Biodiversity protection efforts in Papua New Guinea
Encyclopedia
Papua New Guinea
together with the West Papua region of Indonesia (New Guinea
) make up a major tropical wilderness area that still contains 5% of the original and untouched tropical high-biodiversity terrestrial ecosystems. PNG in itself contains over 5% of the world's biodiversity in less than 1% of the world's total land area. The flora of New Guinea is unique because it has two sources of origin" The Gondwana flora from the south and flora with Asian origin from the west, as a result New Guinea shares major family and genera with Australia and the East Asia, but is rich in local endemic species. The endemicity is a result of mountainous isolation, topographic and soil habitat heterogeneity, high forest disturbance rates and abundant aseasonal rainfall year-round. PNG boasts some 15-21,000 higher plants, 3,000 species of orchids, 800 species of coral, 600 species of fish
, 250 species of mammals
and 760 species of birds
and 8 species of tree-kangaroo
s out of which 84 genera of animals are endemic. Ecosystems range from lowland forests to montane forests, alpine flora
down to coastal areas which contains some of the most extensive pristine mangrove areas in the world. Much of this biodiversity has remained intact for thousands of years because the ruggedness of the terrain made the interior lands inaccessible; furthermore low population density and restrictions on the effectiveness of traditional tools, ensured that these biodiversity was never overexploited.
to sustain their physical, spiritual and social livelihoods. The biological resources are a source of food, building material, medicine for minor ailments, logs for canoes. The traditional society revered, and respected nature because it was considered a gift from some ancestor". Currently, the harvesting of natural resource for export is a source of income that sustains the modern PNG economy.
recognized the relationship between the people and nature and at independence, provision was made in the constitution for “…all necessary steps to be taken to give adequate protection to all our valued birds, animals, fish, insects, plants and trees”". Currently, biodiversity is explicitly protected by the following legislation: Fauna Act/1982, Conservation areas Act/1980, 1992, the Crocodile Trade Act/1982 and the International Trade Act/1982. The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) is the government agency responsible for biodiversity conservation.
The PNG government’s effort to conserve biodiversity is supported by international environment conservation Non-governmental organization
s (NGOs). The major government research organizations include the Forestry Research Institute (FRI), and the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI). The government owned universities: the University of Papua New Guinea
(UPNG) and the University of Technology
(UNITECH) also contribute to novel researches into the PNG biodiversity. The government research organizations tend to place emphasis on species with economical value to PNG. The NGOs, on the other hand are the driving force for biodiversity conservation for the sake of conservation. The major international NGO's assistng in biodiversity conservation include: Conservation International
(CI), The Binatang Research Centre (BRC), Wildlife Conservation Society
(WCS), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Nature Conservancy
(TNC). Indigenous PNG NGO's which had active conservation programmes (Conservation Melanesia, Melanesian Environment Foundation, PNG Research & Conservation Foundation, Village Development Trust, Pacific Heritage Foundation, Partners with Melanesia) have largely faded from the scene, leaving conservation today mostly to the PNG offices of the large international conservation organisations; blame for the demise of the homegrown organisations has, in at least one instance, been placed on the afore-mentioned international conservation organisations.
Included in the PNG protected area list, but not formally recognized by IUCN is the terrestrial Wildlife Management Area (WMA). WMA is an Integrated Conservation and Development Project (ICAD), which seeks to conserve biological diversity by involving landowners. The idea behind the project is that income generating activities, from the biological diversity would encourage people living in these areas to conserve, because such projects would link the value of these resources to living standard and also access to markets. The progress of WMA’s is yet to be evaluated.
Papua New Guinea's first conservation area, the YUS Conservation Area
, was established in 2009 on the Huon Peninsula
, Morobe Province
.
Apart from local conservation efforts, PNG is also a signatory to international conventions and treaties. These international treaties include ". The International Plant protection
Convention (1951),The Convention on the prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other matter (1972); The convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
; The RAMSAR
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (1992); Convention on Biological Diversity
(1992) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. PNG is also in partnership with other nations in the Oceania region and is a signatory to the regional convention, The Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific (APIA Convention).
PNG has two listed RAMSAR
sites: Lake Kutubu
and Tonda Wildlife Management Area
.
The land tenure, wherein the communities own 97% of the land makes it difficult for the government or any conservation organisation to procure land for conservation. The land is believed to be an inheritance from some mystical ancestor and therefore, cannot be sold. Therefore, involving communities in WMA was identified as being compatible with the PNG land tenure system. The PNG constitution recognised this and empowered the landowners to be involved with conservation on their own land. However, the progress of WMA’s is yet to be evaluated.
PNG raises most of its revenue from the extraction of natural resources
; as such environmental destructive developmental projects have always taken precedence over environmental protection. For instance, the logging industry in PNG has been identified as the main source of widespread overexploitation
of forest as well as species dependent on the forests. About 23% of the 50,000-60,000 ha cleared permanently is done by industrial logging. The forest that took millions of years to grow is deforested at an average rate of 1% per year. The reluctance of government support for conservation can be seen in government documents containing recommendations which are very general with no defined goal for the future of conservation.
The increase in human population (3.2 % children per child bearing female) has increased the per capita consumption of the biological resources. For instance, the pressure to hunt
big game for food has increased with the growth of population, this situation is exacerbated by the fact that when these animals become rarer, their value will resulting in added pressure to acquire them. The rate and efficiency of harvesting has also increased, aided by modern and efficient harvesting implements.
Furthermore is the misconception by the populace that natural resource is infinite. For instance, some coastal communities practice “dynamite fishing
”, without knowing that this practice not only kills fish and other marine organisms indiscriminately, it also destroys the coral reefs. Most coastal communities have little understanding how fish stocks are recruited and maintained in the oceans.
There has been strong debate about whether conservation driven by international NGOs is truly sustainable in PNG; certain large integrated conservation-development projects operated by the local offices of these international NGOs has come under fire, and broader complaints have surfaced. The criticism is that international conservation NGOs have become corporate entities in a way that no longer mirrors the way indigenous conservation initiative has naturally evolved in countries prior to their existence.
The effects of climate change
and the introduction of exotic species add another dimension on to the challenge of conservation. The potential impacts from climate change (changes in geographical range, morphology, physiology and phenology) on terrestrial species are shown to be happening elsewhere; however no formal studies have been conducted on PNG terrestrial species as yet. However, the effects of climate change are definitely showing on the coastlines. Rise in sea level is starting to displace people in low lying islands. Furthermore, coral bleaching
, an effect of high temperatures and increased carbon dioxide in oceans was observed from the PNG waters in 1996.
In the case of the introduced species, since the 1950s, 26 species of fresh water fish were introduced into PNG, out of which 11 species are now established in the fresh water systems and competes for resources with the 214 native fresh water species. The Mozambique tilapia
(Oreochromomis mossambica) was introduced in 1954, as a protein supplement. Currently, the tilapia is very widespread and important as food for some communities. However, it has a negative effect on indigenous fauna in lakes and rivers because of its prolific breeding and bottom feeding habit. Furthermore, studies have shown that the over the years the there has been a decrease in the native fish catch and an increase in the introduced tilapia.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
together with the West Papua region of Indonesia (New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
) make up a major tropical wilderness area that still contains 5% of the original and untouched tropical high-biodiversity terrestrial ecosystems. PNG in itself contains over 5% of the world's biodiversity in less than 1% of the world's total land area. The flora of New Guinea is unique because it has two sources of origin" The Gondwana flora from the south and flora with Asian origin from the west, as a result New Guinea shares major family and genera with Australia and the East Asia, but is rich in local endemic species. The endemicity is a result of mountainous isolation, topographic and soil habitat heterogeneity, high forest disturbance rates and abundant aseasonal rainfall year-round. PNG boasts some 15-21,000 higher plants, 3,000 species of orchids, 800 species of coral, 600 species of fish
Fauna of New Guinea
The fauna of New Guinea comprises a large number of species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and amphibians.As the world’s largest and highest tropical island, New Guinea occupies less than 0.5% of world's land surface, yet supports a high percentage of global biodiversity...
, 250 species of mammals
Fauna of New Guinea
The fauna of New Guinea comprises a large number of species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and amphibians.As the world’s largest and highest tropical island, New Guinea occupies less than 0.5% of world's land surface, yet supports a high percentage of global biodiversity...
and 760 species of birds
Fauna of New Guinea
The fauna of New Guinea comprises a large number of species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and amphibians.As the world’s largest and highest tropical island, New Guinea occupies less than 0.5% of world's land surface, yet supports a high percentage of global biodiversity...
and 8 species of tree-kangaroo
Tree-kangaroo
Tree-kangaroos are macropods adapted for life in trees. They are found in the rainforests of New Guinea, far northeastern Queensland, and nearby islands. Although most are found in mountainous areas, several species also occur in lowlands, such as the aptly named Lowlands Tree-kangaroo...
s out of which 84 genera of animals are endemic. Ecosystems range from lowland forests to montane forests, alpine flora
Alpine tundra
Alpine tundra is a natural region that does not contain trees because it is at high altitude. Alpine tundra is distinguished from arctic tundra, because alpine soils are generally better drained than arctic soils...
down to coastal areas which contains some of the most extensive pristine mangrove areas in the world. Much of this biodiversity has remained intact for thousands of years because the ruggedness of the terrain made the interior lands inaccessible; furthermore low population density and restrictions on the effectiveness of traditional tools, ensured that these biodiversity was never overexploited.
Biodiversity value
Even though this biodiversity is on just 1% of the world land mass, it has both global and local value. Most of the ecosystem service provided by the forests and oceans (e.g. water cycling, carbon cycling) is impartial to political boundaries. Within the country, about 79% of the PNG population depend on the biological resourceCulture of Papua New Guinea
The culture of Papua New Guinea is many-sided and complex. It is estimated that more than 1000 different cultural groups exist in Papua New Guinea, and most groups have their own language...
to sustain their physical, spiritual and social livelihoods. The biological resources are a source of food, building material, medicine for minor ailments, logs for canoes. The traditional society revered, and respected nature because it was considered a gift from some ancestor". Currently, the harvesting of natural resource for export is a source of income that sustains the modern PNG economy.
Legal framework
The PNG governmentPolitics of Papua New Guinea
The politics of Papua New Guinea takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government and of a multi-party system. Papua New Guinea is an independent country and Commonwealth Realm....
recognized the relationship between the people and nature and at independence, provision was made in the constitution for “…all necessary steps to be taken to give adequate protection to all our valued birds, animals, fish, insects, plants and trees”". Currently, biodiversity is explicitly protected by the following legislation: Fauna Act/1982, Conservation areas Act/1980, 1992, the Crocodile Trade Act/1982 and the International Trade Act/1982. The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) is the government agency responsible for biodiversity conservation.
The PNG government’s effort to conserve biodiversity is supported by international environment conservation Non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s (NGOs). The major government research organizations include the Forestry Research Institute (FRI), and the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI). The government owned universities: the University of Papua New Guinea
University of Papua New Guinea
The University of Papua New Guinea was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired into higher education in Papua New Guinea...
(UPNG) and the University of Technology
Papua New Guinea University of Technology
The Papua New Guinea University of Technology or Unitech is based 8 km outside of Lae, in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. It has 13 teaching departments and 3 affiliated colleges....
(UNITECH) also contribute to novel researches into the PNG biodiversity. The government research organizations tend to place emphasis on species with economical value to PNG. The NGOs, on the other hand are the driving force for biodiversity conservation for the sake of conservation. The major international NGO's assistng in biodiversity conservation include: Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
(CI), The Binatang Research Centre (BRC), Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
(WCS), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
(TNC). Indigenous PNG NGO's which had active conservation programmes (Conservation Melanesia, Melanesian Environment Foundation, PNG Research & Conservation Foundation, Village Development Trust, Pacific Heritage Foundation, Partners with Melanesia) have largely faded from the scene, leaving conservation today mostly to the PNG offices of the large international conservation organisations; blame for the demise of the homegrown organisations has, in at least one instance, been placed on the afore-mentioned international conservation organisations.
Status of biodiversity protection
The effort by the PNG government to protect biodiversity has resulted in 44 existing terrestrial protected areas using the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) categories. These protected areas account for 1.6% of the total land area. A study of biodiversity identified a further 398 areas as candidates for conservation. This would increase the total protected areas to 16.8% of the total country area.Included in the PNG protected area list, but not formally recognized by IUCN is the terrestrial Wildlife Management Area (WMA). WMA is an Integrated Conservation and Development Project (ICAD), which seeks to conserve biological diversity by involving landowners. The idea behind the project is that income generating activities, from the biological diversity would encourage people living in these areas to conserve, because such projects would link the value of these resources to living standard and also access to markets. The progress of WMA’s is yet to be evaluated.
Papua New Guinea's first conservation area, the YUS Conservation Area
YUS Conservation Area
YUS Conservation Area is a protected area on the Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. It was established in 2009 as Papua New Guinea's first conservation area, and named after the Yopno, Uruwa and Som rivers that flow through it...
, was established in 2009 on the Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec who discovered it along with his personal assistant and porter, Henry Ole. The peninsula is dominated by the steep...
, Morobe Province
Morobe Province
Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital, and largest city, is Lae. The province covers 34,500 km², including 719 km² maritime area, with a population of 539,725...
.
Apart from local conservation efforts, PNG is also a signatory to international conventions and treaties. These international treaties include ". The International Plant protection
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture , popularly known as the International Seed Treaty, is a comprehensive international agreement in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims at guaranteeing food security through the conservation,...
Convention (1951),The Convention on the prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other matter (1972); The convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna
CITES is a multilateral treaty, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature...
; The RAMSAR
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (1992); Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...
(1992) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. PNG is also in partnership with other nations in the Oceania region and is a signatory to the regional convention, The Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific (APIA Convention).
PNG has two listed RAMSAR
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
sites: Lake Kutubu
Lake Kutubu
Lake Kutubu is a lake in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of the Kikori River, into which it eventually drains. It is about 50 km southwest of Mendi, the provincial capital. It is one of the few lakes in the country that occurs in a depression in the...
and Tonda Wildlife Management Area
Tonda Wildlife Management Area
The Tonda Wildlife Management Area is a wetland of international importance and the largest protected area in Papua New Guinea. It is located in the south-western corner of the Western Province and is contiguous with Wasur National Park of Indonesia...
.
Challenges to the conservation efforts
Despite the provision for conservation in the legal framework, as well as interest shown by the international organizations, it is still a challenge to carry out conservation in PNG.The land tenure, wherein the communities own 97% of the land makes it difficult for the government or any conservation organisation to procure land for conservation. The land is believed to be an inheritance from some mystical ancestor and therefore, cannot be sold. Therefore, involving communities in WMA was identified as being compatible with the PNG land tenure system. The PNG constitution recognised this and empowered the landowners to be involved with conservation on their own land. However, the progress of WMA’s is yet to be evaluated.
PNG raises most of its revenue from the extraction of natural resources
Economy of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for the bulk of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold,...
; as such environmental destructive developmental projects have always taken precedence over environmental protection. For instance, the logging industry in PNG has been identified as the main source of widespread overexploitation
Overexploitation
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Sustained overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource...
of forest as well as species dependent on the forests. About 23% of the 50,000-60,000 ha cleared permanently is done by industrial logging. The forest that took millions of years to grow is deforested at an average rate of 1% per year. The reluctance of government support for conservation can be seen in government documents containing recommendations which are very general with no defined goal for the future of conservation.
The increase in human population (3.2 % children per child bearing female) has increased the per capita consumption of the biological resources. For instance, the pressure to hunt
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
big game for food has increased with the growth of population, this situation is exacerbated by the fact that when these animals become rarer, their value will resulting in added pressure to acquire them. The rate and efficiency of harvesting has also increased, aided by modern and efficient harvesting implements.
Furthermore is the misconception by the populace that natural resource is infinite. For instance, some coastal communities practice “dynamite fishing
Blast fishing
Blast fishing or dynamite fishing is the practice of using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. This often illegal practice can be extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as the explosion often destroys the underlying habitat that supports the fish...
”, without knowing that this practice not only kills fish and other marine organisms indiscriminately, it also destroys the coral reefs. Most coastal communities have little understanding how fish stocks are recruited and maintained in the oceans.
There has been strong debate about whether conservation driven by international NGOs is truly sustainable in PNG; certain large integrated conservation-development projects operated by the local offices of these international NGOs has come under fire, and broader complaints have surfaced. The criticism is that international conservation NGOs have become corporate entities in a way that no longer mirrors the way indigenous conservation initiative has naturally evolved in countries prior to their existence.
The effects of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and the introduction of exotic species add another dimension on to the challenge of conservation. The potential impacts from climate change (changes in geographical range, morphology, physiology and phenology) on terrestrial species are shown to be happening elsewhere; however no formal studies have been conducted on PNG terrestrial species as yet. However, the effects of climate change are definitely showing on the coastlines. Rise in sea level is starting to displace people in low lying islands. Furthermore, coral bleaching
Coral bleaching
Coral bleaching is the loss of intracellular endosymbionts through either expulsion or loss of algal pigmentation.The corals that form the structure of the great reef ecosystems of tropical seas depend upon a symbiotic relationship with unicellular flagellate protozoa, called zooxanthellae, that...
, an effect of high temperatures and increased carbon dioxide in oceans was observed from the PNG waters in 1996.
In the case of the introduced species, since the 1950s, 26 species of fresh water fish were introduced into PNG, out of which 11 species are now established in the fresh water systems and competes for resources with the 214 native fresh water species. The Mozambique tilapia
Tilapia
Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...
(Oreochromomis mossambica) was introduced in 1954, as a protein supplement. Currently, the tilapia is very widespread and important as food for some communities. However, it has a negative effect on indigenous fauna in lakes and rivers because of its prolific breeding and bottom feeding habit. Furthermore, studies have shown that the over the years the there has been a decrease in the native fish catch and an increase in the introduced tilapia.