New Environment Guidelines to Protect PNG’s Blue Carbon Ecosystems

Participants at the EIA Guideline inception meeting

17 September 2025, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: – The Papua New Guinea Government is currently developing new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines to strengthen the protection and management of the country's blue carbon ecosystems, including mangroves and seagrasses.

An inception meeting was held on 29 August at the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) to discuss the structure and priorities of the new guidelines. These efforts are built upon the foundations laid by PNG’s first Blue Carbon Policy Roadmap.

The update comes in response to escalating threats such as coastal development, illegal backfilling, and environmental impacts from oil and gas operations, which are not adequately addressed under the current EIA framework.

Vagi Rei, CEPA’s Marine Ecosystems Manager, emphasized that the absence of tailored guidance has hindered enforcement—particularly for small-scale developers.

“These new guidelines will be a powerful tool for our officers on the ground,” Rei shared.

Steve Nicholls, CEPA Technical Advisor for oil and gas, stressed that mangrove clearance should be a last resort, highlighting that natural regeneration has proven ineffective. He recommended the use of alternative technologies, such as horizontal directional drilling, to avoid disturbing sensitive areas.

The emerging elements of Papua New Guinea’s draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines include the formal recognition of mangroves and seagrass under the Protected Areas Act 2024, and the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to assist CEPA officers in permitting, compliance, and enforcement.

Participants also propose policies to minimise development footprints, mandate the restoration of cleared areas, introduce compensation measures where environmental impacts are unavoidable, and establish long-term monitoring and reporting of blue carbon ecosystems.

PNG is home to the highest diversity of mangrove and seagrass species in the Pacific. These ecosystems are essential not only for local food security and coastal protection, but also for global climate mitigation, as they can absorb significantly more carbon than terrestrial forests.

The development of the updated EIA guidelines is being supported by the Management and Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems Project through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).