Wildlife
Conservation Society Site Based Research - Papua New Guinea
Site-based Conservation: Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area
WCS has been involved at this site since 1977 beginning with David
Gillison's work there. Gillison conceived the idea of asking
landowners if they wanted to set up a conservation area and this
culminated in the final gazettal of the WMA in 1993. In the
intervening years WCS helped Gillison to set up a PNG-based local
NGO called the Research and Conservation Foundation of PNG (RCF),
which was officially formed in 1986.
Currently WCS funds research
within the WMA, and RCF is responsible for landowner liaisons. In
1987 Andrew Mack and Debra Wright began cassowary studies at Crater
and in 1989 built the Crater Mountain Biological Research Station at
Wara Sera, obtaining an agreement with local landowners to establish
a hunting and cutting moratorium around the station. In 1991 the Big
Mac Research Station was built by RCF at Herowana with a MacArthur
grant obtained by the WCS Asia Program Director, Dr. Mary Pearl.
Peace Corp couples were placed in various villages in 1991 and
continued a presence until 1999. From 1993 to 1999 WCS placed
conservation awareness officers or scientific residents in Crater to
aid liaisons with local landowners. Annual landowner meetings have
taken place since formal gazettal of the WMA in 1993.
Over the past
two decades WCS has funded and aided logistics for dozens of
researchers working in the Crater WMA. By employing local people,
researchers give those people an incentive to preserve their
forests, because without the forests and the fauna that lives within
them, they would not get this work. We now have funding from the
National Science Foundation to rebuild the Biological Research
Station at Sera and will continue to maintain a research presence in
the WMA, learning more about the ecology of PNG as well as helping
to conserve it.
Site-based Conservation: Mekil Conservation Initiative
In 1992, with WCS funding, Keyt Fischer explored the Mt. Stolle area
in the Western Province looking for a new study site and convinced
the Ok Tedi Mining Company to build a research station at a site
called Mekil. She studied cuscus and ringtails there from 1992
through 1994 with WCS funding and logistical support from Ok Tedi.
Robert Bino conducted his Honors thesis work on singing dogs at Mekil in 1993. WCS funded Leo Salas and Suzette Stephens to continue
marsupial studies at Mekil from 1995 through 2000.
WCS also funded
Robert and Belinda Blinkoff to work with Mekil landowners to form a
conservation management plan from 1995 through 1998. In 2000 Ed
Scholes worked at Mekil on Bird of Paradise displays. The New
England BioLabs Foundation has supported research and infrastructure
improvements. As at the Crater site, by hiring local landowners to
work with us, we are giving an incentive for conservation of the
region.
Site-based Conservation: Manus Island Reef to Mountain to Reef
WCS-PNG is collaborating with the Provincial Planning Department of
Manus Province and several landowners to design a trans-Manus
terrestrial conservation zone that will link with reef systems on
the north and south coasts.
The project will include Mt. Dremsel,
the highest peak on Manus Island and a presumed stronghold for some
of the rarest endemic species. The people of Manus are very
progressive-thinking regarding conservation because they recognize
their total dependence on their natural resources for survival.
