Papua New Guinea bans legal challenges against environmental destruction whilst requesting international funds for reducing deforestation
Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) indigenous peoples have lost their right to challenge developers and the state over deals involving land and resources, which will have far reaching consequences for a negotiations on reducing deforestation (REDD - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation).
Under the new legislation, amended by the PNG Parliament on 28th May, landowners cannot take developers to court and they cannot claim compensation for environmental damages that occur on their property when a project is considered of “national interest”. The majority of people in PNG rely heavily on the natural environment for daily subsistence.
“It is a disgrace that Papua New Guinea presents itself as a leading country in negotiations on protecting forests, and at the same time removes the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities to prevent environmental harm to their lands and territories,” said Kenn Mondiai from Partners with Melanesia, Papua New Guinea.
The changes also violate PNG’s Constitution and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Whilst this was happening, Sir Michael Somare, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, attended a prestigious meeting on forests and climate change in Oslo on 27th May and requested between $715m to $1bn from the international community for fast-starting financing for REDD up to 2015.
“REDD is not only being discussed at an international level, in PNG carbon traders are already signing deals with land owners in preparation for carbon trading whilst promising them rich rewards,” said Thomas Paka from Eco-forestry Forum, Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea is one of eight countries included in a new report - Realising Rights, Protecting Forests: An Alternative Vision for Reducing Deforestation - launched at this week’s climate change talks in Bonn. The report highlights three critical components to protecting forests: full and effective participation; secured and equitable land rights; and community-based forest management. These are illustrated by case studies from Accra Caucus member organizations in Indonesia, Ecuador, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Cameroon, Papua New, Guinea, Tanzania and Nepal.
“National and international REDD processes have been going too fast for rights holders and stakeholders to effectively participate, but no plan to reduce deforestation will work without indigenous peoples and local communities,” said Samuel Nnah Ndobe, Centre for Environment and Development, Cameroon, “genuine consultation needs political will and cannot be rushed because of imposed deadlines.”
“Currently there is a massive gulf between the negations at an international level and the lived experience in tropical forest countries. This report aims to help bridge that gulf and contribute to the debate on protecting forests,” said Kate Dooley, FERN.
Notes to editors:
Realising Rights, Protecting Forests: An Alternative Vision for Reducing Deforestation is available to download here:
- English - http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/files/Accra_Report_English.pdf
- French - http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/files/Accra_Report_French.pdf
- Spanish - http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/files/Accra_Report_Spanish.pdf
The Accra Caucus on Forests and Climate Change is a network of southern and northern NGOs representing around 100 civil society and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations from 38 countries, formed at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Accra, Ghana in 2008. The Caucus works to place the rights of indigenous and forest communities at the centre of negotiations on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), and to ensure that efforts to reduce deforestation promote good governance and are not a substitute for emission reductions in industrialised countries.
Bonn, 4 June 2010
Contact person: Nathaniel Dyer
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