The Government of Japan has contributed to the Ramsar Convention to Organise an advisory mission to the Government of Papua New Guinea

2018/3/29
The Government of Japan has contributed approximately USD 30,000 to the Ramsar Convention to organize an advisory mission to the Government of Papua New Guinea to help promote sound environmental management in the oil and gas industries around Lake Kutubu, Southern Highlands Province a designated Ramsar Site. Despite the presence of oil and gas exploration activities in the upper watershed above Lake Kutubu, insufficient monitoring has been conducted to understand the potential impacts from those activities on the Site.
Against this backdrop, the mission will provide training to the Papua New Guinea government to build their capacity to better permit, manage, and monitor the operation of the oil and gas industries, so that possible future risks to the Site can be minimized.
Japan has been hosting the Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM) since 1997 to contribute to stability and prosperity of the region through increased cooperation in response to various challenges, such as environmental issues and climate change, which are facing Pacific island countries such as Papua New Guinea.  The eighth PALM meeting is scheduled on May 18-19, 2018 in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan.  The assistance this time is also part of our efforts in supporting Pacific island countries through the PALM process.