Papua New Guinea (PNG) has one of the most significant areas of tropical forest in the world. These forests are, however, under threat from commercial logging, clearing of land for agricultural commodities, mining or the expansion of small-scale agriculture to meet the livelihood needs of the country's largely rural population.
PNG Threatened Endemic Plants and Animals Species. This was published as part of 5th CBD National Report.
Fifth National Report on the Species richness of PNG and world higher vertebrates
The total area in PNG gazetted under Conservation for both marine and terrestrial environments only represents about 3.8% of the country's land area.
Comparisons of the countries with the largest forest areas (representing 90% of the global primary forest area reported to FRA, 2015
Link to the PNG Mineral Resources Authority portal.
Available layers:
* 30 Day Reserved Areas
* Mining Lease
* Special Mining Lease
* Alluvial Mining Lease
* Lease for Mining Purpose
* Mining Easement
* Exploration License
* Country
* ThirtyDayReservedAreas
* ActiveLicenses
Figures are for wild and ranched species of both freshwater
and saltwater crocodiles
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
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a total land area of 462,000 square kilometers (km2), making
it the largest Pacific island country. Its exclusive economic zone at 3.12 million km2 is the
world’s second largest. The country’s sparsely distributed population of only 7 million
makes PNG’s population density of approximately 9 people per km2 the lowest in the South
Pacific.
PNG’s principal marine and coastal ecosystems include 13,840 km2 of coral reefs, 4,200 km2
of mangrove swamp forests, and extensive seagrass beds. The country is home to at least 500
This Second National Communication has been prepared to fulfill PNG’s commitment. It contains the necessary information about the country’s major sources of GHG emissions and sinks, vulnerability and adaptation options together with the necessary mitigation measures, which PNG has implemented and will implement to adapt to climate change impacts and to further contribute to the global efforts in reducing GHG emissions.
Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) has been one of the fastest growing economies globally this century with average growth rates above 6%. This rapid growth has been driven primarily by the expansion of foreign investment within the natural gas sector and high prices for PNG’s central exports many of which are transported to rapidly growing Asian economies. This growth has built on a long history of natural resources being at the centre of the PNG economy with exports and employment dominated by mining, natural gas, logging and agriculture.
The official website for the National Fisheries Authority (NFA), Papua New Guinea
The island of New Guinea harbours one of the world’s largest tracts of intact tropical forest, with 41% of its land
A list of datasets identified in the training workshop