State of the Rainforest 2014

after some years approachedcommunity facilitators fromtheBismarck Ramu Group (BRG) for support in protecting what remained of their forest. Founded in 2000, the BRG is an organization that assists customary landowners in community planning, advising them in the development of resource management and conservation strategies that foster economic self-reliance and harmonize with local social needs. BRG bases its work on local values, histories and practices, and the right of land custodians to determine their own future. With the BRG as a facilitator, the Gildipasi Planning Committee laid the foundations for a community-managed conservation area. This process included negotiations between clans on boundaries, and careful mapping of boundaries, using local knowledge of the landscape and GPS technology. It also involved drawing up a conservation deed that includes access arrangements and rules to be applied in case of transgressions, usually a fine.

Other members of the community tell how alcohol and drug abuse accompanied the logging operations.

Peter Bunam continues: ‘When they started to wash their machines in our rivers, polluting them with oil and grease and destroying our water system, we had enough.’ ‘We realized we’d been tricked, and we set about retaliating’, adds John Natu.

In the end, after furious youths blockaded a logging road in 1987, the logging company packed up and left.

Increasingly, one hears the stories of small landholders in PNG choosing to resist the advances of the logging, mining and palm oil industries. They oppose the directives issued by colluding authorities, and seek instead to pursue self-reliance and environmental management based on traditional principles and land use practices. Community-driven planning Certain that the logging companies would eventually return, villagers

When the agreement was signed by three local clans in July 2003, the conservation area comprised 1,000 hectares. Since then, the deed

Gildipasi conservation area, Papua New Guinea

Malas

Baine, Innoggomang Clans

Ameng Clan

Tokain

Saingham Clan

Ameng

Mirap

Monuguwin Clan

Imbab

Karkum

Yambrik

Dimer

Gamenken

Andepa Clan

Andepa, Temkum, Kumu Clans

Basken

Conservation area Former logging concessions Forest cover loss, 2000-2012

INDONESIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Source: based on a map by the Bismarck Ramu Group; information by local communities in the Gildipasi area with technical support from the Bismarck Ramu Group; Global Forest Watch, 2013.

AUSTRALIA

Tanget planting

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STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014