Papua New Guinea
Key documents required for timber legality and trade of Papua New Guinea
The below listed key documents are based on the applicable legislation and are considered to play a key role in demonstrating legal origin. The full list of applicable legislation is accessible here (Source: PNG’s Timber Legality Standard (2013) Annex: Relevant laws, regulations and conventions). Note: The full list remains accurate. It has been removed from the latest version of the PNG Timber Legality Standard (2019). Annex 4 of the latter however provides ‘Specific Acts, Regulations and other documents defining timber legality in PNG’. This is a much shorter list, but it complements the previous list with legal texts enacted after the 2013 version of the Standard, and with the “Responsible agency” identified for each one, and also adding a few older references.
Harvesting
| Key document | Explanation | Legal authority | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-year Working Plan Approval | Demonstrates that the TP or FCA holder’s 5-year Working Plan was approved by the PNGFA for implementation. A copy of the template letter from the PNGFA Managing Director is provided. | PNGFA | |
| Annual Logging Plan Approval | Demonstrates that the TP, FCA or TA holder’s Annual Logging plan was approved by the PNGFA for implementation. A copy of the template letter from the PNGFA Managing Director is provided. | PNGFA | |
| Certificate of Incorporation | Proof of registration as a company under the Companies Act 1997. | Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) | |
| Certificate of Registration as a Forest Industry Participant (FIP) | Proof of registration as forest industry (including timber processing) participant under the Forestry Act 1991. | PNGFA | |
| Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Work (Set-up) | Every Set-up must be inspected and closed out by the PNGFA Forest Officer/ Inspector (Project supervisor). | PNGFA | |
| Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) | Describes the potential impacts of timber harvesting operations on the environment where annual production exceeds 70,000 m3. | CEPA | |
| Forest Clearing Authority (FCA) | Allows FCA holder to harvest more than 50 ha for land-use conversion with State Lease Title, or more than 12.5 km for road-line clearance. | PNGFA | |
| Forest Management Agreement (FMA) | Allows PNGFA to acquire timber rights from customary owners in return for specified benefits (monetary and other). The FMA is between the State and Landowners – not the Timber Permit Holder, who may not have a copy of it. | PNGFA | |
| Landowner Cultural Site Identification Form | Required for all Set-up Plan applications to a Timber Permit (TP), signed by the landowners. | ||
| Landowner Log Pond/Logging Base Camp Location Consent Form | Required for every Log Pond and Base Camp, signed by the landowners. | ||
| Log Scaling Sheet | Records log species, length, diameter and defects with reference to the log tag numbers which are attached at the set-up landing. | PNGFA | |
| Log tag | Official log tag attached to the logs from the log landing to its final destination, allowing to trace the log back to the corresponding block of harvest. | SGS | |
| Royalty Self-Assessment Sheet | Declaration of logs harvested and Royalty Self-Assessment submitted by the logging operator (FIP). | ||
| Set-up Plan Approval | Demonstrates that the TP or FCA holder’s Set-up Plan was approved by the PNGFA for implementation. A copy of the template letter from the PNGFA Project Supervisor is provided. | PNGFA | |
| Timber Authority (TA) | Allows TA holder to harvest up to 5,000 m3 of logs for 12 months (TA-01), less than 50 ha for land-use conversion (TA-02), less than 12.5 km for road-line clearance (TA-03), other forest products (TA-04), and plantation timber (TA-05). | PNGFA | |
| Timber Licence (L) | Allows TP or TA holder to conduct a forestry activity that is outside the scope of their harvest rights. | PNGFA | |
| Timber Permit (TP) | Allows TP holder to harvest logs for a set period for export and/or domestic processing. | PNGFA |
Trade & export
| Key document | Explanation | Legal authority | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export Licence | Allows export of a specific batch of logs logs and/or processed products, where the sales contract has been endorsed by the PNGFA. | Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry (DTCI) | |
| Export Permit | Allows export of a specific batch of logs logs and/or processed products under the TP, TA or FCA arrangements, prior to removal and transportation. | Ministry of Forests | |
| Log Inspection Report | Reports whether the ‘Log Export Permit’ matches the ‘Statement of Logs to be Exported’ with regards to log scaling and species identification. | SGS |