ABSTRACT
Papua New Guinea (PNG), a developing country in the South Pacific region, has a tropical climate with high levels of season rainfall that supports a range of rainforest ecosystems between the coast and mountainous highlands. About 85 per cent of the population of PNG live in rural villages in or around the forest and depend on it for their livelihood, including farming, hunting and gathering, fishing and building materials. Consequently, forests in PNG serve as sources of biodiversity and livelihood for many people in rural areas.
