Papua New Guinea's forest ecosystems range from mangroves to montane forests, covering 63% of the island's land area. Forests not only play a vital role in the conservation of biodiversity and storage of carbon but also the production of timber, one of Papua New Guinea's major exports. However, large-scale deforestation for logging and the expansion of agricultural areas are impacting the sustainability of the resource and its ability to support livelihoods through ecosystem services and forestry products.  

PROGREEN is supporting Papua New Guinea to identify priorities and opportunities to improve sustainable forest management and capture revenues from the forestry sector. The knowledge program will cover an in-depth institutional, policy, and regulatory assessment of the country's forest sector to recommend policy and financial interventions.  

 
While the project is in its early stages, PROGREEN has supported a Forest Sector Engagement Note to inform country engagement and dialogue. Two additional reports on forest management concessions and building a Carbon Finance Roadmap are underway. As part of the initial country engagement, a multi-stakeholder event attended by over 50 participants from government, civil society, academia, and the private sector was held on "The Fundamentals of Carbon Finance," providing an overview of the World Bank's global engagement and work on high integrity carbon markets.