Clans join forces to save wildlife

The endangered tree kangaroo. Photo / AP

PORT MORESBY - Papua New Guinea has created a reserve to protect Matschie's tree kangaroos and other endangered species after years of criticism for turning a blind eye to environmental issues.

The Pacific Island nation, where illegal logging is rampant, has recently tried to overhaul its image in the conservation community, taking the lead on such issues as getting tropical forest protections included in a United Nations climate pact.

The plan for a conservation area stemmed from an unusual agreement between the Government and 35 indigenous communities to protect the 76,000ha of remote tropical forest, coastal reefs and mountains on the island of New Guinea.

Leaders representing the 10,000 villagers living in the YUS Conservation Area have agreed to prohibit hunting and development such as logging and mining. In exchange, the Seattle-based Woodland Park Zoo and the Virginia-based Conservation International will provide as much as US$2 million ($4.05 million) for health and education programmes.

Zoo field conservation director and world expert on the tree kangaroo Lisa Dabek and other researchers said the agreement would go a long way towards ensuring the survival of the tree kangaroo, a leaf-eating mammal the size of a raccoon that looks like a cross between "a bear, kangaroo, koala and monkey".

Dabek said: "They are completely adapted to living in the rain forest and trees, which is not what you think of when you think of kangaroos."

She has spent more than 20 years studying the animal, which is found only on the island, but is related to tree kangaroos in Australia.

Until now, their habitat was under significant threat. A study last year in the journal Biotropica found that nearly a quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests had been damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002 - mostly due to illegal logging that extracts timber for flooring and furniture in Chinese factories.

But many of Papua New Guinea's forests, including the new reserve, are still untouched, and researchers hope the arrangement will find success.

Unlike government-run parks that often exist in name only in many parts of Asia, the land committed for the project is all owned by local clans.

Conservationists are counting on the locals to bring a particular commitment to protecting their homes.

Researchers said the reserve was also a good first step towards reducing global emissions.

The trees in the reserve absorb 13 million tonnes of carbon each year.

"Hopefully, other tropical forest nations will follow this example of simultaneously combating climate change and conserving the ecosystems on which people depend," Conservation International president Russell Mittermeier said.

- AP