Abstract Conserving biological diversity and enhancing the wellbeing of people is a significant challenge for all of society including both the private sector and conservation organizations. This paper describes efforts by the Kutubu Petroleum Development Project (KPDP), operated by Chevron Niugini, and World Wildlife Fund (WFF) to enhance conservation of the rich biological diversity of Papua New Guinea and to assist local indigenous communities with sustainable development. Supported by a grant from the KPDP, WWF is implementing an integrated conservation and development project (ICDP) with local communities in the 2.3 million hectare Kikori River catchment located in the Gulf and Southern Highlands Provinces. The region is characterized by biologically diverse tropical rain forests that provide the predominant livelihood for over 40,000 indigenous peoples. The Kikori ICDP is assisting local people to establish culturally appropriate conservation management areas and to develop eco-tourism, sustainable fisheries, and community based eco-forestry. Detailed biological surveys established the conservation significance of the region, and confirmed the health of the environment. The KPDP is a one billion US dollar capital cost operation which produces Papua New Guinea's first commercial oil reserves. Protecting people and the environment is an essential design and operational criteria for the KPDP. Comprehensive environment and community policies including strict design codes and operational standards, rain forest protection measures, and community business and public health programs are used to minimize the environmental impact and to increase local community benefits. This case study demonstrates the benefits to conservation and local communities of the collaborative efforts of the KPDP and WWF, and the national benefits of a new development paradigm where the economic and environment interests of a nation are considered together.
Introduction to Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea is situated in the western Pacific Ocean between Australia and Asia, and is the world's largest tropical island nation. (Fig. 1). It is one of the most biologically diverse countries on earth where the web of life includes tree-dwelling kangaroos, butterflies with wingspans up to 10 inches (25 cm.), 33 species of the spectacular birds of paradise, and the world's largest parrots, doves, and lizards, as well as its tallest tropical trees. PNG contains one of the few remaining large tropical forests (36 million hectares) in which deforestation and habitat loss still remain at comparatively low levels. According to one projection, by the end of this century or shortly thereafter, only four large blocks of the world's tropical moist forest biome are likely to remain more or less intact: western Brazilian Amazonia, the Zaire basin, the Guyana shield of northern South America, and Papua New Guinea.
Most of the country's 4 million people live to some degree on a subsistence basis and depend on the ecological sustainability of the use of the environment for both subsistence and some cash economies. More than 700 different languages are spoken, which is one third of all the languages spoken on earth. However, the standard of living for most people is low, with life expectancy, health standards, and literacy rates, all well below global averages.
Ninety-seven percent of the land area of Papua New Guinea remains under customary tenure of the indigenous people. Communal indigenous landownership is recognized in the constitution. Clan or extended family groups are the decision makers for local land use, for the future of their forests and for their relationships with commercial developers.
A desire to more vigorously develop cash economies to help meet aspirations is driving a growing interest in development in PNG. The country is endowed with rich forest, fisheries, and mineral resources.
However, a number of the most readily available development options for local communities are destructive of the natural resources on which they depend.