NEW YORK, 30 SEPTEMBER 2024 (THE NATIONAL) —Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has requested the support of the United Nations to preserve Papua New Guinea’s natural forests.
Marape brought up the matter of Papua New Guinea’s forest during a bilateral meeting with UN secretary general Antoinio Guterres after presenting the country’s statement to the 79th United Nations General Assembly on Friday in New York.
The emphasis being on PNG’s forests covering part of the island of New Guinea and being the third largest in the world after Amazon and Congo.
Marape described these forests as “lungs of the earth”, which needs preservation and called for collective action in this area.
“PNG is the most culturally and linguistically diverse nation, with a myriad of sub-ethnicities and sub-cultures,” he said.
“In terms of environment, my country hosts up to seven per cent of the world’s biodiversity most housed in a tropical rainforest that is the third largest in the world, including a vast marine eco-system.
“We sustainably manage our land, forest and sea because our livelihood depends on them.”
Marape highlighted the importance of environment conservation in light of climate change….PACNEWS