Protecting Papua New Guinea’s exceptional biodiversity, with the world’s third largest rainforests, vast coral reefs, and the highest mangrove diversity in the world, is of extraordinary importance not just to Papua New Guineans but to the world’s ecosystems and yet they remain constantly under threat from illegal logging and deforestation, marine pollution and unsustainable extractive practices in both forests and oceans. Journalists in Papua New Guinea have an especially important role to play in shining a light on such behaviour.

Freedom of expression and the press are cherished human rights under Papua New Guinea’s Constitution, but we need to strengthen their protection through other rights, laws, and policies.

Let’s take the right of access to information, for example. That’s another fundamental constitutional right without which journalists and activists cannot do their work properly. However, when citizens recently demanded documentation about a deep seabed mining project in New Ireland province, the authorities refused for reasons of national security. This refusal was successfully appealed to the Supreme Court which ordered the Government to show how such secrecy can be justified in a democratic society and promised to subject such a claim to rigorous scrutiny. That’s an important victory for freedom of information and therefore for press freedom too but passing the long-awaited Law on Right of Access to Information – foreseen even in the Constitution itself – would still be much better. 

Whistleblower protection and protection of journalists’ sources are important, too. The evidence of environmental crimes often only comes to light when leaked from the inside. Still, whistle-blowers and journalists’ sources need to know that they will be safe from reprisal and, indeed, that journalists can protect their anonymity. Fortunately, Papua New Guinea’s law on the protection of whistleblowers and related policies have been gradually strengthened in recent years. UNDP, through the EU-funded PNG Anti-Corruption Project, organized the 4^th consultation on the Whistleblower Act 2020 this week and is working closely with the Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG) and other national partners on the much-needed amendments to the Whistleblower Act 2020 to expand its scope and enable the effective protection of citizens who decide to report corruption and other forms of misappropriation.

Institutions matter, too. The members of Papua New Guinea’s Media Council are unsung heroes who protect journalists from the pressure they face from many sides.   The Media Council plays a critical role in fighting recent government proposals to assume powers to investigate and sanction journalists for alleged ‘breaches of ethical standards’ under a new media policy, raising a clear danger of executive interference with press freedoms. 

UNDP understands the importance of a strong, independent, and competent media as a pillar upholding healthy democracy and a critical actor for protecting PNG’s natural resources. That’s why, with support from the European Union, we are not just supporting the government to strengthen whistleblower protection and access to information; we are also training a new generation of investigative journalists and working with them and the Media Council to protect their rights to speak out about threats to the environment wherever they occur. This year, on World Press Freedom Day, let’s all take a moment to remember how important it is to protect and nurture a free and fearless press if we want to save our planet.