The “Crown Jewel of Papua” on the Indonesian island of New Guinea lies within Earth’s third largest rainforest. Hosting spectacular biodiversity, this carbon-rich landscape of 13 distinct rainforest ecosystems ranges from high mountains to lowlands, savanna, peatlands, and mangroves. The carbon stored in this wilderness is equivalent to 55 billion pounds of coal burned, and the forests are being destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations. Logging and mining are also contributing to deforestation.

These brewing threats have sparked an urgent move to protect over 5.6 million acres across the West Papua and Southwest Papua provinces, where 93% of the primary forest remains intact. Rainforest Trust is partnering with Yayasan Ekosistem Nusantara Berkelanjutan (EcoNusa) to support the government of Indonesia’s social forestry program and establish 120,000 acres as Customary Forests (Hutan Adat) or Village Forests (Hutan Desa), legally recognizing the ownership and/or management rights of three Indigenous communities to their traditional territories.

Header photo: Western Crowned-pigeon, by Ondrej Prosicky

Save Mega-biodiversity in Indonesia

The phenomenal rainforests here host thousands of species. The three areas chosen for conservation contribute to an integrated conservation landscape within the Crown Jewel of Papua, linked together by natural corridors. Threatened mammal species to be protected include Critically Endangered Western Long-beaked Echidna, a quill-covered, egg-laying mammal, and Black-spotted Cuscus, a large nocturnal marsupial. Endangered Spectacled Flying Fox and several tree kangaroo species also live here.

Customary and village forest designations will also protect endemic bird species threatened by hunting and habitat loss, including the Vulnerable Western Crowned-pigeon, the flightless Northern Cassowary, Vulnerable Pesquet’s Parrot, and birds-of-paradise.

Support Indigenous Communities as the Best Custodians of Nature

Poverty makes local communities vulnerable to exploitation by outsiders, and this project is only possible after seven years of work by our partner with Indigenous communities on policy development, mapping, improving livelihoods and capacity building. Forest protection will be achieved in collaboration with the Indigenous tribe, Forest Management Units, and all levels of government. Commercial-scale logging, hunting, and mining will be prohibited.

Indigenous-based, forest-friendly business models and social innovation aligned with conservation will be the key to success, and local communities will participate in patrolling and research, drawing on traditional knowledge.

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