Conservation Province: Using Science for
Policy Making in West Papua Province,
Indonesia
Charlie D. Heatubun
Badan Penelitian & Pengembangan Provinsi Papua Barat,
Universitas Papua, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew,
IUCN Species Survival Commission – the Palm Specialist Group& the Fresh Water Plant Specialist Group.

“Contribution of biodiversity, forest and climate
research to the implementation of sustainable
development in West Papua Province, Indonesia”

Introduction to West Papua Province:
Facts:
Ø Tanah Papua (Indonesia Provinces of Papua & West Papua)
with total area 416.129 km² is very rich in Biodiversity andcultures.
Ø Lowest Human Development Index (HDI/IPM) in Indonesia.
Ø Acceleration of development process to increase economy andpeople welfare with environment consequences.
Ø Conservation Province Initiative and Sustainable Development
Policy.

Development of Infrastructures & Palm Oil Plantation:

Logging & Palm Oil Concession 2013:

West Papua Province

Map Source: WRI Indonesia (2019)

What the Scientific tell about (recent publications):
ArticleNew Guinea has the world’s richest islandflora
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2549-5
Received: 2 October 2019
Accepted: 29 June 2020
Published online: xx xx xxxx
Check for updates

A list of authors and their affiliations appears at the end of the paper.

(Camara-Leret et. al.
Nature (2020)

New Guinea is the world’s largest tropical island and has fascinated naturalists for
centuries1,2. Home to some of the best-preserved ecosystems on the planet3 and tointact ecological gradients—from mangroves to tropical alpine grasslands—that are
unmatched in the Asia-Pacific region4,5, it is a globally recognized centre of biologicaland cultural diversity6,7. So far, however, there has been no attempt to criticallycatalogue the entire vascular plant diversity of New Guinea. Here we present the first,
to our knowledge, expert-verified checklist of the vascular plants of mainland New
Guinea and surrounding islands. Our publicly available checklist includes 13,634
species (68% endemic), 1,742 genera and 264 families—suggesting that New Guinea isthe most floristically diverse island in the world. Expert knowledge is essential forbuilding checklists in the digital era: reliance on online taxonomic resources alone
would have inflated species counts by 22%. Species discovery shows no sign of levellingoff, and we discuss steps to accelerate botanical research in the ‘Last Unknown’8.

Camara-Leret et. al.
Science Advances(2019).

(376) and Myrtaceae (352) (Fig. 1b, Extended Data Table 1). Orchidaceae
account for 20% and 17% of the flora of Papua New Guinea and Indonesian New Guinea, respectively. The floristic importance of orchids| R E S EsuchSCIEN
C E inAother
D Vmegadiverse
A N C E S countries
A RasCEcuador
H ARTICLE
is comparable
to that
(23% of total flora) and Colombia (15%)17. The five largest genera ofvascular plants in New Guinea are Bulbophyllum (658 species; OrchiAPPLIED ECOLOGY
daceae), Dendrobium (614 species; Orchidaceae), Syzygium (207 species; Myrtaceae), Ficus (179 species; Moraceae) and Rhododendron (171species; Ericaceae) (Fig. 2, Extended Data Table 2). Of the 1,742 genera
found, 13 have more than 100 species and make up 21% of all species,
whereas 692 genera are represented by a single species in New Guinea.

Climate change threatens New Guinea’s
biocultural heritage
R. Cámara-Leret1,2*, N. Raes3,4, P. Roehrdanz2,5, Y. De Fretes6, C. D. Heatubun7,8,9, L. Roeble7,
A. Schuiteman7, P. C. van Welzen3,10, L. Hannah2,5EndemismPlant endemism in New Guinea is remarkably high: it is the only Malesian island group with more endemic than non-endemic species (9,301
New
Guineamost This
biologicallyand linguisticallyendemic
species;
68%is
ofthe
the total).
preponderance
of endemic spe-diverse tropical island on Earth, yet the potential impacts ofclimateon its biocultural
heritageremainunknown. Analyzing 2353 endemic plant species distributions,cies wasnoted inchange
earlier studies,
although thesewere basedon smaller
9,18
we
find that63%of species
are Guinea
expected
to Malesia
have smaller
geographic ranges by 2070. As a result, ecoregions may
floristic
samples. The
uniquenessof Newwithinmay
have an−70surface± 40 fewer
species
2070. 5Species
with future geographic range contractions include
be explained
byaverage
its greateroflandarea and
habitatby
diversity;
720 endemic
plant
speciesthat areusedAustralia
by indigenous
its location,
marking thejunction
betweenMalesia,
and the people, and we find that these will decrease in 80% of New
191030
languageareas,
with lossesof up to 94
species per language area. To mitigate the threats of climate
Pacific;Guinea’s
and its highly
complextectonic
history. Geographically,53%of the endemic
been
onlypriority
in Papua sites
New Guinea
andchange specieson thehave
flora,
wefoundidentify
for protectedarea expansion that can jointly maximize biodiversity
24% occurin Indonesian
New Guinea. Of the total species from
andonly
usefulplant conservation.
Papua New Guinea, 64% are endemic, and 58% of the total species fromIndonesian New Guinea are endemic. Such high richness of endemic
species means that both countries have a unique responsibility for

Copyright © 2019
The Authors, somerights reserved;
exclusive licensee
American Association
for the Advancementof Science. No claim to
original U.S. Government
Works. Distributed
under a Creative
Commons Attribution
NonCommercial
License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).

DownloGreat uncertainty remains as to the number of New Guinea plant species known to science, with conflicting estimates ranging from 9,000
to 25,000 species9,10. To narrow this range, here we catalogue the entire
known vascular flora (angiosperms, gymnosperms, ferns and lycophytes)
of mainland New Guinea and its surrounding islands (hereafter ‘New
Guinea’; Fig. 1a, Extended Data Fig. 1). We do so through a large-scalecollaborative effort in which 99 plant experts verified the identity of
23,381 taxonomic names derived from 704,724 specimens (see Methods).
Overall, we find that New Guinea supports 13,634 described species, 1,742
genera and 264 families of vascular plants (Supplementary Tables 1, 2).
This suggests that New Guinea is the world’s most floristically diverse
island, with a known vascular plant flora 19% larger than the 11,488 species
recorded in Madagascar11 and 22% larger than the 11,165 species recorded
in Borneo (http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org, accessed 27 April2019). New Guinea contains almost three times the 4,598 spermatophyte
species of Java12 and 1.4 times the 9,432 vascular plant species of the Philippines13—the only Malesian island regions for which Floras have been
published. The vascular plant flora of New Guinea is divided between
two political entities (Fig. 1a): Papua New Guinea, with 10,973 species, has
44% more species than Indonesian New Guinea (Papua Barat and Papua
provinces), which has 7,616. Papua New Guinea also has more genera (1,654
versus 1,511) and families (260 versus 248). These differences partly arise
from the lower collecting density in Indonesian New Guinea1,2 (Fig. 1a).
Nevertheless, the order of country rankings in plant diversity is unlikely
to change with further collections because Papua New Guinea has a larger
area, and surface area is the strongest predictor of island plant diversity14.
Our species total for Papua New Guinea differs markedly from the 29,756

nd outlook

Biological Conservation 261 (2021) 109225

b, c
d
a
availableLocatelliat ScienceDirect , Mohammad A. Salim ,avid L.A. Gaveau a, *, Lucas SantosContents, listsBruno
usnayaen Husnayaen a, Erik Meijaard e, f, Charlie Heatubun g, h, i, Douglas Sheil j, k
Biological Conservation

heTreeMap, Bagadou Bas, 46600 Martel, France
epartment of Earth System Science, University of California,
Irvine, CA,USA
journal homepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon
stituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, Brasília DF 71.503-505, Brazil
RAD Forests and Societies, Univ Montpellier, 34398 Montpellier, France
orneo Futures, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
urrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
Forest loss in Indonesian New Guinea (2001–2019): Trends, drivers
oyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW93AE, UK
akultasand
Kehutanan,
Universitas Papua, Jl. Gunung Salju, Amban, Manokwari 98314, Indonesia
outlookdan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Provinsi Papua Barat, Jl. Brig. Jend. Mar. (Purn.) Abraham O. Atururi, Arfai, Manokwari, Papua Barat 98315, Indonesiaa, * Resource Managementapartmentof Ecology
and Natural(INA), Locatelli
Norwegian dUniversityof Life Science(NMBU),
Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway
David
L.A. Gaveau, Lucas Santos b, c, Bruno, Mohammad
A. Salim,a Group, Wageningene, f University & Research, POg, h,Boxij, korest Ecology
andForestManagement
47,
6700
AA
Wageningen,
The Netherlands
Husnayaen Husnayaen , Erik Meijaard , Charlie Heatubun, Douglas Sheila

TheTreeMap, Bagadou Bas, 46600 Martel, France
Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, Brasília DF 71.503-505, Brazil
Forests
R T Id CIRAD
C L E
I and
N FSocieties,
O Univ Montpellier, 34398 Montpellier, France
A B S T R A C TeBorneo Futures, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei DarussalamfDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
words:g Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW93AE, UK
The rich forests of Indonesian New Guinea are understudied and threatened. We used satellite data to examinehFakultas Kehutanan, Universitas Papua, Jl. Gunung Salju, Amban, Manokwari 98314, Indonesia
orestationi
annualforestroaddevelopment
expansion from 2001 to 2019, then developed a model to
Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Provinsi Papua Barat, Jl. Brig.
Jend. Mar.
(Purn.)loss,
AbrahamO. Atururi,
Arfai, Manokwari,and
Papuaplantation
Barat 98315, Indonesia
jonesian
New Guinea
Departmentof Ecology and Natural Resource Management (INA), Norwegian
UniversityofLife
Science(NMBU),
Box
5003,
1432
Ås,
Norwaypredict future deforestation. No previous studies have attempted such a detailed assessment of past and futurekpalm Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlandsbcntations
ns-Papua Highway
A R T I C L E I N F O
ellite.
Keywords:
Deforestation
Indonesian New Guinea
Oil palm
Plantations
Trans-Papua Highway
Satellite.

deforestation. In 2019, 34.29 million hectares (Mha), or 83% of Indonesian New Guinea, supported old-growthforest. Over nineteen years, 2% (0.75 Mha) were cleared: 45% (0.34 Mha) converted to industrial plantations,A B S T R
A C T mine tailings, or other uses near cities; 55% (0.41 Mha) cleared by transient processes including selective
roads,
natural timber extraction, inland water bodies-related processes, fires, and shifting agriculture. Industrial
The rich forests of Indonesian New Guinea are understudied and threatened. We used satellite data to examine
plantations
expandedandby
0.23 expansion
Mha, withMha;
28%
annual forest loss, road development
plantationfrom the2001 majority
to 2019, then(0.21
developeda modelto of forest loss) replacing forests andpredict future
deforestation.
No
previous
studieshaveattempted
suchadetailed
assessment
of
past
and
futurereaching 0.28 Mha in 2019 (97% oil palm; 3% pulpwood). The Trans-Papua Highway, a ~4000 km national
deforestation. In 2019, 34.29 million hectares (Mha), or 83% of Indonesian New Guinea, supported old-growthinvestment
project,by 1554
km.Mha)Positivecorrelations
between highway and plantations expansion
forest. Overnineteen years,
2% (0.75increasedMha) were cleared:
45% (0.34
converted
to industrial plantations,roads, minetailings, orother areuses nearcities;processes.
55% (0.41 Mha)cleared by transient
processes
including selective
indicatetheselinkedPlantations
and roads
expanded
rapidly after 2011, peaked in 2015/16, andnatural timber extraction, inland water bodies-related processes, fires, and shifting agriculture. Industrial
declined thereafter. Indonesian government allocated 2.62 Mha of land for the development of industrial
plantations expanded by 0.23 Mha, with the majority (0.21 Mha; 28% of forest loss) replacing forests and(90%
palm3%10%
pulpwood)of which
74% a(1.95
remained forest in 2019. A spatial model
reaching plantations
0.28 Mha in 2019
(97%oiloil palm;
pulpwood).
The Trans-Papua
Highway,~4000 Mha)
km national
investment
project, increased
1554 km. Positive
correlations
betweenhighwayand plantations
expansion
predicts
that anbyadditional
4.5 Mhaof forest
could
be clearedby 2036
if Indonesian New Guinea follows similar
indicate these are linked processes. Plantations and roads expanded rapidly after 2011, peaked in 2015/16, andrelationships to Indonesian Borneo. We highlight the opportunities for policy reform and the importance of
declined thereafter. Indonesian government allocated 2.62 Mha of land for the development of industrial
workingwith10%indigenous
local
leaders,
provincial
government to protect the biological andplantations(90% oil palm
pulpwood) ofcommunities,
which 74% (1.95 Mha)remained
forestandin 2019.
A spatial model
predicts that an additional 4.5 Mha of forest could be cleared by 2036 if Indonesian New Guinea follows similar
cultural richness still embodied in this remarkable region.

Gaveau et. al. Biol.
Conserv. (2021).

relationships to Indonesian Borneo. We highlight the opportunities for policy reform and the importance ofworking with indigenous communities, local leaders, and provincial government to protect the biological andcultural richness still embodied in this remarkable region.

Gaveau et. al.
Biological Conservation(2021).

Species Described per Decade in New Guinea

Number of species

2000

16000

Tree species
Non-tree species
Cumulative species
Cumulative tree species
Cumulative non-tree species

14000
12000
10000

1500

8000
1000

6000
4000

500

2000
0
1750-1759
1760-1769
1770-1779
1780-1789
1790-1799
1800-1809
1810-1819
1820-1829
1830-1839
1840-1849
1850-1859
1860-1869
1870-1879
1880-1889
1890-1899
1900-1909
1910-1919
1920-1929
1930-1939
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-19691970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-20092010-2019

0

Cumulative number of species

2500

DecadeThe number of plant species (basionyms) described per decade from 1753 to 2018 —grouped into trees (redbars) or non-tree species (blue bars)— and the cumulative number of accepted tree (red line), non-tree (blueline) and total species (black line). Camara-Leret, et. al. Nature (2020).

Floristic patterns in New Guinea

B. The five plant families that contain 35% of the flora. C. Families with highest species
endemism in angiosperms (orange), gymnosperms (blue), and ferns and lycophytes(green). Black bars depict the number of non-endemic species. (Camara-Leret et. al.
Nature (2020).

(Camara-Leret et. al. Nature (2020).

Source of Natural History Data (GBIF 2013):

Phytotaxa 288 (2): 175–180
http://www.mapress.com/j/pt/
Copyright © 2016 Magnolia Press

ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition)

ArticlePHYTOTAXAISSN 1179-3163 (online edition)

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.288.2.8

Areca jokowi: A New Species of Betel Nut Palm (Arecaceae) from Western New
GuineaCHARLIE D. HEATUBUN1, 2
1

Fakultas Kehutanan, and Pusat Penelitian Keanekaragaman Hayati, Universitas Papua, Jl. Gunung Salju, Amban, Manokwari 98314,
Papua Barat, Indonesia
2
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB, United Kingdom
Email: charlie_deheatboen@yahoo.com

Abstract
A new species of betel nut palm, Areca jokowi, is described and illustrated here. This is the third species of Areca to havebeen described recently from New Guinea that is closely related to the widespread, economically important species A.
catechu, the cultivated betel nut palm. A discussion of its morphological characters, distribution, ecology, habitat, uses andconservation status is provided, as well as a new identification key for western New Guinean Areca.
Key words: Arecaceae, Palmae, palms, New Guinea, taxonomy

Introduction

Endemic plant
species richness(number of
species per gridcell) in the faceof climatechange. Species
richness undercurrent climate(A), anddifference in
species richness
between current
climate and 2070
RCP 2.6 (B) and
2070 RCP 8.5(C).
Camara-Leretet. al. Science
Advances(2019).

Spatial conservation
priorities forendemic plants in theface of climatechange. All endemic
plants (n = 2353
species) (A), allendemic useful plants(n = 720 species) (B),and subset of usefulplants for construction(n = 374) C), culture(n = 271) (D), food (n= 162) (E) andmedicine (n = 187)
(F).
Camara-Leret et. al.
Science Advances(2019).

Congruence in 2070 spatialconservation priorities forall endemic and usefulplants. Numbers indicate
administrative units ofIndonesian New Guinea andPapua New Guinea
containing the top 10%
solutions: 1, Sorong; 2,
Manokwari; 3, Biak Numfor;
4, Nabire; 5, Mimika; 6,Paniai; 7, Puncak Jaya; 8,
Waropen; 9, Sarmi; 10,
Jayawijaya ; 11, Jayapura; 12,
Yahukimo; 13, Pegunungan
Bintang; 14, Boven Digoel;

Camara-Leret et. al.
Science Advances(2019).

Milestones for sustainable Development in West Papua Province,
Indonesia:
Declaration of West Papua as the firstConservation Province in Indonesia 2015 andfollowed by Manokwari Declaration 2018.
A commitment of all stakeholders to protect
and preserve minimum 70% of forest covers
and 50% sea and coastal area in West
Papua – increase the protected areas.

Special Regional Regulation (PERDASUS) No. 10 / 2019about Sustainable Development in West Papua Province.

Forest and Society. Vol. 3(1): 148-151, April 2019
Received: 2019-02-14; Accepted: 2019-04-07

ISSN: 2549-4724, E-ISSN: 2549-4333

Special Section: The economies, ecologies and politics of social forestry in Indonesia
Policy ForumThe Manokwari Declaration: Challenges ahead inconserving 70% of Tanah Papua’s forests

Rodrigo Cámara-Leret1*, Andre Schuiteman1, Timothy Utteridge1, Gemma Bramley1, Richard
Deverell1, Larry A. Fisher2, Jonathan McLeod3, Lee Hannah4,5, Patrick Roehrdanz4,5, Timothy G.
Laman6,7, Edwin Scholes7, Yance de Fretes8, Charlie Heatubun1,9,10

West Papua
Conservation
Priorities under
Climate Change

Protected Areas

1,500 Endemic
Plants (RCP8.5)

GreaterPriority

Sustainable Development Areas are provincial administrative government areas that carry out
development by applying the principles of forest protection and conservation, and the sustainable
use of natural resources including biodiversity and which are integrated in special provisions
covering disaster-prone areas, watershed (catchment) areas, border areas, and sustainableagriculture lands.

Spatial Planning Map of West Papua
Province (36.4 - 69.4 % PA)

The West Papua Province’s Strategic Area Functions for Protecting
Biodiversity and Adat Communities (2.3 million hectares)

THE
CROWN
JEWEL
OF
TANAH
PAPUA

“Thank You andGod Bless You All”