Shrouded in mist and covered by dense canopy, the hot,
steamy depths of Papua New Guinea’s remote western interior can offer an
unforgiving domain. Despite this, concealed in the dark and humid
undergrowth, a
pioneering biological survey along the spectacular Hindenburg Wall – possibly
one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth – has revealed dozens of plant and animal varieties new to science. Led by the
Wildlife Conservation Society and sponsored by the
Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Programme,
this region's impressive and largely unknown geological formations
provide a setting for one of the greatest assemblages of tropical
species. Such news is exciting for scientists and conservationists: it
is hoped that this region will gain a greater conservation status and
lead to the development of new environmental-protection policies. Yet
these discoveries are also important for the wider public, who can seek
comfort in this age of environmental uncertainty with the knowledge that
areas of our world still thrive in conditions that are not – for now at
least – subject to the pressures placed by humankind.
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| Rivers carving deep gullies in the productive valleys of the Papua New Guinea Highlands |
Misleading Geography
Despite appearing to comprise the eastern most landmass of the Indonesian archipelago, the island of New Guinea (of which
Papua New Guinea makes up the eastern half; the western portion was controversially
incorporated with Indonesia
in the 1960s) has no geological association with its Asian neighbour.
Until around 18,000 years ago, when sea levels rose following the end of
the last Ice Age, New Guinea was joined to northern Australia, while
Sumatra, Borneo and Java formed part of mainland Southeast Asia (the
rise in sea level, due to receding ice sheets in the late Pleistocene
epoch, resulted in the formation of the Torres Strait, which now
separates New Guinea from Queensland). These geographical connections
with Oceania are also reflected by New Guinea’s animal and human
inhabitants.
Although the seeds from many plant species dispersed eastwards from
Indonesia, the native mammalian fauna of New Guinea is quite distinct.
There are no monkeys or other Eurasian mammals except bats and a number
of rodent species; rather,
echidnas (insect-eating, egg-laying mammals that are found only in New Guinea and Australia) and marsupials, including wallabies,
tree-kangaroos and the possum-like
cuscus,
can be found on the grasslands or in the canopy, respectively. The
region's bird life, which comprises some 730 recorded species, including
the famed
birds-of-paradise, the males of which exhibit elaborate courtship displays with flamboyant plumage and colourful tail quills, as well as
cockatoos,
bowerbirds and large, flightless
cassowaries,
are also largely restricted to Austro-Papuan distributions.
Anthropologically, New Guinea is inhabited by the Melanesians; a race of
people that also colonised the
Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Thus, with dark skin pigmentations,
tightly coiled hair and muscular builds, New Guineas are related to
other South Pacific peoples.
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| The male Raggiana bird-of-paradise is the national symbol of Papua New Guinea |
In 2011, I travelled by land and sea across Indonesia to New Guinea,
before continuing on to the Solomon Islands: a fantastic journey that
involved three months in Papua New Guinea. Apart from the fascinating
wildlife and cultures, and the great hospitality of the local people,
what struck me most were the region's varied landscapes. Often
considered to be a land cloaked in dense tropical rainforest, tectonic
actions have compressed the world's second largest island, resulting in a
terrain that is considerably mountainous. Although New Guinea sits just
below the equator, the rugged spine that runs across the length of the
region is – in places – adorned with snow-capped mountains, up to 16,000
feet high, which are carved and sculpted by glaciers. Flanking this
mountainous terrain are deep, jungle-clad valleys, which are frequently
inhabited by tribal communities.
Modern New Guineans have a heritage that is heavily associated with
clan-based sustainable farming: a practice that is thought to have
arisen on the island independent from foreign influences, some 7,000
years ago, making it one of the world’s oldest sites of agriculture
(bananas, sugar cane and yams, incidentally, were all first domesticated
in New Guinea). Accordingly, most New Guineans had little need to trade
or interact with clans living in adjacent valleys because they produced
all their own food and sustainably managed their environment. Living in
relative isolation, therefore, not only led to frequent territorial
disputes when rival clans encountered each other (land ownership is of
immense importance and tribal warfare between villages over land was –
and often still is – commonplace), but also the development of different
languages. Today, over 1,100 living languages are spoken in New Guinea,
and ethnographers often consider the island to be the most ethnically
diverse region on the planet. Such geological upheavals that allowed for
the great biological and anthropological variety of New Guinea also
gave rise to the Hindenburg Wall formations; a setting that has provided
ecologists with great excitement.
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| Ornamented with bird-of-paradise and cassowary feathers, men from the Huli tribe in the Western Highlands perform a ceremonial sing sing |
Exciting New Discoveries
Encompassing a
50 kilometre stretch
of limestone escarpment, the Hindenburg Wall is part of the Star
Mountain range in south-western Papua New Guinea. This area is largely
unknown to science, mostly due to its remote location, regular
earthquakes, high annual rainfall of more than 10,000 millimetres per
year, and frequent landslides. After a four week expedition in this
secluded yet stunning region, a team of local and international research
biologists observed more than 80 new plant and animal species. The
survey used traditional ecological fieldwork techniques as well as
camera-traps for observing mammals, including large rat-like rodents,
some of which appeared to be the
size of a small dog.
As well as mammals, a number of new butterflies and other insects were
recorded, together with undescribed frog species, and an assortment of
floral specimens, including carnivorous plants, rhododendrons, and
orchids. One plant belonged to the Genus
Plectranthus: more
commonly known as spur-flowers, these organisms are often grown by
indigenous societies for their edible leaves and roots, as well as for
their medicinal properties and visual beauty as ornamental specimens.
These new findings have many uses for biologists and for Papua New
Guinean conservation. This includes: assessing the conservation status
of the region; providing valuable data for the government to assist with
environmental policy and planning; evaluating the ecological resources
of Papua New Guinea; presenting baselines for monitoring endangered
species; and identifying possibilities for ecotourism. After just four
weeks of surveying, the outcomes also indicate a need for further
studies to provide a greater understanding of the complex ecological
communities that such an environment supports, and the medicinal
properties that may derive from the newly described plant species.
Undoubtedly, this study reveals the great splendour of the natural
world, which still exists relatively unharmed from the presence of
humans in one our planet's last great wildernesses: surely a region that
should be protected and cherished for future generations.
