Terrain:
mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m
Natural resources: gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries
Land use: arable land: 0.13% permanent crops: 1.35% other: 98.52% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Natural hazards:
active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the
country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud
slides; tsunamis
Environment - current issues:
rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing
commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining
projects; severe drought
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:
shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest
swamps along southwest coast
People Papua New Guinea