Data_Sheet_1_Papua at the Crossroads: A Plea for Systematic Conservation Planning in One of the Largest Remaining Areas of Tropical Rainforest.pdf

Land-use change has progressed rapidly throughout the Indonesian archipelago and is now intruding into western New Guinea (Tanah Papua), one of the world’s last wilderness areas with extensive tracts of pristine and highly diverse tropical rainforests. Tanah Papua has reached a crossroads between accelerating environmental degradation and sustainable development policies entailing landscape-scale conservation targets, pledged in the Manokwari Declaration. We assessed the representation of ecoregions and elevational zones within Tanah Papua’s protected area network to identify its shortcomings at broad spatial scales. Lowland ecoregions are less protected than mountainous regions, with half of the western and southern lowlands designated for land-use concessions. Under the direct threat from land-use change, the political motivation in Tanah Papua toward conservation- and culture-centered land management provides a window of opportunity for scientifically guided, proactive conservation planning that integrates sustainable development for the benefit of Indigenous communities.

土地利用变化在印尼群岛上迅速推进，现正侵入世界最后的荒野之一——新几内亚西部（塔纳帕普），该地区拥有广阔的原始且高度多样化的热带雨林。塔纳帕普正站在环境退化加速与可持续开发政策之间的重要岔路口，这些政策涉及景观尺度上的保护目标，并在马诺卡里宣言中作出承诺。我们评估了塔纳帕普保护区域网络内生态区域和海拔区域的代表性，以识别其在广阔空间尺度上的不足。低地生态区域的保护程度低于山地区域，西部和南部的一半低地已被划定为土地利用特许权。在土地利用变化的直接威胁下，塔纳帕普的政治动机倾向于以保护和文化遗产为中心的土地管理，这为科学指导下的主动保护规划提供了机会，该规划旨在整合可持续发展，以造福土著社区。