Sharing governance in PNG’s protected areas: A guide to the governance arrangements in the PNG Protected Areas Bill PNG Protected Area Management Guideline No.IG2 version 1 November 2019

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Assessment of management effectiveness for PNG's protected areas 2017

The Protected Areas Bill (PA Bill) is a proposed piece of legislation that will guide the establishment and management of protected areas in Papua New Guinea. It will be administered by the PNG Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA). Amongst other things, the PA Bill sets out various governance arrangements that need to be established by CEPA. To implement the legislation effectively, CEPA needs to be well prepared for these arrangements and have relevant administrative structures in place prior to the PA Bill being approved.

The problem is that the proposed governance arrangements are scattered throughout the PA Bill, with little guidance as to how they might be established and managed. This has resulted in uncertainty and various interpretations of how the governance arrangements should operate, making it difficult for CEPA to respond.