Deforestation In Papua New Guinea (PNG) By Catherine Ross

Papua New Guinea, an island country in the western Pacific About Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, an island country in the western Pacific Gained independence from Australia in 1975 The island of New Guinea was named after the country of Guinea in Africa . The island is one of the largest islands on Earth. Papua New Guinea occupies half of the island. The other half is part of Indonesia.

About Papua New Guinea (continued) Papua New Guinea is part of the British Commonwealth Papua New Guinea is slightly larger than California The highest point on the island is Mount Wilhelm

Deforestation Effects on Papua New Guinea Deforestation has been going at a rate of 1.5% year since the 90's Deforestation has a big impact on the native people of Papua New Guinea depend on the forest Deforestation does not just threaten the climate, it threatens the lives of 6,310,129 people of Papua New Guinea that rely on forests for food and economic activity.

Deforestation Effects on PNG (continued) Forests in Papua New Guinea also serve as habitats to rare and undiscovered animal and plant species and play a key role in providing water and preventing flooding. Every hour, at least 4,500 acres of forest fall to chain saws, machetes, flames, or bulldozers.

Deforestation in PNG(continued) In PNG nearly one quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002. Deforestation is when forests or rain forests are constantly being cut down. Deforestation are caused and a result of climate change. Clearing and burning of forests can cause irreparable damage to the soil, environment.

Deforestation in PNG (continued) Forests are important not only for their role in maintaining biological diversity, but also because of their role in global climate Forest fires can be a normal part of forests - they clear dense brush and are part of some species' lifecycle When deforestation occurs, many of the trees are burnt or start to rot, which results in releasing the carbon that is stored in the tree.

Deforestation In PNG (continued) Before the 1990′s entrance into Papua New Guinea rainforests were nearly completely restricted, except for clearing along the rivers. About 40 percent of the Papua New Guinea was still covered by primary forest at the beginning of the 20st century. Estimates vary, deforestation is believed to claim up to 50,000 hectares (123,500 acres) of forest a year.

Solutions for PNG There has been much written on the situation in Papua New Guinea, both by government and non-government organisations. Thomas Barnett, had a solution that the timber industry was both unsustainable and corrupt. There are ample reports and evidence that the timber companies are breaking many, possibly all environmental protection laws.

Solutions For PNG (continued) Habitats are very important, not only to save wildlife, but to save trees as well. So when the industry cut trees they need to put other ones to take its places Commercial Logging is an attempt to regulate logging to ensure it is done in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way by permitting logging at a minimal rate.