NIHT Topaiyo REDD+ Project - Papua New Guinea

Overview

The NIHT Topaiyo REDD+ Project stands as a critical intervention in the escalating crisis of deforestation in Papua New Guinea, a nation that, as of 2014, became the largest exporter of tropical timber wood. In the face of losing 1.4% of forested land annually—a loss that not only impacts 5% of the world's biodiversity but also a vast carbon sink—the project emerges as an urgent and necessary response. This initiative, in collaboration with the traditional landowners of New Ireland and East New Britain, pivots away from the historical trend of industrial timber expansion by preserving the region’s rainforests. With an ambitious goal, NIHT Topaiyo REDD+ is projected to cut nearly 60 million tons of CO2 emissions over its 30-year lifespan, leveraging conservation and sustainable management to foster ecological and community resilience.

The project's strategy includes forest patrols, inventories, and sustainable management to maintain forest integrity. It upholds a unique position to halt unsustainable timber harvesting and become a conservation leader in Papua New Guinea, where commercial logging and subsequent forest loss have contributed significantly to global GHG emissions. By providing an alternative livelihood through carbon finance, the project aligns itself with the aspirations of the local communities, striving to elevate social and economic conditions in some of the most remote and impoverished regions of the country.

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