Papua New Guinea's forests, which cover more than 70 per cent of its land area, are renowned for their biodiversity and are a source of food and income for millions of people. But they are under threat from unsustainable and often illegal logging by foreign logging companies. 

Between 1972 and 2014, PNG lost 9 million hectares of rainforest – an area around the size of Portugal. Much of this loss was caused by logging. Today, PNG is the world's largest exporter of tropical round logs.

The logging industry in PNG is rife with reported illegal practices. While almost all logging in PNG is licenced in some way, authorities often break the law when granting licences and managing concessions for companies to log. There are widespread reports of government corruption linked to logging.

There are also reports of tax avoidance and serious human rights abuses – including forced labour and human trafficking – by logging companies. 

For these reasons, most of PNG’s tropical round log exports should be considered at risk of having been logged illegally. 

Alongside our partner in PNG, Act Now!, we are continuing to investigate the financing that is behind the country’s major logging companies and advocating for financial institutions to stop supporting this destructive industry.

Learn more about illegal logging in PNG:

Background Paper: Logging and Forest Loss in PNG

Background Paper: Illegality and Human Rights Abuses in PNG's Logging Industry