Papua New Guinea : Assessing the management effectiveness of Papua New Guinea's protected areas using WWF's RAPPAM methodology

Abstract

Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, is one of the most important areas for biodiversity on the planet. It contains part of the largest tropical rainforests in the Asia Pacific and some of the richest coral reefs and saltwater fish diversity on earth. With only 3 per cent of the land and less than 1 per cent of the marine habitat protected, and given the variety of types of levels of tenure and management, it is difficult to talk about any kind of 'protected area system' in PNG. Yet increasingly the need is seen for a more organized and systematic approach to protection, particularly when the emergent threats in the area are considered. As such it was felt that a review of all the protected areas in the country was timely.