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
Update on the 2nd National Communication Report for PNG to UNFCCC downloaded from www.unfccc.org
The Papua New Guinea Government submits PNG’s first Biennial Update Report (BUR1) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The report follows the BUR guidelines for developing countries according to paragraphs 39 to 42 of Decision 2/CP.17 and its Annex III.
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.
Papua New Guinea has large tracts of intact mangrove forest with a high species diversity extending over many thousands of shore kilometers and, in many regions, penetrating quite deeply inland.
Mangrove ecosystem is very useful and critical to PNG coastal communities. Its uses ranges from carbon sequestration, buffers coastlines against storm surges and sea level rise, breeding ground for fisheries, building, firewood, medicinal purposes to name a few.
The 2020 State of Environment Report is the first for Papua New Guinea.