A Greenpeace team has been documenting the conditions in three Papua New Guinea (PNG) logging concessions revealing the negative effects logging is having on life in the area.
According to the Greenpeace Australia Pacific Blog, the Greenpeace team spent two weeks documenting life and conditions in three Papua New Guinea (PNG) logging concessions, where they 'visited remote villages in Gulf and Western Provinces where logging companies Rimbunan Hijau (RH) and Turama Forest Industries (TFI, a Rimbunan Hijau group company) are felling ancient rainforests and abusing their workers'.According to the report, the local people in these areas spoke of abuses committed by these logging companies including destroying sacred sites, breaking promises of development, withholding royalty payments, logging too close to villages and endangering the food supply.
Photos taken by the team provide visual evidence of these negative impacts, which is not only an indication of how unsustainable logging is affecting PNG but also the rest of the region which has seen the erosion of its natural environment through such activities.
It is especially a concern for small island states like nations in the region in which the population still rely so heavily and directly on the environment as a source of food, income, medicine, shelter and other needs.
To read the full article and view images taken by the Greenpeace team, including comments from those directly affected, visit the link provided below.