News on Indo-Pacific Conservation

Dozens of new species discovered in the first scientific expedition into the Foja Mountains of Papua

In December 2005, Conservation International (CI) led a group of scientists from the U.S., Indonesia and Australia into the Foja Mountains of western New Guinea to perform a Rapid Assessment Program (RAP). Several Indonesian participants were trained in performing rapid biological assessments and assisted scientists with the RAP expedition. The survey led to the discovery of dozens of new species, including an orange-faced honeyeater bird, over 20 frogs, butterflies, and plants. Dan Polhemus, an IPCA board member, and Bruce Beehler, the vice president of CI’s Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation, co-leader of the expedition, and a member of IPCA’s advisory committee, were two of over thirty participants in the expedition. The exciting data gathered in the survey will be applied to future conservation planning of the more than 1 million hectares of pristine tropical forests of the Foja Mountains.

To learn more about RAP, visit CI’s expedition website.

For a full article on the findings of the expedition see the press release.

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