Forest Minister Tim Neville of PNG Pushes Logging Reforms; Basel Convention Bans Toxic Waste Exports

Abstract

PNG Logging Reforms: At the Australian Forest and Timber Conference in Sydney, Papua New Guinea’s Forest Minister, Tim Neville, outlined a plan to phase out raw log exports by the year 2000 and shift toward domestic timber processing. He warned that current harvest levels exceeded the forests' regeneration capacity, fueling illegal practices and unsustainable growth. Basel Convention Outcome: During its latest meeting in Basel, the international Basel Convention issued a landmark ban on hazardous and toxic waste shipments from developed to developing nations—a victory lauded by Greenpeace as a major step for environmental justice. Context & Implications: Neville emphasized that unchecked logging had reached scam-like proportions, and stressed forests’ vital importance to PNG communities . Separately, the Basel decision clamps down on the transfer of environmentally harmful waste—a policy shift that supports cleaner waste management in countries like PNG.