Our Forest, Our Future

Deep in Papua New Guinea's Western Province, the Yamolo and Samaki peoples are the natural guardians of one of Earth’s last intact tropical forest landscapes. Here, 60 traditional clans hunt, fish and harvest sago palm (the caloric foundation of their diet) as they have for centuries. These same forests shelter species found almost nowhere else, like the critically endangered largetooth sawfish and one of the world's last truly healthy populations of southern cassowaries.

This place is extraordinary. And it is under immediate threat.

Yamolo-Samaki's forests are rich in high-value timber, making them a growing target for foreign logging companies. Some arrive with agreements that communities didn't fully understand or consent to. Others simply encroach, exploiting the remoteness and absence of enforcement. Either way, the result is the same—logging roads forged, forests cleared, livelihoods eroded.

Working to help create a sustainable model for conservation in Papua New Guinea

TNC has decades of experience working with tribal communities across Papua New Guinea to preserve this nation’s outstanding biodiversity. Now, we’ve launched a new initiative in Yamolo-Samaki to designate a sustainably financed, community-managed protected area covering an enormous expanse of tropical forest.

The Yamolo-Samaki Protected Area (YSPA) is a truly time-sensitive opportunity. Papua New Guinea's landmark 2024 Protected Areas Act has created, for the first time, a clear legal pathway to formally protect ecosystems at a national scale. If successful, the YSPA will conserve more than 460,000 hectares of intact lowland forest, wetlands and rivers—an area six times the size of Singapore, or roughly the size of Rhode Island—with potential to expand significantly to adjacent lands in future.

In parallel, TNC is working with communities to develop sustainable financing mechanisms, including carbon trading, that can generate long-term income from conservation—empowering them to reject logging. In an area where the average life expectancy is under 50, this project could prove transformational to the well-being of thousands of people.

Building support for Yamolo-Samaki Protected Area 

Securing Protection

TNC is working with relevant government departments under the Protected Areas Act to build support for the YSPA's formal designation as a national protected area. Through this, our goal is to establish permanent legal conservation for one of the world’s most biodiverse lowland forest landscapes by 2028.

Strengthening Community Engagement

With the free, prior and informed consent of all 60 clans already secured through village visits and awareness activities, TNC and the Yamolo and Samaki peoples are

now working together on the practical steps required to achieve formal designation. This includes:

• Co-developing a Community-Based Natural Resources Management plan to ensure sustainable resource use within the YSPA and design a comprehensive monitoring framework;
• Providing training and employment for local people to conduct biodiversity and hunting surveys, which will directly inform wildlife management and harvesting plans;
• Establishing a formal ranger program employing up to 24 men and women; and
• Building financial capacity for women, youth and community groups to establish small sustainable business enterprises—creating alternative livelihoods that reduce dependence on logging.

Building a Foundation for Future Carbon Trading

Carbon trading offers a potentially significant sustainable finance stream for the YSPA, driving unprecedented economic benefits for communities and conservation. In 2024, TNC completed a pre-feasibility carbon study that suggested conserving forests in Yamolo-Samaki over 40 years could prevent millions of tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted. With the support of customary landowners and government stakeholders, we are now conducting an 18-month feasibility study to fully quantify the benefits and viability of a carbon project here.