Transcript
The SABL system got off the ground in 2009. The leases were often granted through questionable deals brokered by questionable leaders. In 2013, a commission of inquiry found the 99-year leases amounted to a massive land grab, involving little consultation with indigenous landowners. Officially, the government has repeatedly denounced the SABLs and said it's cancelled them. But Eddie Tanago, from the NGO Act Now, says foreign logging companies are still chewing through the forests - sometimes with police protection.
EDDIE TANAGO: While promises have been made that the leases have been cancelled, the illegal logging has actually continued and is continuing as we speak and the leaseholders are currently on the land itself. We are calling on the minister to confirm that all the SABLs have been cancelled [and] logging in the SABL areas has been stopped.
Mr Tanago says now the election has been and gone, the government needs to stop all illegal logging. The forests minister, Douglas Tomuriesa, insists the government is acting.
DOUGLAS TOMURIESA: All SABLs are cancelled in the country. So whoever is operating a SABL project in the country is illegally operating.
However, Mr Tomuriesa says the issue is more complex than simply kicking everybody out. He says some of the deforested areas are now productive agriculture or oil palm operations, and their benefits need to be considered.
DOUGLAS TOMURIESA: But there are some SABLs that have already logged the area out and they have already planted oil palms or cocoa, then we have to support those and make certain that they do the right thing and that is proper things are done, landowner identities and whatsoever.
But so far, very little of the money generated has gone to local communities, who have also been deprived of access to their forests and land. The government's latest plan is to convert the leases to so-called "customary leases", which Mr Tomuriesa says will give landowners more power and benefits. But Rick Jacobsen, from the NGO Global Witness, who recently tracked the supply chain of PNG timber through Chinese factories to US retailers, is worried they could just be SABLs by another name.
RICK JACOBSEN: Our concern is that we're really just going to see a repeat of the SABLs under a different name. Whatever name they give it, the fundamental issue is; were the landowners properly informed and given and given a chance to go through their processes for making a decision about what's best for their future.
Mr Jacobsen says it's unclear which legal mechanism has been used to issue a slew of new forest permits. Furthermore, according to Eddie Tanago, many of the factors raised by the SABL commission of inquiry, such as the involvement of corrupt politicians, have not been dealt with in the changes. However, Mr Tomurisea says he is working closely with landowners and he's promised a series of significant forestry-related announcements in the next few weeks.
