P a p u a
Biodiversity and Tropical Forests in Indonesia.

The island of New Guinea is the second largest island in the World. The Indonesian province of Papua (Irian Jaya) comprises an area of greater than 416,000 km² and covers the western half of the island of New Guinea. It is perhaps the biologically richest and most diverse assemblage of ecosystems in the Tropical Pacific region. Papua contains almost half of Indonesia’s total biodiversity; it contains a significant portion of the world’s remaining tropical forests as well as some of the most pristine coral reefs in the world. It has a unique array of plant and animal species, including Bird of Paradise, bird wing butterflies, tree kangaroos, cuscus, orchids, Auricaria trees and rhododendrons. Papua owes this rich biodiversity to a combination of factors. The first factor is its wide altitudinal range, from sea levels to the highest mountains in the Asia pacific region.

Second, Indonesia straddles two major Biogeographic Regions (Oriental and the Australasian) and is the only country to do so. This provides for a mixing of different faunas on Papua. Third, it has an enormous array of habitat types, ranging from alpine vegetation on the highest mountains, surrounding alpine valleys, a variety of Montane Forests in the many rugged ranges throughout Papua, a diverse mix of lowland forests, swamps, Coastal Savannas and mangroves. Fourth, much of the landscape has remained untouched by development until recent times, making it one of the last remaining tropical wilderness areas in the World (Conservation International 1999).

The Biodiversity Action Plan for Indonesia (1993), prepared by the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), reported that over 90% of forest cover of Papua remains intact. Conservation International (1999) stated that figure had fallen to 75%-80%. Clearly, threats to Papua’s biodiversity are mounting rapidly. The major threats to Papuan ecosystems are from large-scale infrastructure projects, such as dams, roads, large- and small-scale mining, and oil and gas development. An example of the affect of roads is reported by the World Bank (2001), which stated that a new road constructed from Wamema in the Baliem Valley up to Danau (Lake) Habbema in the alpine zone and beyond through protection forests has opened these areas to illegal logging. This road has led to the systematic removal in January 1995 of low quality timbers that make up the Montane Forests on steep and erodible terrain at 3000 m altitude.

Other threats are forest conversion for transmigration and plantation, agriculture logging and the introduction of exotic species. Marine ecosystems are threatened like those elsewhere in Indonesia. There is an increasing awareness in Papua of the dangers of introduced animals and plants. Wasur National Park, for example, has a number of introduced plants that clog up waterways and replace riparian vegetation. The establishment of several populations of Macaque Monkeys (Macaque fascicularis) is a threat to Papuan birds and other fruit eating animals. Introduction of the toads Bufo melanostictus and B. marinus may well be disastrous for small mammals and amphibians. The introduced fish, the Striped Snakehead (Channa striata) and Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus), are well established and compete with and predate on native fish.

The cultural integrity of many forest dwelling people in Papua (e.g., Asmat, Korowai, Dani, Bauzi) is closely linked to the biodiversity of their surrounds.