13 Apr 2006

Greenpeace says new maps show PNG's forests under logging threat

7:56 pm on 13 April 2006

The Environmental group Greenpeace says one of the world's most amazing places is under threat by rampant logging.

This week Greenpeace and Forestwatch Indonesia released new maps of the forests of Papua New Guinea and Papua.

Greenpeace says the map shows 57 percent of PNG's remaining intact forests have been allocated logging concessions and are slated for destruction.

They also show that 46 percent of the total land mass of PNG is under concession and only 3-POINT-6 percent of intact forests are protected.

Forest Campaigner, Grant Rosoman, says it would be a pity to lose more of the untouched areas in the region.

"It's the third largest tropical forest in there. We call it the Paradise Forests and it's more recently been called the Garden of Eden because of the new species that have been found there that have not been known before and the potential to find more is huge."