Having witnessed the damaging antics of carbon cowboys and, more recently, self-interested greenwashing industry in REDD+ forest projects in PNG, I was sceptical and intrigued about the notion of “high integrity” carbon. So, I went to the Solomon Islands to see what it looked like on the ground. This issue is one of the most … Continue reading
In late 2022 I did a couple of field trips in PNG exploring questions of climate change, climate justice & locally lead responses to changing conditions. As well as visiting coastal areas, where rising seas are the urgent issue, I went to the highlands where shifts in rainfall and conditions can wipe out crops and … Continue reading
Last month, a Queensland archeology professor and his three PNG colleagues, all women, were kidnapped from their field site in remote Western Province and held for ransom. PNG Prime Minister James Marape described the hostage-taking as unprecedented, a “random, opportunistic crime”, but there’s rather more to it. The backstory is interwoven with political, economic and … Continue reading
I returned to PNG in September – thanks to the Walkley Foundation/Sean Dorney Pacific Journalism Grant – to collect field reports and interviews for a forthcoming story for The Monthly on climate justice. But as always in PNG, I came across so many other urgent and important stories. This was one of them. I was … Continue reading
Inside Story has just published the essay I contributed to the recently published NewSouth book ‘Living with the Anthropocene: Love, Loss & Hope in the Face of Environmental Crisis’. The book is in the shops now, and it’s a really thoughtful, energising, informing collection including voices like Tony Birch, James Bradley, Sophie Cunningham, Delia Falconer, … Continue reading
This latest edition of Griffith Review is dedicated to nature writing, exploring a range of environments, investigating “how these places are changing and what they might become; what is flourishing and what is at risk”. It was a chance for me to reflect on the critical but complex business of conservation in PNG, visiting landscape, … Continue reading
My trip to PNG’s Managalas Plateau conservation area also yielded this radio documentary, produced in collaboration with ABC RN broadcaster extraordinaire Natasha Mitchell. While chasing the elusive and endangered Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly, we explore the hardships facing so many forest-dwelling communities in PNG. Link here. (Image: (COPYRIGHT MUSEUMS VICTORIA; PHOTOGRAPHER BEN HEALLEY) Continue reading
A decade ago, former Prime Minister John Howard announced a strategy to save the Murray-Darling Basin, ravaged by drought and overuse, “once and for all”. Now some states and communities say the pain of restoring the river is too great. Scientists are warning Howard’s vision of saving the river hangs in the balance. My story … Continue reading
NOW UNLOCKED! Vojtech Novotny is a Czech entomologist who first travelled to Papua New Guinea 20 years ago. He came for the insects. He stayed for the people. Having heard much about him over the years, it was a thrill to visit his laboratory and field sites in Madang. The profile I’ve written is published in … Continue reading
Sadly The Global Mail’s archive has been shut down, but visitors to this blog note that I have today restored links to all my blogged PNG/Global Mail stories. Note these snapshots are a bit clunky and some images have vanished so keep scrolling past the blanks or you may miss lots of text! TGM was … Continue reading
Notebook & Narrative by Jo Chandler 