Taking On the Logging Pirates: Land Defenders in Papua New Guinea Speak Out!

A landmark report from the Oakland Institute, Taking On the Logging Pirates: Land Defenders in Papua New Guinea Speak Out! elevates the voices of communities across the country who are opposing the theft of their land, made possible by the corrupt practices of local officials and foreign companies.

In recent years, Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs) — a government scheme — has been instrumental in fueling land grabs all over the country, with over 5.5 million hectares given away to foreign companies. Considering the pre-existing logging concessions, now over 15 million hectares — more than one third of the country — are in the hands of foreign firms

Taking On the Logging Pirates follows two previous reports and a film by the Oakland Institute, that have documented land grabbing and widespread tax evasion by a handful of Malaysian firms, including the multi-industry conglomerate Rimbunan Hijau.