Ambassador Jernej Videtic has said that the European Union would be willing to support Papua New Guinea with its forest reforms by providing hundreds of millions of Kina, training programmes, and more.
Ambassador Videtic was talking at the PNG Forest Authority’s workshop, which celebrated the International Day of Forests 2022. He said that Papua New Guinea was under threat from climate change and stressed the importance of the country’s forests.
“PNG holds one of the largest primary forests of the world,” he said. “We are aware that your forest not only serves PNG but Europe and the entire world.”
On the subject of the sort of assistance the EU was willing to provide, Videtic said, “We are ready to support PNG and allocate significant funds in the hundreds of millions of Kina for forestry, climate change and biodiversity programmes, three elements that cannot be separated.
“Some of the areas that the EU will help are in environmental data management for carbon trading, knowledge management, green jobs, and growth, among others.”
Papua New Guinea’s Minister of Forestry, Solan Mirisim, stressed the importance of manufacturing and using wood in an environmentally responsible manner. He added, “1.6 billion people depend on the forest for their livelihood, and PNG is no exception.”
John Mosoro, the PNG Forest Authority managing director, said they were implementing changes, including the log export development charge, which ensured revenue would flow to forest resource regions.
