Papua New Guinea Conservation Needs...

Papua New GuineaConservation Needs Assessment

Synopsis Report

Papua New GuineaConservation Needs Assessment

Synopsis Report

by J.F. Swartzendruber

BiodiversitySupport Program

A USAID-funded Consortium of

World Wildlife Fund,

The Nature Conservancy, and

World Resources Institute

Washington, D.C.

Papua New Guinea

Government of Papua New GuineaDepartment of Conservation

and EnvironmentBoroko, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea Conservation Needs Assessment, Synopsis Report

© 1993 by The Biodiversity Support Program. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced

without the permission of The Biodiversity Support Program.

Cover map produced by Conservation International, Washington, D.C.

Cover design by Mimi Hutchins, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.Printed by Corporate Press, Inc., Landover, Maryland.

Printed on recycled paper.

CONTENTS

Foreword .................................................................................................................................vii

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ ix

Background .............................................................................................................................. xi

Conservation in Papua New Guinea: Global Anomaly, Global Paradigm ......................... 1Cassowaries and Bandicoots: Biological Diversity and Customary Land Tenure..................... 3Melanesian Conservation: 9,000 years of Traditional Knowledge ............................................ 5The Conservation Needs Assessment Workshop....................................................................... 6

BoxesSocial Legend to appear on CNA Consensus Maps of High Biodiversity Areas............. 7CNA Workshop Findings ................................................................................................. 8

The CNA Consensus Maps of Biodiversity in Papua New Guinea......................................11Synthesis Map #1: Major Terrestrial Unknowns .......................................................................12Synthesis Map #2: Marine Systems and Critical Watersheds....................................................13Synthesis Map #3: Terrestrial Biodiversity................................................................................15

The CNA Recommendations ...................................................................................................21

Bibliography..............................................................................................................................23

V

FOREWORD

he Five Directive Principles of PapuaNew Guinea’s Constitution provide thevision and tools to enable our society to

achieve the concept of sustainable develop-ment/sustainable living in the 21st century.

Many of our village societies continue tolive sustainably as our people have for hundredsof years, living a life balanced and in harmonywith the environment.

The past 17 years since independence havebeen a challenging time for our country. The pathfor economic growth has been to short-termbenefits, not long-term sustainable growth.Short-term economic growth, I believe, chal-lenges much of the fundamental values ofMelanesian society, such as community respon-sibility and environmental responsibility.

It is now apparent that Papua New Guinea's(PNG's) major asset is its wealth ofenvironmental resources. The forests, the man-groves, the reef, and the ocean are abundant witha richness that is desired by peoples andcorporations for their monetary value. For PNGthese resources are a life source for current andfuture generations. Managing our resources in

this century, when many of our people want thebenefits of a modern economy, is an even greaterchallenge. Leaders in PNG have a graveresponsibility in meeting the needs of our com-munities and taking PNG into a modern life withthe benefits of good health facilities, education,and economic opportunities.

In the desire to progress we endanger thevery sources of our physical and spiritual exis-tence. We have been endowed greatly by theCreator with the richness of our islands. Ourcountry is indeed bountiful. Yet now our envi-ronment is threatened. Greed has motivated theexploitation of our resources. Once our environ-ment is gone, there is nothing, absolutely noth-ing, left for us as a people. We will be scav-engers. I do not want to be responsible for thatloss. Many men and women in PNG do not wantto be responsible either.

Therefore, in this time of choice and deci-sion, the challenge is to ensure that every effortthat is humanly possible is made to direct thedevelopment of our country on a sustainable

pathway.

VII

I have read the Constitution often, yet Imust now admit that 17 years hence I havefinally come to understand and draw guidance inmy work from the Five Directive Principles.1. Integral Human Development

Every person should be dynamicallyinvolved in the process of freeing himself orherself from every form of domination oroppression so that each man and woman willhave the opportunity to develop as a wholeperson in relation with others.

2. Equality and ParticipationAll citizens should have an equal opportunityto participate in and benefit from thedevelopment of our country.

3. National Sovereignty and Self-ReliancePapua New Guinea should be politically andeconomically independent and our economyshould be basically self-reliant.

4. Natural Resources and EnvironmentPapua New Guinea's natural resources andenvironment should be conserved and usedfor the collective benefit of all and should bereplenished for future generations.

5. Papua New Guinea WaysPapua New Guinea should achieve develop-ment primarily through the use of PapuaNew Guinea forms of social, political, andeconomic organizations.It could not be clearer that our Constitution

embodies man/woman, development, equality,nationhood, environment, and our traditionalstructures for consultation to enhance and givesubstance to our way of life.

As we address the issues that are now criti-cal for our future, the future of generations tocome, and for the future of our country, we willenter into dialogue with each other and friendsfrom other nations to find ways to sustain life forall peoples. It is an enormous but achievable task.The Conservation Needs Assessment (CNA) isone such task.

CNA was implemented through a processthat stimulated collaboration between non-governmental organizations (NGOs), govern-ment, landowners, and scientists.

Throughout the CNA, process was asimportant as product. And the CNA itself was thefirst step in a process. Now a national discussionis needed to use the CNA information toempower people to weigh their choices and toinitiate awareness of decisions being made/opento be made. This will enable PNG to develop anational consensus on appropriate conservationand development projects as well as to developlocal consensus about land/resource-use optionsopen to communities.

The CNA maps are "works in progress.The mapping process does not end with the pub-lication of these maps; instead, the maps shouldbe used as starting points for further research.

The maps should also be used, with theother CNA information, to begin and expandparticipatory approaches to conservation. Thesocial legend presented on each of the CNAmaps underscores the point that conservation inPapua New Guinea cannot be separated from theneeds and priorities of the local people.

The CNA maps are intended to be dis-tributed not only to scientists and governmentplanners, but also to NGOs and local resourceowner groups ("landowners") through the pro-posed Natural Resources Options Centre andexisting channels. It is hoped that these maps canserve as tools for more participatory decisionsabout conservation and development in PapuaNew Guinea.

The fact that areas do not fall within thecircles on the CNA maps does not mean that theydo not contain valuable biodiversity. Nor does itmean that environmental impact assessmentsshould not be done on development projects orextractive enterprises proposed in those areasoutside the circles. Local biodiversity is alwaysimportant locally, and local assessment ofbiodiversity importance should have precedence.

This document, then, is a tool that willassist PNG in the critical choices for our future.

V I I I

-THE HONORABLE MARGARET TAYLORAmbassador to the United States fromPapua New Guinea

PAPUA NEW GUINEA CONSERVATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

he Conservation Needs Assessment(CNA) for Papua New Guinea wasrequested by the government of Papua

New Guinea and funded by the U.S. Agency forInternational Development (USAID). The CNAwas implemented by the Biodiversity SupportProgram, a USAID-funded consortium of WorldWildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, andThe Nature Conservancy, in collaboration withlocal and international nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs), museums, and academicinstitutions.

The assessment compiled an extensive bodyof the available scientific literature on the bio-logical diversity (biodiversity) of Papua NewGuinea and assessed the present state of knowl-edge, conditions, trends, and environmentalthreats. Special maps were produced identifyingsites of particularly high endemism, high speciesrichness, and unusual ecosystems and habitats.

A CNA workshop was conducted inMadang, Papua New Guinea, in April 1992, todiscuss the findings of the scientific assessments,to finalize the maps of terrestrial and marinebiodiversity, and to consider a range of recom-mendations for conservation initiatives. Work-

I X

shop participants included representatives of thegovernment of Papua New Guinea, USAID,numerous scientific and research institutions andmuseums, social scientists and legal scholars,NGOs, and local landowners, groups.

The workshop developed a process forinformation sharing and consensus decision-making and resolved that this model should beused in future development planning and con-servation initiatives in Papua New Guinea. Theloss of biological resources in Papua NewGuinea, as elsewhere, is driven primarily by non-biological factors, and conservation actions musttake account of social and political realities. TheCNA process emphasizes such issues as commu-nication, rights adjudication, modes of conflictresolution, and attitudes toward biodiversity. Theprocess is intended to be a starting point forparticipatory approaches to conservation.

There is an urgent need to begin buildingstronger relationships between Papua NewGuinean landowners and others who are involvedin natural resource use and management, conser-vation, and research, including government,NGOs, the private sector, and scientists. In addi-

all of these groups work more closely with PapuaNew Guinean resource owners, or "landowners."

The common theme underlying the set ofCNA recommendations is the urgency of build-ing stronger relationships between Papua NewGuinean landowners and those who are, in vari-ous ways, responsible for changing their naturalenvironment and, therefore, their traditional waysof life. The need to work more closely with localgroups applies not only to those who extractnatural resources for commercial gain but also tothose who initiate activities intended to protectthe environment and bring about economicdevelopment and even to researchers.

Papua New Guinea represents an unusualcombination of circumstances making it aglobally important site for conservation efforts.As the CNA report makes clear, Papua NewGuinea is one of the world's most significantcenters of biodiversity, with many uniqueecosystems and species. Although much of thelandscape has thus far escaped seriousdegradation, many of the country's terrestrial andmarine ecosystems face growing threats, andurgent preventive action is needed.

At the same time, Papua New Guinea repre-sents a unique opportunity for supporting conser-vation initiatives that build upon a rich base ofindigenous knowledge and participatory modelsof decision-making. Melanesian land andresource tenure traditions, which have evolvedover thousands of years, are explicitly recognizedby the modern legal framework of the state. Thissituation, which is rare in global terms, providesan unusual opportunity for conservation action.By building upon this heritage and strengtheningit where appropriate, Papua New Guinea canbegin to retain responsibility for the long-termhealth of the environment and join landowners ina partnership for making economic developmentmore sustainable.

The people of Papua New Guinea will ulti-mately decide the outcome of conservation ini-tiatives in their country. Their genuine partici-pation in the processes that affect them is notonly desirable but essential to the conservation ofone of the world's great remaining centers ofbiological and cultural diversity.


tion, social scientists should be fully involved inanalyzing, designing, monitoring, and implement-ing conservation activities in Papua New Guinea.

Key recommendations from the CNA include:§ Establish a Natural Resources Option Center;§ Implement the National Environment and

Conservation Plan;§ Strengthen government capacity for envi-

ronmental monitoring, impact assessment,and enforcement;

§ Distribute the CNA Biodiversity Maps aswidely as possible to scientists, conservationgroups, NGOs, and local landowners' groups;

§ Reform existing legislation to strengthenenvironmental management and customarytenure systems;

§ Develop participatory conservation &development models appropriate to PapuaNew Guinean culture and conditions;

§ Support research focused on priority siteswithin Papua New Guinea, in collaborationwith local scientists and landowners;

§ Provide training in environmental planning,monitoring, and management for governmentand NGOs, and local resource users;

§ Strengthen relationships between government,NGOs, and local landowners in Papua NewGuinea;

§ Consider establishing an independent envi-ronmental trust fund to support and fundconservation activity in Papua New Guinea.

§ A social legend should be placed on the CNAbiodiversity map so all potential usersrecognize the need to consult landowningclans before taking action based on the map'sinformation.The Conservation Needs Assessment points

the way forward for those concerned with environ-mental conservation and sustainable developmentin Papua New Guinea. The report's recommenda-tions should be seen as guidelines for designing,funding, and implementing activities that affectthe country’ rich natural resources. Some of theseguidelines are directed toward government, othersto NGOs, scientists, the private sector, and foreigndonors and investors. In turn, it is important that

x

At the request of the government ofPapua New Guinea, the U. S. Agency forInternational Development (USAID) has

provided technical assistance to the Departmentof Environment and Conservation under theNational Forestry and Conservation Action Plan.This assistance was in the form of a ConservationNeeds Assessment (CNA), which has beenfunded by USAID and implemented by theBiodiversity Support Program, a USAID-fundedconsortium of World Wildlife Fund, WorldResources Institute, and The Nature Conservancy.The support of DEC Secretary Iamo Ila at everystage of the CNA was critical to its success.

The Conservation Needs Assessment wascarried out in collaboration with local and inter-national nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),museums, and academic institutions.Nongovernmental organizations that participatedin the CNA include World Wildlife Fund, WorldWide Fund for Nature, World ResourcesInstitute, Wildlife Conservation International,Conservation International, Greenpeace, IIED,Experiment in International Living, CARE, and

National Alliance of Nongovernmental Organi-sations of Papua New Guinea.

Other institutions that participated in theCNA include USAID, Bishop Museum, RoyalBotanic Gardens at Kew, University of WesternSydney, Smithsonian Institution, University ofPapua New Guinea, The Papua New GuineaUniversity of Technology, Christensen ResearchInstitute, Papua New Guinea National Museum,and Wau Ecology Institute.

Teams of internationally recognized expertscompiled and analyzed the existing base of scien-tific information on the country's terrestrial andmarine ecosystems and the biodiversity they sup-port. In collaboration with Papua New Guineanscientists, the international teams prepared draftreports and maps detailing areas of known biodi-versity concentration, unusual ecosystems andhabitats, and environmental threats, and alsoidentified regions for which there is almost noscientific information available.

A CNA workshop was then held in April1992 in Madang, Papua New Guinea, to discussthe draft reports and biodiversity maps, and toconsider recommendations for conservation ini-

xi

BACKGROUND

tiatives. At the CNA workshop, the natural sci-entists were joined by teams of social scientists,legal scholars, information management special-ists, and representatives of nongovernmentalorganizations and Papua New Guineanlandowners' groups. In addition, governmentrepresentatives from the Department of Envi-ronment and Conservation, the Department ofForests, the Department of Agriculture andLands, the Department of Fisheries and MarineResources, the Department of the Prime Minister,and the Department of Finance participated in theCNA workshop.

The CNA workshop produced a set of rec-ommendations, representing the consensus of theparticipants, on strategies and priorities forsustainable development based on Papua NewGuinea’s natural resources and conservation ofits biological heritage. These recommendationsreflect a consensus derived from wide array ofviewpoints and opinions about development andconservation in Papua New Guinea and mark acommitment to participatory modes of planningand decision-making. During the CNA workshop,a process was developed for broadly basedconsultation with all who share a stake in thefuture of Papua New Guinea’s biologicalresource endowment. This process is perhaps themost important result of the Conservation NeedsAssessment.

A CNA wall map of biodiversity priorities

of Papua New Guinea and the full CNA Reportis available in two volumes from the Papua NewGuinea Department of Environment and Con-servation, the National Alliance of NGOs, andfrom the Biodiversity Support Program in Wash-ington, D.C. The first of these volumes containsreports on conservation issues and opportunitiesin Papua New Guinea and includes assessmentswritten by legal experts, social scientists, NGOsand landowners' groups, as well as an assessmentof information management needs. It alsoincludes a summary of the material presented anddiscussed at the CNA workshop in Madang andthe maps of biodiversity in Papua New Guinea,the points of agreement among participants,issues remaining to be resolved, and a detailedset of recommendations for action.

Volume 2 presents the technical reports ofthe natural scientists on the biological diversity ofPapua New Guinea, including taxonomic reviewsof the flora, warm-blooded vertebrates,cold-blooded vertebrates, and analysis of fresh-water wetlands, marine environments, andforests. This volume includes extensive docu-mentation of the available scientific literature onPapua New Guinea's biota.

This report presents a synopsis of the mate-rial contained in the full two volume publicationand presents in reduced scale the CNA consensusmaps of the high biodiversity areas in PapuaNew Guinea.

X I I PAPUA NEW GUINEA CONSERVATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT

The nation of Papua New Guinea, whichbecame independent in 1975, is unusual in manyrespects. Rich in natural resources, and containingan unparalleled concentration of ethnolinguisticdiversity – more than 700 languages are spoken by

a population of about four million people – PapuaNew Guinea also is home to one of the fewremaining tropical forests in which deforestationand habitat loss remain at comparatively lowlevels. According to one projection, by the end ofthis century or shortly after, only four blocs of theworld’s tropical moist forest biome are likely toremain more or less intact: western BrazilianAmazonia, the Zaire basin, the Guyana shield ofnorthern South America, and Papua New Guinea(Myers 1988a).

Together with neighboring Irian Jaya(belonging to Indonesia), Papua New Guineasupports the largest area of mature tropical moistforest in the Asia/Pacific region (McNeely et al.1990). Most of this forest remains relativelyundisturbed, in part due to historically low humanpopulation density, as well as a rugged topographywhich impedes access in many places.

The country’s unusual legal frameworkexplicitly recognizes customary Melanesian landand resource tenure systems, thus giving andnatural resource exploitation to an extent that maybe globally unique. These customary propertyindigenous kinship groups control over land userights extend over as much as 97 percent of the

CONSERVATION INPAPUA NEW GUINEA:

Global Anomaly,Global Paradigm

“We are here to state what ourrights are. People haven’t been teachingpeople in the village about these things.Maybe it happens in other places, but notin Madang.”

“We do not want to hear about gl-obal issues. Forget about global issues ifyou are going to forget about thelandowners.”

“Young people before had some-thing. But then outsiders came and gaveus nothing. When the meat cannery camein, we were given promises, but we havegotten nothing.”

“Don’t mess up our land. We hadgood land before. Then other people cameand sneaked around and took things fromus.”1

1 Local landowners’ statements to participants of the Con-

servation Needs Assessment Workshop, 6 April 1992

1

country's land area, andover most of its forest.

In the past, thesecustomary rights havesometimes been under-mined through lack ofknowledge on the part oflocal people about theiroptions and about thelong-term consequencesof their actions. In recentyears, however, landown-er groups have becomeincreasingly active in

asserting their rights to determine what forms ofdevelopment will be permitted within theirancestral domains-a trend that is exemplified bythe landowners' statements cited at the beginningof this section.

In recent years, there has been growingpressure upon the ecosystems of Papua NewGuinea's mainland and its associated islands, andon the nation’s vast interspersed marineecosystems. Foreign investment, notably in log-ging and mining, has sometimes resulted in seri-

ous environmental degradation, with minimaleconomic benefit for local people.

Local activism is opening up a wealth ofopportunities for the introduction of newapproaches to natural resource management,for it is clear that most Papua New Guineansare determined to have natural resource-basedeconomic growth, but that this growth musttake place on terms acceptable to local people.Along with other island nations of Oceania,Papua New Guinea represents a uniqueopportunity for environmentally sustainablenatural resource development that is basedupon empowerment and participation at thegrassroots level. In most developing countries,forest areas and other natural resources arestate property, and the movement towardgreater local participation in natural resourcemanagement has often been more theoreticalthan real.

In Papua New Guinea, in contrast, thetradition of local control remains unbroken, atradition that is now reflected in governmentpolicy and in constitutional law. Landownergroups, local NGOs, and international

information anddecision-makingchannels for sus-tainable naturalresource use. Ifsuccessful, thesenew approacheswill help to protectthe country's envi-ronment and itsbiological diversitywhile bringing last-ing benefits to itspeople. It is in thisrespect that PapuaNew Guinea hasthe potential tobecome an impor-tant model for sus-tainable develop-ment.


These grand tropical forestsare home to a rich and variedAustralasian biota that boaststree-dwelling kangaroos, thehuge flightless birds knownas cassowaries, the world'slargest pigeons andbutterflies, the world'slongest lizard, nearly threethousand species of orchids,and as many as 15,000species of flowering plants.

- Beehler 1992

2

CASSOWARIES AND BANDICOOTS:

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND

CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE

It is important to note,however, that there are largegaps in the scientificknowledge of Papua NewGuinea’s biodiversity. Birds,rhododendrons, mammals, andbirdwing butterflies arerelatively well documented, butmost invertebrates and plantgroups are little known, withmany species still undescribed.Large areas of the country havenot been systematically studied,and the marine biologicalresources for subsistence.Melanesian societies havedeveloped an extensive

2 Recent archeological evidence suggests tarocultivation began as early as 12,000 years ago(pers. comm., P. Swaddling & C. Ballard, 1991).

3

resources are perhaps the least surveyed of all.People have depended heavily upon Papua

New Guinea’s plentiful and diverse biologicalresources for subsistence. Melanesian societieshave developed an extensive and detailedknowledge of Papua New Guinea's flora andfauna, and some 1,035 different plant species areknown to be used for various purposes (Powell1982). Wildlife plays an important part intraditional diets, supplying the primary intake ofproteins and fats in many highland areas andother isolated areas of the country. In coastalareas a wide variety of seafood, including fish,mollusks, and turtles, dominate local diets.

Subsistence agriculture has also been prac-ticed in Papua New Guinea for at least 9,000years2, and traditional techniques have been ableto sustain high levels of food production withoutcausing environmental degradation (Unisearch1992). Subsistence systems practiced in PapuaNew Guinea exhibit specific adaptations to theparticular environmental, demographic, and cli-matic characteristics of different parts of thecountry (Powell 1982).

The sweet potato is a central component ofthe Papua New Guinean diet, and an estimated5,000 cultivars of this staple are found within thecountry (Government of Papua New Guinea1992). Numerous other plant species have tradi-

GLOBAL ANOMALY, GLOBAL PARADIGM

Papua New Guinea, whose mainland occu-pies half of the world's largest and highest tropi-cal island, is a rugged country of high rainfall,with more than 5,000 lakes, extensive riversystems, and more than 34 million hectares ofclosed tropical forest (Mittermeier 1988). Thespecies-rich mainland coastline includes over5,000 miles of mangrove swamps, lagoons, wet-lands, coral reefs and atolls, plus islandarchipelagos and hundreds of offshore islands.The country's jurisdiction extends over anexpanse of some 800,000 square kilometers ofocean, including 40,000 km2 of coral reefs.

A geologically young region, lying at thecollision line of the Australian and Pacifictectonic plates, Papua New Guinea is remarkablydiverse in terms of landscapes, ecosystems, andspecies. An estimated two-thirds to three-fourthsof the land area is undisturbed tropical moistforest. According to one source, New Guinea'sforests contain some 11,000 plant species, ofwhich 90 percent may be endemic (Myers 1988b).Other estimates place the number of plant speciesin Papua New Guinea much higher, with perhaps15,000 to 20,000 species of vascular plants, butwith the rate of endemism somewhat lower,perhaps closer to 60 percent.

Lowland forests, montane forests, and alpineflora are found, and coastal areas contain some ofthe most extensive pristine mangrove areas in theworld. Endemic animal species include 76 speciesof birds, 56 species of mammals, and some 365endemic species of freshwater fishes, amphibians,and reptiles. In addition, 84 genera of animals areendemic to Papua New Guinea. Of the 10 majorforest types in the country, one-the lowland moistforest biome-is home to more than 1,200 knowntree species (Government of Papua New Guinea1992).

It is important to note, however, that thereare large gaps in the scientific knowledge of

In New Guinea…flora assem-bled from components which

had left the Australian mainland 40 million years earlier,or had traveled with it, were

arranged on a vigorouslychanged landscape, increas-

ing in height tectonically, subject to earthquake and vul-

canism ... and almost allperennially wet. Here werephysical conditions which

offered opportunities particu-larly appropriate to speciation

of the original rain foreststock with which the island

was endowed.

-Walker 1982

tionally been cultivat-ed, including morethan 30 root crops, 21legume species, 40leafy green vegetables,60 other vegetablesand roots, 43 varietiesof nuts, 102 fruits, and89 other plants usedfor food or forseasonings (Unisearch1992). This traditionalknowledge has alreadybeen tapped by theoutside world: thewinge-bean (Psopho-

carpus tetragonolobus), which is nutritionallysimilar to the soybean and is an important part ofthe diet in Papua New Guinean forest regions, isnow cultivated in some 50 developing countries(Spears 1988).

Although the commercial potential ofMelanesian crop germplasm. resources has not

yet been seriouslystudied, these couldrepresent an importantbiological asset, notonly for Papua NewGuinea, but for othertropical countries aswell. For several foodcrops of global impor-tance, Papua NewGuinea is a center ofgermplasm diversity,notably sweet potato,yams, taro, and thealready-mentionedwinged bean. In addi-tion, it is the center oforigin for such ubiqui-tous crops as bananaand sugar-cane(Powell 1982).

The rich ethnic and linguistic diversity ofPapua New Guinea is an important factor in

understanding traditional patterns of resource useand ownership. Depending on which measuresand definitions are used, estimates of the numberof distinct ethno-linguistic groups within PapuaNew Guinea range from 700 to 850 and higher(King and Ranck 1982; Wurm and Hattori 1981).In general, land and resource rights are basedupon kinship affiliation, and membership in therelevant clan or sub-clan groupings is hereditary,although adoption of outsiders may also occur onoccasion.

Customary patterns of natural resourcerights, particularly to land and forests, havebecome formally recognized within the legalframework of the modern nation state-a situationthat is unique to Oceania. The Constitution ofPapua New Guinea, which came into effect atindependence in 1975, "vests local people withownership of these resources, irrespective of anydocumentation or registration. "3

In effect, Papua New Guinean law acknowl-edges that land is not a commodity to be boughtand sold; on the contrary, the vast majority (asmuch as 97 percent) of the nation's terrestrialdomain is under customary Melanesian land andresource tenure systems. These customarysystems differ in various ways from one group toanother (for example, control over use of landmay in one case be decided at the level of a clan,in another case by a sub-clan, and in a third caseat the lineage level). In general, however, theyhave in common the idea that land and resourceownership is vested in groups rather thanindividuals and that decisions about the use ofland and natural resources should arise throughconsensus.

Traditional ways have increasingly comeunder pressure in Papua New Guinea, particularlyas the country develops more extensive economiclinkages and as local people feel the growing needfor cash incomes to meet consumer needs. Partic-ularly in the logging industry, timber sales haveoften been made with individual landowners, inways that violated traditional consensus practices.In many cases, local landowners are ignorant of

…Papua New Guineansdraw heavily on the forestplants for cordage, bark,ornaments, fish poisons,magic potions, medicine,narcotics, food andcarrying vessels, tools,weapons, art supplies,dyes, and for food –insects, fungus, nuts andseeds, fruit, game, edibleroots and greens. Lifewithout these adjunctswould be miserable,if not impossible, for theaverage forest community.

- De’ath 1982

We declare our fourth goal tobe for Papua New Guinea’s

natural resources and environ-ment to be conserved and usedfor the collective benefit of usall, and to be replen-ished for

the benefitof future generations.

We declare our fifth goal to beto achieve development

through use of Papua NewGuinean forms of social,

political and economicorganisation.

-The Constitution of PapuaNew Guinea National Goals

and Directive Principles.

3 Although the Mining Act of 1972 ostensibly vests the statewith ownership of mineral resources, the constitutionality of thislegislation is in dispute (Unisearch 1992)

4

their options or are not fully informed about theconsequences of the agreements they are enteringinto.An influential Commission of Inquiry into thetimber industry in Papua New Guinea, known asthe Barnett Report, documented numerousabuses, and noted that social disruption as well asenvironmental degradation were often the result:

While there is someevidence of landdegradation havingoccurred in prehistorictimes in certain partsof the country,Melanesian societiesevolved agriculturaltechniques that haveproven to be sustain-able. In areas of PapuaNew Guinea that stillhave levels of popula-tion density as low as

In many cases the timber industryhas made life harder for the landownersat A levels. Not only do they have to facedestruction of their environment, butthey face the destruction of their society. -Commission of Inquiry, 1990

On the other hand, even relatively well-intentioned investors have sometimes beenconfused as to whom they should be negotiatingwith, and under what terms. Some of the difficul-ties encountered by mining and oil companies, forexample, include complex procedures for reg-istration of land titles, different inheritance cus-toms between local groups, and problems indefining long-term compensation measures thatwill satisfy different landowner groups.

Yet despite such problems, the determinationof local groups to assert their traditional rights,now enshrined in constitutional law, affords anunusual opportunity to test contemporaryconcepts about sustainable development andenvironmental conservation, by giving morecontrol over resource allocation to local groupswho have the most to gain from appropriatemodes of development and the most to lose frominappropriate ones.

MELANESIAN CONSERVATION:

9,000 YEARS OF TRADITIONAL

KNOWLEDGE

Traditional Melanesian modes of subsis-tence living have effectively conserved the natu-ral environment for millennia-without the needfor specially designated conservation zones fromwhich human use was excluded or limited.


eight persons per square kilometer, there appearsto be little sign of environmental degradation(Unisearch 1992).

As a result, a large proportion of the naturalenvironment, especially the lowland forest andmarine ecosystems, remains largely unaffectedby modern forms of human exploitation.However, population growth, rising economicexpectations, and expanding linkages with therest of the world are resulting in greater pressureson the environment. In some areas, increasedpopulation density is bringing about changesin the traditional cropping and fallow cycles, andcases of soil erosion and deforestation havebegun to be observed (Unisearch 1992).

More importantly, logging, mining, andcommercial agriculture have begun to transformparts of the Papua New Guinea landscape, result-ing in permanent conversion of primary forestand other environmental effects such as soil com-paction, erosion, watershed disturbance, and lossof species (Unisearch 1992). Urban expansionand commercial fishing are also creating sourcesof pressure on Papua New Guinea's ecosystems.

Many aspects of Papua New Guinea's bio-logical endowment remain poorly understood.Yet it is rapidly becoming clear that action isneeded to anticipate and redirect current devel-opment trends threatening biological diversity.Expansion of the protected area system is oneoption for responding to this situation; amongother initiatives pending is the designation of

The company has taken tim-ber from part of my land, butfrom another part…it has nottaken timber. I stopped themfrom taking that part because

they did not pay me enough. Iuse that forest to find greens

to eat, or other things likebirds, lizards, bandicoots,

cuscus, flying fox which wecan cook with taro and eat.

-Wezip AloloumJobto Village, Madang District

several potential sites within Papua New Guineaas World Heritage conservation sites.

The protected area approach in PapuaNew Guinea, as elsewhere, needs to be adaptedto local circumstances and complemented withother strategies. Protected areas that excludetraditional resource owners have not proven tobe an effective means of conserving intactecosystems or of protecting endangered speciesin Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guineanlegislation provides for development of protectedareas such as Wildlife Management Areas andConservation Areas that are based on landremaining under customary owner-

6

management strategy by landowners. Sincepublication of the World Conservation Strategyin 1980, new methods have been developed thatcombine conservation activities with measures tobring economic benefits to nearby communities.Strengthening local participation in conservationplanning and management is another idea gainingcurrency in many countries. Although theseprinciples have often proved difficult to put intopractice, in the long run there is probably nosubstitute for giving local residents a tangiblestake in the management of natural resources(Wells and Brandon 1992; Brown andWyckoff-Baird 1992).

Many opportunities for economic develop-ment in Papua New Guinea are derived from thenatural resource base. Extractive industries andother resource-based forms of investment willcontinue to play a major role in the country’seconomy for the foreseeable future. Mining, oilexploration, logging and commercial fishing arethe most significant, although agro-industries arealso important, particularly oil palm and sugar.

Alternative strategies for sustainable use ofthe natural resources are also needed. Papua NewGuinea needs to build upon traditional practicesproven to be environmentally benign yet flexibleenough to accommodate a growing populationand need for cash income. This is the greatchallenge, and the base of traditional knowledgewithin Melanesian societies may hold clues as to

how this can be done.

During the course of the CNA, teams ofinternational and Papua New Guinean expertsreviewed the known data on Papua New Guineisbiological diversity, identified priority topics forfiirther research, and mapped areas known to beespecially rich in species diversity. In addition,teams of social scientists, legal experts, informa-tion management specialists, and local NGOs andlandowner groups gathered and analyzed a widerange of information relevant to conservationaction in Papua New Guinea.

ship and involving landowners in management.However, existing protected areas in Papua NewGuinea fall short of adequately protectingbiodiversity, and need to be strengthened andsupported with additional strategies (WWF1992).

Conservation organizations are increasinglyfocusing their efforts on developing options thatrequire not a change of tenure, but a change of

THE CONSERVATION NEEDSASSESSMENT WORKSHOP


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This information was then reviewed anddiscussed during a special workshop held inMadang, Papua New Guinea, in April 1992. TheCNA workshop brought together a wide range ofviewpoints. The purpose of the workshop was to:

1. Understand the current status of biodiversity,policy, and social information available forconservation and land-use planning andidentify significant information gaps;

2. Develop dialogue and working relationshipsamong biologists, NGOs, landowners, andgovernment;

3. Develop maps of biodiversity informationuseful for natural resource planning;

4. Identify constraints and opportunities forconservation;

5. Propose culturally appropriate processes andoptions to conserve biodiversity; and

6. Propose ways to address remaining issues.

The workshop participants reflected thefull spectrum of perspectives on conservationin Papua New Guinea, yet all shared acommitment to the future health of thecountry’s environment and its naturalresource base. The workshop participantsfocused on the geographic dimensions ofbiodiversity in Papua New Guinea, as well asthe social dimensions of conservation. Mostimportantly, the workshop initiated a processof communication between differentstakeholder groups in order to lay the foun-dations for long-term conservation planningand implementation that takes into accountthe different perceptions, interests, andpriorities of different groups. An importantworkshop assumption was that commitmentto inclusive processes is vital if development

in Papua New Guinea is to become moresustainable and if the country’s rich biologicalheritage is to be preserved for the benefit of futuregenerations.

The maps produced by the CNA workshopbegan with a series of technical assessments ofPapua New Guineas biological diversity, teams ofinternational and local scientists identified knownareas of species richness or otherwise significantsites, and also designated zones for which verylittle scientific information is currently available.Biologically important areas were identified inseven categories: warm-blooded vertebrates,cold-blooded vertebrates, invertebrates, plants,forests, freshwater habitats, and marine habitats.

This information was transcribed onto maps,and the specific location of priority areas forconservation and research was thoroughlydiscussed by a wide variety of participants inaddition to the scientists who had produced theinitial maps. The maps were modified to someextent, in order to take into account sociological,political, and other factors that would be relevantin implementation of conservation activities withinthese priority sites.

The final maps produced by the CNAworkshop represent a consensus of most partici-pants and a synthesis of different kinds of infor-mation considered in the course of the proceed-ings. The three synthesis maps include:

1. A map of 16 biologically unknown areas thatmerit immediate survey and study;

2. A map of 30 marine and coastal highbiodiversity areas and 5 watersheds critical tothe health of those marine and coastal areas;


7

Social Legend to appear on CNAConsensus Maps of High Biodiversity Areas

1. The Constitution of Papua New Guinea promotes equality and participation, the wise use of naturalresources, and Papua New Guinean forms of development.

2. Ninety-seven percent of Papua New Guinea is owned according to customary tenure;3. This map was prepared by biological scientists and, based on available knowledge, identifies areas

richest in biodiversity;4. This map is not intended to, nor should it be used to, exclude any areas of any landowners from

conservation programs and initiatives; and5. When identifying appropriate conservation strategies and areas, local initiative is as important a criterion

as biodiversity.

7

3. A map of 42 terrestrial high biodiversityareas and 13 important wetland habitats.Although the attached maps represent a con-

sensus of the CNA workshop participants, manywere concerned that the maps could be misused bypeople unaware of the complex socio-politicalrealities existing in Papua New Guinea. Theirconcern was addressed by the social legend thatwas adopted by consensus at the workshop's finalplenary session and that is to be printed on thefront of the final CNA maps (see box page 7). Thelegend will alert future readers of the CNA mapsthat the information contained in them reflects adynamic social context that needs to be kept inmind when designing conservation initiatives inPapua New Guinea.

Geographically based information is anessential tool for monitoring the loss of biodiver-sity and for establishing conservation and devel-opment priorities and policies. The CNA maps areintended to help those interested in conservationand development planning in Papua New Guineaby bringing together-in many cases for the firsttime-a wide range of information about thecountry's biological resources and about thethreats to its environment.

CNA maps are different in several importantrespects from vegetation maps, for example, ormaps showing a country's topography or itsdistribution of population, mineral resources, orother features. Such maps indicate the location offorests, major population centers, or mineral

deposits; in areas not marked these characteristicscan be presumed not to be present. This,however, is not the case with the CNA maps.

The CNA maps identify areas in Papua NewGuinea that are important centers of speciesrichness and endemism, that represent unusualecosystems facing serious environmental threats,or for which there is a serious lack of scientificinformation. The fact that other areas are notmarked on the CNA maps does not mean that theyare not rich in biodiversity or that they areunimportant. On the contrary, the CNA mapspresent a sample of sites drawn from a muchlarger set of potentially important areas forbiodiversity conservation action.

The CNA sampling and selection processinvolved participants from many disciplines andbackgrounds, and in their present form the mapsrepresent a consensus reached after muchdiscussion and consideration of alternatives. Theareas delineated on the maps are, in the finalanalysis, human judgments based upon differentsets of information presently available andsuppositions about areas for which there arealmost no scientific data. Furthermore,landowners were not consulted in the process ofselecting areas identified on these maps. In thissense the CNA maps are "works in progress."

The loss of biological resources is driven

primarily by non-biological processes, and the

conservation of biodiversity must take account of

8 PAPUA NEW GUINEA CONSERVATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT

CNA Workshop Findings1. Papua New Guinea has a unique and rich repository of biodiversity;2. Papua New Guinea’s biodiversity is under immediate threat from development activities and

action is needed;3. Action must be appropriate to Papua New Guinean ways and systems of resource ownership;4. Government, scientists, NGOs, landowners, and donors must cooperate if the conservation

goals are to be achieved, but such cooperation is only beginning;5. Information and better means of information dissemination are needed for making decisions

and setting priorities at local and national level;6. There is insufficient funding and government support for conservation action;7. Landowners and government need better means of communication about conservation and

development options;8. Innovative options that link conservation with local economic benefits are needed; and9. All landowners should be encouraged to undertake conservation actions for sustainable use

of their natural resources.

social and political realities. Yet these realitiescannot be adequately represented on atwo-dimensional map. Communication, rightsadjudication, modes of conflict resolution, andattitudes toward biodiversity are, like most socialphenomena, complex and changing; they cannotbe plotted on maps by technicians for the use ofplanners and policy-makers. These issues canonly be addressed on the ground, with localpeople.

Throughout the CNA, process was asimportant as product. The CNA process does notend with the publication of these maps; instead,they should be used as starting points for

The social legend printed on each of the CNAmaps underscores the point that conservation inPapua New Guinea cannot be separated from theneeds and priorities of the local people.

The CNA maps are intended to be dis-tributed not only to scientists and governmentplanners, but also to NGOs and local resourceowner groups ("landowners") through the pro-posed Natural Resources Option Center (seeRecommendations section). It is hoped that thesemaps, developed by means of consensus, canserve as tools for more participatory decisionsabout conservation and development in PapuaNew Guinea.

GLOBAL ANOMALY, GLOBAL PARADIGM 99

THE CNA CONSENSUS MAPS

OF BIODIVERSITY

IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SYNTHESIS MAP #1: MAJOR

TERRESTRIAL UNKNOWNS

hills of the western Huon Peninsula arevirtually unstudied.

5. Lakekamu/Chapman. Like the FinisterreRange, this area is relatively close to popula-tion centers yet is little developed and virtual-ly unknown biologically. The region variesfrom humid lowland forest to subalpine high-land zones in the Chapman Range.

6. Bowuto Ultrabasics. This area of ruggedhills and mountains dropping to the coast ofMorobe Province is botanically unusual andvirtually unsurveyed.

7. Ioma/Mambare Lowlands. An isolatedlowland area that merits study.

8. Musa Basin. Important wetlands and lowlandswam forest that are unknown.

9. Kemp-Welch River Lowlands. A remnantwetland area representative of the dry low-lands of Central Province, not yet surveyed.

10. Cloudy Mountains. An isolated range, as yetunsurveyed, in the southern region ofmainland Papua New Guinea.

11. Fergusson Highlands. Zoologicallyunsurveyed highlands on one of the mostcomplex high islands in Melanesia.

This map indicates the location of 16 majorgeographic areas within Papua New Guineafor which the present lack of scientificinformation is particularly serious. While thisdoes not mean that the rest of the country isadequately surveyed, the sites listed here areconsidered important areas for future study.1. Benwani Mountains. The low coastal

range that reaches westward to the Irianborder, and the humid lowlands south ofthis range, are little studied andapparently biologically rich. Recentdiscoveries include montane endemicmammals and a lowland bird of paradiseformerly known only from Irian Jaya.

2. Central Range. The high range that risessouth of the Sepik basin is little studiedand largely forested.

3. Southern Scarp Wet Zone. This isPapua New Guinea’s great wildernessarea – low-lands, low hills, and oldPleistocene volcanoes, with a high annualrainfall yet sparsely populated and littleknown.

4. Finisterre Range. The highlands and

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Synthesis Map #1

12. West New Britain. Little known mountainsand lowlands west of the island’s populationcenters.

13. Central and Eastern New Britain. Unsur-veyed high ranges and southern scarp low-lands.

14. Southern New Ireland. Biologicallyunknown highlands.

15. Bougainville Bamboo Forests. The onlyknown bamboo forests in Melanesia;unstudied biologically.

16. Mt. Takuan/Lake Lorolu. Little surveyedwet highland forests.

SYNTHESIS MAP #2: MARINESYSTEMS AND CRITICALWATERSHEDS

This map identifies 30 coastal and marineecosystems, and 5 watersheds, which are sites ofhigh biodiversity important for study and con-servation action.

Marine Areas

1. Maza/Fly Delta. Mangrove and associatednursery habitats with seagrass beds, greensea turtle foraging habitats, and dugong

habitat. Possibly threatened by overfishingand river-borne pollutants.

2. Gulf. Shallow intertidal and soft bottomhabitats, with mangrove communities thatcomprise important nursery areas forprawns, barramundi, and other comm-ercially important species. Possible threatsfrom overfishing, oil exploration, andpipeline.

3. Galley Reach. A highly productive area ofmangrove forests, wetlands, and reef,threatened by development andexploitation based in nearby Port Moresby.

4. Papuan Barrier and Lagoon. Barrier reef,coastal lagoon, and mangrove – habitat forhawksbill turtles, reef fishes, corals, andmarine invertebrates. This area of highdiversity faces threats from dynamiting,overfishing, and eutrophication fromsewage effluent emanating fromdevelopment near Port Moresby.

5. Dumoulin. A reef in proximity to thesouthern drop-off (potential upwelling),which is largely unknown; habitat for giantclams.

6. Rossel Island. Reef systems, lagoons, iso-lated island areas, and an upwelling area,are largely unknown biologically and facepossible threats from foreign poaching.

7. Pocklington Reef. An extensive reef system,thought to be relatively pristine, and isolatedby deep water from all other reef systems inMilne Bay. This reef may show affinities tothe New Georgia reef system.

8. Morobe Coast. An area of mangroves, seawalls, leatherback turtle nesting beaches, andfringing reefs, with the potential forcommunity-initiated conservation action. Anarea of high beta diversity facing threats fromnearby Lae town, especially logging ofcoastal hill forests.

9. Tufi Coastal Fjords. Coral fjords, fringingreefs, mangrove, sea walls, thermal vents inan environment unique in Papua NewGuinea, with high potential for naturetourism.

10. Trobriand Reef and Drop. Extensive coralreefs, habitat for hawksbill. turtle, beche-de-mer, giant clams, dugongs, green sea turtles,coral reef fishes, and invertebrates. Largelyunsurveyed, but thought to be highly pro-ductive reef systems.

11. Fullerborne. Raised limestone islands, man-grove and associated nursery areas, and sea-grass beds, with high habitat and structural

Synthesis Map #2

14.

12. Talasea. Reef and soft bottom marine habi-tats, nesting beaches for leatherback turtles.

13. Rabaul/Duke of York. Mangrove, seagrass,reef, and offshore deepwater areas with ther-mal vents. Threats arise from proximity toRabaul town and from timber operations inwatersheds above the coast.Tigak Islands. Mangroves, seagrasses, reef,

and deepwater mangrove lagoon, which arehighly productive fishery areas. Betadiversity is very high, and threats arise fromdynamite fishing.

15. Mussau Island. This marine system includesreef systems and seagrasses, some parts ofwhich are relatively pristine due totraditional practices of islanders, but nowthreatened by dynamite fishing.

16. Tanga/Tabar/Feni Islands . Subsea volcanicformations, mineral-rich areas, and isolatedisland systems that may be very importantfor endangered vertebrates such as seaturtles. This is an area of diverse habitats andunusual geomorphology, possibly threatenedby nearshore and offshore overfishing.

17. Southern New Ireland. An area of fringingreefs.

CNA CONSENSUS MAPS OF BIODIVERSITY 13

This map indicates 42 areas of importantterrestrial biodiversity in Papua New Guineaand identifies 13 wetland sites. Note that fourland classification categories are presented onthis map: very important, important, importantwetlands not subsumed in other categories, andunassigned. Many of the "unassigned" areas maysupport considerable levels of biodiversity andin many cases may merit conservation action at

18. Buka. A reef and lagoon complex with softbottom communities and coral reef fishes,but otherwise largely unknown. BukaChannel comprises a unique habitat in PapuaNew Guinea but is threatened by overfishingand poor land-use practices.

19. South Coast Bougainville. An area of reefsand associated habitats, with swamp forest,which differs from that on the mainland.Fauna are largely unknown, and this areacontains reef systems in proximity to deepopen ocean waters.

20. Borone Bay. A largely unknown area withunusual hydrology coupled with steeplysloped shore fall-off, facing threats fromlogging and mining in upland areas.Hermit Islands. Extensive, discrete patchreefs with sea turtles and a highly productivearea of rich fisheries. Reef areas are far frompopulation centers, but threats exist frompoaching and overfishing. Uncontrolledtourism in the western islands may representa potential threat as well.Manus Complex. Reefs and lagooncomplexes, seagrass beds, and seabirdrookery islands, with green tree snails, reeffishes, pelagics, and sea turtles. This is anarea of high beta diversity with highlydiverse reefs that are seriously threatenedfrom dynamite fishing and by phosphate

23. Cape Cretin. An area of ancient reef faces.24. Vitiaz Straits. Reefs, with steep land in

proximity, threatened by land-use practices.25. Volcanic Chain: Manam to Long. Volcanic

islands, reef walls, and sea mounts, sea turtlenesting beaches, and upwelling areas.Pelagic fishes congregate at the sea walls andsea mounts. Threats arise from overfishingand overharvesting of sea turtle eggs.

26. Madang Lagoon. Coral reefs, lagoonislands, and mangrove patches, with coraland fish species. This is a well-studied area,species-rich, with high habitat diversity,which faces threats from commercial devel-opment in Madang town, as well as loggingand dynamiting.

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27. Laing Island. This is a reef system andmarine research station, threatened bydynamiting and by copra plantation wastes.

28. Sepik Delta. Mangrove, brackish lake sys-tems. This is a highly productive area with aunique hydrology and habitat for crocodiles.Threats arise from watershed mismanage-ment and introduction of exotic fishes.

29. Vokeo and Islands. Small island systems in

association with deep water.30. Northwest Coast. Sandy beaches with

largely unsurveyed fauna. This area containsinteresting current regimes and bottomtopography and productive waters, and isthreatened by overfishing and coastal

Critical Watersheds

W1.Sepik/Fly Drainages. These comprise thetwo largest drainages in Papua New Guinea.The Fly is of critical importance to the healthof the Gulf of Papua.

W2.Morobe/Waria Watershed. Importantupland drainages that affect coastal islandsand reef of Morobe.

W3.Vanapa/Brown. A river system that drainsinto an important mangrove system.

W4.Musa/Topographers. Another small butimportant watershed that affects the marinesystems around Tufi.

W5.West New Britain. This watershed isimportant to the marine systems of WestNew Britain.

SYNTHESIS MAP #3: TERRESTRI-AL BIODIVERSITY


some level. They simply fall outside of thecurrent criteria for placement in the twohighest categories of importance.

1. The North Coastal Hills. Lower montaneand lowland alluvial forests that are relative-ly poorly surveyed but known to be rich inIrianese specialties. The area includes theendemic fern genus Rheopteris and alsointeresting coastal limestone communities.The highlands of the North Coastal Rangessupport two endemic species of largemammals (the giant glider and Scott’s treekangaroo) and a number of isolated andtaxonomically distinct bird populations.

2. The Star Highlands. Pristine alpine andmontane environments descending to mid-montane valleys, foothills, and fringing low-lands. They support a diverse montane andhigh altitude vegetation with many plantspecies in common with the mountains ofIrian Jaya. The subalpine forests are home toa significant population of the globallythreatened Macgregor’s bird of paradise. Theenvironmental transect from the summitheights northward to the Ai River lowlandshas been documented as having the richestknown mammal fauna in New Guinea.

CNA CONSENSUS MAPS OF BIODIVERSITY

3. Central Range/Sepik Foothills. A largewilderness area with low human populationand remarkable habitat diversity, from low-land to subalpine forest. The area includesextensive stands of Agathis labillardieri , whichsupport a highly diverse epiphytic flora. Thehealth of the Sepik hill forests are important to the river and its human cultures.

4. Upper Fly Lowlands. This area of lowlandand hill forest is delimited by the PalmerRiver on the east and Irian border on the westan the southern scarp of the central cordillera onthe north. Except for the extensive settlementsrelated to the Ok Tedi mine (in the west) thisarea comprises a large expanse of old growthwet rainforest that supports a small humanpopulation and is characteristic of theextraordinarily rich biota of the upper Flyplatform.

5. Tonda/Bulla Plain. Savanna and riverinegallery forest unique in PNG. The large areas ofsavanna and seasonally flooded grasslands andmarshes constitute a globally significantwintering ground for migratory waders andwaterfowl both from Australia and thePalearctic.

6. The Northern Trans-Fly. Unsurveyed sea-

CNA Synthesis Map #3

15

sonal forest and woodland that is probably ahabitat formation unique in PNG. Anundercollected flora closely related to thatoccurring in the Cape York Peninsula.

7. Mount Bosavi/Aramia Watershed. Anoutlying Pleistocene volcano and vastalluvial plain. Virtually uninhabited.Proposed for national park status more than adecade ago, the forests of the great extinctMount Bosavi volcano have long beenrecognized to be of importance toconservation in PNG. The tract comprisesthe volcanic cone plus lower slopes to thewest and southwest. These forests arefaunistically rich and virtually undisturbed.

8. Doma Peaks/Leiwaro Highlands. Richhighlands environments with high scenic andbiotic value. Doma Peaks (and Teri Gap)have been considered for national park

status. These comprise alarge mid-montane and uppermontane tract of un-inhabitedforest that is exceedingly richin birds of paradise. Roadaccess to 3000 meters on TariPass. Includes volcanicpeaks.

9. Kikori Karst/Lake Kutubu.Unknown and unsurveyed,with a remarkable karst topo-graphy and PNG’s largesthighland lake. Lake Kutubusupports a diverse aquaticplant flora, and 11 of the 14known fish species in thelake are endemic to it. Thearea also includes anenormous tract of towerlimestone, which isbotanically unknown. Lime-stone floras in southeast Asiaare often very rich, and, if theGreat Papuan Plateau reflectsthis diversity, it is mostimportant that detailedstudies be made of its flora.The limestone flora is poorlyknown from New Guinea, butit will likely include many

undescribed species and possibly newgeneric records.

10. Giluwe. The massive Giluwe shield volcanois capped by the largest contiguous expanseof alpine vegetation in PNG. This is aglobally significant montane and alpinewilderness threatened by logging of thebeechpodocarp forests of its middle andupper slopes. Very rich biologically.Subalpine bogs extensive.

11. Adelbert Mountains. Threatened lowermontane forests that are home to the endem-ic fire-maned bowerbird. the rarest birdspecies in PNG and the bird species with themost circumscribed geographic range knownfor mainland PNG. The forests are littleknown but probably diverse.

12. Bismark Highlands/Ramu Basin. FromPNG’s highest summit to one of its richest.

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lowland alluvial forests. The Ramu supportsextensive areas of lowland rainforest (includ-ing swamp forest), some of which isdeveloped on ultrabasic parent rock. Theonly known locality of Lauterbachia(Monimiaceae).

13. Kubor Highlands. High peaks and unin-habited montane forests, much on limestonecapped with volcanic ash. A fragileecosystem that probably contains localendemic plant species.

14. Crater Mountain. Wet lower montane forestand Pleistocene volcanoes. The CraterMountain ecosystem is a proposed WildlifeManagement Area, chosen because of it largeexpanse of original forest and largepopulations of a diverse array of birds ofparadise, including the rare black sicklebill(Epimachus fastuosus) and blue bird of par-adise (Paradisaea rudolphi).

15. Purari Basin. Wet zone lowlands and hills.Virtually uninhabited and little studied. Thisincludes a very diverse area of mangrove andswamp vegetation with lowland rainforest onsmall limestone hills out of the surroundingswamps. These evidently support many localplant endemics but are virtually uncollected.The area includes numerous species ofPandanus and also a rich palm flora,particularly of Calamus.

16. Finisterre Range. PNG's youngest mountainrange, with alpine highlands that remainlittle surveyed. This large montane foresttract, with a broad elevational range fromcoastal hill forest to the treeline, supportsspecies endemics of three birds of paradise,two honeyeaters, and a tree kangaroo.Saruwaged and Cromwell Ranges. Alpinehighlands and hill tracts threatened bydevelopment. This and the Finisterre areasupport numbers of locally endemic bird andmammal species and the only extensiveDacrydium forests in the Southern Hemi-sphere that remains unlogged.

18. Watut Hills and Watershed. Little-studiedhill country east of the central highlandsarea. The endemic plant genus Piora is


recorded only from Mt. Piora and Mt.Amungwiwa. The lower reaches of the WatutRiver drainage support populations of theendemic root parasite Langsdorfia papuana,a genus otherwise known only fromMadagascar and Central and South America.

19. Lakekamu Basin/Chapman Range.Includes an entirely uninhabited tract offorest that ranges from pristine lowlandalluvial forest to upper montane forest neartreeline, all within a transect of no more than20 kilometers. The lowland forest supportslarge populations of the southern crownedpigeon, southern cassowary, and Pesquet'sparrot.

20. Central Province Dry Zone. Savanna andmonsoon forest complex with wetlands,threatened by development. Also includesthe second largest mangrove area in CentralProvince.

21. Bowutu Mountains/Kuper Range. TheBowutu Mountains comprise an area ofultrabasic montane flora plus coastal, man-grove, and seagrass communities. The KuperRange is a high coastal mountain complexthat is virtually uninhabited and the site of anumber of detailed ecological studies onbirds and plants.

22. Owen Stanley Highlands. Extensive alpineareas and vast tracts of pristine montaneforests, ranging downward in the north to theforested Ioma lowlands. The Mount AlbertEdward dome includes the largest alpineuplands in eastern PNG and thus is a criticalmontane resource. The lowland forests con-stitute a critically threatened resource inpeninsular Papua, and those suggested forprotection here may support populations ofthe globally threatened (and world's largest)butterfly, Ornithoptera alexandrae.

23. Musa River. Little known lowland forestsand wetlands.

24. Safia Dry Zone. A low rainfall interior zonewith unusual animal and plant communities.

25. Topographers Range. An isolated volcaniccone in association with the coastal fjord-lands of Tufi.

17

26. Mt. Suckling. A large montane wildernessisolated from the main Owen Stanley high-lands. Virtually uninhabited and little dis-turbed at this point. The Suckling massif isthe only significant alpine uplands in theeastern peninsula, and, in conjunction withthe adjacent Bonua basin, stands as aremarkably pristine aggregate of montaneand lowland forest in easternmost mainlandPNG.

27. Cloudy Mountains. The most southerlymountain range in PNG. No collections areknown from the area. Urgently needs study.

28. Goodenough Highlands. The massivecentral peaks of Goodenough Island arehigher than any other mountains on NewGuinea's fringing islands. The mountainforests that cloak these summits are home toan endemic species of forest wallaby and abat endemic to these eastern islands. Manybotanical novelties.

29. Fergusson/Normanby. Unusual montanehabitats and (on Normanby) ultrabasic dwarfforest. Fergusson Island is one of PNG'sgreat biological unknowns, with threedistinct mountain ranges, geothermal areas,and other natural wonders. The triok possumDactylopsila tatei, is a species endemic toFergusson. Goldie's bird of paradise isconfined to the forests of these two islands.

30. Woodlark Island. Floristically unusual; theforests of the interior of Woodlark are hometo the endemic Woodlark cuscus.

31. Louisiades. The flora of this archipelago hasbeen recognized as one of extreme botanicalinterest with high rates of local endemism,particularly at the species level. It includesimportant stands of Diospyros (including anundescribed ebony) and several locallyendemic species of Hopea. The forests ofTagula Island are home to an endemicspecies of honeyeater and butcherbird.

32. Umboi Island. Umboi is the largest andrichest of PNG's north coastal islands. It ishome to populations of large numbers ofspecies endemic to PNG, as well as aremarkable array of fruit bats (eight species).

1 8

supports one of the richest waterbird popu-lations in the Bismarck Archipelago.

33. West New Britain. Mountain and lowlandforests distinct from mainland. Threatenedby large scale timber operations. TheWhiteman Range and its foothills support animportant tract of limestone flora, sur-rounded by forests developed on sedimenta-ry materials. Little is known of the area, butlarge tracts of Nothofagus forest occur on thehigher plateaus.

34. Willaumez Peninsula. A remarkable physio-graphic feature with Lake Dakataua, itincludes a very diverse area of lowland rain-forest on rich volcanic soils. Threatened bylogging and proposed development for oilpalm plantations.

35. Eastern New Britain. Includes the upliftedand limestone-capped Nakanai Plateau. Littlesurveyed but apparently biotically rich.Lowland rainforest and montane forest,including areas of forest dominated byLithocarpus and Nothofagus developed onthe limestone substrate. The largest highaltitude area in the Bismarck Archipelago.

36. The Baining Mountains. The high ranges ofeasternmost New Britain, threatened bylogging activities. Not adequately surveyed.These mountains, isolated by rivers andlowlands from the Nakanai Mountains to thesouthwest, are certainly as fascinating as thelatter. They have not been adequatelysurveyed and are 500 meters higher. Thesemountains are surrounded by lowlands with agrowing populace and probably will bedegraded unless action is taken soon.

37. Southern New Ireland. The Verron andHans Meyer ranges are little known highranges that merit study and conservation.Important montane and lowland vegetation.Brief initial surveys have shown thismontane area to be very rich, with a numberof bird species endemic to New Ireland.

38. Southern Bougainville Island. Highland wetforests threatened by logging and devel-opment. This area includes the central and


southern segments of the Crown PrinceRange, from Panguna south to Lake Lorolu,and includes Mounts Takuan and Taraka.Where appropriate, this area extends down-ward toward the coast where good originalforest prevails. Bougainville is home tomany species whose affinities lie with theSolomon Islands to the south and southeast.Among the many interesting vertebrates isthe little known Bougainville honeyeater(Stresemannia bougainvillei), representing agenus endemic to this island.

39. Eastern Bougainville. Supports the largeststands of bamboos in Papuasia. A variety ofvegetation types occur, including remnantstands of Terminalia brassii in swampforests. Threatened by logging and possiblysulfur mining.

40. The Lelet Plateau. Comprises important hilland lowland rainforests, with some lowermontane elements as well. These probablycontain many plant endemics withinteresting biogeographical


Botanically, the area includes stands of anendemic Calophyllum and Sararanga, whichare threatened by logging activity.

W6. Sissano Lagoon and Wetlands. Comprisethe largest coastal lagoon on the north coastof mainland PNG, associated with a largewetland.

W7. The Middle Sepik. A huge complex ofriver meanders, oxbows, tributary lakes,marshes, and woodland swamps, both ofecological and economic importance.

W8. Sepik Delta/Middle Ramu. A coastal wet-land/deltaic complex (Sepik) in associationwith a low alluvial meander belt of theRamu River, the latter rich in swampforests.

W9. Middle Fly. The Fly River, although only1200 km long, is, on volume of water dis-charged, so large that it ranks with the

relationships with Manus, thePhilippines, and the SolomonIslands. Threatened by selectivelogging in the lowlands.

41. Mussau Island. The interior ofMussau Island, the largest in the St.Matthias group, comprises a largeblock of rainforest. It supportsseven species of birds endemic toPNG, two of which are endemic toMussau, the Mussau Rufous fantail(Rhipidura matthiae) and theMussau pied monarch (Monarchamenckei).

42. Manus Island. The largest of theAdmiralty group, isolated bothfrom the great Bismarck islands tothe southeast, and from mainlandNew Guinea far to the south. Notsurprisingly, Manus's isolatedfauna is rich in PNG endemics(eleven birds, two mammals). Ofthese, six are endemic to the

Wetland Sites

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world's great rivers. The middle Fly flood-plain, 15-20 km wide, is a mosaic of lakes,alluvial forest, swamp grassland, and swampsavanna. This, includes PNG’s largest lake(Lake Murray).

W10. Lower Fly. A mosaic of swamps, openwater, savanna, and gallery forest. The areahas abundant wildlife and is an importanttourist destination. It constitutes a veryimportant wetland both for migrating birdsand resident waterfowl. In Australiandrought years it becomes an importantrefuge for Australian wetland birds.

W11.Sirunki Wetlands. The Sirunki Basinstraddles the main montane watersheddivide of PNG, with one segment of thewetlands draining northward into the Sepik,the other segment draining southward intothe Fly system. An important highlandheadwaters.

W12.Lake Tebera. One of PNG's few lowermontane lakes. Supports at least oneendemic fish plus other rare fish species.

W13. East Gulf Coastal Wetlands. The greaterPurari delta comprises a large complex ofmangroves, deltaic swamps, and tidal envi-ronments.

W14. Mambare Wetlands. Woodland swampsand mangroves.

W15. Central Province Wetlands. A series ofwetlands lie northwest of Port Moresby;because of proximity to the capital thesewetlands are under varying levels of

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exploitation and disturbance. They supportlarge and diverse populations of waterfowland other wetland birds. The area isparticularly important as a dry season refugefor migrant waterfowl from Australia and asa staging area for Palearctic shorebirds ontheir way to and from wintering areas inAustralia.

W16. Aria Wetlands. Northern coast of western

New Britain.W17. Toriu. Wetlands. On the eastern coast of

the Gazelle Peninsula, comprise a large areaof estuarine marshes and flood plains alongthe lower courses of the Toriu, Nesai, andPali rivers. Mangrove forests occur in thenorth, and there are extensive areas ofherbaceous swamps.

W18. Bougainville South Coastal Wetlands.Important insular wetlands on the westerncoast of Bougainville island, dominated byCampnosperma brevipetiolata, Terminaliabrassii, and Metroxylon solomonensis.

W19. Lakes Onim. and Bune. Small lakes sur-rounded by herbaceous wetland. (Not shownon map #3.)

W20. Ramu River at Brahman Mission. Low-land swamp forest dominated by Camp-nosperma brevipetiolata. (Not shown onmap #3.)

W21. Biges River. A short coastal stream with atidal estuary. The stream supports a diversefish fauna (28 species recorded). (Not shown

on map #3.)


THE CNA

RECOMMENDATIONS

he Conservation Needs Assessmentdeveloped a consensus on a range ofrecommendations, which are grouped

into seven categories for future action and aresummarized below. Please see the full CNAReport for detailed recommendations.detailed recommendations.

National Environment and Conservation Plan

§ The proposed National Environment andConservation Plan should be fullydeveloped and implemented by thegovernment and nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs). This plan shouldensure that effective mechanisms areestablished for the future involvement ofNGOs and landowners in environmentalmonitoring and project implementation,and for communication with landowners.

§ Governmental capacity forenvironmental impact assessment,monitoring, and enforcement should bestrengthened. Special measures need tobe introduced to control the loss ofbiodiversity in Papua New Guinea andto control traffic in Wildlife.

Natural Resources Option Center (NROC)

§ An autonomous Natural Resources Option

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Center should be established to increasepublic awareness of environmental anddevelopment issues, and to providelandowners' groups with balanced anddetailed information about their legal rights,about natural resource development optionsand the consequences and impacts of these,and the experiences of other communities.

§ The CNA Maps of High Biodiversity Areasshould be distributed widely through theNRCIC to landowners' groups, NGOs, andother decision-makers.

Environmental Legislation and Regulations

§ The existing legislative and regulatoryframework relating to environmental pro-tection needs to be reviewed, as some lawspresently on the books have not beengazetted and others are not enforced.

• The National Conservation Council shouldbe constituted, and the Conservation AreasAct of 1978 should be fully implemented.

• The Land Groups Incorporation Act of 1974should be amended to make it moreculturally appropriate and to make defini-tions of customary landowners' groups moreaccurate.

Environmental and Conservation Management

§ The Land Disputes Settlement Act of 1975should be amended to strengthen decisionsof local and district land courts.

§ The Land Tenure Conversion Act of 1964should be amended to enable reconversionof individual freehold rights to customarytenure where appropriate.

§ Laws and regulations covering marine con-servation need to be developed.

§ The current moratorium on new forestryprojects should be continued, and existingprojects should be reassessed.

§ The provision for exemptions in the newForest Act should be replaced and exemp-tions granted since 1989 should bereviewed.

§ Greater emphasis should be placed on localparticipation and grassroots conservation in-itiatives. Local resource owner requests toparticipate in government-sponsored conser-vation initiatives should be accorded highpriority.

§ The introduction of conservation modelsfrom other countries to Papua New Guineashould be treated with caution, as local con-ditions, knowledge, and practices may makeforeign approaches inappropriate. Instead,approaches more appropriate to conditionsin Papua New Guinea should be emphasized.

§ A social legend (see box, page 7) should beplaced on the front of the CNA biodiversitymap so all potential users recognize the needto consult landowning clans before takingaction based on the map’s information.

Conservation Research

§ Papua New Guinea offers numerous opport-unities for research by biologists and social sc-ientists. A few of the priority areas identifiedin the course of the CAN workshop includesurveys of unknown biotas, studies ofthreatened species, marine systems, lowlandrainforests, and crop genetic resources, andcollection of traditional knowledge about

natural resource use.§ All researchers must be aware of the need to

keep local landowners informed andinvolved, and in general should seek out theparticipation of Papua New Guinean scien-tists and students.

§ Social scientists should be fully involved inanalyzing, designing, monitoring, andevaluating conservation activities in PapuaNew Guinea.

Training

§ Training is needed in several importantareas, including participatory rural appraisal,rapid rural appraisal, social feasibilityassessment for NGOs and government, andcourses in parataxonomy.

§ Training should take several forms, includ-ing in-service training and formal courses ofstudy, including professional degrees insocial and biological sciences.

§ Particular stress should be placed upon pro-viding local resource owners with training inenvironmental monitoring skills through theproposed NROC and/or by NGOs.

Institutions

§ The relationship between NGOs and gov-ernment needs to be strengthened, begin-ning with the appointment of an NGO rep-resentative to the National Environment andConservation Working Group and to theNational Conservation Council.

§ The Department of Forests and the Depart-ment of Environment and Conservationshould improve their working relationshipswith NGOs, particularly with regard to coor-dination of activities and sharing ofinformation.

§ The government may want to consider estab-lishing an independent environmental trustfund, to support local and national conserva-tion activity in Papua New Guinea. Thiscould be financed by a levy on extractiveindustries such as logging and mining, aswell as by support from international donoragencies.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Most of the material in this report is derived fromthe 2-volume PapuaNew Guinea Conservation NeedsAssessment Report available from theBiodiversitySupport Program.

Aloloum, W 1982. Problems with Jant Clear-Felling in Madang. In Morauta, L., J. Per-netta, and W, Heaney. (eds.) TraditionalConservation in Papua New Guinea: Impli-cations for Today. Monograph 16, Instituteof Applied Social and Economic Research,Boroko, Papua New Guinea.

Beehler, B.M. 1992. Background Data on PapuaNew Guinea. Unpublished.

Brown, M., and B. Wyckoff-Baird. 1992.Designing Integrated Conservation andDevelopment Projects. Biodiversity SupportProgram, Washington, D.C.

Commission of Inquiry into Aspects of theTimber Industry in Papua New Guinea.1990. The Barnett Report. The Asia-PacificAction Group, Hobart, Australia.

De'ath, C. 1982. Forest Conservation Practices inPapua New Guinea. In Morauta, L., J.

Pernetta, and W. Heady. (eds.) TraditionalConservation in Papua New Guinea:Implications for Today. Monograph 16,Institute of Applied Social and EconomicResearch, Boroko, Papua New Guinea.

Department of Environment and Conservation.1991. Strategic Plan: First Draft, December1991.

Government of Papua New Guinea. 1992. Reporton Papua New Guinea for UNCED.

King, D., and S. Ranck (eds.) 1982. Papua NewGuinea Atlas. A Nation in Transition. RobertBrown and Associates (Australia) Pry Ltd.,Bathurst, in association with the Universityof Papua New Guinea, Boroko.

McNeely, J.A., K.R. Miller, WV. Reid, R.A.Mittermeier, and T.B. Werner. 11990. Con-serving the World's Biological Diversity.IUCN, WRI, Cl, WWF-US, the World Bank.

Mittermeier, R.A. 1988. Primate Diversity andthe Tropical Forest: Case Studies fromBrazil and Madagascar and the Importanceof the Megadiversity Countries. In Wilson,

E.O. (ed.) 1988. Biodiversity. National

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Academy Press, Washington D.C.Morauta, L., J. Pernetta, and W. Heaney. (eds.)

Traditional Conservation in Papua NewGuinea: Implications for Today. Monograph16, Institute of Applied Social and Eco-nomic Research, Boroko, Papua NewGuinea.

Myers, N. 1988a. Tropical Forests and theirSpecies: Going, Going ... ? In Wilson, E.O.(ed.) Biodiversity. National Academy Press,Washington D.C.

Myers, N. 1988b. Threatened Biotas: 'Hot Spots'in Tropical Forests. The Environmentalist,vol. 8, no. 3. National Academy Press,Washington D.C.

Powell, J.M. 1982. Traditional Management andConservation of Vegetation in Papua NewGuinea. In Morauta, L., J. Pernetta, and WHeaney. (eds.) Traditional Conservation inPapua New Guinea: Implications for Today.Monograph 16, Institute of Applied Socialand Economic Research, Boroko, PapuaNew Guinea.

Prance, G.T. (ed.) 1982. Biological Diversifica-tion in the Tropics. Columbia UniversityPress, New York.

Spears, J. 1988. Preserving Biological Diversityin the Tropical Forests of the Asian Region.In Wilson, E.O. (ed.) Biodiversity. National

Academy Press, Washington D.C.Unisearch PNG. 1992. United Nations Confer-

ence on Environment and Development:Papua New Guinea National Report. Uni-versity of Papua New Guinea, Boroko.

Walker, D. 1982. Speculations on the Origin andEvolution of Sunda-Sahul Rain Forests. InPrance, G.T. (ed.) 1982. Biological Diver-sification in the Tropics. Columbia Universi-ty Press, New York.

Wells, M., K. Brandon, and L. Hannah. 1992.People and Parks: Linking Protected AreaManagement with Local Communities.World Bank, World Wildlife Fund, UnitedStates Agency for International Develop-ment, Washington D.C.

Wilson, E.O. (ed.) 1988. Biodiversity. NationalAcademy Press, Washington D.C.

World Wide Fund for Nature. 1992. ProtectedAreas Review for the Government of PapuaNew Guinea. WWF, Gland, Switzerland.

Wurm, S. A., and S. Hattori (general editors). 198 1. Language Atlas of the Pacific Area Part1. New Guinea Area, Oceania, Australia.Pacific Linguistics, Series C, No. 60. Pub-lished by the Australian Academy of theHumanities in collaboration with the JapanAcademy, Canberra, Australia.

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