Millions of hectares of virgin rainforest in Papua New Guinea are under threat due to a contentious permit scheme, environmental groups warned on Oct 14.
A new 56-page report by Malaysian-based forestry watchdog RimbaWatch, the Papua New Guinea Environment Alliance and the Bruno Manser Fonds states that at least 1.68 million hectares – an area larger than Timor-Leste – have been potentially earmarked for deforestation under so-called Forest Clearing Authorities (FCA) licensing.
The FCA is a type of permit issued under Papua New Guinea’s Forestry Act intended to facilitate large-scale forest clearing for agricultural or infrastructure projects, but is often misused as a pretext for illegal logging, the environmentalists claimed.
Original Article: Papua New Guinea’s rainforest under major threat says new report
