Published corruption story on forestry project Kamula Doso -- Fight corruption in PNG by forcing transparency & accountability on our leaders!

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 06:46:13 01/07/00 Fri
Author: Anonymous
Subject: Published corruption story on forestry project Kamula Doso

Title: `Fast-track' logging project hits hurdle
Source: Post Courier
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: May 12, 1999

ONE of the Government's ``fast-track'' timber projects has run into a
major hurdle.

Complaints from traditional landowners and non-government
organisations have been found to be true, and much of the paperwork
for the project has been classed as ``defective''.

Permission was granted in February for the massive Kamula Doso project
in the Western Province to go ahead, propelled quickly by classing it
as an ``extension'' of an existing project.

The approval was granted, sources say, based largely on a submission
from Environment and Conservation Secretary Dr Wari Iamo.

But the project paperwork will have to be redone, after the discovery
that paperwork for 75 per cent of the landowner groups involved in the
project were ``defective''.

These revelations came from landowner representatives.

Suliyato Henderson and husband Stuart claim that many of the landowner
group signatures were either forgeries or from the wrong people.

A set of five questions were put to the National Forest Service's
managing director, Thomas Nen, on Monday.

He replied in one sentence: ``We acknowledge anomalies in the Kamula
Doso Forest Management Agreement and are taking urgent remedial
actions to correct the document.''

Forest Service officers say the ``remedial actions'', if done
thoroughly, could take several months.

It would involve officers arranging meetings in remote villages and
ensuring that the right landowner representatives were found and
briefed on the proposal.

However, some officers fear that the work will be rushed.

The Forest Authority board approved the concept of granting the
800,000 hectares of Kamula Doso, as an extension of the existing Wawoi
Guavoi project, despite a recommendation from professional foresters
against it.

Staff say there was heavy lobbying before the February board meeting,
from the Wawoi Guavoi parent company, Rimbunan Hijau, and politicians,
including Prime Minister Bill Skate and Forest Minister Peter Arul.

The Kamula Doso project is one of about 16 on a list given to the
Forest Service by the Government to be fast-tracked for project
implementation.

Mr and Mrs Henderson say that they know of some of the falsehoods in
arrangements for incorporated landowner groups involved in the forest
agreement.

They alleged that people from the landowner areas but not authorised
leaders had been given free trips to and from Port Moresby in attempts
by timber companies to influence villagers.

Kamula Doso has been described by conservation group, the World Wide
Fund for Nature, as being a part of the single largest tropical
rainforest outside the Amazon.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]