At 463,000 square kilometers, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the largest Pacific island state. Located in the South
West Pacific, it is bound by the Gulf of Guinea and the Coral Sea to the south, Indonesia to the west, the Solomon
Sea to the east, and the Bismarck Sea to the northeast. PNG comprises the eastern half of New Guinea island, four additional islands (Manus, New Ireland, New Britain, and Bougainville), and 600 smaller islets and atolls to the north and east. PNG is home to a diverse range of ecosystems, including mountain glaciers, humid tropical
Coupled climate and sea-level changes deduced from Huon Peninsula coral terraces of the last ice age
Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, is a tectonically unstable, uplifting shoreline ringed by emergent coral terraces. The terraces were formed during episodes of rapid sea-level rise when corals constructed large, discrete coral platforms that were subsequently uplifted. Uranium series ages of four prominent Huon Peninsula last glacial (OIS 3) coral terraces coincide with the timing of major North Atlantic climate reversals at intervals of 6000^7000 yr between 30 000 yr and 60 000 yr ago.
This chapter provides a brief description of Papua New Guinea, its past and present climate as well as projections for the future. The climate observation network and the availability of atmospheric and oceanic data records are outlined. The annual mean climate, seasonal cycles and the influences of large-scale climate features such as the West Pacific Monsoon and patterns of climate variability (e.g. the El Niño‑Southern Oscillation) are analysed and discussed.
Forest
Forestry and climate change
Agriculture s the foundation of and heart of the rural PNG economy with over 85% of its 7.5 million people depending on the sector for their livelihoods. This sector is faced with so many challenges including climate change, lack of access to markets and so on. The access to suitable and timely information and knowledge is also seen to be one of the key drawbacks of agriculture advancement in PNG.
The 2020 State of Environment Report is the first for Papua New Guinea.