PapuaNewGuinea

Marine Protected Areas in Papua New Guinea

Located in the South Pacific, Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea along with several offshore islands nearby. The country’s total land area and coastline are 462,840 sq km and 20,197 km respectively, and its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 3,120,000 sq km. Officially known as the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the country is governed as a parliamentary democracy with a ruling monarch.

In 1993, Papua New Guinea ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – a legally binding international treaty under which all 193 parties agreed to protect 10% of marine eco-regions worldwide in a network of marine protected areas. Papua New Guinea has a series of existing MPAs that have been established under two main laws: the 1966 Fauna Control and Protection Act, under which locally owned and managed protected areas may be established on customary non-public land, and the 1982 National Parks Act, under which national and provincial parks may be established on public land [1].

The total number and coverage of marine protected areas in Papua New Guinea is difficult to determine. In the article “Marine Protected Areas in PNG”, Jenkins and Kula (2000) reported just 12 protected areas with a marine component covering 3,600 sq km, although they admitted that only 25% of that area constitutes marine habitat [1]. In a report by Govan et al. (2009), the authors cited the number from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) – 92 protected areas with a marine component covering over 3,700 sq km. However based on local reports, they found that many of these sites are either proposed or inactive [2]. Currently the WDPA lists 36 protected areas with a marine component [3]. One thing these sources do agree on is that most of these MPAs in Papua New Guinea are Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) established on customary-owned land under the 1966 Fauna and Protection Act. Management of these sites is often lacking, as customary landowners lack the resources needed for proper management and enforcement [1].

Sources

[1] Jenkins A.P. and G. Kula. 2000. Marine Protected Areas in Papua New Guinea. Chapter 7 in: Munday PL. (ed) The Status of Coral Reefs in Papua New Guinea. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Australian Institute of Marine Science. Townville. 104pp. http://www.reefbase.org/download/download.aspx?type=10&docid=E0000006450_1

[2] Govan, Hugh et al. Status and potential of locally-managed marine areas in the South Pacific: meeting nature conservation and sustainable livelihood targets through wide-spread implementation of LMMAs. – Apia, Samoa SPREP, 2010. http://www.crisponline.net/Portals/0/New%20reports/ENG%202011%20Status%20&%20Potential%20LMMAs.pdf

[3] Protected Planet. Marine Protected Areas in Papua New Guinea: http://www.protectedplanet.net/search?country_id=170&marine=1

Additional Sources

PNG 4th National Report to the CBD: http://www.dec.gov.pg/images/Annual_Reports/FINAL%20PNG%204th%20NATIONAL%20REPORT.pdf

CIA World Fact Book: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pp.html

CBD PNG profile: http://www.cbd.int/countries/?country=pg