Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Occupying less than 0.5 per cent of the Earth’s landmass, Papua New Guinea is proud to be home to 6–8 per cent of the world’s biodiversity [ ] 179 The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Programme Following two decades of effort and experience, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Programme (TKCP) has shaped the concept of commu- nity based conservation in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Together with the YUS Conservation Area, the country’s first and only nationally recognized conservation area, the TKCP serves as a benchmark and national model for community-based conservation in PNG. The TKCP is the Woodland Park Zoo’s signature international conservation pro- gramme, focused on conserving the endangered Matschiei’s tree kanga- roo (Dendrolagus matschiei) and its habitat in PNG’s Huon Peninsula. From its beginning in 1996, TKCP has evolved into a holistic programme supporting habitat protection for a wide range of threatened species, as well as initiatives to enhance local community livelihoods and access to government services. The programme has grown from its roots in moun- tainous areas to embrace a broad landscape encompassing marine and coastal reef ecosystems, lowland and montane rainforests, alpine grass- lands, and the agricultural areas and settlements belonging to more than 50 villages within the Yopno, Uruwa and Som (YUS) watershed areas in the Huon Peninsula. Together with local landowners in the YUS, the PNG government, Conservation International, and many other supporters, TKCP helped to establish Papua New Guinea’s first nationally–protected Conservation Area in 2009. Given an IUCN Protected Area category VI, the YUS is the first and only protected area of its type in the country, providing protection at the landscape level. It is wholly owned by the local people, and has the full sup- port of the PNG government for long- term protection. To encourage the creation of other nationally-protected conservation areas in PNG, TKCP and Conservation International have published “ Lessons Learned from the Field: Achieving Conservation Status in Papua New Guinea ” to serve as a guide for other PNG practitioners of community- based conservation projects. Reefs in Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea C onsidered one of the world’s most biodiversity-rich countries, Papua New Guinea is also one of the last frontiers of biodiversity discovery and conservation. The country rivals Borneo, the Amazon and the Congo in terms of biodiversity wealth, hosting 6–8 per cent of global species and one-sixth of the world’s known languages. Papua New Guinea comprises the eastern half of the largest tropical island on earth, along with hundreds of smaller outlying islands, its land mass occupying less than 0.5 per cent of the world’s total. The interior comprises vast expanses of rainforest covering around 75 per cent of the country as well as spectacular highland valleys, grass lowlands, ancient swamps and mangroves. Mt. Wilhelm is the highest peak, at 3,600m. Papua New Guinea hosts 4.5 per cent of the world’s known land mammals and is home to over 800 species of bird, and 25,000–30,000 vascular plant species. Between 1998 and 2008, at least 1,060 new species were discovered, including 218 plant, 580 invertebrate, 71 fish, 132 amphibian, 43 reptile, two bird and 12 mammal. Brocken Inaglory on Wikimedia Commons