PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 3:19 PM by Tevita

Local communities celebrate largest protected area in Papua New Guinea

From : Science Centric

The creation of three new wildlife management areas in Papua New Guinea will protect some of Asia-Pacific’s most threatened and unique wildlife habitats.
The new Aramba, Tonda extension and Weriaver areas cover about 710,000 hectares in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, and join up with the existing Tonda wildlife management area of 610,000 hectares. These areas, together with the adjoining Wasur National Park in Papua, mean that almost 2 million hectares of the TransFly Ecoregion will be protected.
‘The creation of these new protected areas means that the TransFly region will now contain the largest continuous protected area in the country,’ said Dr David Melick, WWF’s TransFly Ecoregion Coordinator.
The TransFly is a vast, low-lying coastal region of grasslands, savannas wetlands and monsoon forest in south-central New Guinea. Home to such unique wildlife as marsupial cats, endemic flying possums and birds of paradise, the region covers more than 10 million hectares, straddling the borders of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
‘We hope that this region will soon be formally recognised as a cross-border conservation zone to enable international action on conservation and livelihood threats,’ Dr Melick added.
Hundreds of local tribal groups from surrounding villages celebrated the announcement of the protected areas in a traditional ceremony. Local community leaders, politicians and wildlife officials took part in the ceremony, as well as world-renowned conservationist and author Professor Jared Diamond, and WWF representatives, including WWF International’s Executive Director of Conservation, Guillermo Castilleja.
‘We are working with local landowners so indigenous values can shape a biodiversity vision to protect priority landscapes on both sides of the political border,’ said Dr Melick.
‘This approach identifies and prioritises the landscapes, species and traditions that have particular cultural, social or livelihood values.’
There are over 60 cultural groups, whose lives, customs, languages and knowledge are linked inextricably with the landscapes of the TransFly. It is also home to some of the largest wetlands in the Asia-Pacific region, but it is threatened by development and agricultural expansion. Millions of birds inhabit the floodplains, with over 50 per cent of New Guinea’s bird species found in the ecoregion, including 80 endemic species.
The wildlife management areas will be managed by local landowner committees, with assistance from WWF to promote protection of wildlife and habitat, and sustainable enterprises such as eco-tourism.



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DIVA-GIS	Wednesday, October 03, 2007 Posted 3:19 PM by Tevita Local communities celebrate largest protected area in Papua New Guinea From : Science Centric The creation of three new wildlife management areas in Papua New Guinea will protect some of Asia-Pacific’s most threatened and unique wildlife habitats. The new Aramba, Tonda extension and Weriaver areas cover about 710,000 hectares in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, and join up with the existing Tonda wildlife management area of 610,000 hectares. These areas, together with the adjoining Wasur National Park in Papua, mean that almost 2 million hectares of the TransFly Ecoregion will be protected. ‘The creation of these new protected areas means that the TransFly region will now contain the largest continuous protected area in the country,’ said Dr David Melick, WWF’s TransFly Ecoregion Coordinator. The TransFly is a vast, low-lying coastal region of grasslands, savannas wetlands and monsoon forest in south-central New Guinea. Home to such unique wildlife as marsupial cats, endemic flying possums and birds of paradise, the region covers more than 10 million hectares, straddling the borders of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. ‘We hope that this region will soon be formally recognised as a cross-border conservation zone to enable international action on conservation and livelihood threats,’ Dr Melick added. Hundreds of local tribal groups from surrounding villages celebrated the announcement of the protected areas in a traditional ceremony. Local community leaders, politicians and wildlife officials took part in the ceremony, as well as world-renowned conservationist and author Professor Jared Diamond, and WWF representatives, including WWF International’s Executive Director of Conservation, Guillermo Castilleja. ‘We are working with local landowners so indigenous values can shape a biodiversity vision to protect priority landscapes on both sides of the political border,’ said Dr Melick. ‘This approach identifies and prioritises the landscapes, species and traditions that have particular cultural, social or livelihood values.’ There are over 60 cultural groups, whose lives, customs, languages and knowledge are linked inextricably with the landscapes of the TransFly. It is also home to some of the largest wetlands in the Asia-Pacific region, but it is threatened by development and agricultural expansion. Millions of birds inhabit the floodplains, with over 50 per cent of New Guinea’s bird species found in the ecoregion, including 80 endemic species. The wildlife management areas will be managed by local landowner committees, with assistance from WWF to promote protection of wildlife and habitat, and sustainable enterprises such as eco-tourism. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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