INSTITUTIONAL OBSTACLES TO CONSERVATION - FERGUSSON ISLAND, PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA

Even with increasing interest in rainforest conservation around the Pacific, it is highly unlikely that deforestation trends will be reversed without deep, structural changes in land management institutions. Fergusson Island, Papua New Guinea, is one of the most pristine islands on earth with primary rainforest and coral reefs. A number of institutional legacies have impeded conservation efforts and allowed for the expansion of poorly planned logging and mining extractive operations. The discussion ends at 1989 though problems from logging in Papua New Guinea have spawned numerous controversies and inquiries in subsequent years. A methodical framework for identification of obstacles derived from these legacies called conservation institution capability analysis, cica, is employed. The discussion ends with a rhetorical question of whether any amount of financial and administrative support can improve conservation effectiveness until basic institutional obstacles are removed through fundamental political change and improvements in living standards.