Legislation & Policies for the PNG Forest Authority

The Authority’s primary objective is management and protection of the nation’s forest resources as a renewable natural asset that will be developed to achieve economic growth, employment creation, greater and meaningful local participation and for collective benefit of the current and future generations. Activities & programmes undertaken are guided by the following legislation's, Policies, Guidelines and procedures. They are but not limited to the following;

1. National Forest Policy, 1991  was passed by Parliament in 1991 and it covers the aspects of forest management, forest industry, forest research, forestry training and education, forestry organisation and administration.
2. Forestry Act 1991 was passed and gazetted in June 1992. This Act was a direct result of the Commission of Inquiry and provided for the establishment of the new and autonomous Forest Authority replacing the old Department of Forests. The Act provides for much tighter controls on the acquisition and allocation of forests development. The Principal Act has been amended in 1993, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2007 & 2010 to capture and address changing circumstances. >Read More..
3. National Forest Development Guidelines 2009>The guideline is an implementation guide for the aspects covered in the new Forest Act; addresses sustainable management of the forest resource, domestic processing. Forest revenue, training and localisation, review of existing projects, forest resource acquisition and allocation. The 1993 guidelines were reviewed and passed by Parliament in 2009.
4. Forest Regulations, 1996 was endorsed by the NEC in 1996 and it covers all facets of the forest industry procedures and controls. These Regulations provide for the implementation of the requirements specified under the Forestry Act, 1991 (as amended). The Forestry Regulation has been amended several times to capture the amendments made in the Act. .
5. Moratorium and review of Projects in 2000, the government imposed a moratorium on 32 new projects and appointed an Independent Review Team. This moratorium was one of the conditions of the Structural Adjustment Program imposed by the World Bank and the review undertaken had to ascertain that the Authority had adequately followed the processes required by the Forestry Act, 1991 (As Amended).
6. National Forest Plan - under Section 47 of the Forestry Act, 1991 (as amended), the Authority is required to prepare a National Forest Plan that will provide detailed statements of how the National and Provincial Governments intend to manage and develop the country's forest resources. The first plan was approved in 1996 and its tenure expired in 2001 so new Plan is under formulation.
7. Corporate Plan - the Corporate Plan identifies the core roles and functions of the organization in creating a future in conjunction with other government development strategies and policies. The Authority had put in place several Plans since 2000 and the latest one for 2015-2020 is still awaiting endorsement from the Board.
8. PNG Logging Code of Practice - this Code is consistent with the Regional Code proposed at the 1995 Suva Heads of Government Forum meeting but it is more specific to PNG operations. This Code was passed by parliament in 1997 and it is now under review.
9. Planning Monitoring and Control Procedures for Natural Forest Logging Operations under Timber Permits incorporating the Key Standards for Selective Logging in PNG is a manual issued by the Managing Director to assist Timber Permit Holders (or their logging contractors) & PNGFA staff with the required planning, monitoring and control of natural forest logging. It incorporates the requirement for all operational plans.
10. PNG Vision 2050 - this is the country's framework for long-term Strategy that should map out the future direction of the country and reflect the development aspirations of the people.
11. PNG Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030- within the principle goals of the Constitution, the Plan elaborates how PNG can become a prosperous middle income country by 2030.
12. PNG Country Specific Guidelines is a guideline that has been developed and adopted to meet the due diligence requirements under the Australia Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012. A quick reference Guide that supports the Country Specific Guidelines. The CSG can be used by both the Exporter from PNG and the Importer from Australia.