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Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the few places on earth where indigenous people still control their ancestor's land, with just three percent of the country controlled by the government or private enterprise. Customary ownership is partly responsible for the fact that PNG is home to one of the world’s largest areas of intact tropical forests. PNG’s indigenous people have close spiritual connections to their land and must be given free, prior and informed consent before any commercial activities can be carried out. The recent assignment of almost 20 per cent of PNG’s remaining forests to agriculture leases (SABLs) is therefore profoundly disturbing to all Papua New Guineans.
Greenpeace ship the Esperanza has joined local landownders in the remote Pomio province to confront a logging scandal and protect PNG's vital forests. Greenpeace crew painted "stop the land grab" on the side of a ship loading stolen timber bound for China. The activity was met with hostility from ...