Papua New Guinea’s forests back in the spotlight

The political economy of forest management in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is once again a
focus of international attention because private investors and aid agencies are showing a
renewed interest in the potential of ‘natural (or nature-based) climate solutions’ to the
problem of mitigating the negative impacts of climate change. There is a risk that
newcomers to PNG’s forest policy process will fail to appreciate some of the key aspects
of the political and economic landscape with which they have decided to engage. This
paper aims to combine a summary of the evidence relating to the management of PNG’s
native forests with an assessment of the balance of power between the different actors in
the forest policy space, the nature of their interests, and the institutions through which
those interests are translated into action. The paper also draws attention to some of the
key episodes in the history of the policy process that help to explain where it might now
be heading. Particular attention is paid to the problems of transparency, corruption and
illegality that have been central to debate between the different actors engaged in the
process.