HOGAVE CONSERVATION AREA PROJECT PROFILE By: David T Kima Executive Director PO Box 742, Goroka, EHP, PNG Ph: 675 1707 Cell: 675 71811337 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] 1 Executive Summary This is a project initiated by the people themselves. It was officially initiated in 1987, though conservation practices have long being observed by the people for ages. There were other options including logging and the potential for mining was present but the people opted for conservation. Before any group seriously thought about the notion of conservation and environmental friendly development in PNG, this group really was ahead in taking the initiative to conserve its own tropical rain forest. Several informal and formal meetings were conducted to have the area projected by the community as a conservation area. Much education was given to the people to understand the importance of having the area conserved and protected. Expert advice was received from various professional individuals and organisations that were involved with conservation of flora and fauna. It took over 20 years for the Hogave people to care for this virgin forest and its varied wildlife. Finally their efforts have been realised by project partners such as the Institute of Biological Research of Papua New Guinea and Hans Wilsdorf Foundation in Geneva Switzerland. The two primary objectives of this project have now being realised through these very important project partners; which is to formally conserve the area and improve living standards of the people. The scientific work to collect data and profile the biological value of Hogave and formalise the community conservation effort will be achieved and improve the general standard of living. Already eight village Research Assistants have been trained and are assigned to carry on the work of collecting data in the forest. People are now drinking clean and fresh water right at the door steps of their homes and have a micro hydro that provide electricity for the village and the Conservation Centre. 2 Hogave Conservation History of Project: Hogave Conservation initially got started in 1987 as a conservation area by the Hogave people themselves with resilient leadership and direction from David T Kima, Founding Director. Part of the reason for initiating this project was steady increase in human population and their encroachment on the forest. There was a genuine threat of people polluting the rivers, creeks and springs which this forest provides and serves as a drinking water source for the people that live below the mountains and valleys. Also the population of the Hogave tribe was growing steadily and was posing a threat to the virgin forest when this growing population were cutting and clearing virgin forests, which where home to many wildlife, for gardening and building huts. Also the people were moving closer to the only main road that runs from Lufa station to Ubaigubi which also serves as a boundary to the forest and villages. There was also a threat of an un- identified mining company going through the area and identifying almost all the rivers and creeks as positively deposited with mineral resources. Potential for logging was present but people opted for conservation. Project Location: Hogave and Mt. Michael are located in the Lufa district of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. The distance from Goroka town to the project site is about 63km south. Mt. Michael is the highest mountain in Eastern Highlands with the altitude of about 3650 meters. The project area is to the west of Mt. Michael, approximately, latitude 6˚22’S: Longitude 145˚15’E., starting at an altitude of approx.2000m and ascending to aprox. 3200m. Population & Project area: Hogave Village a sub tribe of the Gimi language speaking group consists of three clans that have access right and ownership to the south western part of Mt. Michael. The virgin forest area is commonly known as Seleta on the topographic map, but locally known as Hogave bush. Currently about 1000 people from Hogave will have access right to this forest. The immediate virgin forest area to be conserved as initiated by the people can at present be estimated at 20 square kilometres, though the total virgin forest area is well over 120square kilometres. Objectives: The two Primary objectives for this project are: Firstly, to conserve Flora and Fauna. Secondly, to improve general living conditions of the village people. How will Objectives be achieved: The first objective will be achieved by either declaring the area as a Wildlife Management Area,or a National Park and gazetted under appropriate government regulation. This has to be worked out with relevant government officials and NGO’s both national and international who are concerned with nature and conservation. Contacts and field visits have already been made with the department of nature and conservation officials who are very strongly in favour of declaring the area as a national park or conservation area. However current arrangement with local tribal leaders taking ownership in declaring to conserve their forest has worked very well for almost 30 years. The Hogave people have kept to their communal pledge and resolve to look after their forest for future generations. 3 The second objective will be realized when relevant, development organizations, such as donor partners provide technical and financial assistance to the project. Meetings and Resolution: The Hogave people therefore had several general meetings and resolved that there is already enough cleared land for making gardens and building huts on. It is therefore unnecessary for them to clear the new areas as they are destroying the environment unnecessarily. The people also resolved that mining would not be a good option even if there was enormous mineral deposit. The people instead opted for conservation. Importance of Hogave & Mt. Michael Most importantly the project will conserve the virgin forest and wildlife including birds of paradise and mammals as identified by the department of environment and conservation in their 1989 preliminary survey and data provided in the Conservation International and Institute of Biological survey report in 2009. The type of vegetation found has high potential for conservation as a source of major scientific research and tourist attraction. Also very important for Mt. Michael and the whole environment is that other tribes who have access rights to the whole virgin forest surrounding Mt. Michael will follow the example of Hogave tribe and desire conservation. This project is extremely vital because adjacent to Mt. Michael is the Crater Mountains which has been positively identified by exploration firms as immensely deposited with minerals (and exploration activities have been intensified so far). It is only a matter of time before mining activity will take place at the Crater Mountains. People and organisations who are genuinely concerned with conservation need to act faster than to wait and complain when damage has been done, which seem to be the trend in many communities in Papua New Guinea. The Total Area: Total virgin forest area is well over 200 square kilometers evolving around Mt. Michael and extending to the Crater Mountains which more than 50 tribes or villages have ownership rights. The Hogave tribe has ownership rights to about 20 square kilometers and they have conserved that part of the forest. Nature and conservation officials have advised that 20 square kilometers is an ideal size for a national park. The following research information suggests an area full with many interesting bio-data that needs further scientific investigation and continued protection of the tropical virgin forest. 4 HOGAVE CONSERVATION AREA Lufa District EHP, PNG 5 Research & Scientific data on Hogave Hogave Mini -RAP Survey Report From the PNG Institute of Biological Research November 2009 General introduction It takes long to conduct standard field research while decision makers usually don’t wait that long to make decisions on biologically important areas of the world. Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) of Conservation International (CI) address this issue by quickly providing the necessary information and recommendation required for appropriate conservation to decision makers. The RAP typically takes 3-4 weeks and brings team of international tropical biologists into totally wild areas who conduct rapid surveys on the biodiversity of the area. The scientists collect and analyze the data on diversity of selected groups of animals, the quality of the forest and make recommendations to decision makers for conservation efforts. RAP was first developed in Latin America to meet the critical need for quick identification of priority areas for conservation. As a result, RAP has helped at least six national parks to be gazetted in five countries in Latin America. In PNG, there is urgent need for biological research especially when there is ever expanding threat from resource extraction enterprises like logging, oil palm plantations, mining and oil activities and subsistence agriculture. However, PNG’s complex land tenure system makes it more difficult to gazette a national park. Therefore, conservation in PNG requires direct involvement of different stake holders which include landowners, conservation NGOs, government entities and conservation biologists working together to find best approach to conservation. Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program (CI-RAP) is contracting the services and expertise of the PNG Institute of Biological Research (PNGIBR) to conduct up to three biological mini-RAP surveys around the vicinity of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. The aim of these mini-RAPs is firstly to conduct biological surveys in existing or would be conservation areas and document flora and fauna and possibly discover new species. The information generated from these mini-RAPs would help different stakeholders such as landowners and EHP provincial government in the development and maintenance of existing or would be conservation initiatives. This mini-RAP is the first of the three CI-Mini RAPs in Eastern Highlands Province (EHP).