Papua New Guinea Biodiversity Revealed

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA RAINFOREST CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/

8/23/98

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Title: Papua New Guinea biodiversity revealed

Source: Environmental News Network

Date: Monday, July 27, 1998

INSET:

The Lakekamu Basin is one of the largest remaining pristine lowland

rain forests in Papua New Guinea, hosting a variety of species.

A team of scientists has discovered 44 species of frogs, fish, ants,

bees, wasps, reptiles and dragonflies in Papua New Guinea's Lakekamu

Basin, according to a report from Conservation International's Rapid

Assessment Program.

Conservation International released results from the RAP Expedition

earlier this month in a working paper, A Biological Assessment of the

Lakekamu Basin, Papua New Guinea. The expedition took place in October

and November 1996.

Species new to science include 22 species of ants, bees and wasps,

11 species of frogs, seven species of reptiles and three species

of fish. Between one and three new species of dragonflies and

damselflies were also recorded. Also on this RAP expedition, more

than 250 species of ants were found in a one-square-kilometer

area, making the basin a record-setting site for the greatest ant

diversity outside of South America.

"It's clear from the large number of new species discovered during

just one month of survey that there's an urgent need for more

biological inventories and taxonomic studies in this region," said

Andrew Mack, CI ornithologist and leader of the RAP expedition to

the Lakekamu Basin.

"While we continue to identify the species collected in the basin,

areas surveyed by the RAP team are already being logged.

Biological information is critical to ensuring that conservation

efforts precede logging and development."

Over a four-week period, the RAP team, which assembles world-renowned

experts and host country scientists, surveyed the Lakekamu Basin to

create a first-cut assessment of the biological resources in this

poorly known area. CI helped to establish a research station in the

region which will serve as a base for further research and field

training of in-country scientists.

The Lakekamu Basin is one of the largest remaining pristine lowland

rain forests in Papua New Guinea, covering an area approximately 975

square miles in the Gulf Province. Virtually uninhabited, the basin

has until now been spared from human destruction, offering excellent

opportunities for conservation.

The RAP survey, combined with previous work in the basin, will provide

essential data for guiding Papua New Guinea's development. The working

paper makes recommendations for conservation measures in the basin

that incorporate the economic interests of the local land owners. Like

most of Papua New Guinea, indigenous people own much, if not all of

the land.

For more information, contact Jed Murdoch, Conservation International,

(202)973-2248, email: j.murdoch@conservation.org.

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