Masters of a Domain or Property Owners: An Analysis of Forest Use in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

"A time will come when the forest resources in Papua New Guinea (PNG) will become scarce as there are pressures from the government and resource owners, including timber industry to exploit the forest for economic gains. Outside pressures from such organisations as the United Nations, and the World Bank, are also mounting for actions to achieve pattterns of economic and social development that are ecologically sound. Considering that the forest resource - timber is customarily owned, a better understanding of the interaction between the people and forests is crucial. Without a clear understanding of what property rights each party has in terms of the ownership of the timber, this paper is sceptical on the PNG governments forest policy objectives where it calls for the management and protection of the nations forest resources as a renewable natural asset and its utilisation to achieve economic growth, employment creation, greater Papua New Guinea participation in industry and increased viable onshore processing (Ministry of Forests, 1991:2)."