Sustainability of wood-use in remote forest-dependent communities of Papua New Guinea

•Fuelwood use was high when compared with rural tropical communities in other countries.•Fuelwood was collected from around the village, in human influenced landscapes.•Construction wood was sourced from secondary and primary natural forests.•Current wood use practices are sustainable and expected to remain so for at least 55 years.•Smallholders had a strong interest in planting trees primarily for housing timber.