Many parts of lowland PNG with a high rural population have few timber resources remaining, as these areas were the first to be commercially logged due to their accessibility. There is considerable interest among smallholders in these areas to establish a planted timber resource to meet their own needs, as well as providing an income through the sale of high-value forest products. While these farmers have a strong desire to pursue such opportunities, they are often constrained by the basic requirement of access to seed/seedlings and knowledge on appropriate production regimes.
This project is an important partnership between smallholder farmers and our research and development providers (see section below). Planting trees is the foundation for smallholders to re-establish once abundant commercial tree resources on customary land. In this project we focussed on helping smallholders establish new woodlots of two key commercial species teak (Tectona grandis) and sandalwood (Santalum macgregorii). Conceptually this is a simple process but there are social, knowledge, technical and economic factors that need to be addressed simultaneously. The foundation of our project is the relationships between the key stakeholders that helps us to understand the particular constraints that smallholders face when planting trees. Through these relationships and targeted research the project provides smallholder relevant interventions to help landowners with their tree planting aspirations.
This ACIAR Project FST-2014-069 "Improvement and management of teak and sandalwood in PNG and Australia" has depended on the contributions of many organisations and staff in PNG and Australia. It is with gratitude that I recognise the partner organisations that were involved in the project's development, conception, implementation and completion. The success of the project was the culmination of many staff members who were dedicated to implementing the project activities.
The project collaborated with the following implementing agencies:
I also recognise the contribution of many individuals who actively engaged with our project activities, including researchers, public administrators the many smallholder teak and sandalwood growers. I gratefully acknowledge the generous financial and administrative support of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
Dr. Tony Page, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia
The aim of the project was to advance the development of germplasm sources and smallholder-friendly silviculture systems for teak (PNG) and sandalwood (PNG and Australia). There were five objectives:
To advance the teak genetic improvement program in PNG.
To develop robust and smallholder appropriate silviculture.
To develop capacity for an ongoing genetic improvement program for sandalwood.
To advance the sandalwood genetic improvement program in Cape York Peninsula.
To communicate and disseminate research outputs to improve uptake and impact.
The project team worked directly with selected tree growers and nursery operators through participatory workshops, community meetings and on-the-job training sessions. Multi-media extension materials (e.g. technical notes, pamphlets and training videos) were also developed to faciltate wider post-project adoption of nursery production, tree planting and silviculture operations within PNG. The project outputs listed below are freely available for viewing and downloading.
The multi-media resources develped by the project are also freely available from the Tree Growers Tool Kit that is hosted on the Resources section of this website. Our resources and news are also available on the following communication platforms:
The project has also produced the following bi-annual communication reports:
The End of Project Review team - James Roshetko (left) and Michael Poesi (right) visiting project beneficiaries in Central Province (left) and East New Britain Province (right). They were accompanied by the ACIAR Forestry Program Manager - Dr. Nora Devoe (centre) - and provided constructive feedback for concluding the project.
The OISCA-PIP team assisiting Henry Wainak (with red cap) from Kuraip in East New Britain to promote the benefits of planting teak trees to his local community through the distribution of high quality teak stumps, together with technical information from the Tree Growers Tool Kit.
The OISCA team assisiting Henry Wainak and a local farmer to select, uproot, prepare and plant teak stumps at Kuraip in the Gazelle District of East New Britain Province.
The OISCA-PIP team promoting the new tree growers resource centre at Mission Base for the Toma Valley community in East New Britain Province. Over 50 people participated in the open-day activities.
Visiting the Sandalwood magregorii host trials in Central province.
Carrying out a low pruning exericise at the Forest Research Institute's 6-year old teak provenance trial in Madang province with help from the local women and children.
Exploring constraints and training needs for women to participate in small-scale forestry through group discussions and site visits at the Organisation for Industrial, Spiritual & Cultural Advancement's training centre In East New Britain province.
Project partners visiting the teak clonal stockplant garden (left) and clonal nursery (centre) at the University for Natural Resources & Environment, as well as the community teak woodlots (right) in East New Britain province.
Project partners having a lunch break during their visit to the University for Natural Resources & Environment's teak improvement operations in East New Britain province.
Setting-up the School Resource Pack at the project's target schools in East New Britain Province to promote the benefits of trees and forests to the next generation of landowners through the learning areas of science, culture and community.
Collecting baseline data from landowners in East New Britain Province who are interested to plant trees on their land (e.g. location, status, gender, trees planted, reasons for planting, extension services received, constraints encountered, and preferred extension methods).
Introducing the Tree Growers Tool Kit to the project's target communities in East New Britain Province
Establishing teak germplasm trials and seed orchards in East New Britain Province
Establishing satellite community nurseries in East New Britain Province
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Project focus area: Communication, learning and knowledge building (CLKB), Community driven development (CDD), Forests, climate change and REDD (FCCREDD)