Interim National Terrestrial Conservation Assessment for Papua New Guinea : Protecting Biodiversity in a changing Climate

Abstract

Papua New Guinea contains more than 7% of the world's biodiversity in less than 1% of the land area. PNG has more than 18,894 described plant species, 719 birds, 271 mammals, 227 reptiles, 266 amphibians and 341 freshwater fish species. But this extremely rich biodiversity on which the PNG people depend is under threat. The current status of species in PNG includes: 1 extinct, 36 critically endangered, 49 endangered, 365 vulnerable and 288 near threatened. Morever, 1 in 5 assessed species in PNG is endemic, that is they only occur in PNG. The primary threats to biodiversity include forest conversion and degradation from logging, mining, expanding industrial agriculture and a rapidly expanding largely rural human population with expanding needs for cash crops and subsistence gardens. Compounding all of this is the looming threat of climate change.