https://news.mongabay.com/list/new-guinea/ Environmental science and conservation news Fri, 17 Nov 2023 04:37:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/new-guinea/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/report-forest-razing-biomass-plant-in-indonesia-got-millions-in-green-funds/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/report-forest-razing-biomass-plant-in-indonesia-got-millions-in-green-funds/#respond 02 Jun 2023 01:14:13 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=269239 - The project has received a total of $9.4 million from two Ministry of Finance agencies, including one tasked with managing environmental protection funds from international donors.
- Criticism of Medco’s activities reflects a broader debate over whether clear-cutting rainforest can ever be considered sustainable, even when done in the name of transitioning a major coal-producing country away from fossil fuels.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/report-forest-razing-biomass-plant-in-indonesia-got-millions-in-green-funds/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/gold-miner-faces-global-protests-as-it-rekindles-a-mine-with-a-violent-legacy/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/gold-miner-faces-global-protests-as-it-rekindles-a-mine-with-a-violent-legacy/#respond 01 May 2023 20:01:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268123 - The mine will relaunch under joint ownership of the government and mine operator Barrick Gold.
- Activists in PNG have joined global protests against Barrick, saying the new agreement does not address a legacy of violence and environmental damage, and drawing parallels between Porgera and Barrick’s mines in Tanzania and Pakistan.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/gold-miner-faces-global-protests-as-it-rekindles-a-mine-with-a-violent-legacy/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/png-youths-loss-of-tradition-is-bad-news-for-hunting-but-also-for-conservation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/png-youths-loss-of-tradition-is-bad-news-for-hunting-but-also-for-conservation/#respond 14 Apr 2023 14:36:08 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267503 - With an increase in Western education and economic opportunities, there’s been a decline in young Papua New Guineans’ skills in hunting and traditional ecological knowledge, a recent study suggests.
- This decline in hunting skills and loss of generational ecological knowledge may impact conservation efforts in the country, with researchers highlighting the need to maintain this knowledge.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/png-youths-loss-of-tradition-is-bad-news-for-hunting-but-also-for-conservation/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/logging-threats-loom-over-tree-kangaroo-refuge-in-papua-new-guinea/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/logging-threats-loom-over-tree-kangaroo-refuge-in-papua-new-guinea/#respond 25 Jan 2023 16:30:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264946 - Community conservation efforts have helped to increase the numbers of tree kangaroos, once nearly pushed to extinction by hunting and logging, in conjunction with development projects for the people of the Torricellis.
- The Tenkile Conservation Alliance, a Papua New Guinean NGO, has led an effort to protect the area, but the government has yet to officially designate what would be the Torricelli Mountain Range Conservation Area.
- Satellite imagery shows the loss of forest and an increase in roadbuilding over the past two years. And residents of the Torricellis say that representatives of logging companies have been trying to secure permission to log the region’s forests.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/logging-threats-loom-over-tree-kangaroo-refuge-in-papua-new-guinea/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/mongabays-must-listen-podcast-list-for-2022/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/mongabays-must-listen-podcast-list-for-2022/#respond 22 Dec 2022 15:52:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=263493 - Regular host of the Newscast, Mike G., took listeners to the sky and sea to highlight Indigenous conservation efforts, bioacoustics, and combining Western science and traditional knowledge for marine conservation efforts.
- The Newscast also explored lesser-examined topics like cryptocurrency and their environmental impact.
- If you’re new to Mongabay’s podcast content or you want a review of some of the best recent episodes from this past year, start here.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/mongabays-must-listen-podcast-list-for-2022/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/new-app-transforms-data-gathering-for-wildlife-in-papua-new-guinea/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/new-app-transforms-data-gathering-for-wildlife-in-papua-new-guinea/#respond 24 Nov 2022 11:27:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262916 - The Protected Areas Management (PAM) app allows staff to record observations while in the field, facilitating the use of photos and videos, and automatically logging other information such as location and elevation.
- Since its launch, the app has encouraged staff to record more species and has made it easier for female staff in a generally patriarchal society to document and share their findings.
- The TCA says its working to make the app available to other conservation organizations within the next year.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/new-app-transforms-data-gathering-for-wildlife-in-papua-new-guinea/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/in-indonesian-papua-a-one-time-gun-trafficker-now-preaches-permaculture/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/in-indonesian-papua-a-one-time-gun-trafficker-now-preaches-permaculture/#respond 30 Aug 2022 00:23:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259703 - After a year in jail, he embarked on a seven-year journey of spiritual enlightenment across Java on foot.
- Mbah Gimbal then migrated to Papua to start a new life, where, along with his wife and like-minded associates, he established a community education center and permaculture farm.
- Since then, he has taught hundreds of students and their parents the principles of permaculture and environmental conservation.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/in-indonesian-papua-a-one-time-gun-trafficker-now-preaches-permaculture/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/study-climate-impacts-to-disproportionately-hurt-tropical-fishers-farmers/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/study-climate-impacts-to-disproportionately-hurt-tropical-fishers-farmers/#respond 15 Jul 2022 15:43:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=258289 - These potential losses may be coupled with other drivers of change, such as overfishing or soil erosion, which have already caused declining productivity, the study adds.
- But if carbon emissions can be effectively managed to a minimum, the study’s authors say, fewer communities would experience losses in both the agriculture and fisheries sectors, indicating the importance of climate mitigation measures.
- The current global average temperature is 1.1°C (2°F) above pre-industrial times, and climate experts have warned that it could climb to about 3°C (5.4°F) higher by the end of this century if nothing changes.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/study-climate-impacts-to-disproportionately-hurt-tropical-fishers-farmers/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/ray-care-center-indonesias-raja-ampat-a-key-nursery-for-young-reef-mantas/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/ray-care-center-indonesias-raja-ampat-a-key-nursery-for-young-reef-mantas/#respond 09 Jun 2022 15:22:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=256998 - Visual observations from 2013 to 2021 show that juvenile reef manta rays are repeatedly encountered in the small, shallow and sheltered lagoon, without the presence of adult individuals; the young rays spend months at a time inside the lagoon, never venturing out.
- The findings have prompted marine authorities in Indonesia to start revising the management of the lagoon to safeguard the manta nursery zone, with regulations being drawn up to limit disturbances to the young rays.
- Both oceanic and reef manta rays are protected species under Indonesian law, which prohibits their catch and the trade of any of their body parts.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/ray-care-center-indonesias-raja-ampat-a-key-nursery-for-young-reef-mantas/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/fisher-groups-are-the-marine-militia-in-indonesias-war-on-illegal-fishing/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/fisher-groups-are-the-marine-militia-in-indonesias-war-on-illegal-fishing/#respond 06 May 2022 15:25:01 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255538 - To address this gap, in recent years the government has incentivized fishers and other coastal communities to form monitoring groups that are responsible for patrolling their local waters.
- In the Raja Ampat archipelago in the country’s east, Mongabay meets some of the people who have volunteered for the task of protecting their waters from blast fishing and cyanide fishing, among other violations.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/fisher-groups-are-the-marine-militia-in-indonesias-war-on-illegal-fishing/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/podcast-community-empowerment-and-forest-conservation-grow-from-the-galip-nut-in-papua-new-guinea/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/podcast-community-empowerment-and-forest-conservation-grow-from-the-galip-nut-in-papua-new-guinea/#respond 27 Apr 2022 13:16:35 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255168 - Papua New Guineans are currently reaping the economic and environmental benefits of this nut via agroforestry led by local communities and women entrepreneurs.
- In this episode, we speak with Dorothy Devine Luana, PNG-based owner of DMS Organics, a galip nut grower and processor, and Nora Devoe, research program manager for a project of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), focused on the potential of the galip nut industry to sustainably empower PNG communities.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/podcast-community-empowerment-and-forest-conservation-grow-from-the-galip-nut-in-papua-new-guinea/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/podcast-who-owns-the-companies-destroying-rainforest-in-the-heart-of-new-guinea/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/podcast-who-owns-the-companies-destroying-rainforest-in-the-heart-of-new-guinea/#respond 13 Apr 2022 15:26:31 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254745 - Covering 2,800 square kilometers (1,100 square miles) the Tanah Merah project is nearly the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
- However, the true owners of the seven concessions that make up the project remain hidden through a shroud of corporate secrecy.
- We speak with Philip Jacobson, senior editor at Mongabay, and Bonnie Sumner, investigative reporter at the Aotearoa New Zealand organization Newsroom, to discuss the project from inception to present day, the involvement of a New Zealand businessman, and where the project could go next.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/podcast-who-owns-the-companies-destroying-rainforest-in-the-heart-of-new-guinea/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/podcast-tree-kangaroos-may-be-key-to-new-guinea-forest-conservation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/podcast-tree-kangaroos-may-be-key-to-new-guinea-forest-conservation/#respond 16 Mar 2022 17:11:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253844 - Conservationists in Papua New Guinea have been fighting for decades to establish protected areas using these species as a flagship species for these conservation efforts. PNG is now on the cusp of passing legislation aimed at creating a network of them.
- The Torricelli mountain range in northern PNG, home to the critically endangered tenkile tree kangaroo, has been in the crosshairs of a road project threatening to encroach upon the region, but the government is in the process of reviewing a draft proposal to halt the road for now.
- We speak with Jim Thomas of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance and Lisa Dabek and Modi Pontio of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program for this episode to explore what’s known about these intelligent marsupials, and the successes from nearly two decades working in PNG to conserve both them and the forests they inhabit.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/podcast-tree-kangaroos-may-be-key-to-new-guinea-forest-conservation/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/podcast-the-trans-papua-highway-could-lose-billions-and-deforest-millions-of-hectares/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/podcast-the-trans-papua-highway-could-lose-billions-and-deforest-millions-of-hectares/#respond 02 Mar 2022 16:13:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253251 - While nearly complete, it has not yet fully interlinked major cities, and has raised concerns among experts that it could open up the world’s third-largest swath of tropical rainforest to further deforestation. Tanah Papua has already lost 750,000 hectares of forest cover (1.85 million acres) over the past 20 years.
- A study published last September warns that if the Trans-Papua Highway spurs a similar spate of development on Papua as the Trans-Kalimantan Highway did on Borneo, the region could lose up to an additional 4.5 million hectares (11.12 million acres) of forest cover by 2036.
- For this episode of the Mongabay Explores podcast, we interview David Gaveau, who founded The TreeMap (a forest loss monitoring platform), and distinguished professor at James Cook University, Bill Laurance to discuss the impacts the Trans-Papua Highway could have for Indonesian New Guinea.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/podcast-the-trans-papua-highway-could-lose-billions-and-deforest-millions-of-hectares/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/palm-oil-firm-hit-by-mass-permit-revocation-still-clearing-forest-in-indonesia/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/palm-oil-firm-hit-by-mass-permit-revocation-still-clearing-forest-in-indonesia/#respond 22 Feb 2022 09:35:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252912 - PT Permata Nusa Mandiri was among 137 palm oil firms whose permits were revoked by the environment ministry on Jan. 6, but went on to bulldoze more than 50 hectares of rainforest since then.
- Environmental activists and local Indigenous communities have long opposed the company’s presence in Papua province, but the questionable legality of the government’s permit revocations means the firm could still be allowed to continue operating.
- The land clearance is taking place in the Jalan Korea area, a popular birdwatching and tourism destination.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/palm-oil-firm-hit-by-mass-permit-revocation-still-clearing-forest-in-indonesia/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/podcast-defending-new-guineas-forests-with-birds-of-paradise-and-ecotourism/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/podcast-defending-new-guineas-forests-with-birds-of-paradise-and-ecotourism/#respond 16 Feb 2022 18:11:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252760 - The EcoNusa Foundation in Indonesia and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have partnered on a campaign called “defending paradise,” using the birds as ambassadors for the island’s biodiversity and communities.
- Home to the third-largest tract of tropical rainforest in the world, of which 80% is still intact, New Guinea is in a unique position to conserve its forest cover as part of an economy that serves its local inhabitants, rather than extracting from and deforesting these communities.
- For this episode of Mongabay Explores, we interview Bustar Maitar, founder and CEO of the EcoNusa Foundation, and Edwin Scholes, head of the Birds-of-Paradise Project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/podcast-defending-new-guineas-forests-with-birds-of-paradise-and-ecotourism/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/podcast-carbon-cowboys-and-illegal-logging/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/podcast-carbon-cowboys-and-illegal-logging/#respond 01 Feb 2022 11:07:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252130 - Despite two government inquiries finding the majority of land leases on which logging occurs to be illegal, these land leases still remain in force today.
- While carbon trading has been touted as a solution, activists, journalists and even a provincial governor have expressed concerns over its economic benefits and the continued loss of customary land rights.
- For this episode of Mongabay Explores we interview Gary Juffa, governor of Oro province in Papua New Guinea, and investigative journalist, Rachel Donald.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/podcast-carbon-cowboys-and-illegal-logging/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/podcast-exploring-new-guineas-extraordinary-natural-and-cultural-richness/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/podcast-exploring-new-guineas-extraordinary-natural-and-cultural-richness/#respond 05 Jan 2022 21:04:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250804 - The dense mountainous region creates barriers to development and conservation alike, but has contributed to preserving 80% of the island’s forest cover which still remains intact.
- However, experts are worried that extractive industries threaten not just its vast biodiversity but the human knowledge, culture, and livelihood of its original inhabitants, which represent more than 1,000 different languages across the island.
- Mongabay Explores is an episodic podcast series exploring unique people, places, and stories from around the globe in-depth. You may be familiar with our previous seasons on “The Great Salamander Pandemic,” and “Sumatra.”
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/podcast-exploring-new-guineas-extraordinary-natural-and-cultural-richness/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/indonesias-three-most-consequential-forestry-stories-of-2021/ https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/indonesias-three-most-consequential-forestry-stories-of-2021/#respond 24 Dec 2021 13:55:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=251127 - The year started out with news of a record drop in the deforestation rate in 2020, which the government attributed to its policies but which some observers say was due more to outside factors such as the pandemic.
- This was also the year that a moratorium on issuing licenses for new oil palm plantations came to an end, with experts warning of an impending wave of forest clearing now that the policy has expired.
- Land conflicts pitting local and Indigenous communities against agribusiness companies and developers saw an increase despite the pandemic-driven economic slowdown, with observers pointing to a lack of effective conflict-resolution mechanisms.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/indonesias-three-most-consequential-forestry-stories-of-2021/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/governor-rails-against-bioterrorists-carbon-cowboys-destroying-pngs-forests/ https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/governor-rails-against-bioterrorists-carbon-cowboys-destroying-pngs-forests/#respond 07 Dec 2021 14:26:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250321 - Juffa said he’s had to resort to the courts to force out three logging firms operating in his province, and called on the international community to fight illegal loggers in PNG.
- While critical about the slow pace of global deforestation agreements, Juffa said he’s optimistic about the possibilities of carbon finance for his country; other PNG activists are more skeptical.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/governor-rails-against-bioterrorists-carbon-cowboys-destroying-pngs-forests/feed/ 0