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(November 13, 2023) Today, Papua New Guinea has announced over 16,000 km2 of new Marine Protected Areas in Lovongai and Murat Local Level Government jurisdictions, New Ireland Province, more than tripling ocean protections across the country The process to establish the MPAs took nearly seven years, in a massive community-led process involving over 9,000 local people from more than 100 coastal communities who all helped design the new ocean protections Thanks to the government of Papua New Guinea, the two new M...

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(September 15, 2023)   -   As Papua New Guinea (PNG) marks its 48th year of independence, it is anopportune moment to reflect on thenation's sovereign right to protect its exceptional biodiversity and it’s theintrinsic link between conservation of this biodiversity and national identity. 

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(August 04, 2023)   -   Today, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Indigenous landowners of the Inaugl tribe have joined their neighbours in the Bismarck Forest Corridor to commit to legally protecting 12,241 hectares of forest under a conservation deed. The deed protects this high integrity forest from logging, while allowing for sustainable use of natural resources within marked zones. 

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(November 24, 2022)   -   Through systems health and Nature-based Solutions approaches, the Watershed Interventions for Systems Health Plus (WISH+) project, funded under the Kiwa Initiative, will deliver co-benefits for climate resilience, biodiversity and human health and well-being in Papua New Guinea.

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(June 30, 2022)   -   Seven clans of the Wamiufa tribe, with a total estimated population of over 4000, have today (29.06.22) signed a legally binding contract to protect their forest biodiversity from growing threats of over-exploitation of their forest land and wildlife.

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(February 25, 2022)   -   In every household and every community in Papua New Guinea, telling stories is how one generation connects the next to the past and prepares the next for the future.

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(February 25, 2022)   -   The SWM Programme is developing innovative solutions based on field projects in fifteen countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to improve the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forest, savannah and wetland environments.

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(November 24, 2021) In June 2021, 48 camera traps were installed at Kwiop, Jiwaka Province, deep in the Papua New Guinea highlands. The aim was to monitor wildlife in the newly declared Mt. Goplom conservation area, which protects 3,500 ha of mature montane forest in the Bismarcks, the highest mountain range in the country. Two months after installation, the cameras were checked, their batteries replaced, and all memory cards changed, revealing the first glimpses of the seldom-seen wildlife at this remote site. ...

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(September 27, 2021)   -      

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(March 26, 2021) An interview with Azalea Anota, Program Officer at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by the National Newspaper (PNG).  From your point of view as a conservation organization, do you think there is over-hunting for traditional bilas? If so, is this a concern and, how serious is this? In PNG, hunting targets small wild animals. It is not as frequent an activity as what ‘hunting’ would be considered in Africa or South America. Over-hunting is when an...

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(October 23, 2020) One way to encourage sustainable development and the management of marine and coastal resources is to introduce livelihood alternatives, allowing local residents to make an income from their customary sea space and lowering the need for fish sales. This can include the cultivation of certain seaweed species, extracts from which can be used as thickening agents for household and industrial products, ranging from cosmetics to toothpaste to beer. During late September, 2020, the WCS team retur...

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(August 17, 2020) Solving this biodiversity mystery could reveal one of the most important sites to conserve these “rhinos of the sea.“We saw two swimming past our canoe the other day as we came to shore!” “Yes, we saw one over towards the mangroves not so long ago…” “There was one in our net near the big river…” Scientists love having a mystery to solve and gathering clues to find out if something is real or not. Since January 2019 my organization, the Wild...

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(July 13, 2020) Port Moresby Nature Park has received a generous donation of K20,000 from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), PNG through the recently launched ‘Wildlife Appeal’.WCS Country Director to Papua New Guinea, Dr. Ambroise Brenier, said: “Port Moresby Nature Park, Papua New Guinea’s highest visited single recreational facility, is doing a fantastic job in promoting and supporting the conservation of the country’s unique biodiversity.“The Wildlife Conservation S...

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(June 26, 2020) With 77% of New Irelanders living in the coastal zone, fishing provides an important livelihood for both feeding families and for making money. Yet what is the best way to catch, handle and preserve fish – and how can I make the most money from the fish I catch? And how can I catch fish without harming vulnerable coral reefs? To help answer these questions, the WCS Kavieng team, with the support of Roger Mark and Emmanuel Tamba from the New Ireland Provincial Fisheries Office, travelled to...

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(June 19, 2020) They say “Life is a Learning Curve”, which is a truism for coastal management: Lessons learned from former marine management areas can help with the development of new marine management zones. As such, in June 2020, eighteen community leaders from Lovongai Island and the Tigak Islands, both located in New Ireland Province, attended a 5-day learning exchange workshop with the theme “Promoting successful marine management through learning, sharing and networking in New Ireland&rd...

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(June 03, 2020) In preparation for World Environment Day this Friday the Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Hon. Wera Mori officially launched the 10 million tree planting program in the Eastern Highlands Province on Friday, May 28. The aim of this program is to plant 1 million trees every year for 10 years to contribute to the mitigation of climate change impacts, the protection of the environment, and to improve livelihoods for local communities. At present the program is focused on the...

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(June 01, 2020) A TEAM from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCSPNG) based in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, is one of the groups that delivered some urgently needed food relief to the victims of Kegesuglo landslip.WCSPNG, in coordination with local community-based organisation (CBO) KGWan Eco-Habitat Inc, visited the community at the foot of PNG’s highest mountain Mt Wilhelm, on April 23 and delivered the food.WCSPNG assistant director John Kuange expressed his condolences to the relatives of the 10 people...

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(May 21, 2020) The WCS Highlands team recently visited a new project site in Mauberema, located in Sinesine Yongumugl District, Chimbu Province. The team arrived to a warm welcome from the executives and members of the Mauberema Ecotourism & Conservation Project (MENCERTC) community-based organization (CBO). MENCERTC was established in 2017 and has been working to conserve Mauberema’s wildlife and support Mauberema community’s development aspirations. WCS has been impressed with this CBO’...

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(April 22, 2020) THE Government of Papua New Guinea outlined an ambitious plan to nearly double the size of the national road network under the Medium-Term Development Plan 2018-2022 with aims of spurring economic growth and social service delivery.However, in a recently published joint analysis of these plans in the international scientific journal Plos One, researchers from James Cook University, the University of Papua New Guinea and the Wildlife Conservation Society PNG found the plan has not adequately cons...

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(April 21, 2020) The Highlands of Papua New Guinea are one of the most biologically rich regions on earth. The magnificent forests of the region have supported the culture and livelihoods of communities for millennia and are famed around the world for iconic species such as birds-of-paradise and tree kangaroos.However, as the population rapidly grows and communities seek to increase cash incomes, the region’s incredible biodiversity is declining. Iconic species such as the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo ...

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