Wednesday 18 March 2026
Today, non-government organisations across two countries have called on PNG’s environmental authority, CEPA, to publish the Environmental Permits for the Frieda River project.
In December 2025, it was announced that PanAust has received 6 Environmental Permits from the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) for the Frieda River project.
“At the moment, we don’t know how long these permits go for, we don’t know anything,” said Emmanuel Peni.
“Despite our River being the one that stands to be damaged by this project, we haven’t been given the basic courtesy of being provided with the documents that begin to approve this project. That is unacceptable.”
“We are not collateral damage for this project, to be ignored and dismissed. We are the guardians of the River and we have a duty to protect it and to speak for it to all regulators in this country.”
In September last year, a representative of Project Sepik was selected from more than 20,000 applicants to speak at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, regarding the human rights and environmental concerns regarding the Frieda River project.
In that speech, Shayanne Waide said:
‘I stand with Sukundimi, the spirit of our River, carrying the voices of my ancestors, unborn children and more than 400,000 people of Sepik who depend on the River itself. The Sepik is not just water, it is our mother, our soul and our lifeline.
Yet the proposed Frieda River gold and copper mine threatens with plans to build one of the largest dams in the world in seismically active rainforest. A collapse would poison our water and destroy our food systems, erase our culture, our memory. This is not just an environmental trap is a human rights crisis.’
Today, Project Sepik and Jubilee Australia Research Centre are calling for the immediate publication of the Environmental Permits.
“CEPA, as an environmental authority created under legislation, has duties and responsibilities to the people of the nation,” said Emmanuel Peni, Director of Project Sepik.
“This includes being transparent about how it conducts its operations, and ensuring that all people affected by the projects that it approves are appropriately informed.”
“It is time for CEPA to publish the Environmental Permits, and also to publish a written copy of the reasons why these Environmental Permits were approved,” said Emily Mitchell, Director of Jubilee Australia’s Pacific Mining Program.
“These permits were announced in December, but to date, there has been no publication of them. The ongoing lack of transparency regarding this project is unacceptable, but especially for a potential project of this size and impact.”
Project Sepik and Jubilee Australia Research Centre formed a coalition in 2019, called the Save the Sepik campaign. It can be seen at www.savethesepik.org
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