The National Forest Development Guidelines (NFDG) of 2009, challenges the Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA) and the forest industry to plant 800,000 hectares of forests as part of the medium to long term goals that is in line with the National Government’s Vision 2050.
The biggest challenge is securing suitable land to develop and manage forest plantations. Thus, respective agencies have been engaged to partner with PNG Forest Authority to introduce the multiple land use concept to improve the livelihood of rural communities. Through this land mobilization program, it is hoped that resource owners will release their land for forest plantation development.
Hence, the Operation ‘Painim Graun na Planim Diwai’ is a program developed within the Forest Development Directorate guided by the NFDG to introduce a new concept of Multi-purpose plantations. The current/existing forest plantation are mono culture; only trees are cultivated. The concept that will be introduced by this Program will be Integrated Forest Plantation Development whereby Agricultural Crops will be planted with trees.