This case study is one of a series of publications produced by the Forest Harvesting, Trade and Marketing Branch of FAO in an effort to promote environmentally sound forest harvesting and engineering practices. The purpose of these studies is to highlight both the promise of environmentally sound forest harvesting technologies as a component of sustainable forest management, and the constraints that must be overcome in order to assure widespread adoption of those technologies.
The FAO Forest Products Division wishes to express its appreciation to the personnel of the Papua New Guinea Forest Authority, the Stettin Bay Lumber Company Ltd. (SBLC), and Vanimo Forest Products Pty. Ltd. (VFP) for their kind support throughout the implementation of this study. Particular thanks are extended to Aru Mathias, Forestry Officer with FAO's Sub-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, who played an important role in initiating and coordinating the study, and to Goodwill Amos, General Manager of Forest Operations for the PNG Forest Authority. Karo Karo Mau, Project Officer-Area West/Highlands for the PNG Forest Authority, was of great assistance during the field work. Special appreciation is also extended to Andrew Wong, Operations Manager at SBLC's Amio camp, and to three important collaborators at VFP: John Wong, General Manger for Operations; Romeo Perez, Forest Manager; and Mario R. Gabriel, Survey Manager.
The field study was carried out by Norbert Winkler, a consultant to FAO, who also prepared the written report. FAO Forestry Officer Joachim Lorbach managed the field study and the preparation of the report for publication in the FAO Forest Harvesting Case-Study Series. Editing and final layout for publication were done by Dennis Dykstra.