WANANG CONSERVATION AREA Papua New Guinea
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Empowered lives. Resilient nations. WANANG CONSERVATION AREA Papua New Guinea Equator Initiative Case Studies Local sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES Local and indigenous communities across the world are 126 countries, the winners were recognized for their advancing innovative sustainable development solutions achievements at a prize ceremony held in conjunction that work for people and for nature. Few publications with the United Nations Convention on Climate Change or case studies tell the full story of how such initiatives (COP21) in Paris. Special emphasis was placed on the evolve, the breadth of their impacts, or how they change protection, restoration, and sustainable management over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories of forests; securing and protecting rights to communal with community practitioners themselves guiding the lands, territories, and natural resources; community- narrative. The Equator Initiative aims to fill that gap. based adaptation to climate change; and activism for The Equator Initiative, supported by generous funding environmental justice. The following case study is one in from the Government of Norway, awarded the Equator a growing series that describes vetted and peer-reviewed Prize 2015 to 21 outstanding local community and best practices intended to inspire the policy dialogue indigenous peoples initiatives to reduce poverty, protect needed to take local success to scale, to improve the global nature, and strengthen resilience in the face of climate knowledge base on local environment and development change. Selected from 1,461 nominations from across solutions, and to serve as models for replication. PROJECT SUMMARY KEY FACTS Wanang Conservation Area is an alliance of ten Equator Prize Winner indigenous, rainforest-dwelling clans that together 2015 protect 10,000 hectares of forest for biodiversity research, carbon storage, and sustainable livelihoods. Founded Developed as a model of resistance to commercial logging interests in a region being ravaged by 2000 deforestation, the initiative protects more than 280,000 Location trees and studies their responses to changing climatic conditions. A research station, which is one of the Wanang village, Middle Ramu River basin of Madang largest in the country, serves as a capacity-building Province hub and trains Wanang villagers and students as para- ecologists and research technicians, providing a source Beneficiaries of livelihoods and supporting environmental learning. The Wanang community, made up of approximately 300 The initiative has become a model for community- people organized in ten tribes driven conservation and development in the country and is a powerful example of partnership between a Areas of focus self-governed community, local NGOs, government, Protection, restoration and sustainable management of businesses, and research institutes. Forest conservation forests; protecting and securing rights to communal lands, has become the cornerstone of the local economy, territories and natural resources; innovative partnerships with partnerships creating greater access to health, with government or the private sector to promote education, and food security. sustainable development Sustainable Development Goals addressed PPAPUAAPUA NNEWEW GGUINEAUINEA PACIFIC OCEAN PAPUA Pelelun NEW GUINEA Islands National capital MANUS Mussau NEW IRELAND Hermit Provincial capital Islands Lorengau St. Matthias Group City, town Major airport WEST SEPIK Admiralty Manus Islands Taskul Reef Vanimo Kavieng T Tabar a s International boundary EAST SEPIK B i s ba d Aitape m a r c r Islan Lihir Tanga Provincial boundary k A r c New Islands Amanab Lumi Wewak h ip Main road e l a Ireland Maprik g o Namatanai 0 50 100 150 200 250 km Sepik Rabaul Feni Angoram Bogia MADANG Bismarck Sea Islands Ambunti Chambri 0 50 100 150 mi Lakes Witu Kokopo Karkar Islands Telefomin R am Madang Milim Buka INDONESIA Ewase ENGA u Talasea Pomio WESTERN Long Wabag HIGHLANDS BOUGAINVILLE Koroba Gloucester Hoskins Mt. Hagen Kundiawa Kimbe New Kiunga Umboi Goroka Kandrian Britain Bougainville Tari Mendi Kabwum Arawa d Nadzab Lake n Okapa Panguna SOUTHERN CHIMBU EAST NEW Murray a Finschhafen l HIGHLANDS EASTERN Lae Buin k c HIGHLANDS WEST NEW BRITAIN i Huon Choiseul r t S Marawaka Gulf BRITAIN Kikori MOROBE WESTERN Santa F Solomon Sea ly Balimo Ysabel Kerema Trobriand N Gulf of Papua Islands ew Weam G Popondetta e Morehead Kiwai or Tufi D'Entrec gia astea Kulumadau Gr Kokoda Goodenough ux oup Daru Isl GULF Fergusson an ds Woodlark SOLOMON ISLANDS Port Moresby Kwikila Torres Strait NATIONAL CAPITAL Esa'ala MILNE BAY Guadalcanal G Kupiano osc he Normanby Alotau n Louisia St de ra Arc CENTRAL it Misima hip ela Pocklington Reef go Rossel Coral Sea Tagula The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance AUSTRALIA by the United Nations. Map No. 4104 Rev. 1 UNITED NATIONS Department of Peacekeeping Operations January 2004 Cartographic Section EQUATOR PRIZE 2015 WINNER FILM The depiction and use of boundaries and related information shown on maps or included within in text of this document are not guaranteed to be free from error, nor do they imply official acceptance or recognition by the United Nations. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a target of international by the community, ensures the maintenance of vegetation biodiversity conservation efforts because it harbours as well as mammal and bird populations that suffer from a five percent of global terrestrial biodiversity and part combination of logging and increased hunting pressures. of the third largest contiguous tropical rainforest in the Outside this core conservation zone, the community has world. The Middle Ramu River basin is a typical lowland allocated areas for farming, housing, and development rainforest, approximately 180 metres above sea level, projects. with a rainfall of nearly 3,000 mililetres per year. The forest contains over 500 woody plant species, representing one- The Wanang community is made up of approximately 300 fourth of the total plant species in the country, including people organized in ten clans. Until the early 1990s, the highly prized commercial timber trees such as kwila (Intsia Wanang lived a semi-nomadic life, hunting and gathering bijuga). The forest is also home to the double-wattled food in the forest. Men hunted for wild pigs, cassowaries, cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) – one of the last remaining wallabies, and bandicoots. When they caught or trapped flightless birds and a key species for seed dispersal – and baby animals, especially piglets, hornbills, cockatoos, or to the national emblem, the endemic bird of paradise cassowaries, they often domesticated them as pets or (Paradisaea spp.). raised them for food. Located in this diverse landscape, the Wanang Today, the Wanang people practice subsistence farming Conservation Area (WCA) is the only large rainforest area through shifting cultivation, with different roles played secured for conservation within the Ramu Block 1 logging by men and women. Men usually cut down big branches concession, an area spanning over 100,000 hectares and canopies, while women clear the understory. Strong of forest. In 2008, the Wanang community declined to fences are built with the tree branches to keep out wild grant consent for industrial logging on 10,770 hectares pigs and other animals. of customary land within the logging concession. The community instead land designated the land as a The Wanang speak a native language called Maghu. It is community-based conservation area. one of the 800 languages of Papua New Guinea that has few written records. Customary land rights are passed For over ten years, WCA has strongly upheld its aim of down to male children. Women do not own their father’s protecting the forest while encouraging sustainable use. A land but move to live with their husbands and are subject strict conservation regime at the core of WCA, supported to their land rights. Origin and structure The Wanang used to be a remote rainforest-dwelling the forest and biodiversity was of far greater value than community without access to roads, education, or medical the money that could be gained through the sale of care. When the community was approached by loggers logging rights. who wished to buy their land, unlike all their neighbours, the Wanang people chose an alternative path. The The Wanang community first approached the Bismark conservation initiative formally began in 2000, inspired Ramu Group (BRG), a local non-governmental organisation by the village leader, Philip Damen, who saw that logging’ (NGO) that advocates for indigenous peoples’ rights. destroys rivers, hunting grounds, ancestral lands, and BRG helped them sign a legal Conservation Deed with landmarks. He believed that the importance of conserving demarcated land boundaries for conservation, formally 4 leading to the declaration of WCA. Then, with the help office bearers and any decision for the conservation area of BRG, the Wanang contacted the New Guinea Binatang is made by the board through a village meeting. Some Research Center (BRC) with an invitation to work in their board members are women. forest. The group also created the Wanang Conservation School, the first school in the entire area to offer both WCA operations, including entry fees, accommodation primary and elementary education. for visitors, and the