PNG is one of the world’s 17 ‘megadiverse’ countries, with a rich array of flora and fauna – much of which is found nowhere else in the world. The island of New Guinea (of which PNG holds the eastern half) contains the third largest tropical rainforest on the planet and hosts approximately 6 percent of known terrestrial biodiversity, as well as a likely-considerable number of species that are yet to be discovered.

This wealth of natural capital holds tremendous international importance for global climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. Yet, with almost 40 percent of its population living below the poverty line, and 80 percent dependent on subsistence farming, PNG cannot afford to protect this global public good in perpetuity by itself. PNG’s forests and biodiversity are increasingly at risk from degradation and loss due to unsustainable use.

The MCA is a truly bottom-up community conserved area that was developed by communities and supportive NGOs over 30 years, culminating in its designation as a Conservation Area in 2017. The MCA is now a preserved landscape that is home to intact forests – as well as the people who live there, that see their future in maintaining a forest landscape.

The EU’s assistance to the Managalas communities will support their vision of sustainable economic development in a forest landscape. As the largest conservation area in PNG, Managalas is an ideal place to pilot the development of sustainable land stewardship and ecosystem services models to protect the country’s forest and biodiversity resources.

The EU aims to support effective protection of PNG’s natural capital – while meeting diverse communities’ development aspirations – through its Forestry-Climate Change-Biodiversity Nexus programme (EU FCCB).

To this end, EU FCCB is funding a four-year project in the community-managed MCA in Oro Province. This project will explore the implementation of FCCB related policies and practices at the local level (within the MCA) and assess the potential for scaling to the provincial level.

The Managalas and Oro Project will be implemented by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), alongside a range of local and international partners, including national and provincial government agencies, civil society, higher education, research institutions, and local communities.

As part of the EU’s FCCB Nexus Programme, Managalas and Oro Project will support policies and strategies related to FCCB at the local level and support systems for the MCA at provincial level. Private sector partnerships will develop market links for goods and services from within the MCA that appreciate the co-benefits of production landscapes that are intricately linked with conservation outcomes.

See EU-FCCB video