Almost all economic sectors in PNG require land for development and in PNG land is the single most important commodity.

Customary Land

Customary land tenure recognises the traditional users and their personal and clan arrangements for land use; these vary considerably throughout the country and are largely undocumented. As a general rule, however, the systems of customary ownership give all members of a family or clan access to land. About 97% of the total land area remains in the hands of customary landowners.

Alienated Land

Alienated land is that which has been acquired from customary landowners by Government, either for its own use or private development requiring a mortgage or other forms of guarantees. The stock of alienated land is estimated at 600,000 hectares (about 3% of the total land area). Of this, only 30,000 hectares is freehold and 60,000 hectares for public purposes. About 200,000 hectares are leased to the private sector. Most alienated land is in urban areas or plantations.

Over the years there has been a slow growth in the pool of alienated land. Government has experienced difficulties in purchasing land from customary landowners, who are increasingly recognising that land is an important and valuable commodity. As a result, they are reluctant to allow removal of land from customary use and ownership without significant monetary compensation. In addition, poor administration of alienated land and excessive government intervention has affected the rate of development.

The present laws governing alienated land are complex and cumbersome. Legislation requires cumbersome administrative processes before land can be freed for development. The Government is aware that provisions should be made to simplify the process of land allocation and is enabling legislation to do so.
Registration of Land

In the absence of any provision for general registration of customary land, the Government introduced two legal mechanisms by which customary land could be mobilised for formal economic development. These are:

Land Tenure Conversion and

Lease-Lease Back.

In 1983, the Task Force on Customary Land Issues recommended a system of “sporadic” registration, and since then both National and Provincial Governments have taken steps to encourage this. The East Sepik Province has passed two Acts to facilitate voluntary registration and the participation of landowners in development of their land with outside investors. East New Britain has also initiated progress to mobilise customary land registration. Meanwhile, the National Government has prepared legislation to delineate provincial authority in the area and to give general policy direction. More information will be provided when possible.

The overall goal of Government’s reform initiatives in land and land tenure is to contribute to economic growth and employment creation through more productive use of land resources throughout the country, while promoting economic participation and social stability. The Government encourages land-users (clan groups, joint ventures, companies, individuals and Government agencies) to invest in appropriate land-based activities. At the same time, the Government recognises the non-economic values attached to land in Melanesian social systems; the economic exploitation of land must not be to the detriment of the positive features of traditional land systems.