Papua New Guinea: First National Forest Inventory and Biodiversity Survey

Papua New Guinea is embarking on its first national forest inventory (NFI) under the arrangements for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)+. The inventory will include not only activities for measuring timber volume and estimating carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions but also, significantly, a protocol for the first survey of the nation’s forest biodiversity. The combined inventory will make it possible to assess the trade-offs between protecting biodiversity and reducing emissions, in order to promote sustainable forest management and improve local forest community livelihoods. The data produced by Papua New Guinea’s NFI will be instrumental in developing sound government policies to sustainably manage the nation’s biodiverse forest heritage, on which most of the nation’s population depends, for the benefit of present and future generations.