PNG Turtle Stamps
Post PNG and conservation organization WWF have formed an alliance to promote turtle conservation in Papua New Guinea in a bid to address the rapidly diminishing turtle populations in the country.
These stamps help generate community awareness on threats to marine turtles. Help spread the word!
Visit PNG
“New Guinea is as vast a field for adventure and discovery as it ever was...”
- Tim Flannery, 1998
Want to visit PNG?
Read more about the Sepik River Basin, a unique and vast area that harbours an abundance of animal species to discover.
Recent Publications
Niugini Toksave: PNG's Quarterly Newsletter.
Kokoda Track Strategic Plan: Read the draft plan
Sepik River Nature & Tourism Guide
Reptiles and Amphibians of the Trans-Fly Region, New Guinea (Aug 2006), by Pacific Biological Survey for WWF
The freshwater turtles of the TransFly region of Papua New Guinea. Find out more about their diversity, distribution, reproduction, harvest and trade
Three New and Unique Protected Areas in PNG
A Biodiversity Vision for the Transfly
» Setting up a Wildlife Management Area: 10 Steps for Landowners
More Forest Conservation
Visit the online portal of responsible forestry & trade in Papua New Guinea. Sign up for a monthly update newsletter!
Forest and Trade Asia: Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea News
Diamond urges business fraternity to lead conservation efforts
18 October 2007. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: WORLD renowned American scientist Jared Diamond will call on the business fraternity to play a greater role in the protection and conservation of the environment with the rising global concerns on climate change.
Jared Diamond won the Pulitzer Prize for his book “Guns, Germs, and Steel” (1997) and is a biologist, ornithologist and Professor of Geography at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Professor Diamond will deliver a Public lecture on “Business and Environment” at the Port Moresby Holiday Inn on Friday evening starting at 6.00 pm.
He will speak on how business can play an active role in protecting the environment and dealing with global threats such as climate change while also making a profit.
Climate Change and deforestation in PNG
Tim Flannery is one of Australia’s leading thinkers and writers. An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist. His books include the Weather Makers (2006 book of the year, NSW Premier’s literary prize), definitive ecological histories of Australia (The Future Eaters) and North America (The Eternal Frontier), and on PNG “Mammals of New Guinea” and “Throwim way Leg”, recently providing the foreword to Majnep and Bulmer’s long awaited “Animals the Ancestors Hunted”.
» Download the transcript of Prof Tim Flannery's Public Lecture given on 20 August 2007 in Port Moresby
Local communities celebrate new protected areas in Papua New Guinea
28 September 2007. Bensbach, Papua New Guinea – The creation of three new wildlife management areas in Papua New Guinea will protect some of Asia-Pacific’s most expansive and unique wildlife habitats.
The new Aramba, Tonda extension and Weriaver areas cover about 710,000 hectares in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, and join up with the existing Tonda wildlife management area of 610,000 hectares. These areas, together with the adjoining Wasur National Park in Papua, mean that almost 2 million hectares of the TransFly Ecoregion will be protected.
Flannery to Call on the Industrialised World to Pay Carbon Debt
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. World renowned Australian scientist and author, Tim Flannery, called on the industrialised world to pay its carbon debt in a public lecture in Port Moresby on Monday 20th August.
Professor Flannery argued that the industrialised world has caused global climate change by imposing a debt of 200 gigatonnes of carbon as a result of over-industrialisation and affluence. Developed nations can repay their carbon debt - and help address poverty - by supporting communities in countries like PNG to protect their forests.
Post PNG and WWF join forces to save turtles through postal stamps
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Post PNG and conservation organization WWF have formed an alliance to promote turtle conservation in Papua New Guinea in a bid to address the rapidly diminishing turtle populations in the country.
WWF Marine Programme Manager, Mr Robert Yen said,
“WWF is pleased to be working with Post PNG to generate community awareness on threats to marine turtles, and their nesting and feeding areas. This demonstrates the very important role that corporate agencies can play in raising awareness to address environmental damage in PNG.”
New ways to explore the Pacific’s last great wilderness
Ambunti, Papua New Guinea – A new companion to help adventurous travellers experience one of the last great wildernesses on the planet, was officially launched during the inaugural Crocodile Festival held in early March.
The new community-tourism publication, ‘Sepik River - Nature and Community Tourism’, produced by WWF in association with the Divine Word University, is a guide to one of the most important centres of biological and cultural diversity in the world, the Sepik. Named after the largest river in Papua New Guinea, the Sepik is an idyllic landscape of pristine and lush rainforest, serene waters and cloud-topped mountain habitats, which spans more than 8 million hectares in northern Papua New Guinea.
“It is my earnest hope that the information presented in this publication will persuade you to come, visit and experience the eco-tourism hospitality of the Sepik, a land of adventure and excitement. Our visitors can be assured of the holiday experience of a lifetime, ” said Tony Aimo, a member for Ambunti Drekikir.
Locals lead year of Sea turtle campaign
17 November 2006. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) – Environment and Conservation Deputy Secretary Dr Gae Gowae launched the year of the sea turtle campaign in Lae, Morobe Province this week during a colorful traditional singsing demonstrating the cultural link between turtles and the local people.
“The campaign aims to promote community conservation and nesting sites, strengthen National legislative and policies to encourage sustainable management in Papua New Guinea and to facilitate community participation for turtle conservation and management.”
- Dr Gae Gowae, Environment and Conservation Deputy Secretary
Talk of timber ban: just the latest smokescreen from PNG forest industry
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) – Allegations that WWF has called on the Australian Government to ban timber imports from Papua New Guinea and other Southeast Asian countries are completely false and unfounded says the global conservation organisation.
“WWF has never advocated a ban on wood imports from these countries. These allegations appear to be the latest tactic of the forest industry in PNG to detract attention away from their unsustainable logging practices”
- Mr Michael Avosa, WWF’s Country Programme Manager
New protected areas for Papua New Guinea
Musula and Wabimisen, Papua New Guinea – Local communities in Papua New Guinea gathered along the volcanic slopes of Mount Bosavi in the country’s Southern Highlands to celebrate the creation of three new protected areas.
The new wildlife management areas, covering 80,000ha of PNG’s Kikori River Basin, are home to pristine rainforests and such rich wildlife as the world’s longest lizard and giant pigeons and butterflies. It is also the region where eight new orchid species were recently discovered by WWF.
“Today’s announcement is an important milestone in strengthening the system of protected areas in PNG and gives a boost to the efforts of WWF and its partners in achieving big conservation results in the Kikori region,” said WWF PNG protected areas officer Saina Jeffrey.
WWF discovers new species of orchids in Papua New Guinea
16 Oct 2006. A series of expeditions by WWF scientists into previously unexplored areas of tropical rainforest in Papua New Guinea have revealed at least eight new orchid species previously unknown to science.
“The island of New Guinea is an incredible goldmine of orchids,” said Wayne Harris, a botanist from Queensland Herbarium in Australia and one of the world’s leading authorities on orchids. “There are over 3,000 known species found here with countless varieties undoubtedly yet to be discovered.”
Call on Governments to Support Kokoda Track Strategy
Port Moresby - WWF is part of a solution to the impasse between the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments over the proposed mining of part of the Kokoda Track.
The "Eco-Trekking Kokoda Strategy", launched last Anzac Day, aims to develop a World Heritage listed sustainable eco-trekking destination across the Kokoda Track and to support local management to deal with threats such as mining and logging.
As well as exemplary military and cultural history, the Track passes through some of the richest rainforests in the Asia Pacific with more plant species on this one mountain range than in the entire Wet Tropic rainforests of North Queensland.
Oxley’s skewed agenda won’t help PNG
Port Moresby – Renewed allegations from a logging industry spin-doctor that WWF is pursuing a campaign to replace commercial forestry with eco-forestry in PNG are completely baseless and unfounded, says the global conservation organisation.
The same charges were levied last month by Mr Oxley and ITS, in a report commissioned by Malaysian-owned Rimbunan Hijau, PNG’s largest forestry company. The report was widely discredited because it was poorly researched containing factual inaccuracies, not least the wrongly based assumption that WWF owns and manages the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an independent forest management scheme.
Tri-national commitment to leatherback turtle conservation in the Pacific
Bali, Indonesia — Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands have agreed to protect the endangered leatherback turtle in the Pacific through joint conservation activities.
The tri-national partnership, supported by WWF, will allow the three countries to enhance conservation of leatherback turtles through information sharing, data exchange and cooperative research. It also plans to establish a network of marine protected areas covering critical leatherback habitats throughout parts of the western Pacific Ocean.
Certified timber market speaks for itself
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Allegations made in a new report that WWF is obstructing PNG’s development are completely baseless and unfounded, says the global conservation organisation. The report ‘Whatever it takes: Greenpeace’s anti-forestry campaign in Papua New Guinea’, commissioned by Rimbunan Hijau, PNG’s largest forestry company, also falsely alleges that WWF is pressuring buyers in Europe and Australia not to buy timber products from PNG.
Vision launched for conserving Asia Pacific’s wetland jewel
A conservation vision to conserve one of the Asia Pacific’s largest, richest and most pristine savanna wetlands located on the island of New Guinea has been officially launched, with governments, community leaders, scientists and conservation organisations declaring their commitment to support it.
The vision aims to preserve one of the most important centres of biological diversity in the world, the TransFly. This unique coastal landscape of grasslands, savannas, wetlands and monsoon forest habitats spans 10 million hectares and straddles the international border of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Four Wildlife Management Areas Gazette
WWF and Wetlands International congratulate the Papua New Guinea government for the official gazette of four marine Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in Madang Lagoon under the Fauna (Control & Protection) Act. These WMAs are Sinub, Laugum, Tabad and Tab, owned by Clans from Riwo and Siar villages.
This is the first of the 12 protected areas the government announced to gazette late last year These areas cover some of the most biologically diverse forests, wetlands and reefs on the planet.
Read about the Protected Area (PA):
PNG and Indonesian Government officials visit Solomon Islands to progress marine turtle conservation
Government delegations from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia have travelled to Solomon Islands this week to continue progress towards a tri-national agreement on the conservation and management of the critically endangered leatherback turtle.
Following the first preparatory committee meeting in Port Moresby in October last year, when an Expression of Commitment on Western Pacific leatherback turtle conservation was first announced, the Solomon Islands Government hosted a second meeting from 21-23 February 2006.