Acting Prime Minister and Lands Minister John Rosso has called for a balanced approach to land reform that protects customary landowners while providing certainty for investors, as the country is breaking barriers to make customary land bankable.
Opening the Customary Land Rights and Reform Summit at APEC Haus yesterday (Thursday), Mr. Rosso said land is central to the identity, culture and human rights of all Papua New Guineans.
He, however, warned that unresolved land issues remain one of the biggest barriers to development.
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“We must find a middle ground that protects the rights of customary landowners, while also protecting investors and enabling development for our people and our children,” Minister Rosso told the summit.
He said customary land must not be taken or abused, but should be properly identified, registered and managed so it can be used productively.
According to Rosso, making land bankable through secure and transparent systems would allow landowners to access finance, create jobs and build intergenerational wealth.
“No investor will risk their money without security of tenure,” he said. “Government’s role is to facilitate a system where landowners, investors and the state all benefit.”
Mr. Rosso highlighted a concern over large agricultural leases across the country that are sitting idle due to unresolved land disputes.
He said many former plantations and agricultural projects, once productive and employing thousands of people, have collapsed because of contested ownership, weak tenure arrangements and disputes stemming from past leasing systems.
“Across the country you will see huge tracts of land that should be producing coffee, oil palm, copra and other crops, but they are lying in ruins because of land disputes,” Mr. Rosso said.
“These disputes deny landowners income, deny people jobs, and deny the country much-needed export earnings and taxes.”
He said finding a middle ground on land reform is critical to unlocking these idle agricultural lands, allowing genuine landowners to partner with responsible investors under secure and transparent arrangements that protect rights while restoring productivity and economic growth.