Indonesia has filed a WTO complaint against the EU’s anti-palm oil policies.The move came in response to EU policy that penalises biofuels refiners for using palm oil.
In mid-December 2019, Indonesia tiled a complaint in Geneva, stating that EU anti-palm oil policies are an unjustified restriction on Indonesian exports. The move came in response to an EU policy banning the use of palm oil for use in biofuels
“The Indonesian government objected to the elimination of the use of biofuel from palm oil by the EU,” Indonesia’s Director General of Foreign Trade Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana stated.
TH EU is also facing diplomatic nad trade pressure from Malaysia over the issue, and exports of palm oil from PNG are potentially implicated.
PM James Marape urged city-dwelling Papua New Guineans to return to their land to develop agricultural projects, according to comments published on December 24th.
The PM has announced a focus on supporting landowners to enter a wide range of industries, rather tahn relying on mineral and energy royalty income.
Mr Marape highlighted the government funds and low-interest loans that are available to help landowners invest in starting businesses. “You can now get low-interest loans and repay over 20 years,” advised the Prime Minister.
The policies and announcements are aimed at spurring more investment and entrepreneurialism among PNG citizens.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have announced a new partnership to help developing countries meet the Paris Climate Agreement's enhanced transparency requirements. The project, co-funded by GEF (US$1.9 million) and FAO (US$5.2 million), will provide an essential platform for more transparent forest-related data, helping countries to compile, analyze and disseminate better data in line with the Paris Agreement's requirements.
The project will be implemented over two years, and is intended to benefit 26 targeted countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. The project will focus on upgrading FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment reporting platform; developing an e-learning course on transparency in the forest sector for government forestry staff as well as more broadly for universities, private sector and intergovernmental organizations; organizing sub-regional and national workshops to build countries' and sub-regions' capacities in forest management, and introduce innovative forestry tools; and for developing a series of outreach and communication materials to raise awareness on the importance of data collection, analysis and dissemination for transparency in the forest sector.
A group of NGOs have joined together on an US$85 million project to scale up agroforestry in Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya and Ethiopia. The announcement was made during the U.N. Climate Summit last month. Funding was reportedly obtained from the G9 Ark to implement the initial phase of the first initiative. The project is called the Grand African Savannah Green Up program.
It is envisaged that the project will accelerate and massively scale-up adoption of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) and other complementary ever-greening practices across Africa’s most degraded landscapes. The project focuses on the restoration of degraded land through deliberate integration of trees and leguminous shrubs into farmlands, rangelands and communal lands. It emphasizes on the managed natural regeneration of endemic species, increasing biodiversity and habitat for pollinators. It aims to significantly increase food crop reliability and productivity, increase soil health, reduce erosion, build resilience and adaptive capacity to the impacts of climate change, and provide a sustainable local supply of biomass for energy needs and additional livelihood opportunities.
The coalition of NGOs, dubbed the Global Ever Greening Alliance, has a goal of capturing 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2050. The coalition is made up of NGOs such as World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, World Agroforestry, CARE International, Justdiggit, World Resources Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and Concern Worldwide.
POMIO MP Elias Kapavore has described an investor in agriculture in the district as a “key partner” following the launching of six projects worth K3 million in Pomio on Friday.
Rimbunan Hijau (PNG) Group subsidiary Gilford Limited, the operator of an oil palm in Pomio district of East New Britain, built a church, school library, grandstand, basketball court and two bridges at Lau in the West Pomio-Mamusi local level government area.
The projects were handed over to the people on Friday.
Kapavore thanked Gilford Limited for the partnership.
He told the people “we have an important partner”.
“We can have many partners but they have to be genuine and we believe that we have a partner (Gilford Ltd) which is willing to assist us. Today, we are witnessing six projects fully funded by our partner,” he said.
“No toea from the Government.”
“When our Government is faced with financial constraints, we have to look at working with our partners. We must continue to support this partnership.
“We still owe our partner (Gilford Ltd) some money, but they went ahead and did projects despite the outstanding money we haven’t paid in full.
“That’s the partner the Government wants to work with in Pomio.
“Pomio has 119 wards and is the biggest in East New Britain. It will take three to four months to visit all the wards.”
Kapavore thanked the people for their understanding and for offering their land for community projects.
Throughout 2018, PNG hosted a series of high-level inter-governmental meetings, covering a broad range of topics. The successful hosting of this major event is testament to the ongoing economic development of PNG, and will deliver benefits for years to come.
RH extends its congratulations to the Government.
High-profile Australian think tank the Lowy Institute also publicly congratulated the people and government of PNG on the successful summit, and highlighted the benefits that are expected to flow from it.
Economic and environmental challenges remain; however, the ability of the nation to pull together and show the world all the best aspects of a remarkable country gives us all reason to be very proud.
Papua New Guinea has invited Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States to work together to support its enhanced connectivity and the goal of connecting 70% of its population to electricity by 2030. Currently only about 13% of Papua New Guinea’s population have reliable access to electricity.
Access to electricity is key to Papua New Guinea’s economic growth. Electricity lifts the living standards of communities in cities, towns and remote villages. It allows schools and hospitals to deliver essential services. It is also an essential precursor for the growth of the private sector and industry, including small and medium enterprises.
Progress towards Papua New Guinea’s ambitious objectives will require large scale investment by both the public and private sectors. This includes investment in new generation capacity as well as transmission and distribution lines to connect households, service providers and businesses to the grid. Continued efforts to improve institutional and regulatory frameworks are also required in order to unlock private investment.
Papua New Guinea, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States intend to join together in a Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership in support of Papua New Guinea’s objectives for electrification. This high level partnership forms part of the enduring economic and security partnership between our countries. This initiative will also be open to other partners that support principles and values which help maintain and promote a free, open, prosperous and rules based region.
The National Executive Council (NEC) recently announced by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill includes some first-time Cabinet members, some established figures managing new portfolios, and others retaining their previous responsibilities.
The Hon Douglas Tomuriesa has retained his previous portfolio as Minister for Forests, and the Hon Justin Tkatchenko has taken up responsibility for Lands and Physical Planning.
The new Deputy PM an Minister for Treasury is the Hon Charles Abel, while the Hon Rimbink Pato retains responsibility for Foreign Affairs, and adds Trade to his portfolio.
A full list of NEC members can be found here: http://www.looppng.com/png-news/%E2%80%8Bpm-appoints-full-cabinet-64544
Business Advantage reported that PNG stands to gain significant opportunities on the back of hosting APEC next year. The exposure to thousands of high-level visitors from Asia, North America and the Pacific will really put PNG on the map.
Mr David Toua, head of the PNG Business Council, was quoted as saying that "There are two great opportunities to be realised from hosting APEC, the first is to invite people to our country, and showcase its enormous potential as an investment destination. The second is to bring our people closer to the global market beyond our borders."
Port Moresby has already hosted several APEC meetings in the lead-up to 2018. In April 2016, the e-commerce SME summit showcased young Papua New Guinean entrepreneurs who are looking to make a name for themselves in innovative new industries.
The cost of hosting APEC is significant; however it is expected that the benefits that flow to PNG will be worth it. Increased inlkages between industries in PNG nad the region will help drive economic development, and the infrastrucutre investments that the government has made in prepreation for 2018 will pay dividends for years to come.
According to a recent study performed by Australian researchers, impressive numbers of rare birds have been found in logged areas of East New Britain, including oil palm plantations.
The researchers report that seven of the eight species they examined were doing considerably better than previously believed. These findings were published in the journal Bird Conservation International.
The study found that six of the bird species investigated are less dependent on old-growth forest than was previously understood.