Papua New Guinea Establishes First Ever Conservation Area, Tree Kangaroo Among Protected
187,800 acres of some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world have been set aside as the first national conservation area in Papua New Guinea’s history. The newly protected region is home to a swath of endangered species, most notably the IUCN-listed tree kangaroo.
Dubbed the YUS Conservation Area, named after the Yopno, Uruwa and Som river systems which flow through its heart, the Singapore-sized region spans from the country’s northern coastal reefs as far inland as its interior mountains– the 13,000 ft. peaks of the Saruwaged Range. This also marks the first time the region’s 35 culturally-distinct villages have come together for the purpose of protecting their collective homeland.
The designation as a national conservation area basically entails that local villagers have formally agreed to prohibit hunting, logging and mining anywhere within the protected region. By preventing such development, the protections should keep an estimated 13 million tons of carbon from being released into the atmosphere, a testament to the crucial role that this region plays in regulating global climate.
Furthermore, the protections are urgent for creating a safe zone for the critically endangered tree kangaroo. Unlike their land-based cousins, tree kangaroos are macropods designed for life in the trees. Although they are slow and clumsy on the ground, their massive hind legs and heavy, bushy tails allow them to balance and hop effortlessly from branch to branch. Downward jumps up to nearly 30 feet from tree to tree have been recorded, and they have the remarkable ability to jump to the ground from as high as 59 feet without being hurt.
The decision to protect the area was a complex, cumulative effort between Papua New Guinea’s government, local clans and conservation biologists from Conservation International and the Woodland Park Zoo. Already being hailed as a hallmark to modern conservation, the new protections bring optimism that Papua New Guinea will be a beacon for biodiversity in a region which is otherwise wrought with development and deforestation.
Source Via EurekaAlert!
Image Credit: panvorax on Flickr under a Creative Commons License
[...] Leap Forward: Papua New Guinea has designated its first ever national conservation area, protecting (among other fauna) the endangered tree kangaroo (which has been seen to jump 59 feet [...]