The Ecology of Papua

by Marshall, Andrew J.

• ISBN13: 9780794604837
• ISBN10: 0794604838
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-15
• Publisher: Periplus Editions

Summary

New Guinea is the largest and highest tropical island, and one of the last great wilderness areas remaining on Earth. Papua, the western half of New Guinea, is noteworthy for its equatorial glaciers, its vast forested floodplains, its imposing central mountain range, its Raja Ampat Archipelago, and its several hundred traditional forest-dwelling societies. Papua remains inadequately studied and largely pristine. One of the wildest places left in the world, Papua possesses extraordinary biological and cultural diversity. Today, Papua's environment is under threat from growing outside pressures to exploit its expansive forests and to develop large plantations of oil palm and biofuels. It is important that Papua's leadership balance economic development with good resource management, to ensure the long-term well-being of its culturally diverse populace.

Author Biography

Andrew J. Marshall is the Mercer Postdoctoral Fellow at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and is a biological consultant to the Nature Conservancy.

Bruce M. Beehler is a senior representative for Conservation International and has published numerous books and articles on the ecology and birds of New Guinea.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations Used in This Volume	p. ix
Natural Ecosystems
The Diversity and Conservation of Papua's Ecosystems	p. 753
The Ecology of Papuan Coral Reefs	p. 771
Seagrass Ecosystems of Papua	p. 800
Mangrove Forests of Papua	p. 824
Inland Water Ecosystems in Papua: Classification, Biota, and Threats	p. 858
Coastal Vegetation of Papua	p. 901
Lowland Swamp and Peat Vegetation of Papua	p. 910
Lowland Vegetation of Papua	p. 945
Heath Vegetation of Papua	p. 962
Montane Vegetation of Papua	p. 977
Subalpine and Alpine Vegetation of Papua	p. 1025
Grassland and Savanna Ecosystems of the Trans-Fly, Southern Papua	p. 1054
Caves of Papua	p. 1064
Human-Ecosystem Interactions
The History of Human Impact on New Guinea	p. 1087
A Brief Social and Political History of Papua, 1962-2005	p. 1098
The Agricultural Systems of Papua	p. 1125
Patterns of Commercial and Industrial Resource Use in Papua	p. 1149
Natural Resource Economics of Papua	p. 1167
Conservation of Papuan Natural Resources
Threats to Biodiversity	p. 1199
Setting Priorities and Planning Conservation in Papua	p. 1230
The Protected Area System in Papua	p. 1251
Conservation Laws, Regulations, and Legislation in Indonesia, with Special Reference to Papua	p. 1276
Opportunities and Challenges for Doing Conservation in Papua	p. 1311
Community-Based Conservation in the Trans-Fly Region	p. 1327
A Non-native Primate (Macaca fascicularis) in Papua: Implications for Biodiversity	p. 1348
Exotic Herpetofauna: A New Threat to New Guinea's Biodiversity?	p. 1365
Appendices
Glossary of Botanical Terms	p. 1371
Provisional Species List of Birds Occurring in Papua	p. 1386
The Vertebrate Fauna of the Fly and Purari Deltas and Bintuni Bay Mangroves	p. 1404
Preliminary Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles Reported from Papua and the Aru Islands	p. 1410
Fish Records in the Trans-Fly	p. 1416
Mammal Records in the Trans-Fly	p. 1422
IUCN Protected Area Management Categories	p. 1425
Protected Areas in Papua	p. 1426
Habitat Coverage within Protected Areas in Papua	p. 1431
Nongovernmental Institutions in Papua That Are Working on Environmental and Conservation Issues	p. 1434
Government Institutions That Are Working on Environmental and Conservation Issues in Papua	p. 1437
Index	p. 1439
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