Conservation in Papua New Guinea: A Community-based Approach

Lisa Dabek Ph.D. Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Woodland Park Zoo

@ Tim Laman

@ Bruce Beehler

Huon Peninsula

Location of YUS (Yopno-Uruwa-Som)

@ Tim Laman

@ TKCP

Endangered tree kangaroos

Capacity Building

Community Benefits/Livelihoods

Species protection

Habitat protection

Land Tenure System -- Indigenous people own 100% of the land in YUS

YUS Conservation Area

YUS Conservation Area –first in PNG!

“

“All through Papua New Guinea, in every province, there is logging and mining. But we are the first Conservation Area. It is the people of YUS’s job to preserve the environment for their grandchildren ….”

– Timmy Sowang, President YUS Conservation Organization (CBO)

Long-term Success of YUS Conservation Area •Structures in PNG – Community Based Organization and Technical NGO

•Long term local monitoring program – community rangers

•Mapping and land-use planning

•Health

•Research

•Education

•Community livelihoods

•Long term financing

@ Ryan Hawk

Languages in YUS

Land-use Planning

Linking development & livelihoods to the YUS Conservation Area

Agriculture and Livelihoods

Conservation Coffee Project

Education

Community Health

The

BA

LAN

CED

Pro

ject

BALANCED Project Vision “Advance and support wider use of effective Population, Health, and

Environment (PHE) approaches”

The Building Actors and Leaders for Advancing Community Excellence in Development (BALANCED) Project

What is POPULATION, HEALTH and ENVIRONMENT (PHE)?

P is for POPULATION. Population initiatives provide family planning information and services to those who live in

areas of high biodiversity.

H is for HEALTH. This includes a range of interventions but usually involves water, sanitation, malaria

prevention, or child health.

E is for ENVIRONMENT. It promotes protected areas and biodiversity

conservation and can include a variety of approaches—watershed management, sustainable

agriculture, and natural resource management.

BALANCED: Global program supported by the US Agency for International Development’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health. • Enable local communities to become PHE champions by

building their capacity to plan and carry out integrated programs in health and conservation. Capacity building strategies include peer-to-peer mentoring and innovative learning techniques.

• Foster the implementation of field-based integrated health and biodiversity conservation initiatives in areas of high biodiversity.

“Healthy Village, Healthy Forest:

Integrating Healthy Families and

Conservation in Papua New Guinea”

Population, Health and Environment (PHE)

Trainings

Sustainability of the YUS Conservation Area and Community

@ Russ Mittermeier