5 million hectares of Papua New Guinea forests handed to foreign corporations

[Barrett808]

During a meeting in March 2011 twenty-six experts—from biologists to social scientists to NGO staff—crafted a statement calling on the Papua New Guinea government to stop granting Special Agricultural and Business Leases. According to the group, these leases, or SABLs as they are know, circumvent Papua New Guinea's strong community land rights laws and imperil some of the world's most intact rainforests. To date over 5 million hectares (12.3 million acres) of forests have been leased under SABLs.

"Papua New Guinea is among the most biologically and culturally diverse nations on Earth. remarkable diversity of cultural groups rely intimately on their traditional lands and forests in order to meet their needs for farming plots, forest goods, wild game, traditional and religious sites, and many other goods and services," reads the statement, dubbed the Cairns Declaration. However, according to the declaration all of this is threatened by the Papua New Guinea government using SABLs to grant large sections of land without going through the proper channels.

However, according to the declaration all of this is threatened by the Papua New Guinea government using SABLs to grant large sections of land without going through the proper channels. Already 2 million (nearly 5 million acres) hectares of the leased land has been slated for clearing by the government's aptly named Forest Clearing Authorities. ...

5 million hectares of Papua New Guinea forests handed to foreign corporations

[ananda]

1. Oh Jesus!

This really brings out my doomsday mind.