Papua LNG aims to minimize environmental impacts by carrying appropriate monitoring and assessments before any construction works and taking concrete actions to pave the way towards a Biodiversity Net Gain.
Afforestation/Reforestation – The Kuriva project
Papua LNG project is putting biodiversity and Afforestation/Reforestation at the top of its list of priorities, by optimizing the footprint of the Project first and ensuring that the surface of forest replanted largely exceeds the footprint impact of the Papua LNG project.
Papua LNG signed in February 2022, an agreement with the Forest Authority of PNG (PNGFA) to plant more than 1,000 hectars (ha) of trees, and to restore the degraded areas in Kuriva. Papua LNG is working hand in hand with PNGFA to ensure that this program is successful and to provide the necessary support in safety culture and local benefits for the communities.
The first part of the program, tree plantation works is being carried out by a labor force recruited from the neighboring communities. 125 ha have already been replanted, adding over 60 new jobs in 2022 which will reach 100 by 2023. This serves not only the environment of Papua New Guinea but also the local communities.
Secondly, a modern containerized forest nursery with a capacity to produce half a million forest seedlings per annum for planting will be built. The plantation and nursery activities will provide employment and training opportunities to the local communities in the sustainable forestry sector.
Memorandum Of Understanding Signed With Nature Park
Through Baseline Studies and Pre-clearance Surveys (PCS), Papua LNG experts have recorded 20 frog species that are New to Science and 14 frogs that are Endemic, Restricted Range, Endangered and Critically Endangered in the Project area in the Gulf Province.
Papua LNG has partnered with the Nature Park through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in June 2022, to develop scientific research and related programs such as frog husbandry and frog genome collection. The frog species from PRL 15 will be candidates for this work.
PNG has 6% of the world’s known species of amphibians and so this program will also be able to help protect them from various pathogens.
