Papua at the Crossroads: A Plea for Systematic Conservation Planning in One of the Largest Remaining Areas of Tropical Rainforest

Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

Christoph Parsch¹  Margaretha Pangau-Adam²  Holger Kreft³  Craig Nitschke⁵  Benjamin Wagner⁵  Julian Schrader⁶ 

[1] Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany;Biology Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Cenderawasih University, UNCEN Waena Campus, Jayapura, Indonesia;Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany;Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany;Faculty of Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Richmond, VIC, Australia;School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Indonesia;    Manokwari Declaration;    New Guinea;    ecoregions;    conservation;    conservation planning;   

DOI  :  10.3389/ffgc.2022.763131

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Land-use change has progressed rapidly throughout the Indonesian archipelago and is now intruding into western New Guinea (Tanah Papua), one of the world’s last wilderness areas with extensive tracts of pristine and highly diverse tropical rainforests. Tanah Papua has reached a crossroads between accelerating environmental degradation and sustainable development policies entailing landscape-scale conservation targets, pledged in the Manokwari Declaration. We assessed the representation of ecoregions and elevational zones within Tanah Papua’s protected area network to identify its shortcomings at broad spatial scales. Lowland ecoregions are less protected than mountainous regions, with half of the western and southern lowlands designated for land-use concessions. Under the direct threat from land-use change, the political motivation in Tanah Papua toward conservation- and culture-centered land management provides a window of opportunity for scientifically guided, proactive conservation planning that integrates sustainable development for the benefit of Indigenous communities.

【 授权许可】

Unknown