7 minute read
Celebrating 25 Years A Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Timeline
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
LEAD
1 WPZ scientist Lisa Dabek and team partner with YUS community members to begin tree kangaroo research.
PROTECT
Landowner Mambawe Manaono and his clan make the first pledge to conserve YUS land. INNOVATE
TKCP leads the first YUS biodiversity survey and documents hundreds of plants and animals, including new frog species!
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GROW
Conservation International Global Conservation Fund grant begins INNOVATE
2 WPZ uses radio tracking to learn about wild tree kangaroo ecology. PROTECT
Landmark YUS landowner workshop leads to application for PNG Conservation Area status. SHARE
Author Sy Montgomery features TKCP and Lisa Dabek in Quest for the Tree Kangaroo. PROTECT
The YUS Conservation Area is gazetted by the PNG Government, the first of its kind in PNG history. GROW
4 The TKCP livelihood project kicks off with a focus on coffee.
LEAD
2 The first YUS teaching scholarship students graduate and begin teaching in YUS primary schools. LEAD
3 TKCP volunteer doctors and YUS community health workers launch TKCP health project and invite WPZ physicians as their partners. GROW
Five year KFW/German Government grant through Conservation International begins. PROTECT
Community commits to protect 187,000 acres of forest, creating the YUS Conservation area — the largest in PNG history. GROW
5 First YUS Conservation Coffee fills cups in Seattle’s Caffe Vita.
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YUS clans and TKCP develop comprehensive community-based landscape plan. PROTECT
TKCP-PNG becomes a registered NGO in Papua New Guinea. GROW
6 YUS shoreline communities initiate marine monitoring program. LEAD
Junior Ranger Program inspires future leaders of conservation efforts. INNOVATE
9 A National Geographic grant funds new GPS collars that bring fresh insights into tree kangaroo ecology. SHARE
The first Lummi Nation representative visits YUS to share cultures, languages, histories, and ancestral knowledge.
YUS Conservation Area Rangers begin patrolling the YUS Conservation Area. AWARD
TKCP conservation strategies manager Karau Kuna accepts the distinguished United Nations Equator Prize for TKCP’s conservation triumphs.
AWARD CELEBRATE
8 TKCP marks 20 years of conservation successes. AWARD
7 TKCP conservation strategies manager Karau Kuna receives the prestigious Whitley Award for uniting local landowners to protect YUS. YUS research biologist Daniel Okena receives the EDGE Zoological Society of London Fellowship to study the endangered long-beaked echidna.
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GROW
TKCP welcomes Modi Pontio as the first associate director from PNG — all TKCP staff are from Papua New Guinea.
Six YUS and PNG representatives join the Lummi Nation Salish Sea Canoe Journey. 10 Participatory 3D mapping revolutionizes YUS community understanding of shared resources.
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The COVID-19 pandemic ascends, slowing TKCP research due to travel bans and other safety precautions. SHARE
Lisa Dabek is lead editor of Tree Kangaroos Science and Conservation, the most comprehensive book published about these animals. CELEBRATE
TKCP marks a quarter century of YUS conservation! INNOVATE
TKCP researchers are planning to complete a genetic analysis to explore relationships among GPS-collared tree kangaroos in the Wasaunon Field site in YUS Conservation Area.
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SHARE
The YUS Conservation Area serves as a Learning Landscape model project under the USAID biodiversity project. PROTECT LEAD
AZA Tree Kangaroos of PNG SAFE Program is formed to save tree kangaroos from extinction.
The YUS Conservation Area is 12 extended to include the entire living landscape of the region — 402,000 acres. GROW AWARD
Lisa Dabek receives the IUCN Harold Jefferson Coolidge Memorial Medal for outstanding contributions to the conservation of nature and natural resource.
YUS landowner and TKCP staff member Danny Nane graduates from Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. LEAD
TKCP will support local leadership in stewarding the next generation of YUS conservationists.
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How Preserving Indigenous Ways Led to a Model for Global Conservation
By Danny Nane, Community Conservation Coordinator, Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Danny Nane was among the first YUS landowners to attend the University of Papua New Guinea, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences and geography. He is a recent graduate of the Oxford University Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.
I first sighted a tree kangaroo in my father’s forest back in 2000 when I was 10 years old. I accompanied my dad into the thick forest higher up in the mountains. At first, I thought it was a thick green and brownish forest moss clinging to the branch of the tree, but then it moved and started eating the leaves. My dad told me no, it is a kapul, as we call tree kangaroos in my local language. It was perfectly camouflaged. With its long tail and resemblance to a bear’s facial appearances, they are so much cuter than any other forest animal I have ever seen!
Tree kangaroos, as the largest native forest mammal, are the most rewarding hunting targets for local Indigenous hunters. People have hunted the tree kangaroos for meat and their fur for years. Also, habitat destruction caused many tree kangaroos to lose their home. As a result, the population of tree kangaroos dropped drastically in the 1980s. In 1996, a conservation initiative was introduced after a study that was conducted on the population density and home range of the tree kangaroos. I was in the village and witnessed how hard it was for my father and other Indigenous landowners to agree to pledge for conservation. However, they were convinced that if you want to hunt tree kangaroos, you must begin by protecting them, otherwise you will not have any of them left to hunt. That was the turning point for most of the local landowners to pledge their land and protect tree kangaroos. Now the YUS Conservation Area is a leading example for conservation in Papua New Guinea and a model for other conservation initiatives. From growing up in my village and witnessing the establishment of the conservation area, and all the struggles and victories related to it, I have realized direct involvement of the communities will lead to the success of any conservation effort. It is key to protecting any species and its habitat, including the Matschie’s tree kangaroo.
