Two of the foremost conservation and research organisations in the Pacific have gone into partnership in Madang in Papua New Guinea, to support the development of sustainable forest industries.
Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - CSIRO - and the World Wide Fund for Nature - WWF - will combine research and resources to promote forest sustainability, and conservation of endangered animals and plants.
The WWF forests conservation manager says the agreement is important, not just for the economy of the local community, but also for the whole world.
"this is one of the world hotspots for biodiversity, you've got more than 25 thousand plant species, it's on par with the Amazon and the Congo Basin in terms of importance of world biodiversity. It has extraordinary species such as the bird of paradise, it's got more orchid species than any other place on the planet, there's a whole range of things that are important for the planet to protect."
The WWF conservation manager for forests, Paul Chatterton.