PAPUA New Guinea has launched a push to secure more international money for forest protection, biodiversity conservation and climate action.
But Prime Minister James Marape has warned that the country’s natural wealth must generate income for customary landowners, not just profits for loggers and carbon traders.
Opening the first PNG Nature Pact Workshop at APEC Haus in Port Moresby, Marape cast Papua New Guinea as a global conservation heavyweight, saying the country holds some of the world’s largest remaining tropical forests and one of the richest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet.
He said the government wants a model that keeps forests standing while creating durable returns for communities that own most of the land.
“Conservation must deliver tangible economic benefits to local communities,” Marape said, arguing that new financing structures should reward forest protection over extraction.
“We need long-term income, not a race to clear forests for short-term gain.”
The workshop brought together officials and partners from the European Union, France, provincial governments, conservation groups and development agencies to advance the PNG Nature Pact and Country Package initiative, a flagship framework designed to channel climate and conservation funding into Papua New Guinea.
According to the government, the European Union has committed €EU54.7 million, France has committed €EU20 million, and a further €EU9 million in seed funding has been set aside, making the package one of the country’s largest international conservation deals to date.
Marape said coordination of the Country Package has now been moved to the Department of the Prime Minister and the National Executive Council, a shift he said would strengthen national oversight and improve accountability.
He also used the forum to warn against poorly regulated carbon trading schemes, saying transparency would be essential as Papua New Guinea expands its role in global carbon and conservation markets.
Provincial governments, the National Forest Authority and the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority were urged to map remaining intact forests and ensure that customary landowners receive direct benefits from any new initiatives.
The government’s target is to conserve as much as 70 per cent of the country’s remaining virgin forests while allowing managed development in designated areas.
Marape pointed to the Managalas conservation initiative in Oro Province as an example of how communities can earn sustainable income while protecting forests and wildlife.
He also said coastal provinces should be part of the effort, citing mangrove forests and marine ecosystems as natural carbon stores and biodiversity hotspots that could support conservation-linked livelihoods.
Papua New Guinea accounts for about six per cent of the world’s biodiversity despite covering less than 1 per cent of Earth’s land area, and its rainforests form part of the third-largest tropical rainforest system after the Amazon and Congo basins.
Marape said the country is ready to lead on forest, ocean and biodiversity protection, but he stressed that success would depend on sustained international financing and long-term political commitment.
