This report stems from a simple observation: that since Independence in 1975, Papua New Guinea’s economic and social development outcomes have not matched people’s aspirations or government promises. Indeed, despite the abundance of its riches, PNG lags behind its Pacific neighbours on many important development indicators.
A species survey carried out by Dr Allen Allison through the UNDP small grants. The location of survey is along the KokodaTrack, Owen Stanley Range Region. The full dataset is available upon formal request.
Forestry Inventory Mapping System (FIMs) Vegetation Data taken form MARVin QGIS Dataset
Commercially Accessible Rainforest Area data sourced from:
State of the Forests Papua New Guinea 2014
Published by the University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 2015
The Island of New Guinea is the largest tropical island in the world and contains the third largest tropical rainforest after Amazon Basin and Congo basin. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a well-known centre for biological endemism and diversification. Most forests in PNG are under customary ownership and play an important role in sustaining the traditional subsistence livelihoods of most of the population. Currently PNG’s forests are relatively intact. PNG’s forest covers 80% of the country’s land area and 60% of the forest are undisturbed.
FAO has been monitoring the world's forests at 5 to 10 year intervals since 1946.
The Global Forest Resources Assessments (FRA) are now produced every five years in an attempt to provide a consistent approach to describing the world's forests and how they are changing. The Assessment is based on two primary sources of data: Country Reports prepared by National Correspondents and remote sensing that is conducted by FAO together with national focal points and regional partners.
PNG has a total of about 46.9 million hectare of which 77.8% is forested with 13 natural forest
types and forest plantations with various species planted. The second major land
use in PNG is cropland, which covers 11.0% of the total land area. Grassland covers 5.3% and
wetland comprised 4.8% of the total land mass. Other Land including bare soil and rock covers
0.2% of the total land area. Settlements including villages and cities cover 0.9% of the land area.
Source: Papua New Guinea’s National REDD+ Forest Reference Level 2017
Web-Portal by Climate Change and Development Authority and Forest Authority
The 2020 State of Environment Report is the first for Papua New Guinea.