Practices

Natural forest silviculture in Papua New Guinea is largely restricted to harvesting treatments (described within the ¿forest harvesting practices¿ section). There has been some experimentation with post-harvest weeding and enrichment planting, (through a Natural Forest Regeneration Programme commencing in 1993), but generally proper silviculture is rarely applied. The Papua New Guinea Code of Logging Practice requires only landing stabilization, clearing of watercourses and removal of rubbish in the post-harvest phase. Papua New Guinea presently has around 50 000 hectares of plantations. The majority of the plantation species are exotics and include Araucaria spp., Acacia mangium, Tectona grandis, Gmelina arborea (for which genetic improvement trials have been carried out), and Eucalyptus delgupta. A variety of silvicultural techniques have been employed in the management of this diverse estate, with line planting, weeding and thinning as regular features of management regimes. Equally, however, most of the state-owned plantations have been badly neglected or abandoned. Silvicultural research on approximately 10 indigenous species, including Pterocarpus indicus (rosewood) and Calophyllum spp., is being undertaken.

Forest conservation measures

Papua New Guinea contains the largest intact tropical rainforest wilderness in the Asia-Pacific region and the third largest in the world. Almost half of the country's accessible forests are already committed to industrial logging and more than 30 proposed timber projects target most of the remainder. In 1999, the Government imposed a moratorium on new logging concessions, extensions and conversions, and undertook to review all existing logging licences to ensure that proper procedures had been followed in the forest acquisition and allocation process. A log export tax has also been introduced. Papua New Guinea¿s protected areas network comprises four national parks and around 20 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). WMAs are customary-owned areas in which the landholders form a management committee and devise rules for protection, management and exploitation of fauna. WMAs constitute the largest extent of area under some form of conservation management in Papua New Guinea. Both the Environmental Planning Act of 1978 and permits issued under the Forestry Act of 1991 may also require logging companies to leave certain areas undisturbed as reserves for wildlife.

Forest protection measures

Papua New Guinea has been subject to extensive forest fires in recent times, notably in southern areas in 1997. Fire is considered to be the single greatest technical risk to plantation projects. Local residents use fire to clear areas of undergrowth, assist in hunting access, and reduce snake populations. Fire is a primary cause of plantation failure in Papua New Guinea, and accounts, in part, for selection of fire resistant species such as Tectona grandis in plantation establishment. A variety of pests and diseases affect plantation species in Papua New Guinea, including: Brown root rot (Phellinus noxius) in Araucaria cunninghamii and Swietenia macrophylla and Pink disease (Corticium salmonicolor) in several species. Papua New Guinea has relatively low susceptibility to cyclone damage relative to other Pacific Islands.

Forest harvesting practices

The merchantable forests of Papua New Guinea are estimated to extend across almost 15 million hectares. Sustainable annual timber production from merchantable forests is currently estimated to be 3 million m3. The annual allowable cut has been set as high as 8 million m3. A 35-year cutting cycle applies to any new harvesting plans regardless of forest type. Despite this requirement many approved forestry projects are operating on a 10-20 year cycle. This is a legacy of the practices that existed prior to 1991. Harvesting is on the basis of a minimum cutting diameter, generally 50 cm, and all commercial trees above this diameter are removed regardless of forest type, species or condition. In most cases, the forest is significantly disturbed with large gap sizes and consequential heavy vine invasion. Lack of spacing requirements can result in virtual clear felling of species such as Callophyllum spp., although some areas have introduced residual tree marking. Logging is not permitted within 20 metres of permanent watercourses (or 50 metres in the case of major rivers), nor on gradients above 25-30 degrees. Reduced impact logging techniques to conserve the soil are also being introduced, including cable logging with mobile yarders in some sensitive areas, and over-sized rubber tyres on skidders. Forestry Regulation 241 requires mandatory compliance with the national Code of Logging Practice. Where community-based timber production is undertaken, use is made of small-scale portable sawmills that can be carried through the forest and used to mill timber on-site. Companies use a combination of full time trained professionals and local landowners for felling, machine operation and truck driving.
last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009