
that it will work with the private sector in implementing programs.
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