The Catholic Curch in Papua New Guinea wants landowners to be better informed before they make deals with developers or investors.
This comes as landowners continue to suffer the effects of Special Agricultural and Business Leases, which have been granted over 50,000 square kilometres of PNG since 1979.
In East New Britain, the Rabaul Archbishop, Francesco Panfilo, has spent years trying to help landowners in West Pomio battle with the huge Malaysian conglomerate, Rimbunan Hijau, or RH.
After mediation the landowners now have a commitment from RH to consult over rewriting the leases.
Archbishop Panfilo told Don Wiseman the church has produced a booklet called 'Just Land Agreements' that aims to help all landowners prepare for similar negotiations on their leases.
Archbishop Francesco Panfilo Photo: Archdiocese of Rabaul
