Protected Areas Act (No. 9 of 2024).

This Act lays down provisions on the special circumstances for the development in protected areas; approval for any development (logging and carbon trade) in a forested area of a Protected Area; property rights under customary law or national legislation; free prior informed consent of the owner to surrender any property rights over a Protected Area; declaration of the traditional sacred site as a Protected Area by the local-level government; establishment of protected area on private and public land; cooperation and dispute resolution; the governance and management of protected areas; environment and timber permits; land conversion for agriculture using a high conservation value assessment; land conversion for forest clearance; categories of protected areas; sustainable livelihoods for communities; management plans for all protected areas and the establishment of a Protected Area Management Committee to oversee and monitor these plans; system of permanent or temporary management zones; protection of biodiversity, cultural heritage, equipment and infrastructure; existing and new protected areas; registration and deregistration the Protected Area; funds, goods and services for the Protected Area Network; conservation benefit sharing agreement for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits while using resources; application of precautionary principles when a Protected Area is affected; offences, such as environmental damage, marine pollution or destruction of an area of land, nature or species in a Protected Area; and penalties for the violation of the provisions of this Act.
This Act establishes the National Conservation Council to exercise its powers and perform its functions under this Act to achieve the following objectives: (i) to manage, develop and protect the Protected Area; and (ii) to conserve, restore and enhance the environment; and (iii) to increase Papua New Guinea’s participation in the wise use and development of the environment for present and future generations. The Managing Director of the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority is responsible for the Protected Area Network. The Authority shall keep a Register of all declared Protected Areas. The Authority shall, in consultation with the Council, establish annual targets in compliance with the Convention on Biological Diversity for development plans within a Protected Area.
The types of Protected Areas are as follows: (a) National Protected Areas: national parks; national heritage sites; special management areas; national maritime sanctuaries; (b) Regional Protected Areas: community conservation area; locally managed marine area; locally managed conservation areas; private terrestrial and marine protected areas; (c) Protected Areas with sustainable forest management; and (d) Special Management Areas specified by the Managing Director to protect specific species, endangered species, ecosystems, terrestrial and marine landscapes, temporary protected area, or an area protected as a biodiversity offset.
The Authority and all contractual parties to a Protected Area shall have a shared responsibility to facilitate capacity-building training and infrastructure developments for the sustainable livelihood of communities in the Protected Area. A Protected Areas Livelihoods Committee shall be established to assist the Authority to facilitate funding and human resources. The funds of the Committee shall be held in the Biodiversity and Climate Fund for its intended use in accordance with this Act. A public review of all Protected Areas shall be conducted every five years to assess the progress and social well-being of communities within the Protected Areas.