A MAJOR LIABILITY

Global Witness found that logging operations in Papua New Guinea (PNG) frequently violate the Forestry Act, including logging in prohibited areas and ignoring landowner consent. Because China imports a vast majority of PNG's logs but lacks laws against importing illegal timber, its timber sector faces commercial and legal risks in markets like the US and EU. The report recommends that China implement mandatory due diligence for timber imports and that PNG establish a moratorium on new logging permits.

• Analysis of four Forest Management Agreements (FMAs) and four Timber Rights Purchases (TRPs), which together accounted for 32% of PNG's log exports in 2017, revealed that all eight operations had broken the law on multiple occasions.
• In the Wawoi Guavi TRP, satellite analysis detected 41 roads wider than the 40m legal limit constructed after 1998, 141 instances of logging or road building in buffer zones around streams or wetlands after 1998, and six instances of logging in swamps after 2005.
• The Rottock Bay Consolidated FMA exhibited multiple violations, including logging on 144 km2 of karst limestone between 2006 and February 2018, logging in areas of high relief, and logging an area greater than 1/35th the size of the entire concession in 2014 and 2015.
• Forest Clearance Authorities (FCAs) are sometimes used as fraudulent cover for selective logging rather than for their stated purpose of agricultural clearance. For example, the Makolkol and Dengnenge FCAs showed extensive logging rather than clearance, and the Wanigela project in Oro Province was described by Governor Gary Juffa as a "mere scam for illegal logging."
• The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority admits it cannot verify the areas operated under Timber Authorities (TAs) because it does not monitor them in the field. Consequently, some TAs exported more than legally allowed; Summit Agriculture Ltd exported 19,101 m3 and Achim Agro Ltd exported 17,207 m3 from single TAs in 2017.
• There is evidence of illegal extensions of Timber Rights Purchases. Global Witness obtained documents showing the PNG Forest Authority approved extensions for two TRPs from 2016-2019 that had expired years earlier, with Vanimo Jaya Ltd paying PGK 250,000 (approximately USD 75,000) per extension despite no such provision in the Forestry Act.
• China's timber sector is exposed to significant risk because it lacks laws to keep illegal timber out of its markets, while its primary export markets (the US and EU) have such laws (e.g., the US Lacey Act and EU Timber Regulation). This can lead to criminal charges and fines for Chinese exporters, as seen in the 2016 case where Lumber Liquidators paid over USD 13 million.

APA

Global Witness (2018). A MAJOR LIABILITY. https://globalwitness.org/documents/119/A_Major_Liability_-_Illegal_logging_in_Papua_New_Guinea_threatens_Chinas_timber_sector.pdf

Chicago

Global Witness. A MAJOR LIABILITY. 2018. https://globalwitness.org/documents/119/A_Major_Liability_-_Illegal_logging_in_Papua_New_Guinea_threatens_Chinas_timber_sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=A MAJOR LIABILITY |date=August 2018 |url=https://globalwitness.org/documents/119/A_Major_Liability_-_Illegal_logging_in_Papua_New_Guinea_threatens_Chinas_timber_sector.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitness2018major, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{A MAJOR LIABILITY}}, institution = {Global Witness}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://globalwitness.org/documents/119/A_Major_Liability_-_Illegal_logging_in_Papua_New_Guinea_threatens_Chinas_timber_sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }