It’s the foresters who conduct the boundary marking and the forest inventory, and help landowners set up for milling eco-timber. They bring their forestry knowledge with them, and happily share it with each Lake Murray tribe.

Opportunities to work on sustainable projects like this are hard to come by in Papua New Guinea.

Brian was unemployed for four years after completing his forestry training. During that time, he returned to his village near Goroka in the Highlands, and survived off the land. Finally, he landed a job with FPCD, and has now been with the organization for two years. “I’ve wanted to do this work [eco-forestry] since my school days,” he says.

While Brian’s forest in the Highlands has not suffered from large scale logging, he’s witnessed his fair share of it around the country. “I’ve seen the destruction of resources, and people being deprived of their rights to their resources by the logging companies,” he says. “I’m a village man too. I wouldn’t let them treat me like that. That’s the feeling that drives my work.”

Samuel echoes his concerns. His home in West Sepik has felt the impact of a big Malaysian owned logging company, Vanimo Forest Products.
“I wanted eco-forestry to come to my place,” he explains. “Over time, people haven’t benefited in any way socially or economically from the logging. This is the reason I’m with this organisation, so that I can begin to work with my area.”

Peter seems shyer, quieter than the others. He and Samuel spend a lot of time together – sitting by the creek after a day in the forest, sometimes they hold hands in the way that men do here, or whittle at branches or sticks.

Before completing his studies in 2003, he worked part-time during his vacations with FPCD.

“I was really keen to work with them,” Peter says. “I saw the resources being depleted, and I believe that working with an NGO would help address this issue. It’s about protecting the forest and all of the resources.”

Since finishing his studies in 2004, Peter has worked for FPCD in Medang and on another eco-forestry project at Turubu in East Sepik.

At the GFRS, the three foresters were helpful and patient. They began labeling and documenting trees around the camp, so that our volunteers could start to recognize and name them before heading into the bush camps.

Later, three more FPCD foresters arrived enabling three boundary marking and inventory teams to be working at any one time.

FPCD also provides the forest management and sawmill training for the communities.

- Karen