[3] The possibility of major landsides in this area has increased as a result of human modification to the natural vegetation cover through clearing and gardening.

[6] On 10 September the 25th Australian Infantry Brigade moved East from Nadzab towards Lae along the Atzera foothills often with fierce battles through these plantations.

The battle at Heaths plantation resulted in Richard Kelliher being awarded the Victoria Cross for charging at a Japanese machine gun.

[8] In 1978 the Human Ecology Programme of the Department of Minerals and Energy, assisted by the UNEP and UNESCO (Man and the Biosphere MAB Project 11) and in co-operation with the Lae City Council, instigated the Atzera Hills Project, described as an ecologically sound management system to arrest the rapid deterioration and loss of productive capacity of 600 ha of Atzera Hills.

[9] The Atzera project folded after only three years despite efforts to train and raise awareness on the benefits of charcoal, the uptake in PNG households was minimal.