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A family stands by a logging road on Yokoname Mountain, Central Fly District, Western Province, PNG.
Enlarge imageEvery year around the world, seven million hectares of ancient forest are logged, cleared or severely degraded. That's 20 soccer fields a minute! The Paradise Forests of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are disappearing at an alarming rate.
Indonesia has lost 72% of its large intact ancient forest areas. In Papua New Guinea, 60% has been degraded or completely cleared. Up to 80 per cent of Indonesia’s forest is illegally logged, with the timber smuggled overseas.
Global greed for timber products has brought illegal logging companies to the Paradise Forests.
Impacts of a disappearing forest
More damaging climate change: When we destroy forests, we add to climate change because forests trap carbon and help stabilise the world's climate. When forests are trashed, the carbon trapped in trees, their roots and the soil is released into the atmosphere. We must protect forests to save our climate.
Community devastation: As their forest is cut down, millions of indigenous people suffer human rights abuse, and increased poverty and disease. Their food and medicine sources are destroyed. Their drinking water is polluted by soil erosion. With less than five per cent of the logs’ value given back to the communities, the business of logging is moving landholders from subsistence affluence to a desperate type of poverty.
Biodiversity loss: Some of the world’s most rare animals and plants shelter in the Paradise Forests. As their habitats are destroyed, many face extinction.
Who are the loggers and land clearers?
A handful of international logging companies is cutting down the Paradise Forests at record rates. In 2001, the World Bank warned that some of the richest areas of the Paradise Forest region could disappear by 2015.
Illegal timber is smuggled into Australia
Australia imports $400 million of illegal timber every year, mostly from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Illegal timber smuggling operations involve many countries - China and Japan are the largest importers of illegal timber from the Paradise Forests. Much of this timber also ends up pulped for toilet paper and photocopy paper.
To stamp out illegal logging, governments must stop illegal timber imports.
