Industrialisation and alienation of land

 

In Papua New Guinea, 97% of the land is owned by customary landowners. It means that tribes and clans own the land rather than the state.

 

Up to 85% of people rely on subsistence agriculture and fishing. 

 

• In recent years more than 5 million hectares of customary land has been alienated by foreign companies (mainly Australian and Malaysian interests) through a highly controversial scheme called "Special agricultural and business leases". They acquired the land for up to 99 years and the "informed consent" of many landowners has been questioned. The government has launched a full inquiry which has yet to be made public. Learn More and Take Action. Read how the scheme has been used to log illegally. 

 

• The PNG Government Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030 highlighted the push by the government to convert up to 20% of PNG's customary land into formal titles available for development projects by 2030 (p43). Read the full report. Read from the Oxford Business Group.