Conservation & Culture

I was surprised when I first saw "blue", instead of white  head plumes of the King of Saxony bird of Paradise on one of the traditional dance groups' head dresses. I noticed that while going around with another colleague,(Ben Ruli) interviewing traditional dance groups on their traditional costumes (especially bird feathers, animal skin and fur) they were using.  This year was my third to be involved in a Traditional Bilas Survey that the Papua New Guinea Institute of Biological Research does at the annual Goroka Cultural Show. It was really interesting to see that some cultural groups are turning to artificially modified objects to portray animal parts and are using it as a supplement for real animal parts in traditional cultural costumes.  

Among others, the one that caught my attention was the head plume of the King of Saxony bird of paradise (Pteridophora alberti). When I first saw it, It looked weird because it was blue. I taught waoooh..! This people must be using a head plume of a new King of Saxony species.  Being attracted, I went over for a closer inspection, and found out that it was an artificial one. Plastic sheets were cut out to resemble the head plume and used on their head dresses.

It may relay messages that the bird is becoming difficult to hunt for their head plumes or people do not want to kill the birds and so are resorting to such techniques.

This practise may be bad for our traditional cultures as it is devaluing its originality and pride. However, it is good for conservation as the King of Saxony Birds of Paradise won’t be heavily hunted for their head plumes. The artificial plumes are resistible to insect attack and can be kept and used for longer period of time.

This practise is in itself a new information or idea to people like me working to do research on and conserve the biodiversity. Sitting here writing this, I am thinking…. “It will be good if we can make artificial animal parts for people to use during cultural dances and events so that they do not go hunting to get traditional costumes. This will give time for the wanted population in the wild to replenish.”  

 

mountain mangi

Field Work in YUS Conservation Area

Field Research work in the Rugged Sarawaged mountains of Morobe is one of the very challenging moments.

YUS conservation area (06 °00’53’’ S, 145° 24’45’’E) is in Kabwum District of the YUS local level government in Morobe Province, PNG. YUSCA covers about 76,000 hectares of tropical forest from PNG’s northern coast to the interior Sarawaged Mountains. YUSCA is perhaps the first protected area in PNG with elevation stretching from lowland coastal plain to montane forest. Gazetted in January 2009 as PNG’s first national conservation area, YUSCA is the first to be declared under the nation’s Conservation Areas Act of 1978.

The nearest research camp from the village is more than four hours hike up steep rugged mountains. Other research camps are worse to get to. Despite the effort invested in getting there, one will appreciate the forest and the information and data collected there will be of greate importance and reliable. The forest there is primarily virgin with minor disturbances from research activities. Anthropogenic, human disturbance on the vegetation is very rare.

The mountains of the Huon Peninsula have a very interesting geological history. So much of the surface geology reflects near shore sea sediments (limestone). This set of mountains is the product of plate contact between the Bismarck and Australian plate. The Huon Mountains, therefore, are very young, much younger than the mountains of the central range south of the Markham-Ramu divide. As such, information on the biodiversity there will be of interest.

more to come......