Foreign corporations orchestrating land grab in PNG

By MATTHEW VARI

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 (Midweek Chronicle, PNG)

THAT was the findings released in a investigative report and documentary film screened yesterday at the Holiday Inn Hotel, by the Oakland Institute and the Pacific Network on Globalization (PANG) on behalf of Papua New Guinea partners Act Now!, and Bismarck Ramu Group.

The released investigation called, On Our Land, revealed that PNG is the latest victim in the modern era of land grabs orchestrated by foreign corporations.

In one of the swiftest and largest land grabs in recent history, the documentary revealed that close to a third of the country has now been appropriated by foreign corporations.

Being home to the world’s third largest rainforest, obscure illegal logging operations have been operating in fife under the guise of policies like the Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) to deforest millions of hectares of forest land in the country.

On Our Land, also revealed how the current devastation land grab was occurring in the country with the de-facto approval of the PNG government, and its failure to act on the inquiry into the SABLs, which revealed shocking threads of corruption and mismanagement in recent land deals.

Policy Director at the Oakland Institute, Frederic Mousseau, and author of the report said that PNG was a surprise for them as they were accustomed to looking at large scale land grabs in Africa.

“After years of looking at large-scale acquisitions in Africa, we thought we had heard about almost every scenario of deception and collusion, but Papua New Guinea was an eye-opener,” he said.

“Despite the findings, the government has taken no action to reverse any of he 70 land deals and return land titles to citizens.”

According to the report- the government’s strategy of freeing up land for development has turned over 5.2 million hectares of customary land over to foreign interests for palm oil in addition to 8.5 million hectares for logging operations.

Serah Aupang from PANG pointed out that the lack of basic services in many areas of the country has been fulfilled by the ownership and access to the land and the forest by the people.

“Land for the people in the Pacific is much more than a commodity- it is a source of welfare, livelihood, identity, and a social safety net.”

“As we continue to struggle for essential services for the majority of the people, access to customary land fulfills our basic needs.”

“The complicity of the government of Papua New Guinea to allow this theft of land to continue is a gross injustice that demands immediate attention and correction,” she said.

The report, On Our Land, is available on OnOurLandFilm.com, or the PANG website for free download at, ww.pang.org.fj- with the screening of the documentary to be telecasted on Kundu 2 next week, with EMTV later on.