Ecology of Indonesian Papua Part One. Andrew J. Marshall
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century as largely a blank space on the map, and we will do well to treasure it for that. Here for the last time in history, as human modernity closes irreversibly over the planet, we may take comfort that there still exists a land "beyond the frontier" such as Papua. We can still feel the aura that drew explorers of past centuries and provided an exit from their otherwise controlled and predictable lives. We can share what the great adventurer Richard Burton expressed in 1856: "Of the gladdest moments in human life, me-thinks, is a departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands." There, he rejoiced, "Afresh dawns the morn of life." And exploring Papua is no trek through hourless days across some vast desert. Rather, it offers entry, as the present volume makes clear, into an intact world of ancient cultures and wondrous life forms.
I have never visited Papua, but I enjoyed all the emotions just expressed while traveling in 1955 through a large part of Papua New Guinea, to the east. I was a young entomologist then, myrmecologist to be exact, and the first specialist on ants to visit the great island. With no predecessors except a few casual collectors of these little insects, I had only a vague idea of what to expect. Everywhere I searched I found new species. I studied previously unrecorded social behaviors, and I frantically scribbled notes on all I saw (there were no pocket-sized tape recorders in those days). Humble though ants may be, and as modest my own efforts, I considered myself a true explorer in unknown terrain. With no previous myrmecologist’s footprints to give me pause, I felt somehow I belonged to this land and had some responsibility for it. I like to believe that others privileged to pioneer in their respective specialties have felt the same way.
New Guinea, including Papua, is a challenge and a paradise for anthropologists and biogeographers. Its complex mountainous terrain has divided its human populations, during 40,000 or more years of occupation, into the most diverse array of cultures and languages of any comparable area in the world. Long before people arrived, the island’s equatorial location and geology combined to make it one of the several most biologically rich regions of Earth, both on the land and in the coral reefs of its marine coasts.
For millions of years new species have flowed into it from nearby tropical Asia to the west and from Australia to the south. Many of the immigrants succeeded in penetrating the mountainous interior; and there, like Homo sapiens among the more recent immigrants, they tended to spread out and diversify. Some of the productions of the indigenous fauna and flora were trapped by their adaptation to strictly local conditions. Others, ecologically more flexible, expanded their ranges to penetrate northern Australia, as well as islands and archipelagoes in the remainder of Melanesia.
The island’s large size, its constant climate favorable to vegetative growth, rugged topography, and nearness to the continental source areas of Asia and Australia have made New Guinea a hypergenerator of human and biological diversity.
New Guinea, including the remote marches of Papua, will not remain secluded for long, however. Soon its indigenous people, together with a growing immigrant population, will take over as the explorers and developers. Those of us on the outside able to conduct the early studies of the island nonetheless have a responsibility to make the transition in future generations as secure and beneficent as possible. We will serve them and the whole world to great benefit if we include in this program of assistance the effort to conserve as much as possible of the great island’s extraordinary cultural and natural heritage.
Preface
PAPUA IS THE LARGEST ISLAND in Indonesia (area of 41.48 million ha), with the smallest population compared to other islands of Indonesia. More than 2.6 million people live in Papua, and almost 75% of the population lives in rural areas. Since the early 1990s, Papua has experienced the highest population growth rate of all Indonesian provinces, which stands at over 3% annually. This is partly a result of high birth rate and influx migration from other regions in Indonesia.
Papua is endowed with an amazing range of diverse and unusual ecosystems, including glaciers, alpine meadows, cloud forests, lowland forests, savannahs, mangrove forests, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. Well known for its vital tropical rainforest, with the tallest tropical trees and vast biodiversity, Papua plays a pivotal role in Indonesia’s biodiversity, contributing to the country’s status as one of the biologically richest countries in the world and hosting around 50% of all of Indonesia’s biodiversity. Papua is home to 15,000–20,000 plants (55% endemic), 602 birds (52% endemic), 125 mammal (58% endemic), and 223 reptiles (35% endemic). Many of these species are endemic to the island, including birds of paradise, tree kangaroos, rainbow fishes, birdwing butterflies, various orchids, and thousands of other plants and animals. In February 2006, a team of scientists exploring the Foja Mountains discovered numerous new species of birds, butter-flies, amphibians, and plants, including a species of rhododendron that may have the largest bloom of the genus.
However, biodiversity in Papua is facing very serious problems, such as biodiversity loss and ecological degradation. Ecological threats include logging—induced deforestation, forest conversion into agricultural plantation (especially oil palm), small holder agricultural conversion, the introduction and potential spread of non-native alien species such as the Crab-eating Macaque, which preys on and competes with indigenous species, as well as water pollution from oil and mining operations.
I would like to convey my appreciation to the team, especially to the authors, who have provided support and brought together such detailed and fruitful information. I would also like to thank all institution, researchers, universities, nongovernmental organizations, local communities, and all other parties who got involved and participated in the development of this book.
I hope this book will serve as a source of information and will give invaluable contributions to the improvement of awareness and knowledge on biodiversity. Finally, I hope the important essence of biodiversity is taken into account in every decision-making process, paving the way toward sustainable development in Papua.
Jakarta, July 2006
Ir. Rachmat Witoclar
State Minister for Environment
Letter from the Papuan People’s Assembly
IWOULD LIKE to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to Conservation International (CI) for its hard work and devotion in making The Ecology of Papua available. The knowledge presented in these volumes, the last to be released in the Ecology of Indonesia series, represents a significant contribution to efforts made by various local, national, and international institutions and agencies to conserve the biological diversity of this part of the world for future generations.
This book will, we hope, also expand readers’ horizons and further their understanding of Papua’s extraordinary diversity and its wide variety of natural ecosystems. These natural treasures need to be properly preserved and managed to prevent their depletion, especially from unwise and inappropriate use of our unique resources. Furthermore, it is my hope that the information on the ecology and biodiversity of Papua presented in this book will significantly contribute to establishing and strengthening awareness and responsibility among various individuals and groups in Papua and in Indonesia to participate in a worldwide movement to conserve this part of the world’s heritage to guarantee a sustainable global future for Papuans and humans in general.
Many people and individuals, as well as institutions in Indonesia and abroad under the lead of CI, have contributed significantly and in various ways toward the creation of this book. On behalf of the Papua People’s Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua–MRP), then, I would like to thank Conservation International, which has taken the lead throughout each stage of this process—from the collection and compilation of information to the publication process that finally made this book available. This achievement exemplifies CI’s sincere devotion and strong commitment to conserving Papua’s biodiversity, which it has demonstrated throughout its presence in Papua. I would also like to thank the University of Cenderawasih and Harvard University for their significant contributions in making this book available. My deepest gratitude also goes to all chapter authors, as without their contributions this book would never have been possible.
In conclusion, allow me on behalf of the Papua People’s Assembly to offer our support for future efforts made by CI in its mission to enhance conservation efforts locally and nationally as well as globally, and through